A high pitched whine indicated the pod was lifting off the ground. Her last chance! Without pausing to analyze that thing in front of her, she bolted past him, rushing toward the pod.

"Wait!" she screamed. "Reynard, don't leave me—"

Arms snapped around her waist and jerked her backward. The air rushed from her lungs as she slammed against the chest of the man behind her. The forest swallowed her shrill scream as she struggled against him. She spotted a severed hand a few feet away, and her scream grew louder and more hysterical.

"Silence," he commanded. One arm slid under her ribcage and tightened just below her breasts.

The thing spoke English? She slammed her head backward into his, hoping to stun him into dropping her. He cursed and his grip tightened, while stars danced behind her eyes. What the hell was his skull made of? Iron?

"Foolish woman," he growled and grabbed her braid, tugging her head backwards so that her throat was bared, and she was rendered immobile. "Be still."

Icy sweat broke out all over body, and her heart beat so hard she knew he could hear it. With her head angled back, she had the perfect view of the pod flying straight up into the atmosphere.

She was alone on this planet. With this thing. All her crew had either been butchered or had abandoned her. Terror swept through her, leaving her weak.

"What are you?" The words left numb limps.

"You know what I am. And I ask the questions, woman." As if to emphasize who had the control, he jerked her harder against his body.

She squirmed against him and dragged in an unsteady breath, inhaling his foreign scent. A heady combination of woods, sweat, and something spicy. There was nothing wolf-like about the shape he'd taken now. His hard thighs pressed against her buttocks, and she didn't even want to think about the thickness of his cock, which rested against her lower back. A cock which seemed to grow harder the more she struggled.

"For fuck's sake, stop moving." His words sounded choked.

She ceased in her attempts to break free, the idea of what would happen if she aroused him gave her a harsh jolt of reality. "You killed my people," she accused, tears welling in her eyes as she again looked at the bodies in the clearing a few feet away.

"Your people started this battle. We only defended ourselves." He spun her around in his arms; his hands bit into her shoulders. His gaze, now a golden brown, burned down into hers. "And it is you, the only person who lives, who will be responsible for the destruction. Now tell me your name."