Rejected By Five Alphas: Watch Me Thrive

The stench hit her first. A thick, suffocating musk of wild animal and raw sex that clawed at the back of her throat. Alivia Sanford's eyes snapped open, her brain screaming a tactical alert before she even processed the dim, jagged walls of the cave.

A heavy, burning weight crushed her shoulders into the rough stone. Pain flared across her back, sharp and real.

"Stay still," a voice growled, vibrating against her collarbone.

Alivia's vision focused. Above her, a man-no, a beast in human skin-pinned her down. Kane Hensley. The name surfaced from the swamp of memories flooding her mind, a chaotic mix of shame, desperation, and a burning obsession that wasn't hers. The agent in her fought through the emotional sludge, piecing together the tactical reality: the original Alivia had drugged him. She had tried to force a mating.

And now, the drug was burning through his system, and he was looking at her like she was a piece of filth stuck to his boot.

His silver eyes glowed with a terrifying, feral light. His iron grip clamped onto her jaw, squeezing until her teeth ached and she tasted copper. "You think you can trap me, you disgusting pig?" he snarled, his hot breath scalding her neck. "I should rip your throat out right now."

The killing intent was real. It rolled off him in waves, suffocating the air from her lungs. In that split second, the agent inside Alivia took over. The panic, the confusion of waking up in a stranger's body-it all evaporated, leaving only cold, hard survival instinct.

This body was a disaster. It was heavy, sluggish, and weak. But Kane was straddling her, his weight centered on her chest, leaving his lower half exposed. He thought she was just a fat, helpless fool. He thought she couldn't move.

He was wrong.

Alivia stopped struggling with her arms. She went limp, letting her eyes widen in feigned terror. Kane's grip loosened just a fraction, a smirk of disgust twisting his lips.

Big mistake.

Alivia sucked in a ragged breath, planted her foot against the sandy floor, and drove her right knee upward with every ounce of force her three-hundred-pound body could generate. She aimed for the one place no amount of muscle could protect.

The impact was sickeningly solid.

Kane let out a choked, agonized gasp. The iron grip on her jaw vanished as he doubled over, his hands flying to his groin, his face contorting into a mask of pure, blinding agony. He collapsed, his massive frame folding in on itself as he struggled to draw a single breath, the world dissolving into a white-hot haze of pain. It took several long, excruciating seconds before he could even lift his head. He looked up, his silver eyes wide with shock and murderous fury, staring at the woman who had just neutralized him like a trained assassin.

Alivia didn't waste a second. She shoved him hard in the chest, using his own momentum against him, and rolled. Her heavy body flopped awkwardly across the cave floor, crushing dry grass and scattering dust, but she was free.

Kane fell to his knees, his forehead pressed to the ground, a guttural roar of pain ripping from his throat. He looked up, his silver eyes wide with shock and murderous fury, staring at the woman who had just neutralized him like a trained assassin.

Alivia scrambled to her feet. Her lungs burned, her legs felt like lead, but adrenaline was a hell of a drug. She didn't look back. She bolted for the cave entrance, her bare feet slapping against the cold stone.

Sunlight hit her like a physical blow, blinding her for a heartbeat. The rough gravel bit into her soles, drawing blood, but she kept running. She dove behind a massive, wind-eroded boulder just outside the cave, pressing her back against the sun-baked rock.

Inside, the sound of Kane's roar echoed, followed by the crash of stone shattering against the wall. He was destroying the cave. He was furious.

But he wasn't coming after her. Not yet.

Alivia pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She looked down at her arms. They were thick, coated in grime, and covered in a rash of angry red bumps. This was her body now. A 300-pound, diseased, universally despised shell.

A bitter laugh caught in her throat. In her old life, she could have taken Kane apart with her bare hands. Now, she was running for her life like a startled rabbit.

"Okay," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "Okay, assess the situation."

She closed her eyes, reaching deep inside herself. There had to be something left. The bio-manipulation ability that had made her a legend in the apocalypse-was it still there?

A faint warmth flickered in her dantian. It was weak, barely a spark compared to the roaring furnace she once commanded, but it was there. Level 1. Maybe even less. But it was something.

She opened her eyes, her gaze sharpening. She scanned the perimeter of the tribe, noting the patrol routes of the beastmen. The forest behind the mountain was her only option. It was dangerous, but it was away from Kane.

Taking a deep breath, Alivia waited until the patrolling guard turned his back. Then, keeping her bulky frame as low as possible, she slipped away from the rock and melted into the dense underbrush, heading for the shadows of the back mountain.