The first thing Nyx felt was the smell of fresh blood. She was in a forest. The trees were huge with black barks and leaves that shimmered violet in the strange sunlight. The air was too hot, and humid.
She felt someone watching her.
Nyx's hand went instinctively to her hip but there was no gun or knife.
"You wanted this. You chose this." She reminded herself.
A twig snapped behind her. Nyx turned slowly, raising her hands in surrender.
"Easy…I'm not…" She stopped.
A wolf, the size of a grizzly bear was studying her.
Nyx didn't move and breathe. Her experience told her that predators react to movement, to fear.
She made herself non threatening, a prey that wasn't worth the effort.
"Hey there, gorgeous. She said. "I'm new here. Don't suppose you'd point me toward the welcome wagon?"
The wolf growled and then it spoke.
"Human."
Nyx's mind stuttered, trying to process the impossible.
"Impossible." The wolf continued. "Humans are extinct."
"Well… guess I'm a ghost then."
"You smell of death. I should tear out your throat."
It wasn't wrong. Nyx had killed so many animals.
"Get in line." She said.
The wolf lunged. Nyx dropped flat, and rolled to the right. The forest blurred around her.
"Don't look back. Don't trip. Find cover…"
Wolf's claws caught her shoulder, spinning her sideways. She hit a tree and blood started flowing out from her arm. The wolf pinned her with his paw on her chest, crushing the air from her lungs.
"You reek of murder." It growled. "Why should I let you live?"
Nyx couldn't breathe and think, but she looked up in his amber eyes and smiled.
"Because killing me won't bring them back."
The wolf hesitated for a second and then a roar shook the forest.
It was so loud that birds flew from the trees within a second. The ground trembled. The wolf's ears flattened. It looked up with fear on his face, and released her.
"Run, human." It said, already backing away. "If you value your life."
Then it ran towards the shadows.
Nyx dragged herself up, her shoulder was bleeding.
"What could scare a talking wolf…." She trailed off.
A Lion stepped out of the trees. He was seven feet tall walking on two legs. His bronze skin had golden fur on his shoulders and spine. His face was sharp, and beautiful, and his golden eyes were looking at her with an intensity that made her feel naked.
He was the most magnificent thing Nyx had ever seen but he was also definitely going to kill her.
"Well." He purred in his smooth voice. "What do we have here?"
Nyx's hand was on her bleeding shoulder. She knew he was the king of this world, and she was his prey. But Nyx Keller had never been good at playing victim.
She straightened herself, ignoring the blood and smiled.
"You tell me, kitty. You local?"
His eyes widened, and then he laughed.
"Oh! I'm going to enjoy you."
He moved faster than anything that size should move. One moment he was ten feet away, the next he was in front of her, his fingers tilting her chin up with gentleness, and thumb brushing the blood at the corner of her mouth.
"I am Raziel Ashmane, King of the Lion Clan, Lord of the Golden Plains, First Among the Five." His golden eyes looked at her with fascination. "And you, little human, are mine."
"Funny." Nyx said looking into his eyes, refusing to flinch even when his claws pricked her skin. "I don't remember agreeing to that."
His smile widened even more.
"You will."
Then he swept her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing and started walking.
"Hey! Put me down, you oversized…"
"No." He sounded amused. "You're bleeding, alone, and unarmed in the most dangerous territory in Beastworld. You'll be dead in an hour without me."
"Maybe I'll take my chances."
"Maybe." His hand tightened on her thigh. "But I've waited three hundred years for a human. I'm not letting you die before I understand what you are."
Nyx thought about escape routes, vulnerabilities, anything she could exploit. But his grip was like iron. She was trapped and claimed.
MONITORING CHIP ACTIVE
SUBJECT: NYX KELLER
STATUS: CAPTURED
VITALS: ELEVATED
HEART RATE: 142 BPM
ADRENALINE: CRITICAL
REVISED SURVIVAL ESTIMATE: UNKNOWN
CONTINUE OBSERVATION
Somewhere on Earth, in a white room filled with monitors, Director Zhao leaned forward.
"Interesting." She murmured, watching Nyx's bio-readings spike. "Very interesting indeed."
On screen, the thermal signature of the male creature carried Nyx deeper into the forest, away from the safety and from any hope of escape; into the heart of Beastworld.
"Let's see how long you last, Miss Keller." Zhao said. "Let's see what you become."