Chapter 25

KAIDA'S POV...

The whole place went quiet for a while after Hugo said his mind.

I could feel Axton's gaze on me, making me look toward him.

He held my gaze for a while. I was unconsciously starting to get used to his gazes, and to some extent, I was also starting to understand what his gazes meant.

Like right now, I could guess he was about to ask for my opinion about the whole situation.

He placed a gentle hand on my knee and quietly asked me, "Do you agree with what the prisoners suggest? What's your opinion?" He asked.

"I think what they said is fair enough, we can all find a level ground between us, and I would be willing to help in any possible way I can," I expressed my willingness to the course.

Axton slowly nodded; he stood and faced Hugo, whose face couldn't hide his excitement over my reply.

"Then, it's a deal; on behalf of the purifier, we have a temporary alliance," Axton stretched out his hand to Hugo, and the Bear-Gened man shook hands with Axton in front of all the prisoners present, sealing their deal.

"Come on, Princess, it's time to go," Zarek came from behind and whispered into my ear.

I turned my neck and looked at Zarek; he was giving me one of his charming smiles, his brown eyes as always warming my soul and resonating a smile from me, too.

I always wondered what kept Zarek so happy. He is the only person I've seen smile so much for a very, very long time, and he had a way of also making others want to be happy, too.

But, I suddenly remembered that he was a wolf, or rather, he possessed wolf genes, and wolves were similar to dogs in most characteristics: playful.

He was playful like a wolf, but as I've witnessed, he also has the tamper of a wolf, lashing out at an offender immediately and aggressively.

"You're staring, princess, am I that attractive?" I suddenly saw Zarek's face leaning down toward mine, and that was when I realized that, truly, I've been bending my neck backward to stare at his face.

I felt embarrassed and quickly lowered my face, clearing my throat. "Don't worry, if I were you, I'd stare too," Zarek winked at me as he came over to stand in front of me.

"Come on, give me your hand, the party's over," Zarek said softly.

Hearing his words, I realized that some squad representatives were standing beside Axton, waiting on his command for our next move.

"Oh," I murmured softly and put my hand in Zarek's outstretched one, allowing him to help me to my feet.

"Thank you," I said to Zarek.

"You're welcome, princess," He gave me a playful smirk and led me toward Axton.

"Axton, the discussion is over with the prisoners; I think we should leave and take her out of here. We might have had an alliance with them, but I can not still trust them," Zarek stated in a serious tone.

Axton and Thane exchanged a meaningful look and nodded, "Agreed," Thane responded, putting his hand on his waist as his other hand went through his hair.

"Let's leave, first," Axton subtly pointed his hand to the exit door.

I moved as they moved, walking in between the three men as we walked out of the building; other squad representatives were behind us, too; the meeting was over, and it was time we left.

As I looked up from the floor and saw Axton, Thane, and Zarek beside me, my mind suddenly went back to when I used to be a loner. Alone and wandering the dangerous deserts and left to fight off attacks on my own, but, right now, I had three strong and handsome guys as mine, no... as my friends, there was no need for me to feel alone any longer, I was getting comfortable around them as the day went by.

We reached outside and walked a little farther from the small building before Axton spoke again.

"Zarek, you'll come with me, we have to organize supplies," Axton informed.

Zarek nodded, " Lex, get your friends to join us," He said to Lex who was standing with some representatives.

"Yes, sir," Lex replied.

Axton walked up to Thane and whispered something to him while I just stared curiously at them.

Thane gave him a firm nod and turned to me. "Follow me, princess. We need to get you to have some rest," Thane said to me.

I smiled up at him, "Princess?" I asked.

He nodded, "Figured the name suits you well," He shrugged.

I chuckled and nodded, taking his outstretched hand.

As he led me away from the small building in the central square, I saw Axton and Zarek leading the other men in an opposite direction, heading off to source supplies.

Thane led me to another building. It wasn't small like the one in Central Square, but it wasn't that large either, but it was spacious.

We entered a room, and I was surprised to find a bed in there; I realized that the prisoners must have tidied the whole place as they heard of my arrival.

I sat on the bed and sighed in relief, it wasn't the cloudy and bouncy bed you all knew and used, but it was durable. I was looking around the room when I saw Thane taking something out of his backpack.

He slowly turned to me with his small smile and handed me something I never imagined seeing in our harsh, dead world.

"Here, it's for you," Thane presented me with a small yellow flower, a miracle in such a harsh environment.

I was surprised, beyond surprised, "Thank you," I took the beautiful flower but kept wondering how a plant survived in this world, or was Thane a wizard who could manufacture things from thin air?

"Where did you get it?" I finally asked, unable to contain my curiosity.

Thane smiled at me before he explained, "Well, I once traded food with an elderly woman for a packet of seeds, which I have since been quietly cultivating, and, in your hands, is one of the results," He pointed to the flower in my hand.

I was dumbfounded and deeply moved at the same time. In our world today, ordinary people like us would never give up bread or cookies for a packet of seemingly useless seeds. Yet, Thane seemed to be guarding a piece of his inner oasis.

***

That night, I was finding it difficult to sleep. I stood from the bed and paced the room, thinking about everything and anything.

I reached the door and discovered through the door, that Axton was standing outside my room.

I opened the door, this time, having no fear or skepticism in mind.

"Hey, still awake?" I asked Axton.

Axton slowly turned towards me, his green eyes looking so deep and mysterious.

"We're taking turns to guard your door, Kaida," he informed.

I frowned deeply, slightly shaking my head. "No, you guys don't have to do that. I'll be alright. But you sure need to catch some sleep too," I replied in concern.

But, Axton shook his head, a serious yet warm look appearing on his face, "You can relax, Kaida; I have made up my mind to always be there to guard you, as I said before, your security comes first," He raised his hand and gave my arm a small touch.

I instantly felt reassured, although I really wished he could go and sleep too, but deep down, I loved the feeling I was getting from having him protect me.