It was stupid of her to go out in the woods alone.

No matter how fierce she wanted to think she was, she wasn’t in some zoo or animal park. She was in the wild.

Her life and the strangeness of it flashed in her mind’s eye. It was nothing like what she thought she would see. Instead of highlights, it seemed like her subconscious focused only on the very mundane parts of her life. Her sitting in front of the television watching some mindless show, her strapping on her apron for work, her fussing over a meal she knew had too many calories to eat.

It was all very...sad.

Was that really all her life added up to?

She didn’t have much time to think about it. Her mental replay was over in less than the time it took for the wind to get knocked out of her as a large body collided with hers.

She waited for the pain. For the feel of the strange creatures gaping jaw to come snapping down on one of her limbs.

It never happened.

It took Tempest a minute to realize that she had her eyes closed. She opened them to find Dron leaning over her on all fours. His arms and legs caged her body on the ground. He grunted and roared in pain.

"Oh god." Tempest whimpered as she looked up and saw the beast that she should’ve been more aware of behind Dron. It raised up on its hind legs and came down like a sledgehammer on Dron’s back.

Dron puffed out air, but he didn’t budge. Didn’t fall on Tempest. He kept her safe.

Tempest took that second to look around as best she could. There had to be something around that she could use to help.

"Hold on. Just hold on, please." She begged Dron as if he seemed like he was seconds away from just throwing his hands up at the situation. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"My side." He gritted out from between his clenched teeth.

Tempest quickly slid her hand down the side of Dron and felt something hard. She didn’t know what it was, but when she pulled at it, she managed to get it off his belt. It was a long, heavy stick; at least that’s what it looked like.

"Activate it!" Dron barked as the beast behind him became more enraged and had started swiping at him.

"What? How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Tempest barked right back. There were no buttons that she could feel, nothing glowing. She didn’t know how to work it, so instead she leaned up as best as she could and began beating the large, lion-looking creature with the heavy object. She connected with its face a few times, but it was like the animal didn’t even feel it.

It was the third swing that connected with the very bridge of the animal’s nose that truly caught its attention. It whimpered slightly before using its head to bump Tempest’s arm away.

She moved quickly but not quickly enough. She pulled her arm back just as the animal snapped his teeth in her direction. She felt the sharp fangs slice through her flesh, and blood started dripping down her arm.

Distracted, the animal backed up slightly as if it were getting ready to attack again. It was the only opening that Dron needed. He kicked his foot back and the power of the blow caused the animal to fall on his side and away from both Tempest and Dron.

Tempest scrambled backward, ready to take off running, but Dron wasn’t doing the same. He got to his feet, and Tempest looked up at his back. She cringed when she saw how deep the cuts on his back were. She couldn’t understand how he was still on his feet. The adrenaline going through his body must be intense.

"Dron, no!" She screamed out as he braced his body, and then, against all sane thought, he lunged at the animal.

Tempest shook her head in shock. Was he really going up against this beast?

She watched with bated breath as Dron wrestled and fought with the animal. She squealed when she watched the animal open its mouth to take a chunk out of Dron.

He was faster than Tempest thought. He pulled away, sliding to the side before he lifted his leg and kicked the animal straight in its chest. The animal roared and fell backward, scrambling to get its legs under him once again.

Dron took that time to look for and equip the weapon that Tempest had tried to use. She’d dropped it the last time she tried to bludgeon the beast.

Dron rolled on the ground, grabbed hold of the weapon, activated it, and swiped at the beast all in one fluid movement. The weapon glowed at the end and crackled like an electric rod.

It was impressive. Very impressive.

Tempest watched completely transfixed as Dron and the beast continued with their violent ballet.

Finally, with one last thrust, Dron pressed the sparking rod against the animal’s flesh. It jerked a few times, and the smell of burning flesh filled the surrounding air.

The beast howled in pain before it actually tucked tail and ran in the opposite direction.

"Dron?" Tempest called out for him. The battle was over, but he was still tense as if he were ready to throw another blow. "It’s over now. Let’s go home." She reached out to him, her fingers trembling.

Dron looked over his shoulder, and she could see his eyes glowed like a demon. She should’ve been scared, but it calmed her.

His eyes stared almost as if he were looking through her, she didn’t know what he was looking at, but there was almost a pained look on his face.

"It’s okay. It’s all okay now." She kept her hand up, and nearly willed him to come to her.

He blinked once as if something clicked in his mind.

"You’re injured. Moon goddess, no." He groaned and rushed over to Tempest.

She’d nearly forgotten that she had gotten nipped. The blood was still flowing down her arm, but it wasn’t as bad as it looked. There was no spurting blood or anything like that.

"It’s not that bad." Tempest smiled and tried to ease the situation.

"It’s horrible. Blood should never mar your beautiful flesh. If I could hunt that kaznok down and rip its head from its body, that’s exactly what I would do." Dron’s voice rumbled as he looked over his shoulder, obviously looking for the animal.

Tempest learned two things in that moment.

The animal that looked like a mix between several scary earth animals was called a kaznok, and Dron was frightening.

"Please don’t do that. Don’t leave me." Tempest thought for a second that it was exactly what Dron would do. That he would go off hunting the beast.

"Not until you send me away. I’ll be with you even when you don’t know I am." The suddenness of his affectionate words and the delivery of them struck Tempest speechless.

Her mouth opened to speak, but before she got any of the words out, Dron had scooped her up into his arms and was running full tilt through the dense trees and brush.

Tempest wrapped her arms tightly around Dron’s neck as he expertly made his way back to his home.

He wasn’t even out of breath. It was as if Tempest weighed nothing to him. She expected him to collapse as he got to the door, but instead he activated the lock and it popped open. Just barely.

He used his foot to pull the door open the rest of the way.

Once again, it struck Tempest with how strong this man clearly was. Yet, he cradled her in his arms like a delicate flower.

Dron made his way through the house with Tempest still in his arms, not stopping until he entered her room and then her bathroom.

"Just wait here. I’ll fix this. I’ll get this fixed." He whispered the words, and Tempest wondered if he were talking to her or to himself.

For someone who was so composed during a life-and-death battle, he looked rattled now that he was here with her.

"Dron, please stop." Tempest reached out for him again. The warnings about not touching were erased from her mind. Dron needed to be comforted.

She grabbed hold of his arm and turned him in her direction. He looked down at her hand for a beat before he looked into her eyes.

"I’m sorry. I’ve failed you." He dropped his gaze from her.

"No, I did. I shouldn’t have gone out into the woods on my own-" Tempest didn’t even get a chance to finish her sentence.

"No, you shouldn’t have. What were you thinking? Are you just trying to get yourself killed? Do you have a death wish or something like that. And to make matters worse, you went out without any weapons. Honestly, for an omega you have very low self preservation skills." The accusations and insults streamed out of Dron’s mouth like a fountain.

Tempest once again found her emotional meter swinging wildly inside of her.

"Excuse the hell out of me!" Tempest slammed her hands against her hips and sneered at Dron. "This is supposed to be my home for the next six months. Yet I know nothing about it. You left me in a room and expected me to fend for myself. I’m bored, I’m lonely, and I don’t know anything about my surroundings. What did you expect me to do...sit in one spot and wait for the time to pass?"

Dron jerked his shoulders up, "Yes, that is what I expected. I guess we were both wrong."

He looked down at my arm again.

She sighed, all the angry wind flush out of her sails. "That’s going to leave a nasty scar."

"No, it won’t. I have life nectar here." Dron walked over and activated the faucet that connected with the large tub.

Water poured out in the same fashion it would back on earth except the water wasn’t clear, there was a slight sparkle to the surface of it.

"I’m supposed to get in this?" Tempest asked, her voice full of question.

"Yes, once you get in, the nectar will accelerate the healing process."

Tempest shrugged her shoulders; it seemed innocent enough. "Well, if I need to get into this, then so do you." She looked Dron over. He wasn’t cringing or complaining, but Tempest knew there was no way for him to not be in pain.

"I can wait." Dron tried to back away.

"No, either you go first or we both go in together." Tempest lifted her chin, daring him to go against her.

Dron huffed a breath out of his nose as if he weren’t interested in fighting. "Fine, as you wish."

He quickly began stripping out of his clothes. It was at that moment that Tempest realized she may have messed up. She was about to get into a bath with a man she barely knew. True, it was for medical purposes, and the tub was more than big enough for the both of them, but it was very intimate.

Tempest swallowed hard. She wouldn’t let this get to her. It wasn’t sexual; it was a necessity.

She followed suit, taking off the clothing she was wearing except for the small strips that covered her private areas.

Dron stepped into the water first and got settled before moving to the opposite side, giving Tempest enough room to get in.

Tempest slipped into the water, letting the warmth wash over her.

She instantly felt the life nectar working.

Then she remembered what happened the last time she was subject to the life nectar.