Chapter 2

Terra's throat felt like it was packed with crushed glass. Every breath she took scraped against her windpipe. She stayed on the mattress, her knees pulled tightly to her chest. Her fingers traced the raised, angry bruises Zev had just painted onto her neck.

"I can't void it right now," Terra said. Her voice was a hoarse, ugly croak.

Zev's expression did not change, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. His eyes, completely human in shape now but still glowing with a faint, unnatural gold, locked onto hers.

"You lied," Zev stated. It wasn't a question. Zev took a slow, deliberate step toward the bed.

"I didn't lie!" Terra forced the words out faster, her hands pressing flat against the dirty mattress to push herself backward. "I will void it. I swear. But if I break the bond now, I die."

"That sounds like a personal problem," Zev said, his voice completely devoid of empathy.

Zev was right. It was Terra's problem. But she needed it to be his problem, or she was not going to survive the next ten minutes.

The heavy metal door groaned. Another massive impact hit it from the outside. The reinforced hinges shrieked in protest. Dust fell from the ceiling.

"They are going to exile me," Terra said, pointing a shaking finger at the door. "If they throw me into the wasteland without an escort, a mutant beast will rip my head off before nightfall."

"I know," Zev replied. He leaned against the concrete wall, crossing his arms. Zev looked entirely too relaxed for a man standing in a room about to be breached. "I plan to watch from the wall."

"If I die out there, the contract detonates your core anyway!" Terra yelled, her voice cracking at the end.

Zev narrowed his eyes. "If they exile you, they will forcefully sever the contracts before you leave the gates. The Enclave doesn't waste high-level military assets. They will reassign me to a new female."

Zev had an answer for everything. He had been calculating Terra's death for weeks.

Terra had to find leverage. Fast. She dug through the chaotic, fragmented memories of the original Terra Mason. What did she have? Nothing. Her father was ousted. Her bank accounts were frozen. Her reputation was garbage. But Terra wasn't the original Terra. She was a survivor from a totally different world.

What was the most valuable resource in this dystopian hellscape, aside from a female's bio-energy? Food. Specifically, untainted food. The memories supplied the data instantly. The ambient energy of this world mutated everything. The plants, the animals, the soil. Males hunted magic beasts-mutants-to harvest their energy cores, but eating the mutant meat was dangerous. It was packed with chaotic radiation. It tasted like battery acid and caused severe internal organ degradation over time. The only safe food was highly processed synthetic nutrient paste. It was expensive, it tasted like chalk, and it provided zero psychological comfort. Real, safe, untainted biological food was an extreme luxury. Only the highest echelon of the Board could afford genetically purified vegetables and lab-grown clean meat.

"I know how to cook untainted food," Terra blurted out.

Zev paused. His right eyebrow twitched upward, just a fraction of an inch.

"You're desperate," Zev said, his tone dripping with disgust. "You don't even know how to boil water. I've watched your servants feed you."

"I know how to neutralize the chaotic energy in mutant meat," Terra insisted, forcing her gaze to remain steady. She did not actually know the science behind it yet, but she knew her transmigration had to come with some sort of advantage. It always did. She just needed time to figure it out. "I can extract the toxins. I can make it safe. Real meat. Hot meals. Not that chemical sludge you get in tubes."

Zev stared at Terra. For a second, the image of a hot, heavily seasoned, perfectly cooked steak flashed in Terra's mind, and she saw his throat swallow hard. These males lived on the edge of biological frenzy every single day. Their bodies burned thousands of calories in combat. They craved real sustenance with a desperate, animalistic hunger.

"If you let them take me, you go back to the military barracks," Terra pressed her advantage, speaking rapidly. "You'll get reassigned to another rich socialite who will treat you like a guard dog. You'll eat nutrient paste for the rest of your life. But if you back me up right now-if you get us out of this-I will cook for you. Real food. And when I am safe, I will legally void the contract."

Zev pushed himself off the wall. He walked toward Terra until the tips of his heavy combat boots touched the edge of the mattress. Zev leaned down. He was so close Terra could feel the heat radiating from his skin. The faint smell of ozone and rain surrounded him.

"If you are lying about the food," Zev whispered, his voice low and dangerous, "I won't wait for the contract to kill me. I will tear your throat out with my teeth."

Before Terra could nod, the metal door finally gave way. With a deafening crash, the door ripped off its hinges and slammed onto the concrete floor. Three Enclave Enforcers stormed into the room. They wore heavy, matte-black tactical armor. Their visors were pulled down, hiding their faces.

"Terra Mason," the lead Enforcer barked. He raised a heavy energy rifle and pointed it directly at Terra's chest. "By order of the Enclave Board, your citizenship is revoked. Stand up and submit to contract severance."

Terra's heart stopped. She looked up at Zev. Zev did not move away from Terra. Instead, he slowly turned his head to look at the Enforcers. Zev stepped directly in front of the bed, placing his large body between Terra and the rifle.

"Lower the weapon," Zev said. His voice was no longer the hateful hiss he used with Terra. It was the cold, authoritative bark of a high-level military asset.

The Enforcer hesitated. He recognized Zev. A Level 6 combat male was not someone a low-level guard wanted to provoke.

"Kagan," the Enforcer said, his tone slightly more cautious. "Step aside. She's being exiled. We need to sever your bind."

"My bind is stable," Zev lied smoothly, not breaking eye contact with the guard. "My female has not committed any crime that warrants immediate seizure of military assets. Her father's corporate failures do not invalidate our private bio-contract."

"The Board issued the order!" the Enforcer argued, taking a step forward.

Suddenly, Zev's right arm shifted. In a fraction of a second, his human arm dissolved and reformed into a massive, thick serpent tail covered in razor-sharp black scales. He slammed the tail onto the concrete floor. The impact cracked the floorboards. The entire room shook.

"I said," Zev growled, his golden eyes flashing violently in the dim light. "Lower the weapon."