Chapter 2

The howling wind outside the cave ripped Cora from her sleep.

She snapped her eyes open. Her body ached, a deep soreness settling into her hips and lower back. She looked down. Dax's heavy, muscular arm was still locked tightly around her waist. Her male had not let go, even in sleep. His body remained vigilant, guarding his female.

She held her breath. Moving inch by inch, she slid out from under his crushing grip. She moved like a ghost, terrified of waking the apex predator sleeping beside her.

Cora stood up. She pressed a hand to her lower back and stretched. In her mind, she called out to Kay Lake.

Open the Beginner Survival Pack.

A transparent blue screen materialized in front of her. She reached out and selected a small vial of Basic Cellular Healing Fluid. It was the most valuable medical item in the pack.

She looked down at Dax. His brow was covered in sweat. His chest heaved with rapid, uneven breaths. The fever was burning him alive. He had saved her life last night, even if he didn't know it. He had served his purpose perfectly. Now it was her duty as his female to ensure he survived. She owed him.

Cora knelt beside him. She pinched his strong jaw, forcing his mouth open. She carefully tipped the vial, letting the blue liquid drip onto his tongue. Almost instantly, the deep lines of pain on his forehead smoothed out. His breathing slowed to a steady rhythm. She let out a long breath.

A loud, hollow growl echoed in the cave.

Cora clutched her stomach. Acid churned in her gut. The healing process had consumed massive amounts of calories. If she didn't eat right now, she was going to pass out.

She grabbed Dax's discarded, blood-stained fur coat and draped it over his naked body. She picked up a sharp, jagged tree branch from the cave floor. Gripping it tightly, she crept out of the cave and into the freezing wasteland.

The biting wind slapped her face. Cora shivered violently. Relying on the rabbit-mutant's natural instincts, she dropped to her knees. She began digging frantically through the hard-packed snow, searching for cold-resistant tubers.

Thirty minutes passed. Her fingernails cracked and bled, staining the snow red. Finally, her fingers brushed against something hard. She pulled out three shriveled snow-potatoes. She shoved them into her torn pockets, her heart leaping with relief.

She stood up to keep searching.

A wet, sickening crunching sound drifted from behind a nearby snowbank.

Cora dropped flat onto her stomach. She held her breath and peered through a gap in the dead, frozen brush.

A mutated scavenger fox was tearing into the rotting carcass of a beast. Its fur was patchy, exposing skin covered in oozing, yellow blisters.

Suddenly, the scavenger stopped chewing. Its mangled nose twitched. It caught the scent of fresh blood dripping from Cora's torn cuticles.

The beast snapped its head around. Bloodshot, yellow eyes locked directly onto Cora's hiding spot. It let out a high-pitched, screeching roar and lunged.

Cora's heart slammed against her ribs. Adrenaline flooded her veins. She scrambled to her feet, clutching her pockets, and ran. The rabbit-mutant's agility kicked in, her legs pumping with terrifying speed.

The scavenger fox was right behind her. Its foul breath washed over her calves. Sharp claws swiped at her ankles, tearing the fabric of her pants and grazing her skin. She stumbled, nearly eating the snow.

Cora spotted a narrow fissure between two massive boulders. She threw herself sideways, sliding hard on the ice, and wedged her body into the crack just as the fox snapped its jaws where her leg had been.

The scavenger slammed into the rocks. Its massive body was too wide to fit. It roared in fury, thrashing and clawing at the stone. Loose gravel rained down on Cora's head.

Cora didn't freeze. She gripped the sharpened tree branch with both hands. She aimed straight for the gap. When the fox shoved its hideous face into the opening, she drove the branch forward with all her weight.

The jagged wood pierced the fox's yellow eye.

The beast let out an ear-piercing shriek. Blood sprayed across the snow as it yanked its head back, thrashing in agony.

Cora didn't wait. She scrambled out the other side of the fissure, slipping and sliding on the ice, and sprinted back to the cave like her life depended on it.

She threw herself into the dark cave, collapsing onto the stone floor. She gasped for air, her lungs burning. Her clothes were soaked in freezing sweat and melted snow. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

She looked up. Dax was no longer a man. He had shifted back into the giant white fox. His breathing was deep and even. The healing fluid had stabilized him.

The cold was seeping into her bones, threatening to stop her heart. Fear vanished under the crushing need for heat. Cora crawled across the floor. She lifted the massive, heavy flap of his white belly fur and shoved herself underneath it. Her male's body was her shelter. This was his duty, and she claimed it without shame.

The heat radiating from his skin was like a blazing furnace. Cora let out a long, shuddering sigh. She curled into a tight ball, clutching her snow-potatoes to her chest, and let the exhaustion pull her under.

Hours passed. The faint light of dawn crept into the cave.

The giant white fox's ear twitched.

Dax slowly opened his ice-blue eyes. His brain was clouded with sleep and the lingering fog of his injuries. Instantly, his senses flared. There was a soft, foreign weight pressed directly against his vulnerable underbelly.

The apex predator's instinct hijacked his brain. A foolish, suicidal prey animal had snuck up on him while he was unconscious.

Dax moved with terrifying speed. He rolled over, his massive paw slamming down. He pinned the sleeping Cora to the stone floor. His razor-sharp claws pierced the fabric of her shirt, pressing directly against the fragile skin of her throat.

Cora woke up to a crushing weight and a sharp, stinging pain in her neck. She opened her eyes.

She was staring straight into a pair of feral, ice-blue, slit pupils. Pure, unadulterated killing intent rolled off the beast.

Dax stared down at the tiny prey trapped under his claws. She smelled like dirt, blood, and something incredibly sweet. A low, rumbling growl vibrated in his chest. He opened his massive jaws, exposing rows of deadly fangs, preparing to bite her head off for his first meal.