Aria Chen POV
Ryn lunged at Kael.
I threw myself between them without thinking. "Stop!"
They both froze, inches from tearing each other apart. Ryn's eyes—storm-gray and wild—locked onto mine. Something electric passed between us, making my skin prickle.
"Move," Ryn growled. "This doesn't concern you."
"Doesn't concern me?" I jabbed a finger at the glowing mark on my neck. "You're fighting over me like I'm a piece of meat! Everything about this concerns me!"
Through the bond, I felt Kael's surge of possessive pride. It made me want to punch him.
"She's right," Kael said, though his claws were still extended. "We don't have time for this. The Blood Moon Tribe—"
A howl split the air. Close. Too close.
"They're coming," Ryn said flatly. "And now they know what you are." His eyes fixed on me again. "They'll never stop hunting you."
The glowing screen pulsed:
URGENT: SEEK SHELTER
NEAREST SAFE ZONE: 2.3 KM NORTH
WARNING: CURRENT CONDITION - CRITICAL
I looked down at myself. Blood soaked through my torn clothes—mine and Kael's mixed together. My leg had swollen to twice its normal size. My vision kept blurring at the edges.
"I can't run anymore," I admitted. Even standing hurt. "Just leave me. Save yourselves."
"No." Kael and Ryn said it at the same time, then glared at each other.
Another howl, closer now. Branches snapped in the distance.
"Can you carry her?" Ryn asked Kael.
"In my lion form, yes. But I'm weakened from the bond." Kael touched his chest where the matching mark glowed beneath his skin. "I've never felt anything like this. She's pulling energy from me."
"Then I'll carry her," Ryn said.
"You're not bonded to her."
"Not yet."
The words hung in the air like a threat. Or a promise.
Through the bond, Kael's jealousy burned so hot it made my throat tight. I grabbed his arm.
"Stop," I said quietly. "I can feel what you're feeling. It's too much. I can't think."
His eyes widened. "You can feel—"
"Everything." I pressed my hand to my chest. "Your anger. Your fear. That giant hole inside you where someone used to be." My voice cracked. "Who did you lose?"
He flinched like I'd slapped him. Through the bond, grief crashed over me—so deep and dark it stole my breath. Images flashed through my mind: a female with golden hair, two small cubs playing, then blood, so much blood, screaming—
I gasped and pulled my hand back, breaking the connection. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"We need to move. Now." Kael's voice was cold, empty. He turned to Ryn. "Transform. You're faster than me right now."
Ryn nodded and began to change, but his eyes never left me. As his body shifted into the huge silver wolf, I saw something in his expression that made my stomach flip.
Hunger. Not for food. For connection.
The same loneliness that ate at Kael lived inside Ryn too. I could see it even without a bond.
What kind of world is this, where everyone is so desperately alone?
Ryn lowered himself, and Kael lifted me onto the wolf's back. I grabbed handfuls of silver fur, trying not to think about how insane this was.
"Go to the Shadow Caves," Kael told Ryn. "I'll lead them away."
"That's suicide," I said. "You're weakened. You said so yourself."
"I'll survive. I always do." But through the bond, I felt his lie. He didn't think he'd make it. He was choosing to die so I could escape.
"No," I said firmly. "We all go together or nobody goes."
"You don't understand—"
"I understand you're about to do something stupid and heroic, and I'm not going to let you die because of me!"
Kael stared at me, shocked. Then, impossibly, he smiled. "You really are different from other females."
"I'm different from anyone in this crazy place." I held out my hand to him. "Come with us. Please."
The howls erupted around us—at least twenty different voices. We were surrounded.
Kael transformed into his lion form and roared a challenge. The enemies answered with their own roars. They burst from the trees on all sides.
Ryn ran.
The world blurred into motion. Trees, rocks, streams—everything passed in a rush. Behind us, the sounds of pursuit grew louder. I looked back and saw Kael fighting, his massive body tearing through enemies, buying us time.
Through the bond, I felt every wound he took. Every slash of claws. Every bite.
"He's dying," I gasped. "Ryn, he's dying! We have to go back!"
Ryn pushed harder, faster, but I felt it through the bond—Kael's heartbeat slowing, his strength fading.
"No, no, no!" I screamed.
The glowing screen blazed:
CRITICAL: BONDED MATE IN DANGER
ACTIVATE EMERGENCY HEAL?
WARNING: WILL DRAIN 90% OF YOUR LIFE FORCE
"Yes! Do it! Save him!"
EMERGENCY HEAL ACTIVATED
Golden light exploded from my body, so bright it turned the forest into day. It shot backward like a beam, connecting me to Kael across the distance. Through the bond, I felt the light pour into him—my life, my energy, everything I had.
His wounds began to close. His strength returned.
But mine vanished.
I slumped forward onto Ryn's back, everything going gray and distant. My heartbeat slowed. My breathing became shallow.
Worth it, I thought as darkness pulled me under. At least I saved him.
Ryn skidded to a stop and transformed back to human form, catching me as I fell. His face loomed above me, panicked.
"What did you do?" he shouted. "Your heartbeat—you're barely alive!"
"Saved... Kael..." I managed to whisper.
"You stupid, brave woman." Ryn pressed his hand to my chest, and I felt warmth flow into me. Not as strong as what I'd given Kael, but enough to keep me breathing. "Don't you dare die. Do you hear me? Don't you dare."
Through my fading vision, I saw tears on his face. He barely knew me, but he was crying.
"Why... do you care?" I breathed.
He touched my face so gently. "Because the moment I saw you, I felt it. The bond trying to form. You're supposed to be mine too."
The glowing screen flickered:
MATE BOND DETECTED
RYN: COMPATIBLE
INITIATE BOND? Y/N
"No," I whispered. "Not... like this. Not because... a screen tells me to..."
His expression crumpled. "Then you reject me?"
"I reject... the system. Not you." I grabbed his hand weakly. "Don't let it... control us..."
A new roar echoed through the forest—different from before. Deeper, more terrifying. The ground shook.
Ryn's eyes went wide with fear. "No. Not him. Not now."
"Who?" I managed to ask.
A massive shadow fell over us both. I tilted my head back and saw something that made my dying brain think I'd finally lost my mind completely.
A man stood above us, but his skin was covered in black scales that shimmered like oil. His eyes glowed violet. When he smiled, his teeth were sharp as needles.
"Well," he said, his voice smooth as poison. "What do we have here? The fallen goddess and her desperate wolf." He crouched down, studying me like I was an interesting insect. "I felt your power from miles away. That healing light—magnificent."
Ryn pulled me closer, protective. "Stay back, Thorne."
"Or what? You'll fight me?" Thorne laughed. "You can barely stand, and she's more dead than alive." He reached out one scaled finger and touched my cheek.
His touch burned like ice and fire together. But underneath the pain, something else happened. The glowing mark on my neck pulsed, reacting to him.
Through my fading consciousness, I heard the system chime:
MATE BOND DETECTED
THORNE: COMPATIBLE
WARNING: THORNE'S TOUCH IS FATAL TO ALL FEMALES
EXCEPTION: GODDESS-CLASS IMMUNITY DETECTED
"Impossible," Thorne breathed. He pressed his whole palm to my face, and I felt power surge between us—dark and intoxicating. "You're not dying from my poison. No one survives my touch. No one."
He looked at me with an expression I couldn't read. Wonder. Terror. Desperate hope.
"Who are you really?" he whispered.
I tried to answer, but darkness finally claimed me. My last thought was of the three men—the lion, the wolf, and the serpent—and the bonds trying to chain me to them.
The system's final message burned across my dying vision:
TIME REMAINING TO BOND SECOND MATE: 36 HOURS
FAILURE WILL RESULT IN KAEL'S DEATH
CHOOSE WISELY
Then everything went black.