Mated To The Clan's Rejected Beast

cing her to squint against the glare. Her chest felt like it was packed with broken glass. Every breath sh

made her stomach heave, and she collapsed back onto the muddy ground. Around her, the wreckage of her escape pod was

n't even a planet on any st

d over her, their forms a terrifying blend of human and beast. They had the heads o

t. He didn't ask if she was hurt. He didn't check for a pulse. He just yanked, the fab

d, his voice a low

rd, her weak legs unable to keep her balance, and fell face-first into a line of other dazed and dirty bei

ed up a handful of the dark, foul-smelling mud and smeared it across her pale cheeks. She rubbed it into her a

. She had to be filthy.

ood there, draped in a luxurious snow-leopard pelt that emphasized her curvy figure and shar

ng. She pointed a long, manicured finger tipped with a claw at

, dressed in clean leathers-burst into laughter. They pointed and wh

le, playing the part of the terrified, broken victim. It wasn't hard; the pain in her chest was real, and the fe

er shoulder. She turned to the guards. "Put her o

in the calf, the heavy boot lea

elf up, her muscles screaming in protest, and picked up the crude wooden shovel the g

ing with saliva. The ground was covered in mounds of their feces, the smell so thick and acrid it burned Carin's throat. Her s

dled together and whispering. Carin kept her head d

e of them said, a thin male with rat-like feature

k. "But the strong males only want the pretty femal

the breeding program," another added, shuddering

nervously at the guards. "I overheard them beating a guy yesterday. T

" the rat-faced male replied. "According to the old laws, if a female proposes

have property to prote

mark. She couldn't let that happen. She needed a shield. She needed a male who was stro

milling around the market stalls parted like water, a hush falling over

er a worn leather vest. He carried the massive, bleeding corpse of a beast over one shoulder-a creature twice the size

e moved with a lethal, predatory grace, his face an unreadable mask of cold indi

ollowing Carin's gaze. "What a waste. He's a geneti

e's sterile, too. No female would ever choose him. An

to a lifeline. A male who was powerful enough to drag a Blade Beast single-handedly, but rejected by the society that feared

he perfe

head, those mismatched eyes scanning the crowd. They swept past the gu

hed, subservient posture. She thrust the shovel into another pile of dung, her

a dismissive flick of his leopard ear, he turned away. He continued his walk to

with the back of her muddy hand, the grit scraping against her skin. A fa

found he