She knew better than to complain as Vrox placed her on their bed and peeped outside. While she knew Akdronis well enough to decide to confront him, she didn't know the men that were coming their way. This was one of the instances where she needed to entrust her safety to Vrox.

Ni'ev and the others scrambled outside. Her heartbeat synced with their thundering footsteps, waiting for the worst to take down the gates.

"Did anyone see you?" Rokan asked.

"No," Draekon assured.

"This is good. We must act normal, then."

The men mumbled with an agreement, their tones cloudy with apprehension. Kira fanned out her dress, suddenly feeling hot. Suddenly, the sounds of the men's footsteps hushed, throwing her into silence. She was left wishing that the men's stomping returned just so she had something other than thoughts to focus on.

Someone sliced metal through a coat of fur, and Kyros faked a conversation with Ni'ev about pottery. Their theatrics of a calm group going about their day was interrupted by a thump on the gates, or was that her heartbeat? It was hard to distinguish the two.

"Mothers!" an unrecognizable voice boomed, competing against the knocks on the gates.

"Mothers!" Draekon returned. "Who are you?"

"I am L'andris. I am here with my brothers."

"And what is your business here?" Draekon continued.

"There is a rumor going around that a male was spotted with a female. We are looking for her."

Damn it! Someone must have seen Ak with Nebula or me when we were running around the fucking jungle.

Vrox tensed, and his claws stabbed the rocky wall he was clutching. She half-expected the roof to cave in on them.

"A female!" Kyros mocked. "Has your mind rotted? Did you forget about The Vanishing that happened fifteen snowfalls ago?"

"If you would open your gates, you would see that I am healthy in both mind and body."

"We have nothing to hide," Kyros continued, "so we will allow you inside our camp."

Vrox turned around to face her, his face conjuring an expression so dark that weakness plagued her knees. He dove into the large chests that sat behind the bed, opening the one stocked with linens and shoving them under the bed.

He looked at her, and she read his mind. With a gulp, she walked forward and stepped into the chest. It was broad enough to fit her if she bent properly, but it was far from being a luxurious bed.

She awkwardly hugged her knees to her chest and tried to ban discomfort from her face. Vrox hated when she so as much bent down to pick something up, so she could only imagine his horror to see her limbs twisted.

He fell to his knees and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, muttering, "I will be right here," before submerging her in darkness.

The gates slammed shut at the same time the chest did.

"I thought you said you were healthy, old man?" Kyros laughed. "You must be great at hunting during snowfalls, given that you probably camouflage into the snow with all that white hair."

"I may not be as young as I used to be, but I can hold a fight!" L'andris threw back.

"But can you mount a female? What is the point of looking for one if your cock no longer works?"

"Enough," a new voice cut in. "We will look for the female, and we will leave if we do not find her."

"What makes you think we have her?" Rokan asked.

"She was seen in these parts. Do not worry. If we find her, we will share her. I only want a few minutes. It has been so long..." He adopted longing into his pause, like a lover staring into the distance as he reminisced on the past.

The chest no longer seemed so small. Kira wished that the walls would keep shrinking so that she could disappear altogether and become untouchable.

"You," L'andris spoke up. "Your scaling pattern looks royal. Are you a descendant of the Commander?"

Kira knew that the scaling patter of Vrox, Draekon, Ni'ev, and Akdronis was different from Kyros and Rokan. While Vrox and the others had diamond-shaped scales, the others had much more random scaling.

"Yes. You are currently disrespecting the camp of the Commander's surviving sons," Draekon answered.

"We mean no disrespect to you or your ancestors, highsir," one of the intruders added. "But you must understand that we have lived long lives. We all deserve to enjoy the last woman of Ezron. Surely, she was sent as a gift from the fates for all of us."

She was a gift from the fates? A gift that they had a right to gang rape?

Although she wasn't a warrior, her fingers ached with a craving for a sword. She was enraged enough to swing until all that remained was alien guts.

"We would have no problems with sharing," Kyros insisted. "Go ahead and look for this female. Let us know if you find her," he chuckled.

Although she knew he was acting, the cruelty of his words frosted what little composure she had left.

With Kyros' permission, the men separated and began to hunt. Their footsteps drummed a slow, sinister beat, bringing forth the raging bulls and the single horn that hanged between their legs.

She was shaking so aggressively that she feared the box would start trembling as well.

Cloth flapped.

"Who are you?" a gruff, unknown voice asked.

The answer "Vrox," came from the only lips she wanted against her.

"Why are you not outside with the others?"

"Can a man not get some rest in his dwelling?"

"We are looking for–"

"A female, yes, I heard," Vrox interjected. "As you can see, I am alone, so you can continue your delusional search elsewhere."

"You should lower your speaking. I am twice your age."

"Let me correct myself," Vrox offered.

"Yes," the other man agreed. "You would do good in doing so."

"I am Vrox, of the high family Ezron."

"I offer you and your ancestors my apologies. I did not know that you were highborn."

"Begone!" Vrox roared.

The intruder left, joining the party outside. The men continued their search, and Kira realized that she had lost blood flow in her left leg.

"We found nothing. We shall leave."

"If you find her, please do stop by again so that we may have our turn between her thighs," Kyros encouraged.

"Of course."

The gates opened and closed. Immediately afterward, the chest lid was ripped off, and Vrox dug her out. She gasped, overwhelmed by the fresh air in her lungs and the continuation of blood flow in her legs.

"Kira," Vrox wheezed as he crushed her against his chest. She could feel his heart racing at a dangerous speed– a strange sensation since she was used to hearing its slow, strong thumps at night.

"Are th-ey gone?" she stuttered, teeth clattering from the frostbite that was fear.

"Yes. It was mother herself that held me back from staining the camp with blood," he mumbled before kissing her hair.

She believed him.

"Vrox?" Rokan called out from outside.

"Do not come in!" he raged at the entrance. "I need a moment."

He held her weight, and she was glad for the support because she knew that she would have melted onto the ground if he wasn't wrapped around her.

"I'm okay, Vrox."

He didn't answer.

–

The next few days were stiff. The men set up a watch system, making her feel guilty because they were losing hours of sleep just to keep her safe.

Vrox was quieter than usual, looking solemn, as if he had already lost her. She no longer heard Kyros' bright laugher or Ni'ev's slow chuckles. She no longer heard Rokan's curses when Kyros annoyed him. Not even Vee was chirping.

She hated this change. She hated those maniacs for entering their colorful home and polluting it with reality.

To ease Vrox's worrying, she made sure to say indoors for the past two days. He stood by her side, only leaving when it was his turn to patrol.

"Kira."

She set down the jewel she had been examining, giving Vrox her undivided attention.

"The others and I were talking. We think it is best to move south to The Ruins."

She blinked.

The Ruins? According to what Vrox taught her, The Ruins had once been Ezron's capital– his home. After The Vanishing, people fled and left chaos in their wake.

"Is there a camp there?"

"Mothers, no. There is only fallen stone there, but we can rebuild. It will be safe because no one goes there anymore."

She smiled. "That sounds great."

He returned her smile before looking at the entrance as if waiting for someone to storm inside. He barely touched her anymore, his fists being too busy clenching all day.

"Hey," she spoke up. "I have an idea."

"Yes?"

"On Earth, I did this thing called yoga," she said, getting off the bed with his help. "It will help relax you. It looks something like this."

She began to stretch, demonstrating the few poses she knew.

"Female."

She looked over at shoulder and found Vrox's eyes set on her ass.

"I thought you this was supposed to relax me. My cock does not feel relaxed, Kira."

She laughed. Slowly but surely, she was getting her Vrox back.