Jagger's massive frame blocked out the light as he closed the distance. The heat radiating from his skin was palpable.

Cora took a nervous step back, her bare heel hitting the slick edge of the rock. She had nowhere to run.

He reached out. His rough, calloused thumb traced the line of her jaw, his touch feather-light but trembling with suppressed power.

"Mine," he rasped. His voice was a dark, dangerous promise.

He lowered his head, his gaze fixed on her lips.

Panic flared in Cora's chest. This was moving too fast. She pressed both hands flat against his rock-hard chest. "Wait! I... I'm not ready."

Jagger's body jerked to a halt. His jaw locked so tight the muscles ticked. He stared down at her, his breathing ragged and heavy. The violent clash between his alpha instincts and her rejection played out in the tightening of his muscles.

He let out a frustrated, guttural snarl, stepping back so abruptly it startled her.

"Hurry," he barked, turning on his heel and storming out of the cavern, needing distance before his control snapped completely.

Cora collapsed against the cavern wall, her heart hammering against her ribs. She had survived, for now.

She quickly opened her inventory and pulled out the small vial of Earth-grade Appearance Restoration Serum. She popped the cork and downed the blue liquid in one gulp.

A cool, tingling sensation rushed through her veins.

The small cuts and bruises on her legs faded. The dullness in her skin vanished, replaced by a flawless, porcelain smoothness. Her features refined, returning to their absolute peak state before the crash.

She looked at her reflection in the still water. She was stunning.

Taking a deep breath, Cora adjusted the white pelt and walked out of the tunnel into the main cave.

Jagger was sitting by the fire, aggressively sharpening his bone knife against a rock.

He looked up as she entered.

The bone knife slipped from his hand, clattering loudly against the stone floor.

Jagger stood up, his body rigid. If she was beautiful before, she was a goddess now. The sheer perfection of her face hit him like a physical blow.

The last thread of his control snapped.

He crossed the cave in three massive strides. He grabbed her chin, tilting her face up to meet his burning gaze. "You are my mate. We bond now."

His intensity terrified her. Cora yanked her face away and stumbled backward.

Her shoulder slammed into the cave wall, crushing a cluster of glowing pink flowers that grew naturally from the damp crevices of the stone. Jagger often let them bloom because their scent repelled the venomous cave-centipedes, entirely unaware of their biological effect on alien females.

A thick cloud of pink pollen exploded into the air, directly into Cora's face.

"BEEP! Critical Warning! Inhaled high-concentration 'Lust-Silk' pollen. Extreme aphrodisiac and hallucinogenic effects imminent!"

Cora inhaled sharply in surprise, drawing the pollen deep into her lungs.

Instantly, a scorching, liquid fire ignited in her lower belly. It shot through her veins, melting her bones.

Her legs gave out.

She collapsed forward, falling directly into Jagger's waiting arms.

Jagger caught her easily. But as he looked down, he saw her eyes glaze over with a hazy, unfocused lust. Her skin was burning hot against his bare chest, and a deep, unnatural flush spread across her chest and neck.

He recognized the smell of the crushed pink flowers. Lust-Silk. It was harmless to males, but a devastating breeding drug to females.

Cora moaned, a soft, desperate sound that went straight to Jagger's groin.

She twisted in his arms, her hands sliding up his chest to wrap tightly around his neck. Her hot, rapid breath ghosted across his collarbone.

"Hot," she whimpered, pressing her hips flush against his.

Jagger's sanity shattered.

He scooped her up into his arms, his golden eyes blazing with unchecked fire, and carried her straight to the bed of furs.

Jagger laid her down on the thick white furs.

Cora writhed beneath him, the drug tearing away every shred of her inhibitions. Her bare leg hooked around his thick waist, pulling him down against her.

The friction was agonizing. Jagger let out a harsh groan. His eyes were bloodshot, his fangs extending slightly as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. He bit down, hard enough to leave a red mark, but not enough to break the skin.

He grabbed the edge of the white pelt, ready to rip it away and claim her.

Suddenly, Cora let out a broken, painful whimper. A single, hot tear slipped from her closed eyes and landed directly on the back of Jagger's hand.

The heat of that tear felt like a branding iron.

Jagger froze. He looked at her face. She was completely lost to the drug, her brow furrowed in agony, begging for a release she didn't understand.

If he claimed her now, while she was out of her mind, he would be no better than the feral beasts in the jungle. She would wake up and hate him.

The thought of her looking at him with terror and disgust made his chest ache.

With a roar of sheer, agonizing frustration, Jagger pushed himself up, tearing his body away from hers.

Cora cried out at the loss of his heat. She reached for him blindly, her nails scratching across his chest, begging him to come back.

Jagger grabbed both of her wrists in one massive hand, pinning them above her head. He had to get the drug out of her system, or the fever would cook her brain.

He took a ragged breath. His free hand, rough and calloused, slid down her stomach, slipping beneath the edge of the vine skirt.

When his rough fingers found her, Cora's entire body arched off the furs. She let out a high, sharp gasp that shattered the silence of the cave.

Jagger closed his eyes, his jaw locked tight enough to crack his teeth. He didn't look at her. He couldn't.

His fingers moved with a agonizingly slow, deliberate rhythm.

Cora sobbed, her head thrashing side to side. The pleasure was too intense, mixed with the burning need of the drug. She turned her head and sank her teeth into his thick shoulder muscle, biting down hard.

Jagger didn't flinch. He let her bite him, increasing the pace of his fingers, driving her higher and higher into the inferno.

With a final, broken cry, Cora shattered. Her body convulsed violently against his hand, and then she went completely limp, her chest heaving as the overwhelming, tidal wave of pleasure momentarily suppressed the drug's frantic burning. It wasn't entirely gone from her bloodstream, but the peak of the fever had broken, allowing her exhausted body to finally surrender and fall into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Jagger pulled his hand away. He looked at his trembling fingers, his breathing harsh and ragged. The fire in his blood was screaming for release.

He stood up, sprinted out of the cave, and threw himself directly under the freezing, pounding water of the waterfall.

Hours later, the fire had burned down to glowing embers.

Cora slowly opened her eyes. Her body felt heavy, but her mind was crystal clear.

Then, the memories hit her.

She remembered the heat. The begging. His fingers.

A wave of mortification so intense it made her nauseous washed over her. She pulled the white pelt up to her chin, her face burning.

Jagger was sitting by the fire, crushing green leaves between two stones. He heard her shift and turned his head.

The silence between them was thick, heavy with the memory of what had just happened.

He stood up and walked over to the bed. He sat on the edge, his massive weight dipping the furs. He reached out with the crushed, cooling herbs.

Cora flinched as his rough fingers brushed the sensitive skin of her neck, applying the paste to the bite mark he had left.

"Don't move," he commanded, his voice a low, raspy whisper.

Cora looked at his shoulder. The deep, crescent-shaped teeth marks she had left were bruised and purple.

Her heart did a strange, painful flutter in her chest. He had suffered through absolute agony to protect her dignity.

Jagger smoothed the last bit of the cooling paste over the red mark on her neck. His thumb lingered, tracing the line of her collarbone before he slowly pulled his hand away.

Cora pulled the fur tighter around her shoulders, desperate to break the suffocating, intimate silence.

"I... I'm hungry," she blurted out, her voice cracking slightly.

The hard lines of Jagger's face softened instantly. He stood up and walked back to the fire pit. He grabbed the remaining slab of raw meat and jammed it onto a stick, holding it over the flames.

The smell of burning fat and raw blood filled the air again. Cora's stomach twisted. She couldn't eat another bite of that tasteless, gamey ash.

She remembered the loot box.

Cora slipped her hand under the furs, pretending to reach into a pocket, and mentally commanded DAISY to extract the jar of High-Purity Synthetic Salt.

A small, smooth clay jar materialized in her palm.

Jagger pulled the meat from the fire. He used his bone knife to slice the most tender piece, placing it on a broad green leaf, and handed it to her. His golden eyes watched her, waiting for her approval.

Cora took the leaf. She popped the cork off the clay jar, pinched a generous amount of the sparkling white crystals between her fingers, and sprinkled it evenly over the charred meat.

Jagger's eyes narrowed instantly. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her hand. "What is that? Poison powder?"

Cora offered a small, nervous smile. "No. It's magic. It makes food taste good. Try it."

She tore off a small piece of the salted meat and held it up to his lips.

Jagger looked at the meat, then at her delicate fingers. He leaned forward and opened his mouth, taking the meat and her fingertips past his lips.

Cora gasped, her face flushing hot as she quickly yanked her hand back.

Jagger chewed.

Suddenly, he stopped. His eyes widened in absolute shock.

The pure, intense burst of salt hit his tongue, cutting through the foul, gamey taste of the meat and elevating the flavor to something he had never experienced in his life.

In his world, salt was scraped from bitter, toxic dirt. Pure white salt was a myth, a luxury reserved only for the highest royalty of the Empire.

He swallowed hard, his gaze snapping to the small clay jar in her hand.

"This is... pure salt," Jagger said, his voice tight with disbelief. "Where did you get this?"

He looked at Cora, really looked at her. Her flawless skin, her strange clothes, and now, a king's ransom of pure salt casually pulled from nowhere.

In his mind, the pieces clicked together. She wasn't just a weak outsider. She was someone of immense power, perhaps a lost noble from a hidden, advanced tribe.

"Who are you?" he demanded, stepping closer, his massive frame towering over her.

Cora's heart raced. She couldn't tell him about DAISY. "It's... it's just something from my home. I brought it with me."

Jagger studied her face. He knew she was lying, but he didn't care. Whatever secrets she held, she was his.

Suddenly, Jagger stepped into her space, his massive frame caging her against the stone wall. The movement was so abrupt and dominant it startled Cora.

He reached out, his large hand wrapping firmly around her waist, pulling her flush against the hard, hot plane of his chest. She could feel the heavy, rapid thud of his heart beneath his hot skin.

"I don't care where you came from," Jagger said, his voice a low, possessive rumble that vibrated through her bones. "You are mine."

He looked down at her, his golden eyes burning with a fierce, unwavering light.

"You will be my mate. There is no other choice. I will mark you, and I will slaughter anything that dares to look at what belongs to me."

It was a vow. A raw, primitive proposal of marriage.

Cora stared at him, her breath caught in her throat. The intensity of his devotion was intoxicating, but the reality of this brutal world crashed down on her.

She gently pulled her hand back, breaking the contact.

"Jagger... it's too fast," she whispered, looking away. "I need time."