Part one of a serial about a human traveler, her alien mate (not that she knows that yet), and an adventure through which he's determined to keep her alive, and safe, and entirely his. I grew up in space. Never been on a planet, let alone an alien one. We crashed—I crashed—our ship on a huge green world. Communications were down, the ship was broken in two, the crew mostly injured, and there were things out there. Animals with razor sharp teeth. The emergency beacon lay on the other side of the jungle, our only way to call home, and I drew the short straw. I was doomed before I ever stepped out of the airlock. But we weren't alone...