Dr. Mira Chen's POV
"Put me down!" I shout for the tenth time.
Draven ignores me. Again.
The Dragon Lord carries me through the forest like I weigh nothing, his arms locked around me like steel bands. Behind us, I hear growling—Kael and his wolves are following, and the tension in the air is so thick I can barely breathe.
"I can walk," I try again, pushing against Draven's chest. "My ankle is fine now. I healed it myself somehow. Just put me—"
"No." His voice is deep and final. His dragon eyes—gold with flecks of red—glance down at me. "You're too valuable to risk. What if you trip? What if something attacks? What if—"
"What if I scream loud enough that both of you get a headache and leave me alone?"
His lips twitch like he wants to smile but won't let himself.
Kael suddenly appears beside us, moving so fast he's a blur. "She asked you to put her down, dragon."
"And I'm declining, wolf."
"That wasn't a request." Kael's claws extend, and I see murder in his golden eyes.
"Then it wasn't an answer," Draven shoots back, holding me tighter.
I'm going to lose my mind.
"Both of you STOP!" My voice comes out louder than I intended, and something strange happens—the air around us shimmers with golden light. Both men freeze mid-step, their eyes going wide.
Did I just... do magic? Again?
"Listen," I say quickly, before they can start fighting. "I don't know what's happening. I don't know where I am or what I am or why you're all acting like I'm made of glass. But I'm a human being, not a prize to fight over. So here's what's going to happen: Draven is going to put me down. Kael is going to stop threatening him. And someone is going to explain what the hell is going on."
Silence.
Then Draven slowly, carefully sets me on my feet. His hands linger on my waist like he doesn't want to let go completely.
"Thank you," I say, stepping back from both of them.
"She has spirit," Draven murmurs to Kael. "I like that."
"She's mine," Kael growls back.
"The prophecy says—"
"I don't care about your prophecy!"
"ENOUGH!" I snap. The golden shimmer happens again, stronger this time. "No more fighting. Someone explain. Now."
They look at each other. Some kind of silent conversation happens between them. Finally, Kael speaks, his voice rough.
"You're in the Beastworld. A realm separate from... wherever you came from. Here, males like us—shapeshifters—outnumber females a hundred to one. Females are precious. Protected. Cherished."
"Controlled," I mutter.
His jaw tightens. "Protected."
"And you're not just any female," Draven adds. "You're the Blessed One. The only being in a thousand years who can cure the Feral Curse—a disease that drives beastmen insane, turns them into mindless killing machines. Your touch heals. Your presence soothes. Your power can save thousands of lives."
My stomach drops. "That's... that's not possible. I'm just a doctor. A researcher. I don't have magic powers."
"You healed me," Kael says quietly. "Five years of curse corruption, gone in seconds. I felt it."
I want to argue. Want to deny it. But I remember the golden light pouring from my hands, the warmth in my chest, the way the black veins disappeared under my touch.
"Every tribe wants you," Draven continues. "Needs you. Males are dying by the thousands from the curse. When you healed Kael, every beastman within miles felt your power like a beacon. The snakes came first. I came second. But there will be others."
"How many others?"
"All of them," Kael says grimly. "Dragons, bears, panthers, eagles—every tribe in the Beastworld will come. And they'll fight wars to claim you."
The weight of it crashes over me. I'm not just trapped in another world. I'm the center of a coming war.
"I want to go home," I whisper.
Kael's expression softens. He reaches for me carefully, like I might disappear. "I know. But the portal you came through—it's gone. We don't know how to send you back."
Tears burn my eyes. I'm stuck here. In this impossible world with wolf-men and dragon-men and a curse I'm supposed to cure. Everyone wants something from me. Nobody sees me.
"I need time," I say, my voice shaking. "I need to think. I need—"
A roar splits the air.
It's not like the Feral beast's roar. This one is deeper, angrier, and it comes with the sound of hundreds of footsteps. Thunder. An army.
"Bear Tribe," Draven hisses. "They're here."
Through the trees, I see them—massive men with bear features, carrying weapons I've never seen before. Leading them is someone who makes my blood run cold.
Marcus.
My ex-fiancé. The man who betrayed me, stole my research, destroyed my life. He's here. In this world. Wearing strange leather armor and looking like he owns the place.
Our eyes meet across the distance.
His face splits into a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "Mira!" he calls out, his voice carrying easily. "Thank God I found you! I've been looking everywhere!"
"You know him?" Kael demands.
I can't speak. Can't breathe. This can't be happening.
Marcus walks forward, flanked by bear warriors. "We were transported together, Mira. A chance for us to start over in a new world. Forget what happened back home. Here, we can be partners again. Equals."
"I never want to see you again," I manage to choke out.
"Don't be dramatic." He's using his reasonable voice, the one that always made me feel crazy for being upset. "These... males might have found you first, but I'm human like you. I understand you. We belong together."
"She belongs with me," Kael snarls, stepping in front of me.
"With me," Draven corrects, moving to my other side.
Marcus's smile widens. "See, Mira? You need someone who won't treat you like property. Someone from your own world. Let me take you somewhere safe while these animals kill each other over you."
The bear warriors move closer, forming a half-circle around us. We're outnumbered. Badly.
"Last chance," Marcus says, extending his hand. "Come willingly, or I'll take you by force. Either way, you're leaving with me. Your power is too valuable to waste on these beasts."
My power. That's all he cares about. Just like he only cared about my research back home.
"Never," I say.
Marcus's smile disappears. "Wrong answer."
He snaps his fingers, and the bear warriors charge.
Kael and Draven move instantly, putting themselves between me and the attack. But there are too many. A massive bear-man breaks through their defense, his hand reaching for me—
The golden light explodes from my body.
Not just from my hands this time. From everywhere. It bursts out in a wave that knocks everyone back—friends and enemies alike. The light is so bright I can't see, so hot I think I might burn up from the inside.
Then something inside me cracks open.
And I hear it. A voice. Not the one from the darkness before. This one is different. Older. Sadder.
You carry two souls now, child. One from your world, one from ours. The merge is complete. You are truly the Blessed One.
Two souls?
The light fades. I'm on my knees, gasping. Kael and Draven are beside me instantly, their hands on my shoulders.
But I'm not looking at them.
I'm staring at my hands. At the mark that's appeared on my left wrist—a symbol that glows faint gold. A symbol I somehow understand means "belonging."
And it's not just one symbol.
It's four different marks, overlapping.
Wolf. Snake. Dragon. Fox.
Four mates.
The prophecy didn't say I'd choose one male. It said I'd bond with four.
I look up at Kael and Draven, horror and understanding crashing through me.
"Oh no," I whisper.
Behind them, through the scattered bear warriors, I see two more figures approaching. One moves like liquid shadow—Zephyr, the snake who drugged me. The other is smaller, younger, with bright fox-red hair and kind eyes.
All four of them are staring at the mark on my wrist.
They know. They all know.
And Marcus, pulling himself up from where my power blast threw him, sees it too.
His face twists with rage. "She's bonding with them? She's MINE!"
He pulls something from his belt. Something that doesn't belong in this world.
A gun.
He aims it at Kael's head.
"If I can't have you, Mira," Marcus says coldly, "then nobody will."