Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 349: The Ultimate Betrayal

Chapter 349: The Ultimate Betrayal

Dragging my eyes away from the water, I looked at Colt. "Where does anything come from?" I asked, cocking my head to the side as I looked at him.

"Is it safe?" asked another survivor. Her voice was soft, and she was clutching a child in her arms while another one was holding onto her leg. While I could feel her fear, I also knew that she had to be strong to keep the children alive up to this point. Not to mention, the one in her arms couldn’t have been more than a year or two, which meant that she had to have given birth in the apocalypse.

That there was a queen.

"Nothing is safe in this world," I replied. Watching her stiffen, I guessed that she hadn’t meant for anyone to hear her question. "But it will be safe for you," I continued, looking down at the children.

They were remarkably well-behaved, seeing as they weren’t screaming or carrying on. Most of the adults I had met in this world weren’t nearly as calm as they were. "Dante," I called out. "Désiré."

My two men quickly walked over to my side, and I smiled at the woman. "Dante and Désiré will take the kids on board the ship and get them settled. That way, you don’t have to worry."

"No, thank you," replied the woman, her face turning blank as she stared me down. "I can take care of my own kids."

"I know you can," I said, a little confused. "But even if something happens and they fall in the water, those dolphins won’t touch anyone near one of my guys."

"How do you know that?" demanded another person being carried over by Ronan. The man’s leg was clearly healing, but not enough for him to get onto the boat by himself.

"Every being in the universe recognizes a predator when they see it. My guys are high enough on the food chain that nothing will bother them." And it was true.

"I don’t believe you," shrugged the woman, shifting the child in her arms before walking toward the gangplank. One of the suitcases was still sitting on the boards, waiting for its owner to come collect it.

Letting out a long sigh, I walked over to where the water was now level with the window. Lifting up my arm, I waved it around so that everyone could see it, and then I stuck it in the water.

The grey silhouettes darted over to where my hand was, and I could hear Sadie gasping in fear, even as Colt held her back. "It’s fine," I assured her as the first head popped out of the water. Reaching forward, I rubbed the rubbery skin.

"Aren’t you just the cutest thing in the world?" I purred as the dolphin hybrid chirped back at me, nodding his head up and down. Another one popped up next to him, demanding my attention. However, instead of me petting it, Dante simply patted the thing on the head.

Clearly affronted, the dolphin let out a harsh squeak before taking off, trying to get as far away from Dante as possible.

"Can I have one?" I asked the man beside me. Looking up at him, I gave him my best smile.

"No, Hattie, no mutated dolphins," replied Dante, rubbing my hair. "The moat already had Tink, and I don’t think he’d be happy if, all of a sudden, there were a bunch of dolphins in there with him."

"But Tink needs a friend! And what is more friendly than a man-eating dolphin?" I demanded. No longer paying attention to the man, I started rubbing the dolphin’s face with both hands and kissing it on his nose.

If you ignored the stench of blood, the thing really was cute and clean.

"No," sighed Luca as he came to my other side. "I have to side with Dante on this one. Besides, the dolphin might not even like Country M, let alone O City. He has his friends and family here; let’s not take him away from them."

"Fine," I grumbled, giving the dolphin another kiss before letting it swim away. "But that means you can’t say no to the next pet I want."

Dante simply shook his head before turning to the other woman with a smile on his face. "I get that you can handle everything by yourself, but in this case, you don’t have to. Let Désiré and I help. The building really isn’t going to last much longer."

The woman didn’t say a single word, but her face spoke volumes. "Thank you," she said, her mouth in a thin line of displeasure as she handed the younger child to Dante. "But if anything happens to them, I am going to skin you alive."

Désiré rolled his eyes before plucking the older child off of his mother’s leg and bringing him over to me. "Look," he whispered to the boy. "She always has candy. If you ask nicely, I am sure that she can give you a piece."

I froze at his words, not believing what had just come out of his mouth. I had been betrayed by most of the important people in my life. I had suffered countless abuse, and after all this time in the apocalypse, I knew that people would stab you in the back to get something from you.

But I never thought that Désiré would betray me to that extent. He had given me his shard. Our lives are interconnected with each other on a fundamental level. It should be impossible for him to turn his back on me... and yet... he has.

"You expect me to share my candy?" I demanded, my voice breaking halfway through the sentence.

Désiré burst out laughing at the look on my face, twisting the knife that he had just put in my heart. "Only one piece," he assured me. "But this kid has been a rockstar; he deserves a reward.

"Can I get a piece of candy for my sister, too?" asked the boy, his voice soft and sweet. In fact, it was so soft and sweet that it was giving me a rash to listen to it.

"Two!" I gasped, clutching my head. "Two pieces of candy?"

It was the ultimate betrayal.