kward, her palms s

ainst her cheek, every survival inst

ened his gold eyes. He didn't say a word. He just reached out, his m

motion, he hauled

ely flew up, pressing flat against his bare, burning-hot chest

ignoring her weak struggle, and turned

ing sound came fro

A flash of vibrant crimson

aunched itself from a thick branch, shoo

before Cora co

er. He buried her face into his chest,

k deep into the thick

out a low, guttural grunt. He didn't drop Cora. Instead, his fre

f the snake's spine crus

e barbed tip of its tail whipped across Cora'

eyes immediately dropped to the thin line o

The world tilted violently. Her knees buckled,

his head and pressed his lips dire

trying to draw

from his face. The poison was a neurotoxin, lethal to his kind.

, the impact jarring the ground, but his arms r

ring. This terrifying, wild man was

f her visio

ected. Implanted AI Assist

ctly inside Cora's skull. A translucent blue i

ed: Save the poisoned Alpha

e used DAISY's targeting system. A glowing red circle highlighted the deep pu

zipper of her hazard suit's thigh pocke

His eyes were closed, h

he pressed the blade against the blacke

gonizing roar, his muscl

is dark, poisoned blood. She pressed her thumbs hard against the wound, forci

ivenom synthesis formula unlocked and

ing DAISY's rapid on-screen prompts, she fed a scraping of the beast's venom and a drop of her own blood into the chamber. The device whirred, glowing g

ooded her veins. The dizzine

pletely still, his lips tinged blue. T

e one he had tried to suck the poison from, now mixed wit

er his mouth, forcing a

d by in agoni

tint faded from his lips. His heavy br

ed hands, then up to her face. The raw, predatory possessivene