The jungle canopy broke apart, revealing the gray, moss-slicked concrete of what used to be a maintenance shed—now reclaimed by nature and the pack. The raptors moved with a fluid, terrifying grace, carrying Vera not like prey, but like a fragile egg.

When they finally slowed, the grip around her waist loosened. Vera gasped as her boots hit the dirt, her knees buckling slightly from the adrenaline dump. She wasn't dropped; she was placed. The earth beneath her was cool, smelling of damp fern, musk, and the metallic tang of old rain.

Blue was the first to move in.

The beta's massive head lowered, her slit-pupils contracting as they adjusted to the dim light of the lair. Vera froze, her breath catching in her throat, watching the microscopic twitch of the muscles beneath Blue's silver-striped scales. The raptor let out a low, guttural chitter—a sound that vibrated right through Vera's ribcage.

"It's okay," Vera whispered, her voice trembling. "I'm okay, Blue."

Blue stepped closer, closing the gap. She nudged Vera's shoulder with her snout. The contact was shocking—the skin wasn't slimy like a snake, but dry, warm, and pebbled like rough leather. Vera reached out, her fingers trembling as she traced the supraorbital ridge above Blue's eye. Blue leaned into the touch, exhaling a hot blast of air from her nostrils that ruffled Vera's hair.

They aren't going to eat me, Vera thought, the realization hitting her with the force of a physical blow. To them... I'm pack.

Just then, the reddish-green raptor—the one with the erratic, twitchy energy—crept forward. This one didn't have Blue's stoic discipline. It was curious, sniffing aggressively, its snout bumping against Vera's hip, then lower.

Vera stiffened as the raptor's wet nostrils flared, taking in her scent near her inner thigh, pushing its snout uncomfortably close to her crotch. The intimacy of the gesture, purely animalistic but invasive, sent a flush of heat racing up Vera's neck to her cheeks.

"Hey!" Vera barked, her voice sharp and commanding. She instinctively clamped her legs together and pushed the raptor's snout away with the flat of her hand. "No. Back off."

The lair went silent. For a heartbeat, Vera feared she had made a fatal error.

But the raptor didn't snap. It blinked, a nictitating membrane sliding sideways across its amber eye. It let out a high-pitched, apologetic whimper—a sound like a wounded dog—and recoiled slightly. The animal seemed to understand the boundary instantly.

"That's personal space," Vera muttered, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Stay out of there."

The raptor lowered its head, looking from Vera to Blue, as if checking for permission to remain. When Blue didn't object, the reddish-green raptor slumped forward. With a heavy sigh that shuddered through its entire body, it collapsed its weight downward.

Vera gasped at the sudden pressure as the raptor laid its massive block of a head directly across her thighs. The creature was incredibly heavy, a dead weight of muscle and bone, effectively pinning Vera in place.

"Oh... okay then," Vera breathed out.

She looked down. Up close, she could see the tiny scars crisscrossing the raptor's snout, the flecks of gold in the iris, and the way the scales around its jaw softened into softer, lighter skin near the throat. The heat radiating from the animal soaked into her jeans, warming her legs.

Tentatively, Vera rested her hand on the raptor's neck. The scales felt smooth here. The raptor closed its eyes, letting out a long, rattling purr that vibrated into Vera's bones.

I'm trapped, Vera thought, looking around the darkening lair. Trapped in a nest of monsters.

But as Blue curled up beside her, creating a wall of warmth on her left, and the red raptor anchored her down on the right, the fear began to recede, replaced by a surreal, exhaustion-fueled acceptance.

"I guess we're sleeping here," Vera whispered into the gloom.

Blue chirped softly, one eye opening to watch the entrance of the lair, standing guard. Outside, the jungle screamed with the sounds of the night—insects buzzing, distant roars, the wind in the trees—but inside the circle of claws and teeth, Vera realized with a jolt, was the safest place on the island.