Thea's POV
I wake up strapped to a metal table.
Panic hits me instantly. Cold metal restraints bind my wrists and ankles. Bright lights shine in my eyes. I'm in some kind of sterile white room that smells like chemicals and fear.
"She's awake," a woman's voice says clinically. "Begin the scan."
"Wait—" My voice comes out hoarse. "Where am I? What are you doing?"
Elder Crag's face appears above me. "The examination facility, as promised. We need to understand what you are before we decide whether you live or die."
Terror floods through me. "I'm human! Just human!"
"Then explain these." He touches my chest, and pain explodes through my body.
I scream.
Five glowing marks appear on my skin—golden for Russet, silver for Corvus, dark green for Sable, crimson for Flint, violet for Marlowe. They burn like brands, pulsing with light.
"Bond marks," the woman scientist says, taking notes. "Five distinct connections, all active. This shouldn't be possible."
"Nothing about this girl should be possible," Elder Crag replies. "Which is why we're taking samples."
A needle approaches my arm.
"No! Don't touch me!" I struggle against the restraints, but they don't budge. "You can't do this! I have rights!"
"Human rights don't apply here," Elder Crag says coldly. "You're in beastman territory now. Our laws."
The needle pierces my skin. I watch them draw vial after vial of blood, tears streaming down my face.
"The bonds are causing her physical pain," the scientist observes. "Separation anxiety, perhaps. The mates are too far away."
"Good," Elder Crag says. "Pain makes people cooperative. Now, Miss Vex, I'm going to ask you questions. Answer truthfully, and this will be easier."
"I don't know anything!" I sob. "I found a hurt dog and took it home! That's all!"
"When did you first experience supernatural abilities?"
"Never! I don't have abilities!"
"Has anyone in your family shown signs of supernatural heritage?"
"No! We're completely normal!"
"Have you ever practiced magic, used spells, or made deals with supernatural entities?"
"I don't even believe in that stuff!" My voice breaks. "Please, I'm telling the truth!"
Elder Crag studies me for a long moment. "I believe you. Which makes this worse."
"Worse? How is believing me worse?"
"Because if you're not using magic to create these bonds, then you're a natural anomaly. A mutation. Something that could spread." He leans closer. "We can't allow that."
Understanding crashes over me like ice water. "You're going to kill me."
"Most likely, yes." He says it so casually, like he's discussing the weather. "But first, we need to understand the bonds. If we can sever them forcibly, your mates will return to normal. If not..."
"If not what?"
"Then we'll have to eliminate all six of you. Can't risk five powerful alphas going feral when their mate dies."
Horror chokes me. "They didn't do anything wrong! This isn't their fault!"
"Irrelevant. The council's priority is protecting beastman society, not individuals." Elder Crag nods to the scientist. "Prepare the severance ritual."
"No! Please!" I'm begging now, beyond pride. "Don't hurt them! They just met me! They can live without me!"
"Actually, they can't." The scientist pulls out a wicked-looking blade covered in glowing symbols. "Fated bonds are soul-deep. Severing them will either break the connection or kill everyone involved. We won't know until we try."
The blade moves toward my chest.
I scream.
The building explodes.
One second, I'm about to be stabbed with a magic knife. The next, the entire wall crumbles inward with a deafening roar.
A massive wolf—bigger than any natural wolf—leaps through the rubble. Corvus in his full beast form, eyes blazing silver with rage.
Behind him, a black panther, a dragon, a fox, and a crow burst into the room.
My mates came for me.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Corvus's roar shakes the building.
Elder Crag moves fast for an old man, putting himself between me and the charging wolf. "You're attacking a council facility. That's a death sentence!"
"Then we'll die protecting her!" Russet snarls, shifting to human form. His hands glow golden with fox fire.
The scientist runs. Smart woman.
Sable shifts partially, claws extending as he tears through my restraints. "I've got you, Thea. You're safe."
"How did you find me?" I gasp as he lifts me off the table.
"The bonds." Flint lands beside us in human form, wings still partially extended. "We can always feel where you are."
"Touching," Elder Crag says. "But futile. You're surrounded."
Soldiers pour into the room from every entrance—at least fifty armed beastmen, all in combat form.
We're trapped.
Corvus positions himself in front of me, hackles raised. "We're leaving with our mate. Anyone who tries to stop us dies."
"You're outnumbered ten to one," Elder Crag states calmly.
"Doesn't matter." Marlowe's wings spread wide, feathers sharp as knives. "We'll kill every single one of you if we have to."
"That's what I was hoping you'd say." Elder Crag smiles. "You've just declared war on the Beastmen Council. Which means—"
A new voice cuts through the tension: "Which means you've given us exactly what we need."
Everyone freezes.
A woman steps through the rubble—tall, elegant, with long black hair and eyes that shift colors. Power radiates from her in waves that make even Elder Crag look nervous.
"Councillor Nyx," he says stiffly. "This doesn't concern you."
"Actually, it does." The woman—Councillor Nyx—walks toward me. My mates tense, ready to attack. "Stand down, boys. I'm not here to hurt her."
"Then why ARE you here?" Corvus demands.
Councillor Nyx stops in front of me and smiles. "Because the council is split. Half want this girl dead. The other half..." She touches my cheek gently. "We want to understand her. Use her."
"Use her?" Sable's voice is deadly quiet. "Explain."
"The old laws say multiple bonds are impossible. But they also say impossible things signal great change." Councillor Nyx's eyes swirl with rainbow colors. "Some of us believe Thea isn't an anomaly. She's an evolution."
"Evolution to what?" I whisper.
"To the future of our species." She addresses all of us now. "Humans and beastmen have been separate for millennia. But population numbers are declining. Fated mate bonds are becoming rarer. We're dying out."
"What does that have to do with Thea?" Russet asks.
"Everything." Councillor Nyx pulls out a tablet, showing graphs and charts I don't understand. "If a human can bond with multiple beastmen, it changes everything. It means we can expand our gene pool. Save our species."
Horror crawls through me. "You want to breed me like livestock."
"No." Her voice is firm. "We want to study your bonds, understand them, replicate them. You could be the key to preventing beastman extinction."
"And if I refuse?"
Councillor Nyx's expression hardens. "Then Elder Crag gets his way. You die. Your mates die. And our species continues its slow march toward extinction."
The room falls silent.
I look at my five mates—these men who broke into a council facility to save me. Who are willing to die for someone they barely know.
"How long?" I ask quietly. "How long would you need to study me?"
"Thea, no—" Corvus starts.
"How long?" I repeat.
Councillor Nyx considers. "Six months. Maybe a year. You'd live in a secure facility, undergo regular testing—"
"Like a lab rat," I finish.
"Like a valued research subject," she corrects. "With protection, comfort, anything you need."
"Except freedom."
"Except that." She doesn't lie. I appreciate that at least.
My mates are all talking at once, protesting, refusing. But I can see the soldiers surrounding us. Can feel the weight of the choice.
Die now and doom my mates. Or cooperate and maybe save an entire species.
"I'll do it," I say.
"WHAT?!" Five voices shout in unison.
"On one condition." I meet Councillor Nyx's eyes. "They stay with me. All of them. If I'm doing this, I don't do it alone."
She smiles slowly. "Deal."
Elder Crag steps forward. "The council will never approve—"
"I am the council now," Councillor Nyx interrupts. "As of ten minutes ago, we took a vote. You're outvoted, Crag. This girl lives."
She extends her hand to me. "Welcome to your new life, Thea Vex. I hope you survive it."
I take her hand, and the bond marks on my chest flare with light.
All five of them, burning brighter than ever.
Binding me to five men I barely know.
Trapping me in a facility for experiments I don't understand.
All to maybe save a species I didn't know existed until today.
As Councillor Nyx leads us out of the examination room, I catch Elder Crag's expression.
He's smiling.
And I realize with creeping dread that this wasn't a defeat for him.
This was exactly what he wanted.
The question is: why?