The settlement appeared through the trees like something that had grown rather than been built.
Michelle stopped at the forest's edge, one hand braced against a trunk for support. Her knee was past throbbing and had graduated to a steady scream of protest. But the view made her forget the pain for a moment.
Silverwood wasn't like any town she'd expected. Massive trees—easily fifty feet in diameter—had structures carved directly into their trunks, with platforms and walkways spiralling up into the canopy. Rope bridges swayed between the giants, and smaller buildings clustered at ground level like mushrooms around the base of ancient oaks. Smoke rose from multiple fires, and the smell of cooking meat made her stomach clench with hunger.
But it was the people—no, beast-kin—that made her breath catch.
A wolf-man with silver fur was hauling lumber near one of the buildings. A woman with fox ears and three tails was hanging laundry, her movements graceful and unhurried. Near the central fire pit, what looked like bear-kin children were wrestling while their parents watched and laughed. Everyone moved with an ease that suggested this chaotic blend of nature and civilization was perfectly normal.
"This is Silverwood," Kael said beside her, still gloriously naked and completely unbothered by it. "Border settlement. Neutral territory, mostly. It's where different clans trade, rest, and try not to kill each other."
"Mostly?" Michelle repeated.
"Territorial disputes happen. Males fight over all kinds of resources. And you know someone insults someone else's clan." He shrugged. "Try not to get caught in the middle of one."
"Your encouragement is truly inspiring," Michelle muttered, but she straightened her shoulders and limped forward.
They'd barely stepped into the clearing when every conversation stopped.
Michelle felt dozens of eyes snap toward her like she'd triggered some kind of predator response. Wolf-kin, fox-kin, what might have been panther-kin—all of them frozen, staring. Even the children stopped their game to gawk.
"Why are they staring?" Michelle whispered, her hand instinctively reaching for Kael's arm. Not that he could do much if they all decided she looked tasty.
"Because you're human. And female." Kael's hand settled on her lower back warm, possessive, and astonishingly grounding. "They're trying to figure out if you're claimed or not and if you're then by whom so they could decide if they had a chance to win over that claim."
"Claimed?," Michelle repeated flatly. "Like property."
Yes, he thought but said otherwise, "no, to give protection," Kael corrected. "Females are rare here, Michelle. Unclaimed females don't last long—either someone forces a claim, or they end up dead. They're trying to decide if you're worth the risk of challenging me."
Michelle's jaw tightened. "Fantastic. Why am I not surprised of it...I guess I'm used to the worlds with the gender politics feels like its an universal phenomenon."
"I don't know what that means."
"It means I'm going to have opinions about this later."
A hulking silhouette peeled itself out of the shadow of one of the longhouses—wolf-kin, broad-shouldered and tall enough to make the air feel crowded. Black and silver hair framed a face built for trouble, and those ice-blue eyes? Yeah, they didn't look at Michelle so much as through her, like they were checking her soul for spare change. The clearing shifted around him; every beast-kin straightened just enough to say without saying: that's the one in charge.
"He's the Alpha here," Kael murmured.
Michelle's brain, bless its useless academic heart, immediately jumped to: Alpha… like the Greek alphabet? The 'A' one? Fantastic. Truly the survival tip of the century. Because obviously what she needed right now was a linguistics lesson, not the memo that "Alpha" here meant boss wolf who could probably fold her like a lawn chair.
"Lord Kael." The wolf-kin's baritone rolled over them like warm thunder—friendly on the surface, but sharp underneath, like it came with teeth included. "You bring unusual company to Silverwood."
"Alpha Riven." Kael's voice shifted into something clipped and unreadable—not the soft warmth he used with her, not the formal authority he wore like a cloak. "I'm passing through. The human needs shelter while her wounds mend."
Riven finally gave Michelle his full attention. She held her ground only because her legs were too tired to run. His nostrils flared—subtle, but it made every hair on her arms stand up.
"She carries your scent," he observed, "but no mark. Rare for a dragon to leave something unclaimed."
Kael's templed throbbed as frustration slipping in like a draft. " I wasn't in mood. Beside she's a smart adult who can choose for herself." That stirred the crowd. Beast-kin murmured like someone had just announced gravity was optional. Apparently, the idea of a woman deciding her own destiny was a plot twist around here.
Riven's brows lifted. "Fascinating." Then, to Michelle: "And what do you choose, human?"
Michelle lifted her chin despite her exhaustion and the way her knee was threatening to buckle. "I choose not to collapse in your settlement before getting medical attention. Do you have a healer, or should I just bleed quietly in a corner somewhere?"
For a long moment, Riven just stared at her.
"Blunt. I respect that, even when it's ridiculous." Then he bowed a bit—a genuine, and surprising action that broke the tension like shattering glass. "Apologies," He raised his voice, addressing the entire settlement. Then he turned, projecting his voice across the settlement like a command carved in stone.
"The human is protected by Silverwood law while she recovers. Anyone who troubles her will answer before the Beastly Court. Make no mistake."
Silence fell—a taut, obedient silence.
And since stumbling into this wild place, Michelle felt the faintest flicker of safety, though Michelle noticed several males looking distinctly disappointed including her Dragon-mate Kael.
"Settlement law?" Kael's voice had gone dangerously low. "She came here with me. Don't make it political."
"But you said she makes her own choices," Riven countered smoothly. "So let her choose. Dragon protection, or pack safety."
Oh no. Michelle could feel the testosterone ramping up to dangerous levels. Kael's scales were starting to show on his arms, and Riven's canines had definitely gotten longer. Around them, the other beast-kin were backing away, giving the two males space.
"Are you two seriously about to fight over who gets to babysit me?" Michelle snapped. "Because I have a radical idea: how about none of you because I need a competent doctor for treatment. So buzz off!"
Dead silence.
"So a healer wins by default?" a voice broke from crowd and someone whislted too. Then laughs erupted—bright, chittering sound. Michelle turned to see a fox-kin woman with flame-red hair and an amused grin.
"Oh, I like her!" the woman called out. "She's got bite!"
Michelle opened her mouth to respond, and her knee chose that exact moment to give out completely. She would have hit the ground if Kael hadn't caught her, his arm solid around her waist. The world tilted, and Michelle had to close her eyes against a wave of dizziness.
"She has injuries," Kael said, his earlier aggression forgotten. "Where's your healer, Riven?"
The Alpha's expression softened slightly. "Elder Mira. North edge of the settlement. Come on."
He started walking, and Kael followed, half-carrying Michelle. She wanted to protest, to insist she could walk on her own, but the truth was she couldn't. Her knee was done. Her body was done. She was running on fumes and stubbornness.
"What should we call you?" Riven asked over his shoulder.
"Michelle." She leaned heavily against Kael, too tired to care about dignity. "And before you ask—yes, I'm from Earth. No, I don't know how to get back. And no, I'm not interested in being claimed, so you can all stop looking at me like I'm a limited-edition collectible."
More laughter from the watching beast-kin. It was gentler this time, more curious than predatory. Riven's smile was genuine now. "You're going to cause chaos here, Michelle."
"Story of my life," Michelle muttered.
Elder Mira's dwelling was built into the roots of an enormous tree, the entrance framed by flowering vines that smelled faintly of lavender. Inside, it was warm and dim, with herbs hanging from the ceiling and shelves lined with jars and mysterious bundles. A small fire crackled in a stone hearth, and sitting beside it was a rabbit-kin woman with soft gray fur, kind eyes, and an expression that suggested she'd seen everything twice and was still waiting to be impressed.
"Welcome my Lords...Does Lord Kael brings me a patient," she said without looking up from whatever she was grinding in a mortar. "And Alpha's playing escort. This must be interesting."
"She's human," Riven said. "Injured. Needs your expertise."
Now Mira looked up. Her eyes widened slightly when they landed on Michelle, "Well," Mira said softly. "That's unexpected."
Kael helped Michelle to a cushioned seat near the fire, and she bit back a groan as she lowered herself down. Every injury she'd been ignoring for the past day decided to make its presence known all at once.
Mira knelt beside her with surprising grace for someone who looked to be in her sixties. Her hands were gentle as they probed Michelle's knee. "Badly sprained. You've been walking on this?"
"Didn't have much choice," Michelle said through gritted teeth. "It was walk or get eaten."
"Mm." Mira's hands moved to her ribs, pressing carefully. Michelle hissed when she hit a particularly tender spot. "Two cracked ribs. Extensive bruising. Being with Lord Kael you've had quite a safe exist from there."
"Yea, under Kael's protection I got chased by corrupted things, climbed a cliff with a bad knee, dropped a boulder on a zombie dragon, and rode Kael here in his dragon form." Michelle recited it like a checklist. "So yeah, it's been a day."
Kael's lips twitched. "She's sarcastic when injured."
"I'm sarcastic when I'm not injured too," Michelle said. "It's how I cope."
Mira sat back, studying Michelle with an intensity that made her uncomfortable. "You've got spirit, child. That's good. You'll need it here." She stood, moving to her shelves. "I can treat the swelling and brew something for the pain. But you need rest. Real rest."
"How long?" Michelle asked, dreading the answer.
"A week at minimum. Two would be better."
Michelle's heart sank. A week. Two weeks. Stuck here, dependent on strangers, unable to do anything useful. Unable to figure out how to get home.
"She's planning something," Kael said, watching her face. "I recognize that look."
"I'm not planning anything," Michelle lied. "I'm just... processing."
"Mm-hmm." Riven was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, looking far too amused. "And what are you processing?"
Michelle couldn't help herself. The engineer in her needed answers. "How this world works. The magic system, the rift mechanics, whether there's any pattern to where they open or if it's completely random. If anyone's ever successfully reopened one. Whether—"
She stopped, suddenly aware that all three beast-kin were staring at her.
"What?" she said defensively. "I'm a human I ask questions. It's what we do."
Mira laughed—a warm, genuine sound. She handed Michelle a cup filled with something that smelled medicinal and faintly sweet. "Drink this. It'll help with the pain."
Michelle sniffed it suspiciously. "What's in it?"
"Willow bark, honey root, and a few other things. Nothing that will harm you." Mira's eyes twinkled. "I've been treating patients for fifty years, child. Trust me."
There was something odd about the way she said "fifty years"—an emphasis that suggested it meant more than just time. But Michelle was too exhausted to parse subtext. She drank the bitter concoction, trying not to gag.
"You'll stay here while you heal," Mira said, already preparing a poultice. "I have space, and you'll need someone to monitor those injuries."
"I can—" Kael started.
"You can visit," Mira interrupted firmly. "But Michelle needs rest, not a possessive dragon looming over her every minute."
"I don't loom," Kael protested.
"You absolutely loom," Michelle and Riven said simultaneously. She had experience that when she sleeps and he looms over her face and she had to swat him like a fly but how was Riven so sure. They looked at each other in surprise. Riven's mouth quirked.
Mira applied the poultice to Michelle's knee with practiced efficiency. The cool sensation was immediate and blissful. "Stay off this leg as much as possible. The ribs will heal on their own, but try not to do anything strenuous." Michelle muttered. Her eyelids were getting heavy. Whatever was in that tea was working fast. "Thank you. For helping me. " Michelle's eyes were already closing. The medicine, the warmth of the fire, the sheer exhaustion of the past two days—it all crashed over her at once. Her last coherent thought was that she should probably be more paranoid about drinking mysterious potions from rabbit-women in inter-dimensional settlements.
But she was too tired to care. She was asleep before Kael and Riven even left the dwelling.
Outside, under the fading violet sky, the dragon and the wolf stood in silence for a moment.
"She's different," Kael said finally.
"She called us insufferable beasts," Riven pointed out.
"She's not wrong."