Chapter 23

KAIDA'S POV...

"Zarek, let him go; he isn't here for trouble," Thane went and held Zarek back from causing damage to the Prisoner.

Zarek reluctantly stood, freeing his captive and immediately turning toward me.

Now, I was surrounded by three tall men, each looking at me with different intense emotions, yet I didn't feel a bit uncomfortable by their looks; rather, I felt like I was being protected; all I could decipher from their stare was concern.

"How are you doing, Princess?" Zarek asked me, his sharp brown eyes scanning my body in a matter of seconds.

"I'm fine, Zarek, good to see you recovered," I smiled at him.

He was about to say something but Axton interrupted out chatting.

"Lex, gather the supplies; Andre, start organizing the men for moving," Axton ordered.

"Yes, Captain!" Lex replied and immediately went to gather the supplies the prisoner had brought.

When I looked behind Zarek, the prisoner was nowhere to be seen, it looked like he ran away from trouble, not wanting to stay and indulge with Zarek or anyone. He had made a promise to behave, and it seemed like that was what he was doing by running away.

"Come here, we need to get you a disguise," Axton gently held my hand and led me back into the building.

"Disguise?" I asked as he led me to a corner of the room.

"Yes, not everyone knows about you yet; we need to keep it that way; we can't risk putting you in danger by exposing your true identity to everyone, do you understand?" He asked.

I bit my lips, thinking about what he had just said; I was already feeling like myself as I'd gone without my disguise for quite a while, and I wished I could just walk around as me, not posing as someone else.

Axton moved closer to me and before I knew it, he gently held up my chin with his thumb and pointy finger.

"What-"

He cut me off by lowering his face closer to mine, "Do you understand?" He asked in a low voice, his eyes peering down at my own.

I licked my lips and nodded at him; I just felt I couldn't say no to him at that moment; the way he was looking at me felt like he was seeing into my soul.

"Yes," I whispered

"Good," He nodded and released me.

He looked to his side and waved Cody over and in the next second, Cody was standing beside him with a black backpack in his hand.

"Your backpack, Captain," Cody bowed his head as he informed.

"Open it," Axton commanded.

Cody immediately obeyed, he opened the backpack and held it up for Axton.

Then, Axton moved forward and dipped his hand into the backpack; soon enough, he brought out a pair of clothes: simple black pants and an oversized camouflage shirt.

I already saw myself looking like one of the guys if I put those on.

"Come on, put these on," He handed me the clothes and a belt.

I already knew the belt was for the pants because I was wondering for a second how I was going to go about holding them up to my waist at all times.

"Alright," I replied and took them from his hands.

Immediately, he and Cody walked out of the building and I realized that I was now the only one remaining inside the building.

They were giving me my privacy, all the team members had already evacuated the building, patiently waiting for me to change.

And I did.

I quickly removed the dirty and sweaty clothes I was putting on and wore the clean, masculine ones, and as I pulled the shirt down my face, I realized that it had Axton's scent, manly and musky.

I furrowed my brows, 'When did I become accustomed to his scent?' I seriously asked myself.

I shook my head and shrugged; it wasn't important; they were waiting on me outside to start moving to our next destination, so I didn't want to waste their time.

I quickly picked up my scarf and wrapped up my hair in a tight skull wrap, making it seem as if I was on low-cut.

As I walked toward the door, I realized that following Axton's suggestion of doing a simple disguise was a great idea. It wouldn't just make sense to walk around the faces of those prisoners, parading myself as the only female in the whole District prisons.

"Took you a while," Thane walked up to me and placed a facecap on my head, fixing it in the right position.

"Thanks," I smiled at him.

"Let's move," Axton announced, he gave me a brief look before he turned and started walking away.

He led the team while, I, Thane, and Zarek were beside him, and together, we left the ransacked clinic.

After walking for quite some time, we arrived at the central square, and upon arrival, I observed that the prisoners were working in an orderly manner to clean and repair the area, showcasing a restored sense of unity and order, which was never the case.

It must've been the knowledge of my presence that was making them behave that way.

We passed a group of prisoners who were trying to fix a broken window, and I noticed how they paused what they were doing and silently peered at our group, trying to see if they would catch a glimpse of the female purifier. Unfortunately, I was in disguise, so unfortunately, they couldn't detect me.

I awkwardly nodded at them, acknowledging them as we walked past them.

I noticed the prisoners' respect and enthusiasm for the title "Purifier," seeing them filled with hope and reverence at the Purifier's presence.

Meanwhile, my attention was also on Axton and Zarek. It felt like they were robots that had undergone a full system update, and it looked like I wasn't the only one who noticed these changes in them. Thane too, noticed them because he seemed to be staring at Axton and Thane with interest and confusion at the same time.

As the doctor he was, I bet he was wondering what caused the astonishing changes in Axton and Zarek after the purification.

Not only have they recovered well physically, but their combat abilities also seem enhanced, and as we walked past the prisoners, I noticed the prisoners staring in awe and realization at Axton and Zarek, bringing more confidence and morale to the team.

As we approached another group of prisoners, we saw them gather by the side, looking all inspired by the presence of the purifier. They looked as if their hopes had been rekindled, and they believed they would be saved from their beastification.

One prisoner stepped forward from the crowd, "Greetings, and welcome to the central square," The prisoner greeted in a very polite way, halting our team.

They all looked to be in higher spirits, and before Axton could reply to their greeting, they united in a loud voice and demanded my appearance.

"We want to see the great purifier!" They chanted.