Isla POV
The water is freezing, and the child in my arms won't stop screaming.
"I've got you!" I yell, but my voice disappears under the roar of the flash flood. The little boy claws at my neck, choking me as brown water fills his mouth. We're being dragged toward the bridge where cars are backing up, honking like angry monsters.
I'm a marine biologist. I know water. I know drowning happens in silence, not screams. The second someone stops fighting is the second they die.
So I fight.
My legs kick against the current. My arms burn holding the boy above the surface. The bridge is ten feet away. Five feet. Someone is reaching down—a firefighter yelling instructions I can't hear.
"Take him!" I scream, shoving the boy upward with the last of my strength.
Strong hands grab the child. He's safe. Thank God, he's safe.
Then something slams into my back—hard. A car? Debris? The world spins. Water floods my lungs. Everything goes dark and quiet and...
Wrong.
I should be dead. I am dead. I felt it—that final moment when your body gives up and everything just... stops.
So why does my chest hurt?
Why am I breathing?
I gasp and choke, rolling onto my side. My hands scrape against stone—rough, cold, ancient stone. Not asphalt. Not the river bottom.
Where am I?
I force my eyes open, blinking against dim light. I'm in a cave. Not a tourist cave with railings and lights. A real cave—dripping walls, dirt floor, and air so cold I can see my breath.
"Okay," I whisper, and my voice sounds wrong. Too young. Too high-pitched. "Okay, this is fine. I'm dreaming. I hit my head and I'm in a coma and—"
Memories that aren't mine explode through my skull.
I see a girl—teenager, maybe fifteen—with tangled red hair and hollow cheeks. She's crying in this exact cave while people walk away. A woman who looks like her but older spits at her feet. "We can't feed useless mouths. You're too weak to carry water, too stupid to gather food. Stay here and die quietly."
The memory-girl watches her family disappear into the forest. She screams for them to come back, but they don't. For three days she huddles in this cave, slowly freezing. On the third night, she closes her eyes and doesn't open them again.
Because I opened them instead.
"No," I breathe, scrambling backward until my spine hits the cave wall. "No, no, no—"
My hands. They're not my hands. Too thin, too pale, nails broken and dirty. I touch my face—sharper cheekbones, chapped lips, skin stretched tight over bones. This body is starving.
I'm in her body. The dead girl's body.
"This isn't real!" My shout echoes off the cave walls. "I saved that kid! I died saving him! I don't get to—I didn't ask for—"
DING!
The sound is cheerful. Impossibly cheerful. Like a phone notification.
A glowing blue screen appears in the air right in front of my face.
I scream and fall backward, cracking my head against the stone.
The screen doesn't disappear. It hovers there, bright letters scrolling across it like a video game menu.
[BEASTWORLD HAREM SYSTEM ACTIVATED!]
Welcome, Host! You have been selected for the Beastworld Survival Program.
"What—" I can't breathe right. My chest is too tight. "What is this?"
The screen changes.
[SYSTEM TUTORIAL INITIATED]
Current Location: Beastworld, Northern Wildlands
Current Status: CRITICAL - Severely Malnourished, Hypothermic, Weak
Survival Probability: 0.3%
Mission Objective: Bond with 7 Beast Males to unlock survival abilities
Time Limit: 30 Days
Current Progress: 0/7 Mates Acquired
Warning: Failure to complete bonding within time limit will result in SYSTEM SHUTDOWN and host death.
I stare at the words until they blur. "Mates? SEVEN?"
Another screen pops up—this one showing a spinning 3D model of... me? Except the little digital version has red warning symbols flashing all over it. A health bar in the corner shows barely a sliver of green.
[HOST ANALYSIS COMPLETE]
Name: Isla Thorne (Transmigrated Soul)
Age: 25 (Original), 15 (Current Body)
Special Abilities: Modern Knowledge, Marine Biology Expertise
Physical Condition: DYING
Mental State: Shocked, Confused, Terrified
Recommendation: Seek immediate male protection or perish within 72 hours.
"This is insane," I whisper. But even as I say it, I know it's real. The cold biting my skin is real. The hunger cramping my stomach is real. The weak, trembling body I'm trapped in is definitely real.
I try to stand and my legs buckle. I catch myself against the wall, gasping. Everything hurts. This body is shutting down.
"Okay," I force myself to think like a scientist. "Hypothermia, malnutrition, dehydration. I need warmth, food, water. In that order."
I stumble toward the cave entrance, squinting against sudden brightness. Outside is a forest—but not like any forest I've ever seen. The trees are massive, ancient, twisted into impossible shapes. In the distance, I hear something roar. Not a bear. Not a lion. Something bigger.
Fear locks my joints.
The system screen appears again, cheerful as ever.
[TUTORIAL QUEST UNLOCKED!]
Quest: Survive Your First Night
Reward: 100 Bonding Points, Basic Survival Kit
Hint: Males are attracted to female scent. Your current condition will draw predators AND protectors. Choose wisely!
"Choose?" I laugh, but it sounds hysterical. "I can barely walk!"
A branch snaps behind me.
I spin around, nearly falling. There's something moving in the shadows between the trees. Something big. I see a flash of silver fur and glowing amber eyes.
The system chimes again.
[ALERT! ALPHA MALE DETECTED!]
Species: Wolf Beastman
Threat Level: EXTREME
Compatibility Rating: 97%
Recommendation: Do not run. Do not scream. Remain calm.
The wolf steps into the light, and my heart stops.
It's the size of a horse. Silver fur rippling over massive muscles. Intelligence burning in those amber eyes—too much intelligence for an animal.
Then it starts to change.
Fur recedes. Bones crack and reshape. Within seconds, a man stands where the wolf was. Tall, broad-shouldered, covered in scars. His eyes are still amber, still glowing, still locked on me.
He takes one step forward.
I take one step back.
"Little female," he says, and his voice is rough like gravel. "You smell like death and desperation."
Another step. His nostrils flare.
"But underneath..." His eyes flash brighter. "You smell like mine."
The system explodes with notifications.
[CRITICAL ALERT!]
[FATED MATE DETECTED!]
[WARNING: Wolf males claim mates immediately and permanently!]
[BONDING SEQUENCE INITIATING IN: 3... 2... 1...]
"Wait—" I gasp.
The wolf man's lips pull back, showing sharp canines.
"Mine," he growls, and lunges.
I don't even have time to scream before everything goes black again.