Samuel trudged through the deep snow, the light on the end of this weapon bathing the area ahead in white light. He had slowed from a jog to an agonizing march. His lungs burned with each chilled breath, the hair around his lips having frozen into a solid slat from his breath`s steam several hours ago.

　　 He shifted the backpack on his shoulders; the measly fifteen-kilogram load was now much heavier than when he scooped it off the sled in his pursuit of Scarletra. Fatigue was a bitch like that and made every action a struggle, especially because he was already exhausted from cutting up trees and lugging the wood back to the edge of the outpost and the flush of adrenaline following the fight.

　　 The zephyr had been getting worse since setting out. When Scarletra first ran away from the outpost, there was a light breeze punctuated with random gusts; now, the wind creaked the bows above and screamed through the branches like wailing undead. It was as if the moon was berating him for being stupid.

　　Even he could admit this was a horrendously foolish idea. He willingly went out in the middle of the shaded pines at night with nothing but a rifle and a few full magazines to keep him safe. If that pack of hounds Scarletra shooed away earlier in the week returned, he would be in for another fight to the death—an idea he would rather not linger on.

　　 While clamoring up and over a ledge slightly higher than his height, Samuel wondered if the biting wind and slippery route Scarletra had taken were the Great Mother`s way of dissuading him from pursuing her misbegotten daughter. But that might just be him feeling oddly poetic in his exhaustion; he had actually started believing the Varintol gods—right? That would be blasphemy; Thou shalt have no gods before me and whatnot.

　　 An interesting thought, he would linger on it later; for now, the next agonizingly heavy step was all that mattered, and he would not be dissuaded by any amount of obstacles or weather. They could be put in front of him by Scarletra, the moon, or whatever God or Goddess that wished to keep him away. No matter what, finding Scarletra was his mind`s singular focus.

　　 The spor Scarletra left in her wake was incredibly obvious: thick trails of blood, disturbed snow, clawed trees, and even a few dead Gurintla. The poor things likely thought she would be easy to attack, kill, and eat in her wounded state, but they learned otherwise at the end of her claw.

　　 One part about tracking Scarletra that worried Samuel was the blood. Not just the horrendous amount of it but the quality of it. He was not the most experienced tracker or hunter but knew that bubbles in blood trails meant your lung was punctured, and the small spurts in regular intervals likely meant she had a vein cut open.

　　 Although curiously, both qualities only existed in the first few kilometers. At this point, almost no blood was left in the footprints, other than a few flecks here and there. Was all of that blood, not hers? He had seen her take countless injuries throughout the fight. She had to be unjuried. Half of one of her ears was missing, for god`s sake.

　　 Samuel could only think of two logical answers to why Scarletra would no longer be bleeding profusely: her species had coagulation abilities far beyond Humans, or she was about to run out of blood. Thinking intelligently about the situation, he doubted it was the former; Scarletra`s tracks showed no signs of slowing down. If anything, her gate was increasing in length. If she was about to bleed out, she would be nearly crawling, not sprinting.

　　One thing stuck in his mind from the second he set off and was emphasized by each agonizing crunch of snow: Why was she running from him?

　　 She had freaked out and tried to attack him, but that was not her fault. Her stupid mother rewired her brain with drugs years ago. Scarletra could not help when her nature took over. And she regained control before killing him; there was no reason for her to run away. Samuel had forgiven her, even if his heart still clenched when remembering her wet, blood-soaked maw dripping saliva onto his face and readying to crush his grape like it was nothing.

　　That he survived her was a miracle. No, it was a blessing of either Levaal or the Great Mother.

　　 Samuel looked around after breaching the alpine layer and coming to a vast open field overlooking the moon`s deep valleys, scanning the steep mountains for any direct sign of Scarletra. He was unaware if she had any caves nearby, but she had to be going somewhere. She would not just find some random spot to plop down after all the Hounds of Barut were in this area, which would pose a danger to her, especially when wounded. She was too bright to expose herself to that risk.

　　 After half a minute of shivering scanning, he saw motion. Just at the top of the horizon, several kilometers away, the massive emerald planet outlined the visage of a Varintol. They had barely vanished over the ridgeline when Samuel caught sight of them. Good lord, she is fast. Traveling to the ridgeline would take him several hours, yet Scarletra had gained that much distance from him while he was actively tracking her. If she did not slow down or stop at some point tonight, she would always outpace him at this rate.

　　 Samuel`s body already ached, imagining halfway crawling up the steep slopes of snow and sharp rocks, moments from slipping and tumbling for several kilometers to the dagger-sharp ridges below.

　　But Scarletra was worth any pain or risk. She needed him, and he needed her.

　　Samuel double-checked the environment, looking for any possible megafauna that would cause him issues. Thank the Great Mother, there were none; it was just him, the endless pines and rolling snow. With no other options to reach her, Samuel stepped into her next footprint and followed her path through the dagger-like ridges. Concern for her churning deep in his chest.

　　—-

　　 Scarletra was utterly exhausted by the time she crossed the razor-edged ridge. Half a day ago, she ran away from Sam and the outpost— as far as she could tell. She thought that`s how long it had been; at a bare minimum, the sun had set at least once, but tracking time was nearly impossible, with her regularly fading in and out of consciousness. For all she knew, it had been several days or weeks.

　　 But that was unimportant. Keeping Samuel safe was the only thing that mattered. As such, her escaping Samuel, the outpost, and that happy little lie she had been living was paramount. Scarletra genuinely wished she could believe what Samuel said: she wasn`t a monster and deserved a happy life.

　　But that was wrong, disgustingly wrong. There was no way some animal who nearly ate the man she loved deserved any of that. The only thing she earned was a slow, agonizing death. At least that way, she would not listen to Hurot again and just fade into nothingness.

　　With every step she made from the outpost, the idea of just giving in to Maruvak felt more and more tempting; Samuel would be safe if she did. But her cowardice kept her from leaping off the cliff`s edge and saving him the trouble of looking for her.

　　On occasion, during her long run, she would peer back and try to see if Samuel was being stupid by trying to follow her. She thought she spotted a powerful light amidst the trees a few times, but she was unsure because of how foggy and unfocused her vision was. For all she knew, the lights were the specters of Maruvak already hunting her down. Or they might even be the death gods chosen wielding torches.

　　 She had lost a lot of blood in that battle. Nowhere near as much as she had several times in the past, but in those instances, she had someone to treat her wounds and make sure she would not succumb. These ones she just left open to fester, bleed, and remind her of what she was—-an abomination.

　　 That she ended up being half destroyed during that brawl was unsurprising. She was out of practice with fighting and had no support in the melee, while the Ursana scouts had plenty of backup. Scarletra did see some wounded that did not look like she killed them, but was in no state of mind to ponder their strange wounds while routed by the ghosts in her mind.

　　She heaved and struggled to breathe throughout the entire trip. The sounds of crackling, popping, and her mouth refreshing with the copperish tang of her own blood with each exhale. One of those spears or swords cut her very deeply and punctured her right lung. She pressed her hand against the wound below her tit, trying to let her breathe more easily, not that it did much good; her warm life essence still seeped into her fingers there.

　　 At least all her other wounds had already closed and scabbed naturally; none of them were severe or life-threatening, but they throbbed horrendously. Each painful step through the snow or over the jagged rocks reminded her of the hundreds of lacerations, punctures, and abrasions across her skin.

　　At least Samuel would never get a good look at her like this. She would prefer he remembers the happy woman cuddling him, not her bleeding like a stag pincushioned with arrows.

　　All she had to do was keep moving through the pain, and eventually, he would not be able to find her, and all those lies would be a memory, ready to fade into nothingness—just like she would. Both would be buried by the passage of time and compounding snow.

　　Once the planet was high in the sky and the sounds of the croaking ravens, whipping winds, and Barut hounds had settled for the night, Scarletra slumped down next to a rock on a cliffside. Her muscles were no longer capable of carrying her much further if she wanted any chance to defend herself if an opportunistic predator came by while she slept.

　　Not that it would really matter If they did.

　　After that slip-up, letting some Barut hound rip her limbs off would be for the better. At least then, she would just be gone. Samuel would get over it, move on, and continue to live just as he did for years. Alone and unbothered by her pestering questions, rampant seduction attempts, or the danger of having her nearby.

　　 As her eyes slowly closed and the chilly winds caressed her battered body, she could not escape the thought of Samuel being alone again. Of him going through losing someone he cared about again. The idea hurt but was a necessary step if he was to survive.

　　But each time she pictured him smiling, she recalled that abject look of horror he held when she came to her senses. That thought made her imagination run rampant and stab her repeatedly in the brain with a hot knife. She would not have regained any sensibilities if she had not tasted and smelled Samuel`s smokey odor.

　　The first thoughts she would have had after Hurot released her would have been his mangled corpse, and her mouth filled with his blood, brain, and bone. The mere thought of it sent a cold shiver down her spine.

　　"Fuck, I`m horrible," Sacarletra muttered, falling asleep from a combination of blood loss and sheer exhaustion.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

　　Unlike the last few weeks when Scarletra dreamed of holding Samuel in her arms, Levaal did not visit her that night. No, these were not dreams; they were nightmares of premonition imposed on her by Maruvak, who was not shy about her message.

　　—

　　Scarletra stood just outside the outpost walls; the cold wind battered and tore off skin and fur each time it buffeted her. Strangely, the ripping and tearing flesh did not hurt; it was not pleasant either—it was just a dull tugging, like when Samuel used a comb and found a knot in her fur or hair.

　　 Looming high in the sky were not the emerald vales of the planet; instead, the ghastly white skull of Maruvak stared down at her, judging her existence and every move through a pair of glowing crimson eyes that were as wide as they were deep.

　　"Go forth, young one, take what you wish," Maruvak laughed, her voice booming, oppressive, and seeming to be coming to Scarletra on the winds. "But it will cost you dearly."

　　Scarletra tried to question what the cost would be, but once she opened her mouth, to her horror, each one of her teeth fell out one by one, coupled with the horrendous snapping of bone. Frantically, she clasped her hand to her lips, trying to hold them in, but her fangs and teeth phased straight through her grasp, leaving her mouth filled with blood.

　　Scaltra looked down at her teeth, unsure of what was happening. This was all so real; she knew it had to be a dream, but every tooth breaking sent a shot of pain as horrendous as a dagger stab into her mouth.

　　"Go on, keep going. The first price has been paid." Maruvak taunted with a deep, grave laugh.

　　Scareltra screamed in agony and fell to her knees, choking on her blood. The fluid poured down her gullet; no matter how hard she tried to vomit or cough to expel it, the fluid had a mind of its own and filled her lungs further.

　　"Now, now, now. Princess born of blood. Is that how you treat a goddess` guidance? You should be honored I am witnessing you. Just as you once prayed to my dear baby sister while eating her chosen mosses," Maruvak chastised. The skull-headed goddess`s words burned like fire in Scarletra`s ears, like the sound conveyed primal, unfettered hatred.

　　Scarletra`s wails were slammed to silence, crushed in an instant.

　　"Scar, where are you?" Samuel choked, barely audible over the wind and Maruvak.

　　She breathed deeply, knowing she had to find him; if any goddess made a deal, it should be taken as truth. They would not lie to their followers, even if they were spiteful and tactless.

　　Stepping forward, Scarletra tripped and landed on all fours in the snow. She attempted to stand back up but found her arms and legs were now stuck, as if ice had burrowed into them. Pulling with all the might she could muster, the ice holding them gave way, but the next part of the toll was evident instantaneously.

　　With each limb she freed from the snow, unworldly pain arched up from her fingers and toes; every one of her claws was ripped from their base, a long slick sling of muscle, and blood trailing to her claws wedged in the frost. Scarletra did not care that it felt like fire burning through her veins each time she removed a part of herself. She had to go to Samuel.

　　By the time all of her limbs were free, the snow beneath her was soaked red with blood, and her entire body felt numb. This was worse than any experience she had ever had in combat, but this was the cost Maruvak demanded of her for wisdom—so she would give it gladly.

　　Limping into the outpost, Maruvak laughed at Scarletra`s pain and suffering, reveling in each whimper and pathetic little sob the once proud woman let slip. Scarletra tried to ignore the goddess taunting her. And the increasing gale force winds that shred her skin off to the muscle.

　　If Levaal or the Great Mother could see Scarletra now, they would likely laugh at her. She looked pathetic, barely able to walk and struggling in what felt like an endless eternity, all to get the chance to see what wisdom Maruvak was offering her, just to possibly see an option to be with Samuel where she could not harm him.

　　After what felt like years, Scarletra finally caught sight of Samuel. He was kneeling in front of the statues of the gods and goddesses, his hands clasped in front of him. That was odd. She never did that when she prayed, but after a moment or two, she realized what he was doing—begging.

　　He would be one of the last to beg of all the people she had ever met. He was stubborn, proud, and set in his ways. Just getting him to let her carry him to coercion each time, with him still not admitting he enjoyed it. That he was before the gods begging for help to include Maruvak must have been why that goddess reached down and decided to meddle in Scarletra`s life. Why did he have to care about her so much? He should have just gone to bed and forgotten her. Not beg for powers above them to aid.

　　Approaching him from behind, he stopped his wailed pleading, stood, and turned to her. Strangely enough, he looked at Scarletra with a confused, concerned look. "Scar, are you alright?"

　　Scarletra tried to respond, but no sound escaped her lips. In frantic worry, she reached out to touch his shoulder in assurance, but her clawless bleeding hands passed right through him. Desperate, she screamed, tried to hug him, tried anything to let her feel him and communicate. She needed an answer. She paid the toll to be with him. But nothing happened.

　　"Aww, you`re so cute," Maruvak sniggered. "I hope you understand now, little princess. A monster like you, declawed, defanged, and silent—still cannot have what is not your destiny, happiness given by my dear little sister or a fighting prowess by my other are not your destiny. Oh no, you`re destined to be mine until the sun dies."

　　Looking up at the sky, the skull grew brighter while Maruvak`s laugh grew louder and louder until the blinding white light and the horrendous throbbing in Scarletra`s mind were all she could experience. She choked under the weight of each bass-filled chuckle, overflowing with venom, indignation, and assurance.

　　—-

　　 Scarletra shot up from her slumped-over position, gasping for air. That dream from Maruvak was horrendous. But Scarletra was glad it was over. She felt horrible enough, in both body and mind. The cruel goddess pointing out the obvious and rubbing salt in her wounds was right up Maruvak`s alley, having had many nightmares gifted to her over the years.

　　Before Scarletra even had a chance to recover fully from the dream, Samuel`s voice breached the howling winds, and a light brighter than the sun landed on her.

　　"Scar, there you are," Samuel gasped while slowly approaching her. "Good god, you made it far."

　　Peeking up and shielding her eyes, Scarletra could barely make out his outline, but she could see that he had his rifle in his hand, lowered but still vaguely pointed in her direction. Scarletra`s guilt-addled mind and fear of his reaction to meeting her began to freak out, and she desperately grasped what she saw as the reason he was out here.

　　After seeing her fighting, Samuel must have rebuked his words of tender care. He was armed and chased a wounded beast; the only reason one would do that would be to put it down. Samuel must be out here to shoot her and stamp out any semblance of her being his warm fire; it only made sense. She tried to kill him, and no one would truly love a monster.

　　 "Shoot already," Scareltra groaned, sitting back against the rock, surrendering to her wild misconceptions.

　　"What?" Samuel replied, flicking off the weapon light, slinging the rifle, and stepping closer. "Why would I ever shoot you?"

　　"Because I tried to kill you," Scareltra replied, looking back at him.

　　Now, she could get a good look at Samuel with the light off. He looked half as bad as she did. His clothes were scuffed up by the rocks, sweat beaded and froze to his brow, and his beard looked like a solid chunk of ice. Then there was that cut on his cheek, caked in dried blood. If Hurot had guided her to give that a few centimeters lower, she would have slit his throat.

　　"We can talk about that later. Let me tend to your wounds first," Samuel replied, doffing his backpack and setting it next to her before reaching for her hand.

　　"Don`t touch me!" Scarletra growled, pulling her hand away and scooting out of reach, "Don`t even look at me. Just go away and leave me alone."

　　Samuel paused and swallowed his spit. He had assumed this would be an uncomfortable conversation, knowing how Scarletra felt about her condition. But now Scarletra was just being unreasonable. They could never move on if he left, and he was putting his foot down this time.

　　 "I`m not doing any of that," Samuel replied, "For fucks sake, I came all the way out here because I was worried about you."

　　"I don`t see why. I gave you an out to get away from a monster—" Scarletra started, but Samuel had enough.

　　"Stop calling yourself a monster. I`m sick of telling you that and reassuring you of that. You are not some mindless killing machine. Yeah, you have some problems with violence. I got to see that first hand." Samuel said just below a yell, pulling Scarletra`s full attention to him. "But at the end of the day, that was not you."

　　Samuel never yelled at her since the first day they met. That he was doing anything close surprised her and made it evident he believed in what he was saying even though he was wrong.

　　"It was me, Sam. I`m dangerous. Being around me will just get you killed," Scarletra replied, gesturing at her destroyed clothes and wounds covering her. "You need to leave and forget I existed,"

　　This fucking stubborn bearish woman. What the fuck did she think he was, some feckless weirdo. Not a chance; he made up his mind, and she would listen to him, the easy way or the hard way.

　　"Ok, obviously I did not make my idea of it wasn`t you clear enough. So let me explain," Samuel replied, plopping down in the snow beside her.

　　Scarletra tried to stand up and escape Samuel, not wanting to hear his argument. She knew what was best here and was only trying to protect him. But the moment her feet found anything close to purchase beneath her, Samuel`s hand grabbed hers and yanked her back down with ease.

　　Scarletra knew Samuel was absurdly strong for his size. But he had been gentle with her since their first meeting when he bruised her tit.

　　"And if you think you`re leaving, you`re wrong. I will follow you if I have to," Samuel barked.

　　Scarletra paused and looked over at him. His emerald eyes, although tired, were burning with conviction. This stubborn man had made up his mind, and Scarletra knew well from their classes and other lessons when he made his mind up, he would move heaven and earth to see it through. Even if half the time, all he did was build some new doodad or solution on the fly.

　　"Fine," Scarletra grumbled, "how was it not me? Last I checked, I was a breath away from eating you,"

　　"How much do you remember?" Samuel questioned flatly, not missing a beat and knowing precisely what he would say.

　　Scarletra grumbled and growled, pulling her legs into a hug and averting her eyes from him. "I saw you get punched, then nothing until I tasted you. I`ve told you what happens when Hurot calls me before."

　　"That`s my point. It`s not your fault. It`s whatever your mother did to you years ago," Samuel groaned, leaning back against the rock. "I just want you to get that and that I`m not mad. Until those assholes arrived, we had no issues once I knew about the trance you can go into."

　　Scarletra paused and lingered on that idea for a while. She had never thought of it in that way. As she was raised herself, the call of Hurot was the same. Both were just her. Even if one, she never truly knew what happened but only knew what she did afterward. Samuel had a point that it could be perceived as not her fault. But that still did not solve the issues at hand—the Ursana.

　　"OK, if it`s not mine. Then what must I do to return to the outpost?" Scarletra questioned. "Maruvak showed me having to remove my teeth and claws to go back, but you would still not want me. I am unsure what I must do to be forgiven,"

　　Samuel reached over and patted her head, being careful about any of the wounds on her and ignoring the thick, matted blood soaking her usually fluffy fur. "Ok, now you are just cutting your nose off to spite your face."

　　" I don`t know what that means," Scarletra replied, leaning into Samuel`s gentle touch.

　　"It means you are overreacting and are being self-destructive. You never were not welcome at our home," Samuel replied, emphasizing that it was their home, not just his. "We just have to make a plan now that your family knows where you are. With the representative arriving, we can ask for reassignment to another outpost on the moon. There are dozens of them."

　　Scarletra leaned against Samuel, glad he still thought it was their home. The idea of them moving somewhere else was not a bad idea. She moved constantly to avoid them for years, and they only found her this time because Mother apparently decided to wage war against the Guraen and were moving scouts past the outpost.

　　"Do you think they would let us?" Scarletra questioned

　　"I do. Especially once we explain the situation, I doubt they would keep us there anyway. They don`t want us or the equipment to be damaged. That costs a lot of money and time to fix.

　　"I will trust you, Sam," Scarletra replied.

　　"Good. So long as you are trusting me, can I tend to your wounds before we go home?" Samuel asked

　　Scarletra laid down, her head in Samuel`s lap. "There is no need. All my injuries have closed, besides my lung," Scarletra assured. "I heal very quickly, even if right now they still hurt."

　　Samuel petted Scarletra`s non-injured ear and relaxed, letting her lay her head in his lap. "Well, if that`s the case, we can have the auto surgeon look at you once we return. Do you want to go? It is very late."

　　"Shorty, can we just rest here for a while?" Scarletra questioned.

　　Samuel wanted to argue the matter, knowing dozens of predators could likely smell the blood on her, but he could not deny he was exhausted, so resting for a little while did sound pleasant. "For a little bit," Samuel replied, gently rubbing her cheek.