Aria Chen POV
The golden-haired man's eyes snapped open.
He lunged at me.
I threw myself backward, but he was faster. His hand clamped around my wrist like iron. Heat radiated from his palm, burning where he touched me.
"Let go!" I screamed, kicking at him.
He didn't budge. Instead, he pulled me closer, his amber eyes blazing with something between fury and desperation.
"You struck me down," he growled. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
The glowing screen pulsed again:
WARNING: HOSTILE INTENT DETECTED
DEFENSIVE MEASURES AVAILABLE
"I don't know what's happening!" My voice broke. "I don't know where I am or what that screen means or why you were a lion—"
"She doesn't know," one of the other men said, stepping closer. The silver-haired one. "Kael, look at her. She's terrified."
Kael. The lion-man's name was Kael.
He studied my face, and something in his expression shifted. His grip on my wrist loosened slightly, though he didn't let go.
"You truly don't know?" His voice was softer now, confused. "But you bear the mark. You have the power. How can you not know?"
"What mark? What power?" I yanked my arm, but he held firm. "I'm a surgeon from California. I was in a car accident. This isn't real. None of this is real."
The three newcomers exchanged glances. The one with the shimmering markings laughed—a cold, dangerous sound.
"She thinks she's dreaming," he said. "How entertaining."
"Thorne, don't," the silver-haired man warned.
Kael suddenly released my wrist and stood, pulling me up with him. I stumbled, my injured leg buckling. He caught me before I fell, his arm around my waist.
"Can you walk?" he asked.
"I—yes. Maybe. Why?"
He turned to face the shadows moving through the trees. More men emerged, dozens of them, circling us. They moved like predators, silent and deadly. Some had claws instead of fingernails. Others had eyes that glowed in the dim forest light.
"Because," Kael said quietly, "if you can't run, we're all going to die."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"Blood Moon Tribe," the silver-haired man—Ryn?—spat the words like a curse. "They must have followed us."
The shadows formed into solid shapes. Men, but bigger, meaner, with scars covering their bodies and weapons made of bone and stone. The leader stepped forward, a massive brute with a necklace of teeth around his neck.
"Kael," the leader said, grinning to show pointed teeth. "I see you found something interesting."
Kael's arm tightened around me. "She's under my protection, Draven."
"Is she now?" Draven's eyes locked onto me, and I felt like prey being sized up for slaughter. "The female who fell from the sky. We all heard the roar. We all saw the light." He took another step forward. "The prophecy says the Goddess will choose her mates. But prophecies can be... rewritten."
The glowing screen blazed across my vision:
CRITICAL THREAT DETECTED
MULTIPLE HOSTILES: 37
SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 12%
RECOMMENDATION: ESCAPE
Thirty-seven against four. No, against three and a half—I'm barely standing.
"You can't have her," Kael said, his voice dropping to a growl that vibrated through his chest.
I felt it then—a shift in the air. Kael's body began to change. His muscles rippled, growing larger. Claws extended from his fingertips. When I looked up at his face, his features were becoming more feline, more savage.
"Oh God," I whispered.
"Hold on to me," he said. "Whatever happens, don't let go."
"What are you—"
He transformed.
One second I was standing next to a man. The next, I was clinging to the fur of a massive saber-toothed lion. He roared, and the sound shook the trees. Ryn and the other man—Thorne—changed too. Ryn became a huge silver wolf. Thorne's transformation was different, stranger—his skin rippled with black scales, his eyes glowing violet.
The Blood Moon Tribe charged.
Kael ran.
I grabbed fistfuls of his mane, pressing myself flat against his back as he exploded through the forest. Trees blurred past. Behind us, roars and screams erupted. The battle had started.
"They're coming!" I shouted, looking back. At least a dozen of the enemy had broken away to chase us.
Kael pushed harder, faster, his powerful muscles bunching and releasing beneath me. But I could hear them gaining. Wolves, bears, things I didn't have names for.
The glowing screen appeared again:
EMERGENCY QUEST ACTIVATED
BOND WITH YOUR FIRST MATE
TIME LIMIT: 60 SECONDS
FAILURE PENALTY: DEATH
"What? No!" I yelled at the screen. "I don't even know what that means!"
55 SECONDS REMAINING
An enormous gray wolf pulled alongside us—bigger than Kael, with foam dripping from its jaws. It lunged.
Kael twisted, barely avoiding the attack. I started to slip. My hands lost their grip on his mane.
I fell.
The ground rushed up. I hit hard, rolling, my injured leg exploding with pain. Above me, Kael roared and turned back, placing himself between me and the gray wolf.
30 SECONDS REMAINING
More enemies burst from the trees. We were surrounded.
Kael transformed back into a man, standing naked and bleeding over me, his claws extended.
"I'm sorry," he said, not looking at me. "I failed you, Goddess."
"Don't call me that," I gasped, trying to stand. "I'm not—"
15 SECONDS REMAINING
INITIATE MATE BOND NOW
"How?" I screamed at the screen. "How do I—"
Kael looked down at me, and something passed between us. Understanding. Desperation.
"Trust me," he said.
He dropped to his knees and pulled me against his chest. His hand cupped the back of my neck. His eyes met mine.
"Forgive me," he whispered.
Then he bit my throat.
Pain exploded through my body, white-hot and searing. But underneath the pain, something else rushed through my veins. Power. Connection. His heartbeat synced with mine. His emotions flooded into me—grief, rage, fierce protectiveness, and underneath it all, a bone-deep loneliness that made my chest ache.
The glowing screen blazed:
MATE BOND COMPLETE
KAEL: BONDED
GODDESS POWERS: UNLOCKED
Light erupted from my body again, but this time it was different. Stronger. It spread outward in a wave, slamming into every enemy surrounding us. They flew backward, crashing into trees, howling in pain.
When the light faded, silence fell over the forest.
Kael pulled back from my throat, his lips stained with my blood. His eyes were wide with shock.
"What have you done to me?" he breathed.
I touched my neck. The bite mark burned, glowing with a faint golden light. Through our new connection, I felt everything he felt. And he felt everything I felt.
Including my terror.
"No," I whispered. "No, this can't be—"
A new screen appeared:
MAIN QUEST UPDATED
BOND REMAINING MATES: 2/3
TIME LIMIT: 48 HOURS
FAILURE PENALTY: KAEL'S DEATH
My blood turned to ice.
"What does that mean?" I grabbed Kael's arm. "What happens if I fail?"
He stared at the mark on my neck, then at his own hand where a matching golden symbol had appeared on his palm.
"I don't know," he said. "But I can feel you now. Inside my head. Inside my soul." His voice dropped to barely a whisper. "What kind of goddess are you?"
Before I could answer, Ryn crashed through the underbrush, back in human form and bleeding from multiple wounds.
"They're regrouping," he panted. "We have maybe two minutes before—"
He stopped. His eyes locked onto the mark on my neck. Then onto Kael's palm.
"You bonded her." His voice was flat, emotionless. "You actually bonded her."
"I had no choice," Kael said.
"There's always a choice." Ryn's hands clenched into fists. "The prophecy said she would choose. You forced her hand."
"To save her life!"
"To claim her first!"
They faced each other, growling, on the edge of violence. And I realized with growing horror that this wasn't over.
It was just beginning.
The screen pulsed:
WARNING: RIVAL MATE DETECTED
TERRITORIAL CONFLICT IMMINENT
CHOOSE YOUR SECOND MATE OR LOSE YOUR FIRST