Nyx's mind: ฅᨐฅ'She just realized. I can see it on her face. She just realized we can climb better than she ever could. Good. Maybe now she'll come down on her own before I have to go up there and get her.'ฅᨐฅ
"I'm coming down," Faelyn said quickly, voice shaking slightly. "Just. Give me a second."
She started descending, careful with her foot placement, hands gripping bark that was slick with some kind of bioluminescent moss.
Her boot slipped.
She gasped, scrambling for purchase.
Roshan moved instantly, positioning himself directly below her.
Roshan's mind: ฅᨐฅ'I'll catch her. If she falls, I'll catch her. Please don't fall. Please be careful. Slow. Slow down—'ฅᨐฅ
Faelyn made it to the lowest branch and dropped down, landing in a crouch that would've made her old gymnastics coach proud.
She straightened slowly, very aware that she was now standing between two very large, very blood-covered men who looked like they'd just murdered a bear with their bare hands.
Which they had.
Because they could turn into giant cats.
Because this was her life now.
She kept her eyes down, staring at the ground, at her ruined boots, at anything except them.
Especially Nyx.
Nyx with his red eyes and sharp features and that thought about killing her that was still echoing in her head.
'I'm going to kill her.'
Her hands started shaking.
She clenched them into fists, trying to stop the trembling, but it just spread to her arms, her shoulders, her whole body.
'This is real. This is all real. The bear was real. The blood is real. They're real. Their thoughts are real. That thought about killing me was REAL.'
"Are you hurt?" Roshan asked gently, taking a careful step toward her.
Faelyn flinched.
He froze immediately.
Roshan's mind: ฅᨐฅ'She's scared. She's terrified. Of us. Of me. I scared her. We scared her. Gods, she's shaking. Say something. Do something. Make her feel safe—'ฅᨐฅ
"I'm fine," Faelyn managed, voice barely above a whisper. "I'm... I'm fine."
She wasn't fine.
She was the opposite of fine.
She was standing in a magical forest with two men who could turn into predators and one of them had literally thought about killing her and she could HEAR IT and this couldn't be real, this had to be a dream, a coma, some kind of brain-damage-induced hallucination from the deer incident.
'Please be a coma. Please just be a coma. I'll wake up in a hospital bed and Marcus will be there apologizing while I drag his hair and everything will be normal and boring and safe and—'
"Look at me," Nyx said, voice still controlled but with an edge of command.
Faelyn's body went rigid.
'Absolutely not.'
She was NOT looking at the man who'd thought about killing her.
'Nope.'
'Not happening.'
She turned slightly toward Roshan instead, the one who seemed less likely to murder her, but even that felt dangerous and wrong and—
Her eyes squeezed shut on their own, hot tears spilling down her cheeks before she could stop them.
'Wake up. Wake up wake up wake up. This is a dream. A nightmare. A coma dream. None of this is real. It CAN'T be real.'
But she could feel the damp earth beneath her boots.
Could smell the blood and sweat and something wild and animal.
Could hear Puffball's concerned chirping and the rustle of leaves and her own ragged breathing.
Real.
It was all horrifyingly, impossibly real.
The tears came harder.
She wrapped her arms around herself, shoulders shaking, trying desperately to hold it together and failing spectacularly.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Roshan's voice, soft and warm and close.
Too close.
Faelyn's breath hitched.
And then warm arms wrapped around her, pulling her against a solid chest that smelled like pine and something earthy and wild.
Roshan.
Roshan was hugging her.
Her eyes flew open in shock.
She found herself pressed against his bare chest, his arms gentle but secure around her, one hand cradling the back of her head like she was something precious and breakable.
Roshan's mind: ฅᨐฅ'She's crying. She's so scared. I have to help. Have to make her feel safe. Protected. Even if she runs again. Even if she hates me. Right now she needs comfort and I'm going to give it to her.'ฅᨐฅ
Over Roshan's shoulder, she caught a glimpse of Nyx.
He looked absolutely stunned, red eyes wide, mouth slightly open.
Nyx's mind: ฅᨐฅ'He's TOUCHING her. He just. He grabbed her. Without permission. Without asking. That's not. We don't. You can't just GRAB a female like that, Roshan, what are you THINKING—'ฅᨐฅ
Nyx took a step forward, hand reaching out like he was about to pull Roshan away.
And then Faelyn sobbed.
"Hic—hngh... a-aah..."
A real, broken, ugly sob that came from somewhere deep in her chest where all the terror and confusion and exhaustion lived.
And instead of pulling away, instead of pushing Roshan off, instead of doing anything rational, she grabbed onto him like a lifeline and cried harder.
Her fingers clutched at his shoulders, his back, anywhere she could reach, and she just broke.
All the adrenaline, all the fear, all the desperate hope that this was just a nightmare, came pouring out in gasping, hiccupping sobs against a stranger's chest.
Roshan's arms tightened fractionally, protective and warm.
Roshan's mind: ฅᨐฅ'I've got you. You're safe. I promise. I'll keep you safe. Just breathe. Just breathe.'ฅᨐฅ
Nyx's hand dropped back to his side, his expression shifting from shock to something complicated and conflicted.
Nyx's mind: ฅᨐฅ'She's. She's holding onto him. She's crying and holding onto him and I... I scared her. My face and words I assume. She's terrified. Of me. Because I'm an idiot who saysq violent things when I'm stressed and now she's. She's... sigh.'ฅᨐฅ
And then, cutting through the sound of her crying and the thoughts swirling in her head, a golden notification materialized in her vision.
[CONGRATULATIONS, TRANSMIGRATOR!]
[SPECIAL EVENT TRIGGERED: First Physical Contact With Fated Mates]
[ABILITY UNLOCKED: Mate Bond Resonance - Level 1]
[ANALYZING COMPATIBILITY...]
[COMPATIBILITY CONFIRMED: 99.7%]
[BOND INITIALIZATION: IN PROGRESS]
[WARNING: EMOTIONAL OVERLOAD DETECTED]
[INITIATING SAFETY PROTOCOLS]
[CONSCIOUSNESS SHUTDOWN IN 5... 4... 3...]
"Wait, what—" Faelyn managed, pulling back slightly from Roshan's chest to stare at the text floating in her vision.
'Fated mates? Bond? Ninety-nine point SEVEN percent? What the fuck does any of that—'
Her vision went dark around the edges.
'Huh? Why's—'
"Whoa, hey, stay with me—" Roshan's voice sounded distant.
Roshan's mind: ฅᨐฅ'She's going limp. Something's wrong. NYX, HELP—'ฅᨐฅ
Nyx's mind: ฅᨐฅ'CATCH HER!'ฅᨐฅ
And then there was nothing.