Chapter 8

The metallic stench of Amon's blood hit Catherine like a physical blow.

She stared at the crimson pool spreading rapidly across the gray stone floor. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic, painful rhythm. Every survival instinct in her modern brain screamed at her to run, to get as far away from this terrifying, bleeding monster as possible.

She scrambled backward on the bed. Her hand brushed against something sharp. It was a jagged shard of pottery from one of the shattered bowls.

Catherine grabbed it. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the sharp edge, holding it out in front of her like a weapon. Her whole body shook violently.

Amon saw the shard in her hand.

He was still kneeling in his own blood, his claws buried deep in his thigh. He was panting heavily, his breath coming out in white clouds of frost. When his golden, slitted eyes locked onto the makeshift weapon in her trembling hands, a look of profound, devastating sorrow washed over his face.

"Yes," Amon gasped, his voice barely a whisper over the howling of the black energy storm. "If I lose control... if I lunge at you... use it. Pierce my throat."

The words pierced Catherine's heart sharper than any physical blade.

She looked at him. He was a seven-star predator. He could level a forest. Yet here he was, mutilating his own body, begging her to kill him just to ensure she stayed safe.

The terror that had paralyzed her suddenly shattered, replaced by an overwhelming, suffocating wave of heartbreak.

Clatter.

Catherine opened her hand. The sharp piece of pottery hit the stone floor.

"I'm not leaving," Catherine said. Her voice stopped shaking. "And I'm not hurting you."

She slid off the fur bed. The black wind whipped her hair around her face, the razor-sharp energy leaving tiny, stinging cuts on her bare arms. She ignored the pain. She ignored the terrifying beast he was becoming.

She walked straight toward him.

"No! Stay back!" Amon panicked, trying to drag himself backward, but the severe wound in his leg made him collapse onto his side.

Catherine dropped to her knees right in the middle of the blood and frost. She reached out and threw her arms around his massive, trembling neck, pressing her body tightly against his freezing, scale-covered chest.

"You have to tell me what to do!" Catherine yelled over the storm, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "Is this the 'resilience' the system meant? I'm not leaving you to die! How do I help you? !"

The moment her soft, warm skin made full contact with his, the violent black storm in the cave stuttered. The pure, soothing energy radiating from her Highly Compatible body acted like a heavy blanket thrown over a raging fire.

Amon let out a long, shuddering breath. The agonizing pain in his mind dulled for a fraction of a second.

But the physical contact triggered something far more dangerous.

The biological imperative of his rut-the absolute, overwhelming need to mate and claim-obliterated his last shred of human restraint.

With a guttural roar, Amon flipped them over, pinning Catherine flat against the hard stone floor.

His hands, rough and desperate, grabbed the hem of her black t-shirt and ripped it down the middle. The fabric tore like wet paper.

Catherine gasped, a spike of fear hitting her as his heavy, burning body pressed her down. She tried to push against his shoulders, but it was like trying to move a mountain.

Amon's mouth crashed down on her neck. He bit down, not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough to leave a dark, bruising mark. His kisses were frantic, wild, consuming her.

Below his waist, his legs had completely vanished, replaced by the thick, muscular coils of the giant black snake. The heavy, freezing scales wrapped tightly around Catherine's legs, locking her in place.

The sheer size of him, the crushing weight, and the aggressive invasion of his touch sent a sharp jolt of pain through her.

"Amon... it hurts," Catherine cried out, tears springing to her eyes.

The sound of her pain pierced through the red haze of his rut.

Amon froze. He raised his head. His chest heaved as he looked down at her. He saw the tears in her eyes, the fear in her face. The monster inside him fought violently against the man who loved her.

He squeezed his eyes shut, his entire body shaking as he tried to pull himself away from her. "Catherine... push me away... last chance..."

Catherine looked at his tortured face. She saw the blood dripping from his leg, the black scales fighting to consume him.

She reached up, tangling her fingers in his sweat-soaked black hair, and pulled his face down to hers.

"I choose you," she whispered fiercely against his lips. "Claim me."