Kael's POV
The bat-creature never saw me coming.
I slammed into it with the full force of my tiger form, claws extended, fangs bared. We hit the ground in a tangle of fur and leathery wings. It shrieked—a sound that made my ears ring—and tried to sink its venomous fangs into my shoulder.
I was faster.
My jaws closed around its throat. One brutal twist, and it went limp.
I dropped the corpse and shifted back to human form, breathing hard. Blood dripped from scratches on my chest and arms, but I barely felt them.
Because Mira was staring at me with wide, shocked eyes, and all I could think was: she almost died.
"What are you DOING here?" she gasped.
"Saving your reckless life!" The words came out as a roar. "What are YOU doing here? In the Cursed Lands? With MONSTERS?"
"Getting antivenom ingredients!" She pointed at the shadow serpents coiled along the black river. "I need their venom glands to make a cure!"
"You need—" I stopped. Stared at her. "You flew into the most dangerous place in the Beastworld to gather ingredients? Instead of letting me claim you and keep you safe?"
"Safe as a slave?" Her voice rose to match mine. "Safe while my patients die because I gave up?"
"Safe ALIVE!" I grabbed her shoulders. "Do you understand what would have happened if I hadn't followed? That bat-creature would have torn you apart! Soren's injured! And those serpents—" I gestured at the mass of deadly snakes. "—will kill you the second you get close!"
"Then help me!" she shouted back. "Instead of yelling at me for trying, help me get what I need!"
The fury in her eyes matched my own. This tiny human female, standing in a cursed forest surrounded by monsters, demanding I help her do something suicidal.
She was magnificent.
And absolutely infuriating.
"Fine," I growled. "But you do exactly what I say. No arguments. No heroics. Understand?"
She nodded quickly.
I looked at Soren, who was clutching his bleeding chest. "Can you fly?"
"Not far. That thing got my wing." He grimaced. "But I can keep watch."
"Do it. Scream if anything else comes." I turned to Mira. "How many venom glands do you need?"
"Three. Fresh ones." Her hands were shaking, but her voice stayed steady. "And I need the clear membrane from inside their mouths—it contains natural antibodies."
Of course she did.
"Stay behind me." I shifted back to tiger form. In this shape, I was faster, stronger, deadlier. The serpents would see me as the bigger threat.
I hoped.
We approached the riverbank slowly. The shadow serpents were huge—twenty feet long, black scales that shimmered with oily rainbows. Their eyes tracked our movement.
One raised its head and hissed, fangs dripping venom.
"Mira," I said carefully. "When I attack, you have maybe thirty seconds before the others swarm. Can you harvest what you need that fast?"
"I'll have to." Her voice was tight with fear.
"On my signal." I crouched, muscles coiled. "Three... two... one... NOW!"
I lunged.
The lead serpent struck at me. I dodged, grabbed it behind the head with my jaws, and slammed it into the ground. It thrashed wildly, but I held on, pinning it.
"Go!" I roared around my mouthful of serpent.
Mira ran forward with a small knife—where had she gotten that?—and started cutting with surgeon's precision. Blood sprayed. The serpent writhed harder.
The other serpents began to move toward us.
"Faster!" I snarled.
"Almost—got it!" She yanked something free—a pale, dripping sac. The venom gland. She shoved it into a cloth pouch.
The other serpents were ten feet away. Five feet.
"Mira!"
"One more second!" She cut into the serpent's mouth, her hands steady despite everything. "Got the membrane! GO!"
I released the dying serpent and we ran.
The swarm of snakes followed, hissing fury.
Soren appeared, shifted to eagle form. "Get on!"
Mira climbed onto his back. I shifted to human form and grabbed on behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist.
Soren launched into the air just as the serpents reached us. Fangs snapped at my feet.
We cleared the trees, soaring upward into the night sky.
My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might explode. We'd survived. Barely.
Mira twisted in my grip to look at me. Her face was splattered with serpent blood, her hair wild, her eyes blazing.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"Don't thank me yet." I tightened my arm around her. "We still have to make it back before dawn. And you still have to create an antivenom you've never made before."
"I can do it." Her confidence was either bravery or insanity. Maybe both.
"How much time?" Soren called.
I looked at the sky. The stars were beginning to fade. "One hour. Maybe less."
"I can't fly that fast with two passengers and an injured wing." Soren's voice was strained. "We're not going to make it."
Mira's face went pale. "My patients—"
"Will die, and you'll become Lyssa's slave." I kept my voice flat, emotionless, even though rage burned through my veins. "Unless we find another way."
"What other way?" Mira demanded. "We're in the middle of the Cursed Lands with no time!"
I made a decision. Probably a stupid one. But it was the only option left.
"There's a blood ritual," I said quietly. "Old magic. It can give you temporary access to my speed and strength."
"How temporary?"
"An hour. Maybe two. Long enough to run back on foot while Soren rests."
"That sounds perfect!" Mira twisted to face me fully. "Why didn't you mention this before?"
"Because it has a cost." I met her eyes. "The ritual creates a bond between us. Not a full mate bond, but close enough that you'll feel my emotions and I'll feel yours. It can't be broken."
Her breath caught. "Ever?"
"Ever." I forced the words out. "You'll be tied to me for the rest of your life. You might hate that eventually. Hate me. But if you want to save those males and beat Lyssa..."
I left the choice hanging between us.
Mira stared at me for a long moment. I watched emotions flicker across her face—fear, determination, something softer I couldn't name.
"How do we do the ritual?" she asked.
"You're sure?" My chest felt tight. "Once done, there's no going back."
"I'm sure." Her jaw set stubbornly. "I won't let those males die. And I won't be anyone's slave."
Pride surged through me. This female. This impossible, courageous, reckless female.
"Soren, land," I commanded.
We dropped into a clearing. I pulled out my knife and cut my palm, then held it out to Mira.
"Cut yours. Press our wounds together. And repeat after me."
She cut her palm without hesitation. Blood welled up, bright red against her pale skin.
Our hands met. Her blood mixed with mine.
I spoke the old words, and she repeated them. The language was ancient, powerful, binding.
Magic crackled through the air.
Then pain exploded through my chest—not physical, but emotional. I felt her fear, her determination, her exhaustion. And underneath it all, something warm. Something that felt like trust.
Did she feel my emotions too? My protectiveness? My growing need to keep her safe at any cost?
Her eyes widened. "I can feel you. In my head. Your... everything."
"And I feel you." My voice came out rougher than intended. "The bond is sealed."
Power flooded into her. I watched her eyes brighten, her posture straighten. My strength was hers now. My speed. My tiger's endurance.
"Whoa," she breathed. "I feel... incredible."
"It won't last forever. We need to move." I looked at Soren. "Fly ahead. Tell them we're coming. Buy us whatever time you can."
He nodded and took off.
I grabbed Mira's hand. "Run. As fast as you can. I'll keep pace."
We ran.
And she was FAST. Inhumanly fast, fueled by my tiger's power. Trees blurred past. The ground disappeared beneath our feet.
Through the bond, I felt her exhilaration. Her wonder at this new strength. Her fierce determination to make it back in time.
We burst out of the Cursed Lands. The village appeared in the distance, torches blazing.
"Fifteen minutes until dawn," I panted. "Can you make the antivenom that fast?"
"I have to." She squeezed my hand. "Let's find out just how much of a miracle worker I really am."
We raced into the village. The crowd gasped at our appearance—blood-covered, wild-eyed, holding hands like our lives depended on it.
Lyssa stood beside my dying patients. She smiled when she saw us.
"Cutting it close, little healer. Your patients have maybe ten minutes left." Her eyes narrowed. "And what's that I sense? A blood bond? How... interesting."
Mira ignored her and dropped beside the patients. She pulled out the venom glands and started working with furious speed.
I watched her hands move—cutting, mixing, extracting. She worked like I fought—with deadly precision and zero hesitation.
But Lyssa was right. The patients had minutes left. Maybe less.
And I realized, with cold certainty, that Lyssa had poisoned them with extra venom while we were gone.
"Mira," I said quietly. "They're worse than when we left."
"I know." Her hands never stopped moving. "She cheated."
"Can you still save them?"
She looked up at me, and through the bond, I felt her answer before she spoke it:
"I don't know."
The first patient's breathing stopped.
Lyssa's laugh rang out like broken glass.
"Game over, little healer. You lose."