After Sage pushed his mental energy too far, he collapsed to the ground and shifted back to human form.
His face was completely pale as he leaned against a tree, breathing hard.
But his attack had worked.
The massive Aberrant beast couldn’t fly anymore.
Its wings hung useless at its sides.
Hunter’s lion form jumped at the chance.
He bit down hard on the bird’s right wing with his sharp teeth and refused to let go no matter how much it struggled.
Caleb turned into a huge silver snake and wrapped his coils around the creature’s body.
His scales shined as he squeezed tighter and tighter, nearly crushing its bones.
Finn leaped from the water with purple mental energy glowing around him.
He sent wave after wave of psychic attacks at the bird’s head, making it confused and dizzy.
The C rank beast was strong, but without being able to fly, it couldn’t use its main advantage.
It flapped its wings wildly and clawed at the ground, but couldn’t escape Caleb’s grip or Hunter’s bite.
Finn’s mental attacks left it stumbling around, moving slower and slower.
Maya watched the fight and felt her worry start to fade.
As long as they kept the bird on the ground, they would win for sure.
But her shoulders were getting more painful.
Blood ran down her arms and dripped onto the ground in bright red spots.
Her fingers touched the necklace at her throat.
She remembered her healing ability, but Jasper was right beside her.
She couldn’t secretly use it to heal herself.
She had to just bear the pain for now.
Jasper looked tense as he watched the battle.
Maya glanced at him.
“Don’t you need to help fight too?”
He shook his head.
“They can handle it. I need to protect you.”
Maya understood.
Feral Planet had more than just this one Aberrant beast.
If Jasper joined the fight and another creature showed up, she would be in serious danger.
Females were like fancy food to Aberrant beasts.
Even worse, eating females apparently helped the creatures get stronger.
That’s why females were such easy targets when they went outside.
This was exactly why females wanted high-level males as partners.
Marcus had obviously thought this through when he picked her five mates.
He made sure they could handle threats on land, in water, and in the air.
Finally, between Caleb’s crushing coils, Hunter’s powerful bite, and Finn’s mental attacks, it stopped moving completely.
Its huge body crashed to the ground.
All the guys got hurt in the fight.
Hunter’s front paws were badly cut by the bird’s claws.
The wounds were so deep you could see bone, and blood covered his fur.
Finn’s tail had red marks where a wing had hit him when he jumped from the water.
Caleb lost several scales from his snake form, showing the raw skin underneath.
Sage was hurt the worst.
He had passed out from using too much mental energy.
His face was white as paper and his breathing was very weak.
Caleb shifted back to human form first and walked to the dead bird.
He cracked open its skull and found a Beast Core inside that glowed with rainbow colors.
It looked much better than the one from yesterday’s giant snake.
His eyes brightened.
Their luck was amazing.
Two monsters, two cores.
He walked back to Maya with the core but ignored his own cuts.
Instead, he pulled dried herbs from his leather bag and started crushing them.
He reached for bandages when Maya held up her hand to stop him.
“Wait.” Even though her shoulders hurt badly, she looked straight at the scorpion mark on his chest.
“This is the third time you’ve bandaged me. We made a deal. Three times means one blood drop. I’m bleeding right now, so let’s do this before the wounds heal and I have to cut myself again.”
Caleb froze.
He almost dropped the herb paste.
He stared at the blood running down her arms.
Something complicated flashed in his red eyes.
She was bleeding badly, but her first thought was giving him blood to break their bond?
Did she want to get rid of him that much?
Anger flared in his chest.
His voice got loud and harsh.
“Right now? This is what you’re thinking about?”
Maya felt like he had slapped her.
His angry tone hurt more than her wounds.
She was trying to be fair and keep their agreement while she was hurt and trying not to cry.
Why was he yelling at her for it?
Tears started falling before she could stop them. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
She bit her lip hard to keep quiet.
Without saying anything, she dipped her finger in her blood and reached for his chest.
The moment her blood touched the purple scorpion mark, it glowed softly.
The tail tip slowly disappeared.
Caleb looked at the incomplete mark.
His chest felt heavy and tight.
He had wanted to break this bond so many times before.
But now that it was really happening, he felt no happiness.
His heart felt empty and even breathing hurt.
Maya was done with his attitude.
She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her wrist.
He didn’t squeeze hard, but she couldn’t pull free.
“Look,” he said quietly, “Sage is unconscious. He can’t heal you right now. At least let me bandage you properly.”
Maya wanted to stay angry, but bleeding more just to make a point seemed stupid.
She had already paid him, so basic first aid was fair.
She stopped trying to leave but didn’t look at him.
Caleb felt relieved when she didn’t walk away.
He picked up the herbs and knelt beside her, being very careful with his movements.
Maya turned her head away.
Her shoulders shook slightly.
Tears were still on her cheeks, but she wouldn’t let any more fall.
Without Sage’s healing power, the medicine stung when it touched her wounds.
She couldn’t help making small sounds of pain.
Caleb’s hands became even gentler.
After he finished the bandaging, he hesitated, then reached out to wipe the tears from her face.
Her skin felt burning hot under his fingertips.
He wanted to say something and opened his mouth, but no words came out.
He pulled his hand back.
Maya kept looking at the unconscious Sage across the clearing.
Jasper came back from checking on Sage, looking relieved.
“Just mental exhaustion. No other injuries. He should be fine after some sleep.”
Maya frowned.
This meant they couldn’t keep traveling today.