"Qinglan! Get back inside the cave—now!"
Mu Lei's roar shattered the quiet night like thunder cracking across the forest. The leopard beastman was already moving, his human form rippling with the first signs of a full shift as heavy footsteps thundered from the tree line. Qinglan's head snapped up from where she had been pretending to sleep by the low fire, heart slamming against her ribs so hard the hidden herb pouch under her cloak nearly slipped free.
She had only stepped out for a breath of air—barely two paces beyond the vines—when the savage roar split the darkness. Not a beastman. Something wild. Something hungry.
"Mu Lei, what is it?" she cried, voice cracking in genuine terror as she scrambled backward. Her frail legs tangled in the cloak, sending her stumbling.
"Rogue boar! Big one—driven mad by something. Stay behind me!" Mu Lei didn't wait for her to obey. In one fluid motion his body exploded into the leopard form she had only glimpsed before: sleek golden fur rippling over powerful muscles, claws like curved daggers, fangs bared in a snarl that promised death. He lunged forward, placing himself between her and the massive shadow bursting from the underbrush.
The beast was enormous—easily twice the size of any normal boar, black bristles standing like spikes along its spine, red eyes glowing with feral rage. Tusks longer than her forearm gleamed in the moonlight as it charged straight at the cave, drawn by the scent of the rare human female inside.
Qinglan's modern mind screamed calculations—weak points, escape routes, anything—but her body betrayed her. This frail form couldn't run fast enough. Couldn't fight. The mate bond in her chest flared white-hot, pulling desperately toward the distant Wolf Clan territories as if Helian Xuan himself could feel the danger closing in.
She had only one choice.
Mu Lei roared again, leaping to meet the boar head-on. Claws raked across thick hide, drawing first blood, but the beast barely slowed. It swung its massive head, tusks catching Mu Lei's side and flinging him against a tree with a sickening crack. The leopard hit the ground hard, blood matting his golden fur, yet he was already pushing up, eyes blazing with that same fiery protectiveness.
"Little female—run!"
But there was nowhere to run. The boar wheeled toward her, snorting hot breath that stank of rage and forest rot. Its hooves tore up the earth as it lowered its head for the final charge.
Qinglan's legs gave out. She fell, cloak tangling around her, and for one terrifying heartbeat she thought this was how it ended—trampled in the dirt of a savage world before she could even begin to use her hidden knowledge.
Then strong arms slammed around her.
Mu Lei had shifted back mid-leap, human once more, his bare chest heaving with exertion and slick with blood from the gash along his ribs. He scooped her up against him in a single powerful motion, one arm locked under her knees, the other cradling her back so tightly she could feel every rapid beat of his heart. His skin was fever-hot, muscles corded like steel from the fight, and the scent of him—wild grass, blood, and something darkly protective—filled her senses.
"Hold on to me," he growled against her hair, voice rough and raw. "I've got you. Nothing touches you while I'm breathing."
He spun, carrying her as if she weighed nothing, and vaulted toward the cave entrance. Behind them the boar bellowed in fury, tusks gouging the ground where she had stood a second earlier. Mu Lei kicked the vines aside with one foot and dove inside, twisting at the last moment so his back took the impact against the stone wall. He never let her go.
Qinglan's face pressed into the curve of his neck, her small hands clutching his shoulders by instinct. The mate bond thrummed wildly in her chest, confused and bright, layering over the warmth of Mu Lei's embrace. For the first time since waking in this world, she felt truly safe—wrapped in the arms of a beastman who had bled for her without hesitation.
Mu Lei's breathing was ragged, blood dripping from his side onto the furs, but he didn't loosen his hold. "You're safe," he murmured, voice softer now, almost reverent. "That thing won't get past me. I swear it on my claws."
Outside, the boar crashed against the cave mouth once, twice, then gave a frustrated squeal as village guards—drawn by the noise—finally converged with spears and shifting forms. Shouts and roars filled the night as the beast was driven back into the forest.
Elder Shen burst in moments later, face pale. "Ancestors! Mu Lei, you're hurt—let me see that wound. Qinglan, child, are you alright?"
Qinglan kept her face hidden against Mu Lei's chest a heartbeat longer, forcing her voice to stay small and terrified. "I… I'm okay. Thanks to him."
Mu Lei's arms tightened once more before he finally eased her down onto the furs, though one hand lingered on her shoulder like he couldn't quite let go. His golden eyes met hers in the firelight—fiery, protective, and now carrying something deeper, something that made the mate bond pulse in answer.
"You're not prey to me," he said quietly, so only she could hear. "Never will be."
Qinglan lowered her gaze, cheeks warm despite the night chill, while her modern mind spun with the danger of how close she had come to revealing too much.
The savage attack had forced her straight into the arms of her most protective beastman.
But as the distant howl of a wolf echoed through the trees—closer than ever—she knew the real predators were still coming at dawn.
And Mu Lei's blood on her cloak was only the beginning.