Maya POV
Kael carried me through the forest like I weighed nothing. His arms felt like steel bands around my body—not hurting, but unbreakable. Each step he took was smooth, careful not to jostle my broken ankle.
I should have been terrified. A massive wolf beast-man had just claimed me as his "fate-marked" mate and was carrying me to something called the Cursed Valley. Every survival instinct screamed that I was being kidnapped.
But my engineering brain noticed other things. The way he angled his body to shield me from low branches. How he'd growl softly whenever my face tightened with pain, then adjust his grip to hurt me less. The fact that he'd chased away those other beast-men without even fighting—just his presence was enough.
"You're not struggling," he said after several minutes of silence. His voice rumbled through his chest against my ear.
"Would it matter if I did?"
"Yes." He looked down at me, amber eyes serious. "If you truly wanted to leave, I'd put you down. Fate-marked doesn't mean prisoner."
I studied his scarred face, looking for lies. Found none. "Then why did you say I'm yours?"
"Because fate chose us for each other. But fate doesn't force acceptance. You can reject the bond." His jaw tightened. "Many do."
Something in his tone made my chest ache. "Someone rejected you before?"
"No. I rejected someone else. Before I understood what I was throwing away." His arms tightened slightly around me. "I won't make that mistake twice."
We walked in silence for several more minutes. The forest gradually changed—trees became sparser, ground rockier. The air felt drier, harsher.
"Where are we going exactly?" I asked.
"The Cursed Valley. It's... not pleasant. No tribe wants it. That's why it's safe."
"Safe from what?"
"From males who would challenge me for you. From tribes who'd see you as a valuable resource to trade or steal." His voice went hard. "In the Cursed Valley, there's only me. And I don't share."
The possessiveness should have scared me. Instead, something warm and confusing bloomed in my stomach. No one had ever protected me before. I'd always been the one solving problems, saving others, taking responsibility.
Being protected felt... strange. Not bad. Just unfamiliar.
We crested a hill, and Kael stopped. "There. The Cursed Valley."
I looked down at a wide valley stretched between mountain ridges. Barren earth, scraggly plants, rocky outcrops. It looked dead. Abandoned. Exactly the kind of place no one would want.
My engineer's eye saw something different.
The valley had southern exposure—maximum sun for growing crops. Natural rock formations that could shelter against wind. And the way certain rocks had dark stains... "There's water underground," I said.
Kael's head whipped toward me. "What?"
"Look at those rocks." I pointed with my free hand. "That moisture pattern means water seepage. There's an aquifer under this valley. Probably why nothing grows—the water's too deep for plant roots, but it's definitely there."
He stared at me like I'd just performed magic. "How do you know that?"
"I'm an architect. Was an architect. I design—designed—buildings. You have to understand geology, water tables, structural integrity..." I trailed off, suddenly exhausted. "It's complicated."
"You're complicated," Kael said, but he smiled when he said it. The expression transformed his scarred face from frightening to... handsome. Dangerously handsome.
I looked away quickly. "Just put me down somewhere. I can take care of myself."
"With a broken ankle? In a valley with no shelter or food?" He started walking down the slope. "I don't think so."
"I don't need—"
"Everyone needs help sometimes, Maya." He said my name like he'd been practicing it in his head. "Even clever females who kill sabertooths with rocks."
We reached the valley floor. Kael carried me to a small cave formed by an overhanging rock formation—crude, but it blocked wind and provided shade. He set me down gently on a flat stone, making sure my injured ankle was elevated.
"Stay here. I'll hunt and bring back food."
"Wait." The word burst out before I could stop it. "You're just... leaving me here?"
He crouched in front of me, meeting my eyes at equal level. "The valley is safe. No predators come here—nothing to hunt, so they avoid it. And no beast-man would dare cross into my territory." His hand reached up, hesitated, then gently brushed a strand of hair from my face. "But if you're asking whether I'll come back... yes. Always. I just found you. I'm not losing you."
Something in my chest cracked open. "I don't understand this. Any of this. Yesterday I was inspecting a building. Now I'm in an alien world with beast-men and fate-bonds and..." My voice broke. "I watched people die. My assistant, my coworkers. They're gone and I'm here and it doesn't make sense."
Kael's expression softened with understanding. "You're in shock. Grief. Your mind hasn't caught up with everything that happened." He touched my hand carefully, like I might break. "But you survived, Maya. You're here. And I promise—I'll keep you alive until you figure out what comes next."
Tears burned my eyes. I blinked them back furiously. "Why are you being nice to me? Those other beast-men wanted to... to..."
"Force you. Hurt you. Treat you like property." Fury blazed in his amber eyes. "That's not strength. That's weakness. Real strength is protecting someone weaker without demanding payment."
"I'm not weak," I said automatically.
"No. You're injured. There's a difference." He stood. "Rest. When I return, we'll set your ankle and find you food. Then tomorrow, you can show me how to find that underground water."
He started to leave, then paused at the cave entrance. "Maya? You asked why I'm being nice. It's because five years ago, I lost everyone I loved in one night. My entire pack, slaughtered by males I trusted. I've been alone since then, dead inside, just surviving."
He turned to look at me, and the raw emotion on his face made my breath catch.
"Then you fell into my world. Clever, fierce, broken but not defeated. And for the first time in five years, I felt something besides anger and emptiness." His voice dropped to barely a whisper. "I felt hope."
He disappeared into the valley before I could respond.
I sat alone in the cave, my mind spinning. Everything about this situation was insane. I'd been kidnapped to an alien world, claimed by a wolf beast-man, and left in a cursed valley with a broken ankle.
But Kael's last words echoed in my head. Hope.
When was the last time I'd felt hope? Working eighty-hour weeks, chasing promotions, telling myself I'd find time for life later? I'd been surviving too, in my own way. Dead inside, just going through motions.
Maybe we weren't so different.
I looked out at the barren valley, seeing past what it was to what it could become. Water underground. Southern exposure. Clay deposits for bricks. Space to build.
I could make something here. Something real.
The thought should have been ridiculous. Instead, it felt like the first true thing I'd thought since waking in this world.
A roar shattered the silence. Not close, but not far enough away either. Deep, guttural, making the ground vibrate.
That wasn't Kael hunting. That was something else.
Something hunting him.
I tried to stand, forgetting about my broken ankle. Pain exploded up my leg and I collapsed with a cry I couldn't hold back.
Helpless. I was completely helpless.
And Kael was out there alone, facing whatever made that sound, because he'd left me here to hunt food for me.
The roar came again, closer now, followed by Kael's answering snarl—defiant but strained.
He was in trouble.
And I couldn't do anything but sit here and wait to see if my only ally in this nightmare world would come back alive.
Or if I'd be alone again in the Cursed Valley with whatever was hunting us both.