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The world around me became a hazy blur, the vibrant colors of the jungle turning into a smudged palette of greens and blues.
My head pounded with the effort to remain conscious, but every cell in my body screamed in protest.
The ground seemed to sway underfoot, and I felt a heaviness pulling at my limbs, beckoning me into unconsciousness.
My last thoughts before the darkness claimed me were of the human.
The fear and panic in her scream, the uncertainty of her fate — all played out in a haunting loop in my mind.
As the weight of the gas bore down on me, I stumbled, my legs giving way.
Desperately trying to clutch onto a nearby tree for support, my fingers grazed its bark before slipping away.
The finality of the situation hit me with a crushing weight.
She was lost to me, and I had failed in my mission to ensure her safety.
With a heavy heart and waning strength, I fell into the darkness of unconsciousness, hoping against hope that she was still alive.
I fell unconscious.
* * *
“Ten...”
The familiar voice echoed again, and my eyes shot open.
The sterile glow of the glass container met my gaze, its all-too-familiar coldness sending a jolt of recognition through me.
I was back in my glass chamber.
Pushing off the floor, I found my footing and quickly surveyed my surroundings.
The glass chambers housing the other alien males loomed nearby.
I cast a quick glance at each of the containers, my eyes falling upon the three lightbulbs affixed to each one.
They were all dim, their glow extinguished.
My heart, which had been beating furiously moments earlier, eased just a bit.
No mating had occurred.
Shehadn’tbeen Claimed.
She had died, and for the female unfortunate enough to find herself in this place, that was far more preferable.
There truly were things worse than death.
My gaze instinctively slid to the center container, where the human female lay.
The sight of her caused an unfamiliar stir within me, a mix of protectiveness and…something else.
She pressed a delicate hand to her neck, her expression a mask of confusion and pain.
Protruding from her flesh were the unmistakable needles of aTrazivian blossom,a flower native to this twisted jungle that was notorious for its deadly venom.
Though I wished her no harm, in that moment, I found myself grateful to the malicious plant.
