The sound of buzzing insects filled the thick, green jungle. Sunlight barely made it through the heavy branches above. Each step the soldiers took left a trail on the wet ground. The Wild Force Team was on their secret mission—find and destroy the illegal weapon lab rumored to be hidden deep in the wild.
Captain Jace Rivers walked in front, his gun ready and sharp eyes scanning the area. Behind him, the team moved carefully. Among them was a woman who stood out—not just because of her beauty, but because of the power in her every move.
Her name was Serah Blaze.
With long black hair tied in a ponytail, sharp blue eyes, and skin kissed by the sun, Serah walked with confidence. Her body was shaped like an hourglass, strong and graceful—made for war, but carrying the charm of a goddess.
"We're close," Jace whispered, stopping to read the coordinates on his device.
Serah stood next to him. "No signs of life so far. But it feels like something's watching us," she said quietly, eyes sweeping the thick bushes.
"It's just the wild," Jace replied. "Stay sharp."
But Serah felt something different.
It wasn't just wild animals hiding in the trees. There was something… bigger. Something breathing with the jungle.
---
Far above them, in the shadow of the tallest tree, he stood.
Thorn Everhart.
Bare chest glistening under sunlight, muscles hard as rock, and long black hair falling around his face like silk. His green eyes watched the soldiers below like a predator watching prey. But he wasn't hunting them.
His back twitched as he clenched his jaw. The small, sharp tips of thorns started to push out from under his skin. He controlled his anger… for now.
They were too close to his territory.
Especially her.
His eyes locked on Serah's figure. Something in him stirred—a feeling he hadn't had in years. A strange warmth inside his chest.
"She's beautiful," he murmured under his breath.
But beauty only brought pain. He knew that too well.
---
Back on the ground, the team kept moving until—
Bang!
A gunshot broke the silence. Bullets flew from the trees.
"AMBUSH!" Jace shouted.
Chaos exploded in the jungle. Soldiers dived for cover. Smoke grenades filled the air.
Serah rolled behind a log, gun ready. But from the corner of her eye, she saw a figure—a masked man aiming directly at her.
He pulled the trigger.
She didn't have time to run.
But just before the bullet reached her—something flew past her with a sharp whistle.
SHHHHHTTTK!
A sharp, silver thorn struck the attacker's head. He dropped dead in seconds.
Serah's eyes widened.
"What the…?"
She turned and saw him for the first time.
Standing in the mist of smoke, half-hidden by trees, was a man with no shirt, his back steaming as if it had just exploded with sharp arrows. His green eyes glowed like the heart of a jungle beast.
And then—he vanished.
Just like that.
---
Later, as the enemies retreated, and the smoke cleared, Jace helped Serah to her feet.
"You okay?" he asked, checking her for wounds.
"I… I saw something," she whispered. "A man."
Jace raised a brow. "What man?"
"He saved me. I don't know who he was… but he wasn't normal."
Jace frowned. "Let's get out of here. We're not ready for this fight. We go back to the city and regroup."
Serah nodded, but her mind was no longer in the jungle.
It was stuck on those eyes. That face. And those thorns…