Bai Nuan looked down at her neatly leaf-wrapped ankle, then up at Kael. She gave him a stiff, professional nod—the kind she usually reserved for interns who finally managed to set up a tent correctly.

"Thank you for your service," she said flatly.

Kael tilted his head, his hand migrating toward the edge of his loincloth. He hooked a claw into the fabric, tugging it slightly. "We haven’t mated yet?" he rumbled, his voice dropping into that chest-vibrating register.

"I didn’t mean that service!" she barked, her face heating up.

She slumped back, hugging her knees to her chest, her sarcasm briefly losing its edge to pure frustration. "What is this? I hate the smell in here, I hate the lack of air conditioning, and I wanted to be out exploring the forest on my own. This broken ankle is a logistical nightmare!"

Kael crawled closer, his massive body casting a shadow over her. He reached out, his thick fingers brushing her shoulder. "Were you finding a mate out there? Is that why you are upset? We can start now," he said, reaching to gently pry her arms away from her knees.

"Don’t you touch me without consent!" Bai Nuan snapped, shoving his hand away with surprising force. "Keep your distance. I won’t repeat myself!"

She didn’t wait for him to process the rejection. She mentally reached into her blue buddy’s storage.

’Inventory! Give me the hardware!’

Pop.

A pair of metal elbow crutches materialized directly into her hands, the silver aluminum gleaming unnaturally against the dim, earthy cave.

Kael scrambled back, his tail puffing out to twice its size. He bared his fangs, not in aggression, but in pure, unadulterated shock. "What is that?! Are you the witch from the prophecy? You took those bones out of thin air!"

Bai Nuan didn’t answer. She aggressively adjusted the cuffs over her forearms, testing the height. She hoisted herself up, the rubber tips of the crutches clicking firmly against the stone floor. Standing at her full (albeit shorter) height, she pointed one crutch at his chest like a weapon.

"Yes. Exactly. I’m a very powerful, very cranky witch," she hissed. "So please stay back, or I’ll turn you into thin air. I have a forest to inspect."

"I’ll accompany you, Nuan," Kael rumbled, watching her from behind with a look of pure bewilderment as she maneuvered the "long bone-things."

"Suit yourself," she replied, not looking back. She swung herself toward the cave’s mouth, blinking as the sudden, harsh sunlight hit her face.

She froze mid-step.

Spread out before her were at least forty wolf beastmen—each one a towering wall of muscle, fur, and sharp teeth. They were draped in simple loincloths, their golden eyes snapping toward her with a collective hunger that made her skin crawl.

A wave of guttural whispers and growls rippled through the clearing.

"Is that the foreign prey the Alpha brought back yesterday?"

"It looks like a hairless squirrel."

"Did mosquitoes start transforming as well? There’s no meat on those bones."

"I wonder if he’ll share the exotic snack with the rest of us?"

Before the predatory tension could snap, Kael stepped out of the shadow of the cave. He loomed over her, a massive hand clamping onto her shoulder. His voice dropped into a register that made the very ground vibrate.

"This female is not prey," he thundered, his gaze sweeping the crowd with lethal authority. "She is my claim. No one harms her. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Alpha!" The chorus of growls was instantaneous. The pack scattered, returning to their hunts and chores, though several lingering glances suggested they still thought she looked delicious.

Nuan glanced over her shoulder at Kael. "Not bad," she admitted, giving him a rare point for leadership. "At least you’ve got the HR department under control."

Tak... crunch... tak... crunch...

The rubber tips of her crutches sank into the carpet of dead leaves as she navigated the uneven forest floor.

"Where are you going, Nuan? Let’s mate," Kael rumbled, following her like a giant, persistent shadow.

"Buddy, literally just pick anyone from your tribe. Why are you harassing me?" she snapped, pausing to catch her breath. "I need my knife back. It’s a precision tool, not a souvenir. Which way was the rock?"

"I will lead," Kael said, eyeing the crutches with deep suspicion. "If I carry you like yesterday, it is faster. We would be done mating by now."

"No. Just lead. And go find a nice wolf-girl."

Kael let out a low, frustrated rumble as he took the lead. "What are you talking about, Nuan? I cannot mate with my tribe. My father died early of disease; otherwise, I would have dispersed to start my own pack. I lead them now, but the law of the blood is clear. I do not breed within the pack."

’Huh.’ Nuan adjusted her grip on the crutches. ’I never thought these fantasy worlds actually followed real-world animal dispersal rules. Points for biological accuracy, I guess.’

"I was on my lone-wolf journey for three days," Kael continued, his ears twitching as he scanned the brush. "I went out to find a mate to bring back. And I found you."

Nuan looked at his side profile, about to offer a sarcastic rebuttal about being "found" like a stray kitten, when Kael suddenly snapped his arm out in front of her.

He froze.

Nuan didn’t need to be told twice. Her survival instincts kicked into high gear, and she went dead still, her eyes following Kael’s gaze toward the bushes from yesterday.

Standing near the spot where she’d dropped her gear was a man. He was tall and lean, with a build that suggested fluid speed rather than Kael’s raw power.

His skin had a faint, shimmering texture—almost like scales—near his biceps. He was draped in a shockingly royal purple silk that looked entirely out of place in the dirt.

And in his hand, he held her limited-edition survival knife, turning it over with a cold, observing gaze.

’Oh, great,’ Nuan thought, her grip tightening on her crutch. ’A second lead. And this one looks like he actually knows how to use a washing machine.’