Claimed By The Savage Alien Alpha

The blaring red alarm was a physical assault on Cora's senses.

She forced her eyes open. Thick, acrid smoke burned her corneas, and a violent cough tore through her throat like swallowed glass. The escape pod was a mangled tomb of twisted metal and sparking wires.

Panic, cold and sharp, spiked in her chest.

She reached for the safety harness. The metal buckle had warped from the impact, fused shut. Cora gritted her teeth and yanked at the heavy straps. Her muscles screamed in protest. She pulled harder, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. The edges of her fingernails cracked, warm blood seeping into the synthetic fabric, but she didn't stop.

With a sickening snap, the buckle gave way.

Gravity instantly claimed her. Cora tumbled onto the slanted, debris-covered floor. Her knee slammed into a jagged piece of paneling. A sharp gasp punched out of her lungs as white-hot pain shot up her thigh.

She couldn't stay here. The smell of burning fuel was growing thicker, suffocating her.

Cora dragged her battered body toward the half-open hatch. Her bare palms pressed against the scorched metal floor. The heat seared her skin, raising instant blisters, but the primal urge to survive drowned out the agony.

She kicked the jammed hatch with her heavy combat boot. It groaned, then gave way.

Blinding, unnatural purple sunlight flooded the pod. Cora squeezed her eyes shut, throwing an arm over her face.

She scrambled out, her boots sinking into something thick and wet. She stumbled, barely catching her balance. When she opened her eyes, the breath left her lungs completely.

This was not Earth.

Towering, alien trees with trunks as wide as buildings stretched hundreds of feet into a sky dominated by two massive, pale moons. The ground was carpeted in a layer of glowing, gelatinous moss that squelched under her weight.

A low, guttural hiss vibrated through the humid air.

The sound didn't just reach her ears; it rattled the bones in her chest. Cora froze. Her heart hammered against her ribs so violently she thought it might break through.

To her right, the giant fern-like plants parted.

A predator the size of an off-road vehicle slithered into the clearing. It had six dead, black eyes and a jaw dripping with a foul-smelling, acidic bile that hissed as it hit the moss.

It locked onto her.

The beast lunged. The sheer force of its movement sent a wave of putrid air washing over her. Cora threw herself to the left, hitting the damp ground hard.

A razor-sharp claw clipped her shoulder, slicing through the thick material of her hazard suit like paper. Warm blood instantly soaked her sleeve.

Cora scrambled to her feet, ignoring the burning tear in her flesh, and ran. Every frantic stride sent a fresh, blinding wave of agony shooting through her battered knee, the joint threatening to buckle under her weight. Yet, the primal terror of the beast's snapping jaws proved to be a far greater motivator than the physical pain.

Thick vines whipped across her face, leaving stinging red welts. The ground shook behind her. The heavy, rhythmic thud of the predator's claws tore up the earth, closing the distance with terrifying speed. Her lungs burned for oxygen. Her legs felt like lead.

Her boot caught on a massive, protruding root.

Cora crashed into the mud, the impact knocking the wind out of her. She rolled onto her back, her chest heaving, and stared up at the nightmare towering over her.

The beast opened its massive jaws, revealing rows of serrated teeth.

Cora squeezed her eyes shut and threw her arms over her face, waiting for the tearing of flesh.

A deafening roar shattered the air.

A massive shadow dropped from the canopy above, hitting the predator with the force of a falling meteor.

Cora gasped, her eyes flying open.

A colossal black wolf, easily twice the size of a grizzly bear, had its jaws clamped around the predator's armored neck. The wolf's eyes were a terrifying, glowing gold.

The predator thrashed, its spiked tail whipping across the wolf's back, but the wolf didn't flinch. It bit down harder.

With a brutal, violent twist of its massive head, the wolf snapped the predator's neck. The sickening crunch of thick bone echoed in the clearing.

The six-eyed beast collapsed, dead.

The black wolf released its grip. It stood over the carcass, its massive chest heaving with heavy pants. Thick, dark blood dripped from its jaws onto the glowing moss.

Cora pressed herself flat against the mud, her body rigid with terror. She had just traded one monster for a worse one.

The wolf turned its head.

Those glowing gold eyes locked onto her. The sheer predatory weight of that stare made Cora's stomach twist into tight knots. She couldn't breathe.

The wolf took a slow, deliberate step toward her. Then another. Its massive shadow completely engulfed her small, trembling frame.

It lowered its massive head until its wet nose was inches from her face. Hot, blood-scented breath washed over her skin. It inhaled deeply, taking in her scent.

Cora squeezed her eyes shut again. A single, hot tear slipped down her dirt-streaked cheek. Her entire body shook uncontrollably.

A low, rumbling sound vibrated in the wolf's throat.

Then, the sickening sound of bones snapping and reforming filled the air.

Cora's eyes snapped open in horror.

The giant beast was twisting, shrinking, its dark fur receding into smooth, tanned skin. Within seconds, a man knelt in the mud where the wolf had been.

He was massive. Broad shoulders, a chest carved from granite, and muscles that looked like they could crush boulders. He was completely naked, his skin smeared with the predator's blood, radiating a wild, suffocating heat.

But it was his eyes that paralyzed her. They were the exact same glowing gold.

He stared down at her. There was no pity in his gaze. There was only a dark, consuming possessiveness that made her blood run cold.

He reached out. His hand was massive, his fingers rough and calloused.

Cora flinched, but he didn't stop. He grabbed her chin, his grip unyielding and possessive, forcing her to look up at him. His thumb roughly swiped across her tear-stained cheek, smearing the dirt as if he were examining a strange, fragile new substance he had just claimed.