"Do you want to su—"

"NOPE." Bai Nuan points at him like a police officer stopping traffic. "Whatever terrifying sentence comes after that stays inside your mouth. AND stay back! Take those... those wild assets of yours out of my face!"

Bai Nuan snapped at him, her face a shade of red that could have signaled a low-flying aircraft. She tried to bolt upright, but her ankle reminded her exactly who was in charge. A sharp, white-hot spike of agony shot up her leg.

"Ouch! Dammit!"

"You are hurt..." The beastman’s voice rumbled like a landslide. He leaned down, his massive head descending toward her lower half. Sniff. Sniff.

"Eww! What, do you have a feet fetish too? I told you, back off! And for the love of everything professional, put some clothes on! I’ll take a large leaf at this point!"

"Why?" he asked, tilting his head. His face was literally the size of her torso.

"What do you mean why? Have some shame! How can you roam around flashing that... that situation... and then casually ask if I want to... well, never mind! Just cover it up!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

She winced, gently cradling her swollen ankle, trying to ignore the heat radiating off him. He followed her gaze down to his "equipment," looking remarkably satisfied with himself.

"Why should I be ashamed?" he rumbled, sounding genuinely confused. "Females beg on their knees to have this."

"Then please, go find those women. Go! Shoo! We have zero business together."

"I can’t leave you here," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "You helped me. You gave me meat."

Before she could protest, he reached out, his thick, blunt-clawed fingers brushing against her hair.

"Eee! Don’t touch the merchandise!"

He ignored her, his eyes traveling over her skin with a mix of fascination and pity. "You are a weird creature... no fur. No feathers. No scales. So thin and small. Like a mosquito."

"Excuse me?! I’m a human!" she hissed, her professional pride finally snapping.

"Human? Foreign creature?" He rumbled the word as if tasting it, his ears twitching.

Bai Nuan clicked her tongue, gesturing wildly at his very human-shaped—if oversized—torso. "And what do you think you are transformed into right now? You’ve got two arms and two legs, buddy. You’re basically a human with a tail and a hygiene problem!"

The wolf-man looked down at his own rippling Eight-Pack as if noticing it for the first time.

"This?" he rumbled. "This is an efficient body type for multiple tasks. Most importantly..." He leaned in closer, his golden eyes darkening. "For various mating pleasurable positions."

"Sigh... if only my ankle wasn’t broken!"

[ Mate with him, Host. You will secure survival chances and I’ll reward you with a healing potion. ]

’Survival chances? This guy was face-down on a rock five minutes ago because he forgot to eat. His own survival chances are in the negatives!’

[ At least mate for the healing potion, Host. ]

’Absolutely not. His face alone is the size of my torso. Logistics, System! That does NOT fit!’

Before she could finish her mental PowerPoint on why this was a bad idea, Kael reached down. With one hand, he scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder like she was a light gym bag. His shoulder was as wide and hard as a park bench.

"Oi! Oi! What are you doing? Put me down! This is kidnapping! Unprofessional!"

"I am claiming you, my meek savior," Kael rumbled. The sound was so deep she felt her own teeth vibrate against each other.

"You clearly do not know what either of those words mean. Sir? Please put me down respectfully. I have zero business with you!"

Ignoring her entirely, Kael tightened his grip on her back and bolted into the woods.

"Ahh! Ahh! Aaaa! Slow down! Motion sickness! I’m feeling dizzy!"

As they blurred past the foliage, Bai Nuan saw her survival knife lying in the bushes, getting further and further away. She reached out a hand dramatically. "My knife! Put me down, my knife... it was limited edition!"

"We will get it in the morning," Kael grunted, his pace not faltering. "The sun is about to set. Predators will be out for the hunt. It is not safe for you, my meek savior."

"Again, please stop with the ’meek savior’ bit. I have a name! Bai Nuan! And newsflash: you are also a predator, I believe!"

He moved through the dense forest like a ninja on steroids, his muscles rippling under her. "Yes. I am the apex predator. Kael! Alpha of the Silver Grey Wolf clan!"

"Yes? You have a name? Good boy, Kael. Now, where are you taking me? Please tell me before—blughh—I pass out from motion sickness and the weird, sticky feeling of whatever is left of that intestine on your shoulder!"

"To my tribe. To my pack," he declared.

’Yeah, absolutely. Take the injured, scent-covered human into a den of apex predators. Brilliant plan. 10/10 for hospitality.’

The blue screen flickered directly in front of her face, bobbing up and down as she was hauled backward through the brush, seven feet off the ground like some kind of primitive cargo.

[ Congratulations, Host! You have been successfully claimed by an Apex Predator, Alpha of the Silver Grey Wolf Clan. ]

[ First Mate Collected successfully! ]

[ Reward: One (1) Elbow Crutch. ]

’Seriously? An elbow crutch?’ Bai Nuan’s eyes rolled back as the world blurred into a dizzying mess of green and grey. ’Well... I guess it’s better than playing a one-legged race with a broken ankle in Jurassic Park.’

She tried to muster up one last sarcastic remark about the lack of a matching set, but the motion sickness finally won. Her head lolled against Kael’s rock-hard shoulder, and she passed out cold before they even cleared the treeline.

[ Host Unconscious. ]

[ System entering Standby Mode... ]

Kael didn’t slow down. He adjusted his grip on the small, furless female, his nostrils flaring as he caught the scent of his own territory ahead. She was strange, she was loud, and she smelled like something he couldn’t quite name—but she was his.

And in the Beast World, what an Alpha claims, he keeps.