Ren walked into Axton's office, Corvin beside him.
Axton walked around his table, standing beside his chair.
He faced Ren and Corvin with a serious look.
"Renault's information shall not leave the walls of this Faction. Until we have fully utilised his potential and found a way to create serums without him," he placed his hands behind him and gazed at Ren.
He had his reasons for not wanting to announce Ren's specialty to the other Factions. Yes, he was powerful, but he wasn't ready to wage wars or handle betrayals yet.
He knew that getting the news out would cause an uproar, and everyone would want Ren and would stop at nothing to get their hands on him. He'd also be exposing his Faction to infiltration.
All of those things, he wasn't ready for them. He wasn't done with Ren; only when he'd seen Ren's use to the last and properly utilised him would he think of announcing the news to the world. By then, he would have gotten a way to create the cure from Ren's blood.
He faced Corvin squarely, "For now, Renault's healing touch isn't feasible since it doesn't significantly reduce the virus effect. It's just temporary. He won't be touching any more people. Am I understood, Corvin," Axton questioned calmly.
Corvin nodded, "Yes, Captain. However, I believe that there is a way to make contact with Renault to have a longer-lasting effect -"
"I said, no more contacts," Axton glared at the doctor.
Corvin nodded, "Of course, Captain. I will continue to research feasible methods to extract his plasmas without killing him since we'll need him for a really long time." He explained, holding his hands together in front of his waist.
"You can leave," Axton waved a dismissive hand.
"Yes, Captain," Corvin replied.
"Not you, Renault," Axton's deep voice halted Ren's steps.
Ren had already turned to leave with Corvin, thinking that the Captain was done with them, but Axton's voice paused his departure.
Slowly, he turned and faced Axton once more, "Yes, Captain." His voice was clear as he spoke.
"What did you feel?" Axton strode over to Ren, standing a foot away from him.
Ren furrowed his brows, not quite understanding what Axton was asking.
"What do you mean?" He asked gently, raising his face to meet Axton's gaze.
Axton stared into Ren's green eyes. He was gradually realising that Ren didn't seem as guarded as before.
He'd never questioned him so comfortably in the past or looked into his eyes.
He wasn't used to it, wasn't used to people looking at him without fear in their eyes. For a second, he almost felt like he wanted to let his own guard down since he felt no threat from Ren, but he didn't.
He never let his guard down, especially not with someone who had infiltrated his Faction in a disguise. He believed that Ren would always have an ulterior motive with him, and it was best to stay alert beside him.
Axton looked away from Ren and cleared his throat, "When you touched Code, what did you feel? Why did you smile?" He asked, his face etched with a frown as he recalled how Ren had smiled at the patient.
Ren blinked, "Oh..." He sighed quietly, "I, I didn't feel anything, not like what he felt. I was simply happy I could relieve him for a few seconds." He glanced at the smaller table beside the floor-to-ceiling window.
Axton watched Ren's face, observing the way his eyes dimmed as he spoke about his experience. He looked different, so different. He wasn't the guarded, stubborn Ren, who was always secretly wishing he could defy his captain.
He looked so empathetic, as if he'd experienced it before.
"He reminded me of my sister. She always loved it each time I held her..." Ren murmured, blinking slowly as Mira's weak and smiling face popped up in his mind.
"Do you want to go to her?' Axton's controlled voice questioned.
Ren immediately snapped his head back to Axton when he heard his question; he stared at Axton's face, trying to figure out if he was serious or not, but he couldn't tell anything from Axton's unreadable face.
"You will let me go?" Ren tilted his head to the side in observation.
Axton stepped closer, his eyes observing the healing wound on Ren's cheek and neck.
"Will I let you go?" Axton cocked a cold brow at Ren, clenching his jaws.
Ren got his answer, Axton was just trying to test him.
"No. You're never letting me go until I'm exhausted and dead," Ren answered, sighing in defeat.
Axton's gaze hardened, his fingers went under Ren's chin to pull his face up, "It's good you know that. You're my property, Renault. Your sister isn't your business anymore..." His hand went down Ren's neck as if he wanted to choke him, but he didn't.
Ren gulped against Axton's hand, forcing his eyes to stay on Axton's. He didn't want to appear scared. It'll only give Axton the satisfaction he craved.
"We had a deal, Renault. I provide your Faction with serum, you stay here, with me, being whatever I want you to be, doing whatever I want you to do. Leaving is never an option, am I clear?" Axton's voice was low, his silver eyes charging over Ren's face.
Ren nodded, "I understand, Captain."
'I hate you so much! Monster!' Ren wished he could scream at Axton's stupid face.
"Good," Axton said with a firm nod.
He lowered his hands to Ren's shoulders, holding him steady. He should let him go, send him away from his office, but he didn't. He wasn't done with him.
Ren felt highly uncomfortable. He expected Axton to release him, not hold onto his shoulder, and stare at his face in the puzzle.
"Captain?" Ren called cautiously.
Axton clenched his jaw, narrowing his eyes at Ren, "You're annoying, you know that?" He asked out of the blue.
Ren frowned, surprised, "What did I do?" He questioned Axton for the second time.
"From now on, you don't go anywhere outside this building without my order. Do you understand?" His eyes took in Ren's puzzled face.
"Yes, Captain," Ren had to answer even though he couldn't understand why Axton seemed pissed at him.
Axton was about to say something but gently released Ren when he heard footsteps approaching outside his door.
"Step to the side," He commanded and returned to his chair.
A knock came from the door the moment he lowered himself to the chair.
"What is it, Lieutenant," Axton spoke into a small device on his table.
"Captain, Commander Jax, and Commander Mark are here as appointed," Rhys's voice replied from the device.
"Let them in," Axton said and glanced at Ren, who stood beside the wall, staring at the floor.
His eyes went to the door as Rhys walked inside the office.
Two commanders, two sergeants, and... a woman?
Ren couldn't believe his eyes. He snapped his eyes to Axton to see his reaction to seeing a real woman in his Faction, but his face remained unreadable; Ren couldn't tell if he was pleased, surprised, or aroused.
Women were a scarce commodity, almost as important as a serum... a serum for horny men.
Ren turned and kept staring at the woman, apart from his sister, he'd never seen any other woman for the last six years. He felt like he was seeing something from a different world, unreal.
The woman was beautiful and well-groomed.
Her dark hair was trimmed to her shoulder length, he skin radiant, a testimony to good feeding. Her eyes were as brown as earth, warm and dazzling.
However, Ren almost choked on his saliva when he looked past her shoulders.
'How could they dress her like this?!' He thought angrily.