Rejected No More: The Exiled Princess Returns

violent surge of pain. Her skull throbbed as if a rusted

of copper blood and the damp, metallic smell of rot

the cold floor. Her arms felt li

rearms. They were thick, bloated, and covered in a layer o

the dead silence of the room. It was the s

urn. She looked toward the dark co

in dark, drying blood. Thick, high-voltage metal chains-forged to restrain even a cyber-augmented beast-tribe warrior-wrapped around his wrists and

owly raise

tural, neon-green light-bio-optical implants that marked him as a high-tier warrior. The raw,

ild beast than a tribesman. The corner of his mouth twitched upwa

ped, his voice a ruined, gravelly sound, "

ow to the chest. Her stomach plummeted. Pure survival instinct took over

denly explo

tal chains snapped taut with a deafening crack, the

hains groaning in protest as they jerked him back. The sheer force of his l

ungs seized. She kept crawling backward, h

rabbed a massive, torn synthetic-fur cloak and bli

his head back and let ou

he peeling walls. "Where are you going to

n't say a single word. She stumbled to her feet, her heavy leg

s screamed in protest as she shoved the d

. Flickering, broken neon signs cast sickly g

air. The cold, damp air rushed into her l

ke of agony through her brain. A massive flood of fo

ees buckling. She slid down the d

ribe, one of the most powerful matriarchs in the beast world. She was a vicious, cruel woman, stripped of her title and her neural cre

power, had used her absolute authority to force a neural-binding contract onto four top-tier, powerful warriors from rival and lesser tribes. They were bound to her against their will. Hjalmar

her. She finally understood why the man in the roo

her feet. She limped toward the end of the corridor, where a crack

red at her

But worse than the bloated flesh were the dark pu

fingers reached up to touch one of the sores

is was a lethal biological toxin-a targeted bioweapon left by a

t fans at the far end of the corridor, a grim reminde

The panic in her eyes slowly harden

or. She swore to herself, right then and there, that no

a cutting-edge cybernetics research facility, treating exotic predators and studying their biology. Her skills with a scalpel and her deep knowledge of anatomy had earned her the nickname "The Butcher" among her peers-equal parts respect and fear.