Blood dripped onto the bonding mark on Finn’s chest.
The whole scorpion tail tattoo lit up bright, then slowly faded away.
Maya pulled her arm back.
Her voice shook a little, but she sounded determined.
“Three drops, like I promised. This is the first one. I’ll give you the other two tomorrow and the day after.”
Finn’s whole body went stiff.
His purple eyes looked at her bleeding arm, then at her face.
Something hit him hard in the chest.
He thought her blood promise was just panic talking.
A desperate lie to make him save her.
The previous Maya was famous for empty promises.
She made deals and forgot them the second danger passed.
But here she was, actually keeping her word.
He had one drop from their salt work, plus these three made four total.
Just six more drops and he’d be free.
Completely cut off from the woman who’d made his life hell.
Maybe this time she really meant it about breaking their bond.
Hope came back into those purple eyes.
When he looked at her again, he saw the wound still bleeding on her arm.
His throat moved once.
He asked quietly, “Doesn’t it hurt?”
That question broke through Maya’s tough act instantly.
Of course it hurt like crazy.
When the Giant Anaconda’s teeth had cut her skin, it felt like her flesh was being ripped apart.
She’d kept the wound from healing on purpose so she could keep her promise.
Now it burned like fire and made her whole arm shake.
She hadn’t wanted to complain while the guys had worse injuries.
But Finn’s gentle question made all her hidden pain rush to the surface.
Her eyes filled with tears that she refused to let fall.
She wasn’t going to cry in front of them.
These guys would probably celebrate if she died.
Breaking down would just make them laugh.
But God, it hurt so much.
And she felt so alone.
Maya sniffed once and walked quickly to Sage.
She held out her bleeding arm.
Her voice sounded stuffy.
“Sage, could you heal this? I’ll give you a blood drop.”
Sage was their healer.
His mental power could fix injuries fast.
But asking for help meant paying him back fairly.
Trading a blood drop seemed like the right thing to do.
Something complicated showed in those amber eyes.
Her shaky, tearful request hit him harder than any blood offer could.
Sage frowned and reached for her arm.
His voice sounded rough.
“Healing first.
Hold still.”
“But I should pay you first…”
Maya wanted to give him the blood drop before healing.
Once the wound healed, she’d have to cut herself again.
Why go through pain twice?
“No arguments.”
Sage cut her off.
His fingertips already glowed with soft white light.
Gentle mental energy wrapped around the wound like warm water.
The burning pain disappeared instantly.
The bleeding stopped.
Maya watched in amazement as the deep cut closed right before her eyes.
It healed so completely that not even a scar remained.
Just the faintest pink line.
Her first time experiencing healing power was way more incredible than she’d imagined.
She started to thank him, but Sage had already turned away.
He was digging through their medical supplies, acting like she didn’t exist.
The message was clear.
Simple words weren’t enough with these guys.
“Tomorrow when I give Finn his drop, you’re getting one too.”
Sage’s hands stopped for just a second, but he didn’t say anything.
He handed out healing herbs to the others.
Mental healing had drained his energy.
After fighting that Giant Anaconda, he wasn’t going to waste more power healing everyone else’s wounds.
The guys took their herbs and started treating themselves.
But they kept looking at Maya like she might disappear.
Maya could tell they weren’t leaving anytime soon.
She found a tree and sat down to rest.
The men went through the motions of fixing their injuries, but they weren’t really focused.
Everyone could feel that something had changed with Maya.
Hunter pressed herbs against his torn shoulder.
It stung, but he kept stealing glances at her.
She leaned back against the tree with her eyes closed.
Her beautiful purple hair fell over one shoulder.
Sunlight came through the leaves and lit up her face, bringing color back to her usually pale skin.
Hunter found himself staring even though he knew he shouldn’t.
This quiet, gentle woman looked nothing like the cruel person who had made their lives hell. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
She looked like the kind of sweet female he used to dream about before everything went wrong.
The thought scared him so much he actually hit his own forehead.
Get it together, he told himself angrily.
She tortured you for months.
One good day and you’re going soft?
Pathetic.
Caleb forced himself to look away from Maya.
Those dark red eyes were full of confusion.
He decided to focus on something useful.
He walked over to the Giant Anaconda’s body to check for a beast core.
His claws came out, black and razor sharp.
He cut into the creature’s armored head.
The sound of breaking scales was loud, but he ignored it.
He dug through blood and flesh until he found something cold and hard.
He pulled out a crystal the size of a small ball.
.
A C rank beast core.
“C rank?” Jasper walked over first.
His pale green eyes went wide with surprise.
“Damn, we got lucky. Most people never see one of these.”
Sage looked up, suddenly very interested.
C rank cores were incredibly valuable.
The Federation had ruined most planets’ environments, making high-level beasts extremely rare.
But Feral Planet still had its natural ecosystem intact, with lots of powerful creatures.
The planet’s Beast King, Axel Kane, was an S rank beastman.
He controlled most high-level cores, using them to restore his mental power after major battles.
So these beastmen had no way to recover their original power levels.
They were stuck watching their strength slowly fade.
The few cores that reached markets cost fortunes.
Beast cores were the only way to restore lost power, but they followed strict ownership rules.
Any cores from a hunt belonged to the bonded female.
Cores came in two types.
Clear cores improved health and extended lifespan.
Males usually gave those to their females without hesitation.
Colored cores could restore a male’s mental power and rank, but once handed over to the female, there was no guarantee she’d give it back.
Most females preferred trading cores for immediate luxuries rather than empowering their mates.
Caleb gripped the core tightly.
He stared at it for several long moments, knowing what tradition demanded.
Then he turned and walked toward Maya.
Maya was resting against the tree with her eyes closed.
She opened them when footsteps approached and found herself staring at the glowing C rank core in Caleb’s outstretched hand.