Jace stopped at the edge of the stone bed. He shoved the slab of meat toward Eleanor's face. The outside was charred black, but thick red blood still oozed from the center.

Eleanor's stomach violently contracted. The smell of raw blood and unrendered fat made her gag. She pressed herself harder against the rock wall, shaking her head frantically.

Jace let out a low grunt. He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. He tore a piece of the meat off with his teeth and chewed, his jaw muscles working.

He didn't take his eyes off her. His gaze dragged over her pale face, down to the rapid rise and fall of her chest beneath the windbreaker. The air in the cave grew thick, suffocatingly hot.

He swallowed the meat. He tossed the rest onto the floor.

Before Eleanor could blink, Jace lunged.

His massive hands clamped around her ankles. He yanked backward. Eleanor screamed as she was dragged flat onto her back, sliding across the pelt until she was pinned directly beneath him.

His weight was crushing. The heat radiating from his skin sank into her bones. His heavy, ragged breathing fanned across her neck.

Jace grabbed the collar of her windbreaker. He didn't know how zippers worked. He simply closed his fists and ripped his arms apart.

The heavy nylon tore with a sickening sound.

"Get off me!" Eleanor shrieked.

Her right arm whipped out from her sleeve. She jammed the tactical flashlight directly into Jace's face and slammed her thumb down on the tail switch.

Three thousand lumens of blinding white light erupted in the dark cave. The strobe function pulsed at a dizzying, high-frequency rate.

Jace let out a deafening roar of pure agony. His pupils, dilated for the dark cave, took the full, unfiltered blast of the tactical strobe. He dropped her jacket, his hands flying up to cover his eyes as he reeled backward.

Eleanor didn't hesitate. She gripped the flashlight with both hands. She aimed the jagged, crenelated strike bezel at the side of his head.

She swung with every ounce of adrenaline in her body.

The heavy aluminum smashed into Jace's temple with a hollow thud.

Jace grunted. His eyes rolled back in his head. His massive body swayed for a second before collapsing sideways onto the stone bed like a felled tree.

Eleanor dropped the flashlight. Her chest heaved, pulling in jagged breaths. She stared at his motionless body, her heart hammering against her ribs so hard it hurt.

She waited thirty seconds. He didn't twitch.

She scrambled off the bed, her legs shaking so badly she almost fell. She grabbed the flashlight, clicked it off, and plunged the cave back into shadows.

She grabbed her multi-tool, sliced a strip of fabric from her ruined jacket, and wrapped it tightly around her bruised wrist. She slung the backpack over her shoulders.

She crept to the cave entrance.

Night had fallen. The camp was dotted with small fires, but most of the tribe was asleep. The two guards at the bottom of the path were sitting on the ground, their heads nodding in sleep.

Eleanor pressed her back against the rock wall. She slid down the path, placing her boots carefully to avoid kicking loose stones.

As she passed Greta's hut, a loud mumble came from inside. Eleanor froze, her blood turning to ice. She held her breath until her lungs burned. Silence returned.

She slipped past the sleeping guards, keeping to the deep shadows cast by the fires. The moment her boots hit the soft, damp soil of the forest edge, she broke into a dead run.

She plunged into the pitch-black woods, running until her lungs felt like they were bleeding.

She had no GPS. No stars visible through the canopy. Within twenty minutes, she was completely, hopelessly lost.

The forest grew eerily silent. The crickets stopped chirping. A foul, musky odor drifted through the damp air.

A rustling sound came from the bushes ahead.

Eleanor stopped dead.

In the darkness, a pair of glowing, sickly green eyes opened. Then another pair to her left. Then two more to her right.

She slowly turned in a circle. There were five of them. Giant prehistoric wolves, their lips curled back to expose jagged, yellow teeth. They had her completely surrounded.

Eleanor backed up slowly until her spine hit the rough bark of a massive ancient tree. There was nowhere left to run.

The wolves were slightly smaller than the monster Jace had killed, but they were still the size of lions. Saliva dripped from their jaws in long, thick strings.

A sharp hiss sounded directly above her head.

Eleanor jerked her chin up. A snake as thick as her forearm, covered in vibrant, toxic-looking scales, was slithering down the trunk. Its triangular head was pointed straight at her face.

Her breath hitched in her throat. Trapped.

Eleanor ripped her backpack around to her front. Her mind flashed through countless hours of wilderness survival courses, panic threatening to override her logic. She forced her trembling hands into the main compartment, desperately fumbling for the two specific items she had packed as an absolute last resort. She pulled out her windproof lighter and a small spray bottle of 90% isopropyl rubbing alcohol from her first-aid kit.

The alpha wolf let out a low bark and charged.

Eleanor flicked the lighter. She aimed the spray bottle at the wolf and squeezed the trigger repeatedly.

A three-foot jet of roaring orange flame erupted from her hands.

The fire caught the alpha wolf straight in the snout. The beast shrieked, a high-pitched sound of pure terror. It twisted mid-air, crashing into the dirt, and scrambled backward, the smell of singed fur filling the air.

The sudden burst of heat and light made the snake recoil instantly, slithering rapidly back up into the dark canopy.

The rest of the pack flinched away from the fire, whining, but they didn't leave. They widened their circle, pacing nervously.

Eleanor knew the alcohol wouldn't last. She dropped to her knees, keeping the lighter lit, and frantically swept dry leaves and dead twigs into a pile in front of her. She sprayed a tiny bit of alcohol on the pile and ignited it.

A small, crackling campfire flared to life.

The wolves hated the light. They stayed just beyond the edge of the illumination, their green eyes glowing with predatory patience.

The temperature dropped rapidly. Eleanor shivered violently, her teeth chattering. She kept feeding the fire with whatever twigs she could reach without stepping away from the tree.

Within an hour, the fuel within her reach was gone.

The flames began to shrink. The circle of light tightened.

The wolves noticed. They stopped pacing. They lowered their heads, creeping forward inch by inch as the fire died down to glowing red embers.

Eleanor pulled a collapsible metal trekking pole from the side of her pack. She snapped it out to its full length, gripping the rubber handle with both hands. Her palms were slick with cold sweat.

A faint rustle sounded behind her right shoulder.

The snake had returned. It launched itself from the brush, aiming straight for her calf.

Eleanor caught the movement in her peripheral vision. She threw her weight to the left. The snake's fangs grazed the fabric of her pants, leaving two streaks of clear venom on the nylon.

Eleanor swung the trekking pole like a baseball bat. The metal shaft cracked against the snake's body, sending it flying into the darkness.

But the violent swing threw her off balance. Her boot slipped on the damp moss. She fell hard, her left hand landing directly in the hot ashes of the dying fire.

She screamed, yanking her burned hand back to her chest.

It was the opening the wolves were waiting for.

The alpha howled. Three wolves lunged simultaneously, leaping over the smoking embers.

Eleanor swung the pole blindly from the ground. She caught one wolf in the shoulder, but the wolf on her right clamped its jaws around the metal shaft.

The beast yanked its head back violently. The force ripped the pole from Eleanor's grip, tearing the skin off her palm.

She was defenseless.

The alpha wolf was right on top of her. Its jaws opened, aiming for her face. The stench of rotting meat washed over her.

Eleanor squeezed her eyes shut and threw her arms over her head.

A roar tore through the forest.

It wasn't an animal. It was a sound of pure, unadulterated human rage, so loud it vibrated in Eleanor's chest.

The wolves froze instantly. The alpha snapped its jaws shut, its ears pinning flat against its skull. The predators looked into the darkness, their eyes wide with sudden, absolute terror.

A massive shadow exploded from the tree line.

Jace moved faster than humanly possible. He was shirtless, his chest heaving. Fresh, dark blood was still flowing from the jagged wound on the side of his head where Eleanor had struck him. His steps carried a faint, almost imperceptible stagger from the severe concussion, but the sheer, unadulterated rage in his bloodshot eyes entirely masked the trauma. He pushed through the debilitating dizziness, his gaze fixed entirely on the wolves.

He didn't have his spear. He didn't need it.

He launched himself into the air and drove his bare heel straight down into the spine of the wolf closest to Eleanor. A sickening crack echoed through the trees. The wolf collapsed instantly, paralyzed, without making a sound.

The alpha wolf abandoned Eleanor and lunged at Jace's throat.

Jace let out a feral snarl. He didn't dodge. He reached out with both hands and grabbed the wolf's upper and lower jaws mid-air.

Eleanor watched in paralyzed horror. The muscles in Jace's arms bulged, thick veins popping against his skin. With a roar that tore from his lungs, he wrenched his arms apart.

The sound of tearing flesh and snapping bone was deafening. Jace ripped the alpha's jaw completely out of its socket.

A spray of hot, dark blood coated Jace's chest and face. He tossed the dead alpha aside like a broken toy.

The remaining three wolves didn't hesitate. They tucked their tails between their legs and bolted into the darkness, whining in terror.

The forest fell dead silent, save for Jace's heavy, ragged breathing.

He turned slowly. His blood-soaked chest heaved. His dark eyes locked onto Eleanor, who was curled into a ball against the tree, trembling violently.

Eleanor shrank back. She had hit him. She had run away. He was going to kill her.

Jace closed the distance in two long strides. He towered over her, blocking out the stars.

Eleanor squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the blow.

Instead, Jace dropped to one knee. His massive, blood-stained hands reached out. He didn't strike her. His rough fingers gently, almost hesitantly, touched her arms, checking for injuries.

His eyes scanned the scratches on her face, the torn skin on her palm, and the dirt covering her clothes. The violent rage in his eyes melted away, replaced by a deep, agonizing panic.

Suddenly, Jace's gaze snapped to the ground near her leg.

The snake had slithered back. It coiled, ready to strike Eleanor's ankle.

Jace's hand shot out like a whip. He grabbed the snake right behind its head before it could move. The snake wrapped its thick body around his forearm, hissing violently.

Jace didn't even blink. He squeezed his fist. A sharp pop sounded as he crushed the snake's skull to mush. He casually tossed the dead reptile into the bushes.

He turned back to Eleanor. She was staring at him, her chest heaving, her eyes wide with shock.

Jace let out a soft, rumbling sigh. He reached out and used his thumb to gently wipe a smear of black ash off her cheek.

The extreme gentleness of the gesture, coming from a man covered in gore who had just ripped a wolf apart with his bare hands, shattered the last of Eleanor's defenses.

The adrenaline crashed. Tears spilled over her eyelashes, tracing hot paths down her dirty cheeks.

Jace looked panicked at her tears. He clumsily tried to wipe them away with the back of his hand, only succeeding in smearing a bit of wolf blood on her jaw.

Eleanor didn't care. She looked up at this massive, blood-soaked man. Fear and profound gratitude waged a violent war in her chest. He was savage, terrifying, and the very reason she was trapped in this camp. Yet, at this exact moment, he was also the only impenetrable barrier between her and a gruesome death. Logic screamed at her to keep her distance, but the primal, overwhelming instinct to survive crushed every rational thought. The terror of the wolves, the cold, the absolute isolation-it all crashed down on her. She lunged forward and buried her face into his broad, burning-hot chest.

Jace went completely rigid. For a second, he didn't breathe. Then, his massive arms wrapped around her, pulling her tightly against him. He buried his face in her blonde hair, inhaling deeply.

Listening to the steady, powerful thud of his heartbeat, Eleanor felt the first sliver of safety she had known since falling into this world.

Her exhausted body simply gave out. The darkness rushed in, and she went limp in his arms.

Jace caught her easily. He stood up, cradling her against his chest as if she weighed nothing.

Torches flickered through the trees. Amos and Clay burst into the clearing, spears raised, panting heavily. They stopped dead, staring at the massacred wolves and their leader holding the strange female.

Jace shot them a cold, warning glare. He didn't say a word. He adjusted his grip on Eleanor and began the long walk back to the tribe.