Filtered sunlight dappled her pale face through the canopy above.
Her long lashes cast delicate shadows, and her lips had lost all color, making her look fragile and defenseless.
The beastmen gathered around, watching Maya sleep against the tree.
Complex emotions played across their faces.
Hunter turned the whip over in his hands, his jaw clenched tight.
In the past, just offering the weapon wouldn’t have satisfied her bloodlust.
She would’ve coated it with acid or used heated plasma rods to burn him alive.
Caleb leaned against a nearby trunk, his crimson eyes flicking between Maya’s colorless lips and the weapon in Hunter’s grip.
He’d expected her to at least pitch a fit after that rough ride.
Instead, she’d just crashed without a single complaint.
Sage crouched down, noting the purple bruises still marking Maya’s throat.
His expression darkened, but he didn’t move to help.
He could have used his psychic healing, but he held back.
Jasper retrieved an emergency ration from their gear and started warming it over the fire.
Finn’s gaze lingered on the violent marks discoloring Maya’s neck before he deliberately turned away.
Nobody spoke.
Only the rustle of foliage and Maya’s steady breathing broke the silence.
The men spread out but kept their positions defensive, forming a loose perimeter around her.
Whatever their personal grudges, the bonding Mark meant they had to keep her breathing.
Maya woke up to the smell of something that actually resembled real food.
The aroma of warmed rations hit her nostrils, making her stomach growl loudly.
She’d only managed to drink some nutrient supplements this morning before getting bounced around on Hunter’s back like a basketball for hours.
She’d thrown up everything.
Now her stomach felt completely empty and was cramping with hunger.
She slowly opened her eyes.
The bright sunlight made her squint.
The first thing she saw was Jasper’s hand holding a steaming ration pack.
He crouched by their small fire, those pale green eyes curved in his usual smile.
He held the warm food toward her.
“Hungry? Try this. I actually heated up the protein pack this time. Should taste way better than yesterday’s disaster.”
Maya took the warm package.
That smile gave her the creeps.
All friendly on the surface, but his eyes looked like he wanted to strangle her.
It was like watching someone practice being fake.
But her stomach was desperately hungry, so she pushed aside her doubts and took a big bite.
The ration was warm all the way through.
The texture wasn’t too bad.
The added mineral salts had made the processed space food almost taste decent.
She nodded while chewing, her face brightening.
“Oh wow, this is actually good!”
The moment she said that, every head in camp turned toward her.
They looked shocked.
Had they heard wrong?
Maya was genuinely praising Jasper’s camp cooking?
She noticed their stares and looked around.
They were all packing up but none of them had touched any food.
“Wait, why isn’t anyone else eating?”
Jasper kept poking at the fire.
That weird smile never changed.
“We’re almost out of supplies. What’s left from our crashed ship is barely enough to keep you fed.”
Maya blinked, then asked the obvious question.
“Not enough? But there are tons of animals here. Can’t you just hunt something?”
She clearly had zero clue about actual hunting.
The mockery in Jasper’s eyes was obvious.
“We’ll hunt when we reach tonight’s camp. If we stop to hunt now, we won’t make it to the safe zone before sunset. Trust me, you don’t want to be out here after dark. The creatures that come out at night are seriously dangerous.”
But when speaking to Maya, his tone stayed smooth and fake.
Maya frowned.
How could they travel all day without eating?
They were not robots.
She saw Sage holding their supply pack tightly.
She put down her ration and walked over.
She tugged gently at the pack in Sage’s hands.
Sage automatically let go, surprised by her move.
The pack opened, showing several emergency ration bars and some pieces of preserved protein neatly stacked inside.
Even if Males could eat a lot, wasn’t this much food enough for one meal?
Maya raised her eyes to look at Sage.
Her tone was serious.
“Sage, are these rations enough for you all to eat one meal?”
Sage’s head shot up. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
His amber eyes filled with shock, like her question had hit him hard.
She wasn’t like this before.
She used to keep all the best food for herself.
Premium meals, expensive supplements, imported delicacies from across the galaxy.
She would rather throw them away than give them any.
They could only eat basic nutrition tablets in secret.
They did this while preparing her fancy meals from costly ingredients.
Now she was opening their emergency food supply and asking “is it enough.”
She even wanted to share these survival rations with them?
What happened to her?
Maya saw him staying quiet and looked at the other beastmen.
“Are these really not enough for you all to eat one meal?”
The moment Maya asked this, the area by the stream went completely silent.
Only the fire made crackling sounds.
Not just Sage.
All the other beastmen froze.
They looked like they had seen something impossible.
Enough to eat?
Of course it was enough!
Those emergency ration bars were big portions made for adult males.
Plus several pieces of preserved protein.
They could have a really good meal.
But they never thought about touching this food.
In their minds, these supplies belonged to the Female.
Rough Males like them shouldn’t even want them.
Maya saw them all staying silent, just staring at the rations.
She felt more confused.
Sage finally spoke, but his voice sounded uncertain and shocked.
He looked at Maya, then at the food in the pack.
His throat moved as he swallowed hard.
“These rations… if we eat them all now, you won’t have anything for tonight.”