She pulled up the express delivery app on her terminal. She ordered two crates of military-grade premium nutrient fluids. The kind that repaired tissue damage and stabilized energy cores. It cost her a brutal fifty thousand credits, but she didn't hesitate.

She walked out of the bedroom and headed toward the grand staircase.

The mansion was dead quiet, save for the hum of the air filtration system.

Instead of going to the front door, she walked toward the basement stairs. She needed to see exactly how bad the situation was.

The air grew colder and smelled like copper and mildew the further down she went.

At the bottom of the stairs, she peered around the corner.

At the end of the dark corridor was a heavy iron cell. Inside the bars, a massive brown bear was curled into a tight ball.

Buren.

His fur was matted and dull. Huge patches of hair were missing, revealing angry, scabbed skin. He was so thin she could see the outline of his ribs as he took shallow, shaky breaths.

Alfie was kneeling outside the bars. He held the crushed plastic tube she had seen earlier.

He squeezed it. A single, pathetic drop of yellow liquid fell onto Buren's massive nose.

Buren let out a weak, high-pitched whine that sounded entirely too small for a creature his size. He licked the drop off his nose, his eyes closing in desperate relief.

"I know, buddy," Alfie whispered, his voice cracking. "Just hold on. We'll get out of here."

Her chest physically ached. She shifted her weight, intending to walk forward.

Her boot came down on a loose floorboard. It let out a sharp creak.

Alfie spun around instantly. He didn't just look at her; he aimed at her. A razor-sharp blade of pressurized water materialized in his hand, pointed directly at her throat.

Inside the cell, Buren let out a terrified roar. The massive bear scrambled backward, pressing his huge body into the furthest corner of the cage, trembling violently.

She stepped fully into the light. She held her hands up, palms open.

Alfie's eyes darted over her black combat suit. Confusion flickered in his icy eyes, but his hostility didn't waver.

"What do you want?" Alfie spat. "Come to watch him starve? Is it not entertaining enough for you yet?"

She ignored the venom in his voice. She looked past him, straight at the bear. "He's severely dehydrated. His organs are shutting down. If he doesn't get real calories tonight, he's going to die."

Alfie's jaw clenched so hard she heard his teeth grind. "Don't you dare pretend to care. Stay away from him."

She didn't argue. She turned on her heel and walked back up the stairs.

She heard Alfie curse under his breath, probably thinking she was going to fetch a weapon.

She walked straight to the front door of the mansion. She punched the code into the delivery pod embedded in the wall. The metal doors slid open.

Inside sat two heavy, insulated crates.

She grabbed the handles. They were heavy, but the baseline strength of a beast-world female was higher than a human's. She hauled them out and carried them back to the basement stairs.

When she reached the bottom, Alfie was trying to pry the iron bars open with a metal pipe. He was desperate to get Buren out to find water.

She dropped the two crates onto the concrete floor.

Bang.

Alfie jumped, spinning around with the pipe raised.

She kicked the lid off the top crate. Inside, rows of sleek glass vials glowed with a faint, pulsing blue light.

Alfie's eyes widened. He lowered the pipe slightly. He recognized them. Military-grade restoratives.

She reached down, grabbed two vials, and tossed them underhand straight at his chest.

Alfie dropped the pipe and caught them purely on reflex. The moment the glass touched his skin, he held them away from his body like they were radioactive.

"What is this?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing. "Did you lace them with acid? Neurotoxins?"

She rolled her eyes. She bent down and pulled a third vial from the crate.

She popped the metal seal off the top. She tilted her head back and chugged half the bottle.

It tasted like synthetic vanilla and chalk. She grimaced, swallowing hard. She turned the bottle upside down, letting the last few drops spill onto the floor to show it was real.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She looked Alfie dead in the eye.

"Feed him," she ordered, her voice leaving no room for argument. "Then get Josue. Ten minutes. Living room. We're having a family meeting."

She didn't wait for his response. She turned and walked back up the stairs.

She sat at the head of the long, polished dining table in the living room. She tapped her fingernails against the wood, the rhythmic sound echoing in the empty space.

Ten minutes passed.

The door leading to the basement opened.

Alfie walked out first, supporting Josue. Josue was limping heavily, his face pale and covered in a sheen of cold sweat. Behind them walked Buren. He had shifted back into his human form—a towering, broad-shouldered man who looked like he could bench-press a truck. But he walked with his shoulders hunched, trying to make himself look as small as possible.

They stopped at the opposite end of the table. They stood there, a united front of hatred and suspicion.

Josue's green eyes locked onto her. The violent energy from his earlier rampage was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating fury.

Buren peeked out from behind Alfie's shoulder. His eyes immediately darted to the handful of nutrient fluid vials she had placed on the table. He swallowed hard.

She pointed to the three empty chairs near them. "Sit down."

Nobody moved.

Alfie let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "What's the catch, Kenzie? Are the chairs rigged with high-voltage shocks? Or did you just coat the cushions in contact poison?"

She pressed her lips together. She stood up.

She walked down the length of the table. When she reached their end, they instinctively tensed.

She grabbed the first chair, pulled it out, and sat down hard. She bounced on the cushion. She stood up, moved to the second chair, and did the same. Then the third.

She looked at Alfie. "Safe enough for you?"

The three men stared at her. Total bewilderment washed over their faces. The original Kenzie would rather die than perform such an undignified, ridiculous act.

She walked back to the head of the table and sat down. She folded her hands in front of her.

"I'm going to make this quick," she said, looking at each of them. "I know I've been a monster. I know I've done things to you that are unforgivable."

Josue slammed his hands onto the table. "Unforgivable?" he roared.

He grabbed the collar of his shirt and ripped it open, buttons popping off and hitting the floor. He exposed his chest and stomach.

The skin was a roadmap of torture. Burn marks. Deep, jagged scars from a thermal whip.

"Does 'unforgivable' cover this?" Josue snarled, his chest heaving. "Does it cover starving us? Does it cover sending my brothers to die?"

She didn't look away. She forced herself to stare at every single scar. Her stomach churned with guilt that wasn't hers, but she owned it now.

"No," she said quietly. "It doesn't."

Josue's mouth clamped shut. He had expected her to scream, to laugh, or to call the guards. Her calm acceptance threw him off.

She tapped her terminal. A holographic document projected into the center of the table.

"I know you want to kill me," she said, her voice steady. "And honestly, I don't blame you. But I want to live. So, here is my offer."

She pointed to the glowing text. "This is a Declaration of Intent to Divorce. In sixty days, when the trial marriage period ends, I will file for a legal separation citing 'Genetic Incompatibility.' You will all be free."

Dead silence filled the room.

Alfie frowned, his eyes scanning the legal jargon. "The law says a female cannot unilaterally break a contract without cause during the trial period. What kind of trap is this?"

"No trap," she said. "I've already signed it with my biometric seal. It's legally binding on my end. For the next sixty days, I will not interfere with you. You can use whatever is left in this house."

Buren slowly raised his hand, like a child in a classroom. "Can we... can we eat the food?"

Her heart cracked a little. She pushed the vials down the table toward him. "Eat as much as you want. I'll buy more."

Josue slammed his hand down over the vials, stopping Buren from taking one. He glared at her.

"Why?" Josue demanded. "What is your angle?"

She met his gaze. "I told you. I want to live. I don't want to wake up in two months with my throat ripped out. This is a ceasefire."

Josue stared at her, searching her face for the lie. He found nothing but brutal honesty.

He looked down at the holographic contract. He didn't sign it. But slowly, deliberately, he lifted his hand off the vials.

It was a silent agreement.

She nodded. "Good. Eat. Rest."

She stood up and walked out of the room, leaving them alone with the food and their confusion.

She sat alone on the plush sofa in the living room, staring at the ceiling. The silence in the mansion was heavy.

"Warning," Sev's voice suddenly blared in her head, loud and urgent. "Critical energy spike detected in the basement. Target Josue Wolfe is experiencing a secondary ability rampage. Lethal threshold approaching."

She shot up from the sofa.

A secondary rampage. If he died, the contract would flag her for abuse, and the rest of them would kill her before the authorities even arrived.

She sprinted toward the basement stairs, her boots slamming against the steps.

A terrifying crash echoed from below, followed by the sound of metal tearing.

She burst into the basement corridor.

Josue was completely out of control. His human form was slipping. Thick, silver fur sprouted along his arms and neck. His face was elongated, his jaw snapping with lethal wolf fangs.

He grabbed Alfie by the throat and hurled him across the room like a ragdoll. Alfie slammed into the iron bars of the cell and collapsed, gasping for air.

Buren was huddled in the corner, holding his head, too terrified to move.

Josue threw his head back and let out a blood-curdling howl. The raw energy radiating from him made the air feel thick and suffocating.

"Josue!" she screamed.

His head snapped toward her. His eyes were pools of boiling blood. He didn't recognize her. He only saw a target.

He dropped to all fours and launched himself at her.

"Run!" Alfie choked out from the floor.

She didn't run. She planted her feet.

As Josue's massive, clawed hands reached for her throat, she closed her eyes and visualized the core of her consciousness. She pushed every ounce of her spiritual energy outward in a massive, invisible wave.

The energy hit him like a physical wall.

Josue froze mid-air. He crashed onto the floor right at her feet, his claws stopping less than an inch from her boots.

She dropped to her knees. She reached out and grabbed his face.

His skin was burning hot. He flinched violently, a low growl tearing from his throat, but his body refused to pull away. The biological need for a female's soothing overrode his hatred.

She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his.

The physical world vanished.

She was suddenly standing in the middle of a raging, blood-red ocean. Massive waves of pain and fury crashed around her. This was Josue's spiritual landscape. It was a place of endless torture.

She took a deep breath. She imagined her energy as a cool, white light. She pushed it out, letting it spread over the boiling water.

Calm down, she projected into the storm. You're safe.

The red waves fought back, trying to drown her in his agony. She gritted her teeth, pushing harder. The white light expanded, smoothing out the violent ripples, cooling the burning air.

In the real world, Josue let out a ragged gasp.

The tension drained from his muscles. The silver fur receded into his skin. His claws shrank back into normal fingernails.

He slumped forward, his heavy head resting on her shoulder. He let out a soft, unconscious sound—a mix between a sigh and a purr.

She opened her eyes. The basement came back into focus.

Alfie was staring at her, his jaw completely unhinged.

She tried to pull back from Josue, but a sudden, overwhelming wave of dizziness hit her. The spiritual output had completely drained her weak body.

Black spots danced in her vision. Her arms lost all strength.

She swayed backward, falling toward the hard concrete floor.

Before she could hit the ground, a strong arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

Josue's eyes snapped open. The red was gone, replaced by clear, vibrant green. He caught her effortlessly, pulling her back against his broad chest.

She leaned her head back against his shoulder, too weak to hold it up. She was panting, her skin slick with cold sweat.

Josue stared down at her. His chest was rising and falling rapidly against her back. The look in his eyes was pure chaos. He hated her, but she had just given him the most profound peace he had ever felt.

She managed a weak, trembling smile.

"Looks like..." she whispered, her voice barely audible. "...my life is saved."

The darkness rushed in, and she completely lost consciousness.