Chapter 10

Kaida's POV...

My nerves were all over the place, my pulse was racing and my adrenaline was pumped up.

I was excited and happy for having been saved from my recent enemy, yet, I was a nervous wreck as I didn't know if I should even be more wary of Axton than the hyena man. But at the moment, I let that thought fall through; maybe later, I can think about the downsides of Axton's rescue; right now, I just wanted to escape alive.

"Oh," I gasped as he suddenly lifted me as if I weighed nothing and placed me onto a Matte black modified motorcycle; the color of the vehicle was a perfect blend to the darkness in the deserted lands, the right choice for ambushing.

In less than a second, he smartly jumped behind me and I suddenly sucked in a sharp breath when I felt his arms wrap around me to grip onto the handlebars. I bit my lips, quietly adjusting myself in a comfortable position between his lap to give him more room.

Immediately, Axton revved the engine of the motorcycle, the loud, rumbling sound of the megaphone muffler roared through the desert, a liberation to my soul, and next, he sped off into the desert, the initial speed of the vehicle immediately shaking off the starved hyena's pursuit, it was no match for the black monster Axton was riding.

The atmosphere was chilly in the deserted lands by that time of the night; the cool wind blew upon my face and body as the motorcycle forged on with increasing speed, the tires leaving behind raised clouds of dust in its wake.

My heart pounded in my chest as I sat between Axton's arms. I remained silent as he drove through the deserts, many thoughts whooshing through my mind like the wind was wooshing across my face.

One thought was very persistent: his intentions. As much as he had saved me twice, at the end of the day, he was still a man, in our world, men were never to be trusted. I was unsure if he had just saved me because he had found out that I was a woman and now wanted to lock me up in some confined space to do with me whatever he wanted, or if he was genuinely helping me out.

I had my fingers crossed.

Amidst my thoughts, I suddenly realized that our ride was smooth, actually, super smooth.

I had thought we would be having trouble navigating through the rough deserts given how dark the night was; instead of guiding us blindly, Axton was unexpectedly guiding us directionally, and that's when I noticed that his eyes seemed to possess extraordinary vision in the dark, specs of being a beastified human.

We drove through the desert's edge for quite a while, and soon, I realized that we were approaching an entirely new and unfamiliar area; it was a more desolate and rundown part of the city compared to where we were before.

My hair rose behind my neck, my survival instincts kicking in; I could only hope nothing bad happened to me; I knew I couldn't possibly defend myself against the strong man behind me.

I suddenly realized that we'd arrived at a new district. At the district's entrance, a good number of soldiers patrolled the gate, their guns loaded and ready for action.

I remained quiet, watching the soldiers in apprehension. As we got closer to them, Axton slowed down in speed and produced a black helmet, placing it over my head to conceal my face.

"Good enough?" He whispered beside my head.

I nodded, not wanting to speak yet. After making sure my face was properly covered up, he turned off the engine and got off the motorcycle, then he held my arm, helping me get off the motorcycle.

"Stick beside me, understood?" Axton asked, staring down at me.

"Mm," I nodded at him.

He gave a short nod and led me around the gate, through a hidden entrance into the city.

This city seemed quieter than most cities, almost as if the people who lived here were governed by a strict policy.

I obeyed Axton and made sure I was beside his tall figure as we walked through corner after corner, and soon, we arrived at a camp.

To my surprise, I saw the entire squad already assembled and it appeared they were awaiting my arrival.

'How did they know I was coming? Did Axton tell them he was going to fetch me? If so, how was he so sure that he would find me out there in the desert?' I pondered to myself.

Everyone was looking at me in anticipation, waiting to see who their leader had risked himself for.

"You can take it off now," Axton quietly reminded me.

"Oh...yes..." I replied, looking up at his handsome face.

'Here goes nothing,' I said to myself before I removed the helmet, my black hair cascading down to my waist.

I had expected the squad members to become reckless and hyper as they saw my real identity, but, instead, they rather gazed at me with awe and curiosity, as if they had never seen a female before and had no idea what I was. Either that or they were just too shocked to react.

They kept staring at me, inquisitiveness and fascination clear in their eyes, but none of them dared to approach me.

I heard footsteps walking directly toward me from the crowd and lifted my face to see who it was...it was Thane.

He stepped forward to me, a laid-back smile on his face as he came to stand directly in front of me.

His smile made me feel uneasy, but he didn't falter, he kept his smile the same as he said to me. "Welcome to District 12."

My hair stood at alert, and my extremities turned cold; my heart lurched, skipping a sharp beat.