The compound was much less complicated than Serix originally thought. Most of the branching corridors just led to more storage rooms, which led to even more storage rooms. The humans had overflowing amounts of supplies and ample places to keep them stowed. If only his and Cassie’s hangar had had this many provisions, they never would have had to leave in the first place! At least, it would have been much longer before they had to risk confronting the other Lunairans.

Thinking of them led Serix to wonder what they were doing now. Most of the Scouts had been killed in the battle with the humans, so he couldn’t imagine the higher powers just sitting back and letting them off the hook. And then there was the pilot. As far as Serix knew, he was still somewhere on Earth. The higher powers wouldn’t let him slide, either. He lost five or more Lunairans in that fight, and they were already toeing the line of extinction. They definitely wouldn’t be happy with his performance that morning. The question was: where was the pilot now?

Serix was pulled from his thoughts when their guide led them into a large chamber filled with various plants. It looked like a huge garden, a scaled-up version of the one on the Lunairan ship but with different crops. A few humans tended the underground fields and groves, which flourished with what looked like edible fruits and vegetation. Serix had been mostly unimpressed with the tour until now, but at the sight of this garden, he couldn’t help the soft exclamation of surprise that escaped his lips, “Wow.”

The green-eyed human tossed Cassie a fruit from one of the harvested piles, [b]“Go ahead. Try it. Tastes just like they did years ago.”[/b]

After a moment, Cassie did what he said and bit into the fruit. [b]“It does still taste just like I remember!”[/b] she smiled and offered the rest to Serix. [b]“These used to grow here on Earth, before the plague took over and the farmers stopped planting.”[/b]

Serix curiously turned the fruit over in his hands. It was a deep red color, with a soft, white interior where Cassie had bitten into it. He lifted it to his lips and bit off a piece. His eyes widened. The fruit was ever more flavorful than the canned food Cassie had back in the hangar. He finished the rest of it while they walked, casually memorizing rooms and hallways as their guide showed them around the rest of the compound. Eventually, he led them to a dining area filled with the entire half-blood population. Serix hung back slightly when heads started turning in their direction. He could still see hostility in the eyes of the humans who met his gaze.

[b]“Hey Conner,”[/b] a female got up and approached the group. She was carrying a small child at her hip. Serix looked down at it curiously. It looked almost identical to a Lunairan infant, apart from the eyes, of course. The baby stared back at him and broke out in a wide, innocent smile. It was the friendliest expression Serix had received since he arrived at the compound. He couldn’t help but grin back.

[b]“And I see you’ve brought a friend?”[/b] Serix startled when the female reached for his hand. She gave it a firm shake in what he could only assume was a human gesture of greeting.

[b]“Emily,”[/b] The green-eyed male carefully pulled her away, looking wary. [b]“Don’t get to close to it.”[/b] The female turned and gave him a chiding look, handing over her child to him. Serix guessed that the male, Conner, was her mate.

[b]“Oh, shush, you,”[/b] Emily said. [b]“As much as you don’t like to think it, we’re all half Lunairan. Not all of their kind is bad. We should all know that form out parents.”[/b] It was then that Serix decided he liked this human. She was the most reasonable one he had come across so far, and she was even willing to give him a chance to prove that he wasn’t like the more supremacist members of the Lunairan society.

Cassie went on to chat with Emily, giving her their names and explaining their relationship, and Emily led them over to get some food, introducing a few more of the humans in the dining hall when they found a table to sit at. The two that Emily called Jerald and Sarah caught his eye. They both had fiery red hair, a color he remembered Cassie mentioning at some point but he had never actually seen until now. The diversity of humans continued to fascinate him.

The female, Sarah wasn’t nearly as impressed. She crossed her arms, [b]“What’s the alien doing out and about? Shouldn’t he be in the hold?”[/b]

Serix was about to tell her where [i]she[/i] should go, but Cassie spoke first, [b]“He’s not going to the hold. He’s staying with me.”[/b]

The red-haired female only laughed, [b]“Whoa, someone’s vicious. Have to say, you’re the first girl here besides me who has even a little spunk in her. Good for you.”[/b]

[b]“Oh, leave them alone, Sarah,”[/b] Emily spoke up. [b]“At least let them get settled in before you start harassing them like you do everyone else.”[/b]

The banter went on, but Serix stopped listening when he saw Ryan enter the room. Predictably, the human leader headed straight for Cassie, making himself right at home beside her at the table. Serix glared at him and held on to Cassie’s hand as he began to speak, [b]“How have things been so far, Castiel?”[/b]

[b]“It’s Cassie, Ryan,”[/b] she said in reply. [b]“You know I don’t go by Castiel anymore.”[/b]

[b]“I’ll always call you that,”[/b] Ryan said in a teasing way that made Serix’s blood boil. [b]“Just because it annoys you.”[/b] The human finally took notice of his presence and gave him a disgusted look. [b]“And what happened to you staying behind, huh? Threaten anyone into letting you come along?”[/b]

[b]“Knock it off, Ryan,”[/b] Cassie said warningly before Serix could respond. [b]“I wanted him to come.”[/b]

[b]“Fine, whatever,”[/b] Ryan muttered. [b]“Well, now that you’ve had the tour, I was think maybe me and you could go and just talk some more after dinner.”[/b] He glanced at Serix. [b]“Alone.”[/b]

“Anything you say to her, you can say to me, too,” Serix spoke up challengingly.

“Not everything is about you, you know,” Ryan snapped at him. “I just want some time to catch up with my dear old friend.” He rested a hand on Cassie’s shoulder.

“Well, then you can pretend I’m not there,” Serix retorted, pointedly wrapping his arm around Cassie’s waist and holding her to his side. Ryan was getting far too touchy with his mate, and he needed to be reminded that she was off-limits. “You’ve been doing a fine job of ignoring me so far.”

“Don’t test me, alien,” Ryan narrowed his eyes. Serix’s gesture had obviously struck a nerve. “I’ve been courteous to you so far, but I still have an empty hold with your name on it.” He smirked when Serix glared at him. “Because I’m feeling generous, I’ll just ask for one hour with her alone. You can see her again afterwards, okay?”

Serix hesitated for a moment and then let out a reluctant sigh, “Fine. Just don’t go far.” He turned to Cassie and whispered in her ear, “I’ll be fine out here. Remember what I taught you about panic links. If this creep tried to do anything to you, you call for me right away, got it?” He kissed her and shot Ryan a challenging look. The human just glowered at him in response, his lip slightly curled.

“Come on, Castiel,” Ryan said, standing up from the table and offering Cassie a hand. “Let’s go have a chat.”