Page 21 of Savage Bond

One step forward, just one more, and I could allow myself to slip into that suffocating darkness below, lose myself in the abyss where light dared not tread. Or I could turn around, retrace my steps, and walk away from this cursed place. Let the jungle have her, wrap its greedy fingers around her and drag her deeper into its secrets. She’s weak, I remind myself—sloppy and fragile, a delicate creature in a world that thrives on brutality. More trouble than she’s worth, a liability that could sink me further into this hell.

The thought pulses through my skull—quick, clean, seductive, like a siren's call luring me into the depths of despair. Be done with her, it whispers, a temptation laced with the ease of escape.

But then—pain. An ache that isn’t physical, that doesn’t slice like a wound but rather gnaws at the core of me, something deep and primal twisting the wrong way. My gut clenches tight, a visceral reaction, teeth grinding together as if I could crush the turmoil rising within. A low growl builds in my throat, raw and feral, echoing the conflict raging inside me. I’m caught in a tempest of fury and frustration, the urge to abandon her battling against the unyielding truth that I can’t just walk away. Not now. Not ever.

“What the fuck is this?” I snarl at the empty air.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. I don’t get tethered. I don’t get distracted. She’s a human. A soft, mouthy, reckless human.And yet... the idea of walking away turns my stomach like spoiled meat.

“I should just fucking leave,” I mutter, voice low and venomous. “Let the jungle eat her. Wouldn’t even take long.”

I glare down into the black pit of the cavern, my fists clenched so tight my knuckles crack. I can almost hear Renn’s voice in my head, smug and cold—‘You getting soft, boss?’

But I’m not soft. I’m pissed.

I turn, about to stalk off and be done with it, when her scream shreds through the air like a blade across flesh.

“AaaaAAAHHH!”

High. Shrill. Raw with terror.

Something in me snaps.

I spin back to the edge and leap.

No thought. No calculation.

Just fury and heat and the sound of her voice burned into my fucking bones.

CHAPTER 12

AVA

Darkness presses in from all sides, thick and suffocating. My head throbs with a dull, persistent ache, and my limbs feel heavy, suspended above the ground. As consciousness returns, so does the realization of my predicament.

I’m hanging by my wrists, ensnared in a sticky mesh of jungle fibers that creak and stretch with every slight movement. The air is damp and fetid, filled with the stench of decay and something more acrid—like burnt metal and rotting meat. Blinking rapidly, I try to adjust to the dim light filtering through the cavern’s ceiling, revealing glimpses of bones and tattered clothing scattered across the floor below.

Panic surges through me. I twist and writhe, attempting to free myself, but the fibers dig deeper into my skin. A sharp pain lances through my forearm as the restraint slices into flesh. Warm blood trickles down, mingling with the sweat and grime coating my body.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I mutter, teeth clenched against the pain. “How could I let this happen?”

The memory floods back—the creature mimicking Kairon’s voice, luring me deeper into the jungle with cries for help. Ishould have known better. Should have trusted my instincts instead of that bastard’s voice.

Anger flares, momentarily eclipsing the fear. I won’t die here. Not like this. Not as another skeleton in this godforsaken nest.

Summoning every ounce of strength, I begin to swing my body, aiming to create momentum. The fibers groan under the strain, but they hold. Pain radiates from my wounded arm, but I grit my teeth and continue, refusing to give in.

A distant sound—a faint rustle, a whisper of movement—catches my attention. I freeze, heart pounding. The creature is near. I can feel it.

“Come on, Ava, think,” I whisper to myself.

I give up on swinging. My arms burn, shoulders screaming with every shallow breath I take. Blood drips steadily from the gash on my forearm, soaking the fibers that bind me. It’s sticky, slick—useless now. I sag in the restraints, letting my head hang forward, the sweat on my brow stinging my eyes.

The cavern pulses with sound—wet, sick sounds of movement I don’t want to identify. Something shifts in the dark, and bones crack under the weight of whatever the hell drags itself through this hellhole. There’s no light. No direction. Just endless damp and rot and the slow, creeping fear that this is it. This is where it ends. In some alien monster’s nest, strung up like prey.

Tears sting the corners of my eyes, but I blink them back, furious at the burn in my throat. No. Not like this.

Kairon’s face rises unbidden in my mind. That infuriating smirk. The tilt of his head when he’s about to say something awful. The casual roll of his shoulders like nothing on this goddamn planet can touch him.

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