Wayne, who had been maintaining a desperate vigil at the tribal entrance, spotted the eagle scout and Luce emerging together.
He immediately sensed something was wrong and began scouring the perimeter of the wall.
He didn’t find Euphoria, but he did collide with a frantic Luce.
Luce glanced at the lion, who had grown noticeably thinner over the last few days, and glided close.
He tasted the air, but Euphoria’s scent was nowhere on Wayne.
This time, Wayne didn’t hesitate.
He pounced, but before his fangs could connect, Luce’s massive tail whipped around and swatted him away like an annoying insect.
Wayne scrambled to his feet, shifting into human form.
“Where is Euphoria?!” he demanded, his voice cracking with desperation.
Luce spared him an indifferent glance and continued his search, his eyes fixed on the forest floor.
Wayne, refusing to be left behind, shifted back into his beast form and followed in the serpent’s wake.
Euphoria was running on fumes.
Her lungs burned and her legs felt like lead, but she didn’t dare slow down.
She had no idea how much distance she needed to put between herself and the python to be truly safe.
Suddenly, a massive eagle spiraled down from the canopy, landing directly in her path.
It shimmered and shifted into the handsome form of Vyn.
Euphoria’s heart hammered.
She remembered Luce mentioning Vyn—the two were rivals with a complicated history.
Am I caught already?
she wondered, gasping for air as she stared at the man.
”What’s happened?” Vyn asked, his brow furrowing with genuine concern.
“Why are you running like the woods are on fire?”
Euphoria felt a surge of relief.
He doesn’t know.
He clearly had no idea she had been with Luce.
”Ghost beasts!” she lied, her voice urgent.
“They’re right behind me!
You have to get me out of here, now!”
Vyn’s eyes sharpened.
He didn’t hesitate; he transformed back into a giant eagle, snagged the sturdy fabric of her tactical gear with his talons, and beat his powerful wings, hauling her into the safety of the sky.
”Take me to Wayne’s house,” Euphoria shouted over the wind.
Vyn let out a sharp cry of understanding.
Looking down at the receding forest, Euphoria finally breathed.
Luce was fast, but he couldn’t fly.
Her plan was high-risk: she would hide in the one place Luce would have already searched.
If he checked Wayne’s place and found it empty, he would move his search elsewhere, making it the safest “blind spot” for her to hole up.
Vyn deposited her at Wayne’s stone house.
Shifting back to human form, he looked at her with a mix of surprise and suspicion.
“How did you end up so far outside the tribal walls?”
Seeing that the house was empty and Luce was nowhere in sight, Euphoria felt the tension leave her shoulders.
“A ghost beast snatched me.
I managed to escape and was trying to get back when I ran into you.”
Vyn’s expression was complex—a blend of resentment toward the beasts and surprise at her resilience.
He had always suspected this female was different; escaping a predator on her own only confirmed it.
”Can you do me a favor?” Euphoria asked, her eyes pleading.
Vyn’s resolve crumbled instantly.
“Anything.”
”Don’t tell a soul you saw me.
Not even Luce.
And please…
make sure no one can smell my scent on you.”
Vyn didn’t quite grasp the logic, but he nodded.
“I promise.”
After Vyn took flight, Euphoria retreated into the stone house.
She spotted a large storage chest in the corner—it was perfect.
She could fit inside if she needed to hide.
Since this had been her home, her scent was already embedded in the furs and stone, which would help mask a fresh presence.
As she ate, her energy slowly began to return.
She sat in the dim light, wondering where Wayne had gone.
Taking Euphoria’s request seriously, Vyn stopped at the river to bathe thoroughly.
Afterward, as he was soaring low over the trees, he caught a flash of white through the leaves.
He banked hard, descending until he confirmed it was indeed Luce.
Even in his snake form, the python radiated a dark, gloomy energy.
He looked like a man possessed.
”Hey, Luce!
What are you doing out here?” Vyn landed on a sturdy branch.
Luce stopped, his head rising.
He flicked his tongue, then shifted into human form.
His face was a mask of misery.
“Have you seen a female in these woods?”
”What female?” Vyn asked, jumping down to the forest floor.
Luce hesitated, then said softly, “Euphoria.”
Vyn feigned a frown.
“Why would she be out here?
Why are you even looking for her?”
Luce didn’t explain.
“Help me find her,” he commanded.
Despite his fury at her escape, he was terrified.
A lone female in this wilderness was as good as dead, and the thought was driving him to the brink of madness.
Vyn nodded, and the two began a coordinated search.
Soon, Wayne arrived on the scene.
He saw the flicker of the white tail and tried to give chase, but he was exhausted.
He hadn’t eaten or slept in days, and his strength was failing.
His vision blurred, and the world began to spin.
I can’t stop.
I haven’t found her yet.
He took three more steps before his legs gave out, and he collapsed into the dirt.
”Wayne?
Is that you?”
Mia, who was out on a hunt, spotted the fallen lion.
The whole tribe knew Wayne was spiraling after losing his female.
But Mia was confused—he had just seen an eagle dropping a female off at Wayne’s house.
Wayne looked up, caked in mud and weeds, looking utterly broken.
”Wayne, what are you doing out here?
Your female is back.
She’s at your house.”
Wayne froze.
“Awoo?”
Mia nodded.
“An eagle carried her back.
I saw it myself.”
The light returned to Wayne’s eyes instantly.
He scrambled to his feet, suddenly full of life.
He told Mia to keep it quiet, and then he bolted for home.
He was ecstatic, yet terrified—what if Mia had seen someone else?
He reached the stone house and nudged the door open with trembling precision.
When he saw Euphoria resting on the furs, he let out a sob of relief and launched himself at her, pulling her into a crushing embrace.
Euphoria, who had been drifting off, was jolted awake.
Feeling the heat of his body and his frantic heartbeat, she felt a sudden, unexpected sense of safety.
”Get off, you’re squashing me,” she grunted, though she didn’t sound truly angry.
Wayne sat back, though he refused to let go of her hand.
His eyes were swimming with tears.
“I thought you were gone forever.
I thought I’d never see you again.
I missed you so much.”
He looked like a stray dog that had been through the wringer.
Her heart softened.
“Alright, settle down.
I’m here.”
Wayne beamed.
He felt a surge of petty triumph—Luce was still out there chasing shadows in the dark, but the female had come back to him.
He sniffed her deeply, his eyes crinkling with joy.
No snake scent.
No other males.
Just her.
”Achoo!”
Wayne suddenly recoiled, rubbing his nose.
“What is that smell?”
Euphoria had anticipated his keen nose and had doused herself in the chemical insect repellent from her bag.
“Oh, it’s the herbs,” she lied smoothly.
“My ankle was bothering me, so I applied some strong-smelling medicine.
It’s for the swelling.”
”Sprained?
Let me see,” Wayne said, reaching for her foot.
”I’m fine now,” she insisted, pulling back with a smile.
“I wouldn’t have made it back if I wasn’t.”
Gurgle—Gurgle!
Wayne’s stomach let out a roar of its own.
He turned bright red and jumped up.
“I’m going to hunt.
You stay here.
Be careful!”
Euphoria nodded, and with one last lingering look, Wayne shifted into a lion and vanished into the brush.
Luce and Vyn searched until the moon was high, but found nothing.
Vyn kept his word, playing the part of the helpful searcher with convincing dedication.
Luce was in despair.
Her scent had simply vanished into thin air.
“Luce,” Vyn said, perched on a branch above the white snake.
“Why are you so obsessed with her anyway?”
Luce shifted his upper half, his face etched with gloom.
“I want to mate with her.”
”What!” Vyn practically fell off the branch.
“I saw her first!”
Luce spared him a cold look.
“It doesn’t matter who saw her first.
You can’t beat me.”
”I challenge you!” Vyn snapped.
“A duel, right now!”
Luce closed his eyes.
“Find her first.
Then we’ll talk about duels.”
Back at the stone house, Wayne had returned with food.
After a hearty meal, he pleaded until Euphoria finally allowed him to curl up beside her.
She knew how hard he had searched, and her guilt won out over her need for personal space.
Exhausted, she fell asleep in the lion’s warm, steady embrace.
The next morning, Wayne was a changed man.
He was a hovering shadow, bringing her water, preparing food, and trying to follow her everywhere—including the bathroom.
Euphoria had to put her foot down firmly on that last one.
Even as she settled back into the routine, she couldn’t shake the image of the white python.
She knew Luce wouldn’t take her escape lightly.
If he found her, would he be angry enough to kill her?
He was a ten-meter apex predator; swallowing a human would be effortless.
The thought kept her looking toward the door, waiting for the shadow of a snake to cross the threshold.