Kael POV
The roar that echoed through the Cursed Valley didn't come from any ordinary predator.
It came from a razorback bear—twelve feet tall, covered in blade-like spines, with three heads that could bite through solid rock. The most dangerous creature in the Beastworld. Extinct everywhere else because beast-men hunted them to near death.
One still lived here. In my territory.
I'd been tracking a mountain goat for Maya's dinner when the creature's scent hit me. Old blood, rotted meat, and something chemical that burned my nose. The razorback had been sleeping in a deep cave system for months, maybe years.
My arrival in the valley must have woken it.
And now it was hunting. Following my scent trail back toward the cave where I'd left Maya.
No. Not her. Anyone but her.
I ran faster than I'd ever run, my wolf form taking over. Four legs covered ground better than two. Trees blurred past. My heart hammered against my ribs—not from exertion, from pure terror.
I'd just found her. My fate-marked mate. The female who looked at my cursed valley and saw potential instead of wasteland. Who killed a sabertooth with nothing but clever thinking and rocks.
The female who made me feel something besides the empty ache that had lived in my chest for five years.
I couldn't lose her. Not after one day. Not ever.
The razorback's trail led directly toward my cave. I could smell Maya's blood—she was still bleeding from her injuries, leaving a scent trail any predator could follow.
Stupid. I was stupid to leave her alone. Injured. Helpless.
Another roar shook the ground. Closer now. The razorback had found her.
I pushed my wolf body harder, muscles screaming. The cave came into view and my blood turned to ice.
The razorback stood outside the cave entrance. Three massive heads swayed on thick necks, all six eyes focused on the opening where Maya hid. Its blade-like spines rattled together, creating a sound like swords scraping.
It couldn't fit inside the cave—too large. But it could wait. Starve her out. Or reach in with one of those massive heads and drag her out in pieces.
I shifted back to my two-legged form mid-run and roared a challenge that came from the deepest part of my wolf soul.
All three heads swiveled toward me.
"That's right," I snarled. "Look at me, you overgrown waste of meat. You want food? Try something that fights back."
The razorback's center head opened its jaws and roared. The sound made my ears ring. Then it charged.
Three tons of muscle, spines, and fury thundered toward me at impossible speed. Most beast-men would run. Smart ones would climb or hide.
I'd been a war chief. I didn't run.
I dodged left as the first head snapped at me, jaws closing on empty air. The second head swung around and I rolled under it. But the third head caught my shoulder, teeth sinking deep into muscle.
Pain exploded through my body. The razorback lifted me off the ground, shaking me like a dog with a toy. Blood poured from the wound.
I twisted in its grip and slashed my claws across its eye. The creature dropped me with a shriek of pain.
I hit the ground hard but forced myself to stand. Blood soaked my left side. The shoulder wound was deep—too deep. I could feel my strength draining with each heartbeat.
The razorback backed up, all three heads focused on me now. It was smarter than I'd hoped. It knew I was injured. Weakening. It could wait for me to bleed out.
No. I won't let it reach her.
"Kael!" Maya's voice came from the cave, high and terrified. "Kael, run! You can't fight that thing!"
She was wrong. I could fight it. I just couldn't win.
But I could buy her time. If I fought hard enough, long enough, maybe another beast-man would hear and investigate. Maybe someone would find her after I was dead.
She'll survive. She's clever. She'll figure something out.
The razorback charged again. I met it head-on, claws extended, knowing this was probably my last fight.
Then Maya screamed—not in fear, in fury.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
A rock the size of my fist flew from the cave entrance and struck the razorback's center head perfectly between the eyes. The creature stumbled, confused.
Another rock followed. Then another. Maya was throwing everything she could reach, a barrage of stones pelting the razorback from its blind side.
"What are you doing?" I roared at her. "Stay hidden!"
"Shut up and fight!" she yelled back. "I'm giving you an opening!"
And she was. The razorback turned toward this new annoyance, trying to figure out which threat to focus on.
I didn't waste the chance.
I leaped onto the creature's back, claws digging into the spaces between its blade-spines. The razorback thrashed, trying to shake me off. I held on with pure desperation and climbed higher, aiming for the vulnerable spot where all three necks met the body.
My claws found it. I drove them deep into the soft tissue, ripping through vital arteries.
The razorback's roar turned into a gurgle. Blood fountained from the wound. The creature crashed to its knees, then toppled sideways.
I jumped clear just before three tons of dead weight hit the ground.
Silence fell over the valley.
I stood there, swaying, my shoulder pouring blood. The world tilted sideways. My vision dimmed at the edges.
No. Not yet. I have to make sure she's safe first.
"Kael!" Maya's voice sounded distant. "Oh God, you're bleeding everywhere!"
I turned toward her and my legs gave out. I hit the ground hard.
Maya was suddenly there, crawling on her hands and knees—her broken ankle forgotten—pulling herself across rough ground to reach me. Tears streamed down her face.
"Don't you dare die," she sobbed, pressing her hands against my shoulder wound. "Don't you dare. You just found me. You said—you said you felt hope. You can't die now!"
I tried to smile. Failed. "Protected you," I managed to whisper. "Worth it."
"No. No, it's not worth it if you die, you stupid wolf!" Her hands were red with my blood. She looked around desperately. "I need—there has to be something—"
My vision went dark around the edges. I could feel my heartbeat slowing. Too much blood loss. Even beast-men died from wounds like this.
At least I'd saved her. At least fate gave me one good thing before I died.
Maya's face appeared above me, blurry but beautiful even covered in my blood. "Stay with me, Kael. Please. I can't be alone here. I can't—"
Her voice faded.
The last thing I felt was her small hands pressing desperately against my wound, trying to hold my life inside my body.
The last thing I thought was that I'd finally found something worth dying for.
Then everything went black.