Maya woke to bird calls from the cave entrance.
When she opened her eyes, the cave was much brighter.
Sun streamed through the opening and made scattered light patches on the ground.
She reached beside her and only touched cool hide.
Caleb was already gone.
Only faint coolness around her waist remained, reminding her last night wasn’t a dream.
She sat up and moved her legs.
She couldn’t help frowning.
Her legs felt stiff and numb.
Clearly from being wrapped too tightly by Caleb’s snake tail for too long.
Maya rubbed her legs when sudden warmth spread across her neck.
The pendant hanging around her neck grew warm, like something inside was stirring.
She paused, then focused her mind into the storage space.
Last time she entered the space, thick fog filled everything.
It limited her view to about five square meters.
But this time was different.
The fog had completely cleared, showing the space’s full size.
Instead of a cramped corner, she now saw roughly thirty square meters of rich black soil.
It seemed to shimmer with glowing traces.
Perfect for growing plants.
She’d have fresh vegetables soon!
Even better, she felt like her mental power had grown a lot.
And her wounds didn’t hurt as much anymore.
Before she could check these changes more, Jasper’s voice came from the entrance.
“Maya, you awake?”
She quickly turned on the water function as Jasper walked in.
He carried a string of golden brown roasted meat.
Fat still sizzled on it, filling the cave with rich smell.
He wore that same charming smile and offered the meat to Maya.
“Just finished cooking. Still hot. Try it.”
Should have been an attractive smile, but the scar across his face ruined it.
Maya looked away from his face and took the meat.
She chewed and thought.
“You guys caught something last night? I thought hunting in the dark would be tough.”
On Feral Planet, creatures had two types.
Regular wildlife without energy cores, and Aberrant beasts with dangerous power levels.
Regular wildlife had tender, good meat.
Aberrant beast meat was tough and sour.
No beastman would eat it.
Plus regular wildlife was easier to hunt.
Aberrant beasts were deadly.
So the males faced real danger hunting.
They weren’t always lucky enough to find regular prey.
Jasper sat beside her.
His eyes moved over her body.
Maybe it was his imagination, but her wounds seemed to heal unusually fast.
“Last night Sage, Hunter and I went out. Finn and Caleb stayed to guard the cave entrance. We got lucky and found a group of grass eaters. I took down the biggest one! Sage and Hunter caught good ones too. Plenty of meat for today!”
Though Jasper was clearly showing off, having meat meant they could keep moving.
Maya felt relieved.
She took another big bite.
“What about you guys? Did everyone eat? Is there enough? I’ve got backup berries if we’re short.”
Jasper paused, then laughed.
The amusement in his eyes looked more real this time.
“Plenty! We ate earlier and saved you the best cut…” He trailed off, like he wanted to say more but couldn’t find the words.
Maya figured he was worried about the blood bond thing.
“Don’t stress, I’m keeping track of your cooking. This makes three meals. Two more, and you get your blood drop.”
Jasper just made a quiet sound.
Maya found that weird.
“Something else bugging you?”
Jasper seemed to wrestle with himself before saying, “Caleb went into rut last night, so you two…”
He didn’t finish, but Maya got it.
The other guys had seen Caleb leave Maya’s spot that morning.
They could tell he’d been in rut, but he wasn’t showing the usual violence that came from losing control.
Obviously some female had calmed him down.
But when Jasper checked Maya over, she had zero claiming marks.
So they’d done something else.
Did that mean she’d help them too when their time came?
Then he couldn’t help sneering inside.
She’d helped Caleb for her own reasons.
A manipulative female would never willingly help them.
Maya kept her face blank.
“I know about Caleb. I helped him last night. How is he today? Can he travel?”
Whatever happened, they couldn’t slow down.
Before Jasper could answer, the other guys walked into the cave.
Caleb’s cheeks still looked flushed, but his eyes were clear.
He’d obviously heard from outside, so he jumped right in.
“I can travel, but I need more mental help. I’ll carry you today.”
Maya knew mental soothing meant touching.
As long as whoever carried her kept them moving, she didn’t care.
She nodded.
The guys started packing when Maya called, “Wait.” They all froze, looking at her.
Maya walked toward Finn, bit her lip, and pricked her fingertip.
Bright red blood welled up, catching the light like tiny rubies.
Finn saw her bleeding finger and frowned automatically.
Maya held up her finger, looking up at Finn who towered over her.
“Could you crouch down? You’re way too tall. How am I supposed to reach your mark?”
Finn finally got it.
His throat moved as he slowly bent down.
He was stupidly beautiful, with those perfect features that looked like they belonged in a museum.
In the light, his long lashes cast shadows, his nose almost touching Maya’s forehead.
His scent hit her like a wave of ocean breeze mixed with something clean and sharp.
The sudden assault of masculine perfection made Maya’s heart skip beats, heat flooding her cheeks.
Finn’s skin was marble pale, his lashes long enough to brush his cheekbones, even his lips soft pink.
Despite being strong enough to fight monsters, he had a face that could stop traffic.
Maya frantically chanted “he’s a bad guy, he wants me dead” until her pulse calmed down.
She quickly looked away, focusing on the purple mark on his chest.
“Okay, don’t move.”
The blood drop hit the purple mark, and the scorpion’s right claw slowly faded away.
Maya pulled back.
“That’s number two. One more tomorrow, and we’re done.”
Finn straightened without speaking, but kept staring at her face.
He’d seen it clearly.
Her cheeks had gone sunset pink, then she’d forced them back to normal, though her ears still showed traces of color.
What had she been thinking?
Why had her expression changed so fast?
Was she planning how to mess with them?