The air in the grove changed.
Not the temperature.
Not the wind.
Not even the light.
Something deeper.
Something instinctual.
One moment, every wolf was watching me from a safe distance.
The next, their eyes flickered—
gold
silver
amber
—and their pupils thinned to sharp slits.
Owain's father raised his hand, voice booming.
"THE TRIAL OF INSTINCT BEGINS!"
A howl split the clearing.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Loud.
Raw.
Territorial.
My breath stuttered as the entire grove held its breath—
waiting.
Owain stepped in front of me slowly, like approaching a dangerous cliff.
"Kanah," he murmured. "Listen carefully. Don't look at the other wolves. Don't respond to them. Follow only me."
"Owain… what will they do?"
"They're going to push their instincts at you. They want to force a reaction."
"What kind of reaction?"
He didn't answer.
Helion did.
Predictably.
"They want to see if you'll submit," he said casually, leaning against a stone pillar.
"SUBMIT?" I sputtered. "To what?!"
"Everything," Helion replied. "Power. Fear. Attraction. Territory. Emotion."
Gerrin cut in sharply. "Helion, stop."
"What? I'm helping."
Owain turned back to me and gently cupped my jaw—careful, slow, asking permission with his eyes.
I didn't pull away.
He took that as a yes.
"Kanah," he whispered, thumb brushing my cheek, "you are not a wolf. You are not bound to their instincts. But they don't know that. They only sense the imbalance in the air."
His eyes darkened.
"They sense you."
A soft pulse flickered under my breastbone.
The rune.
Yllas stepped up beside him, frost drifting like slow breath.
"Stay close to the wolf," he said. "Your rune responds strongest to him."
Owain shot him a look. "Don't say it like that."
"It is a fact," Yllas replied blandly.
Helion smirked. "A very interesting one."
Gerrin cleared his throat. "Can we focus?"
Owain nodded once. Then he took my hand—fully this time.
Warm.
Firm.
Instinctive.
The wolves across the grove growled at the contact.
Owain's jaw clenched.
"Don't let go," he whispered.
As if I could.
Owain's father lifted both arms.
"THE FINAL TRIAL COMMENCES!"
The ground shivered.
The runes circling the grove glowed white.
Then—
The instincts hit.
Not physically.
Not magically.
Energetically.
A wave of wolf instinct slammed into me like a windstorm—fast, heavy, primal.
My heart jumped in my chest.
My breath caught.
Owain stepped in front of me instantly, aura flaring in a violent burst of gold.
"Back," he snarled at the wolves.
Some growled back.
A few advanced.
Yllas hissed, frost spiraling. "They're pushing too hard."
Gerrin gritted his teeth. "They'll overwhelm her—"
Helion whispered, "Unless the wolf stabilizes her first."
Owain didn't wait for more commentary.
He turned, grabbed my waist, and pulled me flush against his chest.
The contact stole my breath.
My thoughts.
My ability to function.
"Owain—"
"Look at me," he commanded softly.
Not harsh.
Not demanding.
Steady.
Grounding.
My fingers curled instinctively into his shirt.
His breath brushed my lips as he leaned in close—too close—his voice dropping low.
"Instinct responds to closeness. To scent. To presence."
"I… I don't have a scent," I whispered.
"You have something better."
His forehead touched mine.
"You have me."
My entire body flushed warm.
Yllas choked on air. "Oh, for the love of—"
Helion smirked too hard for sanity.
"Called it."
Gerrin muttered something in Elvish that sounded like a frustrated prayer.
But Owain ignored them.
His hands tightened at my waist. Not possessively—protectively.
"Breathe with me," he whispered.
"In through your nose… slowly."
I inhaled.
He did too.
My lungs synced with his.
The instincts slamming into me lessened—barely, but enough.
Owain continued, his voice vibrating softly against my lips.
"Wolves test instincts through proximity. Through pressure. Through desire."
My pulse jumped.
He noticed.
His eyes darkened. "The grove reads emotion. Fear. Trust. Interest. Everything."
"That's terrifying."
"It is," he said honestly.
"But you're doing perfectly."
Another wave of instinct crashed over us.
Owain growled low and deep, pushing back with his own aura.
Wolves around us flinched.
The grove trembled.
"Owain… what if I fail?" I whispered.
He leaned closer.
"You won't."
"How do you know?"
His nose brushed mine.
"You haven't run."
A tremor raked through me—not fear.
Recognition.
The rune pulsed again, glowing beneath my shirt.
Owain exhaled softly. "There it is."
Helion murmured, "Her rune likes him."
Yllas growled. "Of course it does."
Gerrin sighed. "This bond is forming too quickly."
Owain ignored all of them.
He pressed his forehead to mine again, grounding me.
"Kanah," he whispered. "Don't be afraid of me."
"I'm not."
He inhaled sharply, like those words hit him somewhere deep.
Another wave of instinct slammed into me.
This one was different.
Heavier.
More demanding.
As if dozens of wolves wanted something—
submission
attention
reaction
connection
—anything they could get.
My knees buckled.
The grove dimmed.
Owain caught me by the waist, pulling me closer, chest to chest.
The contact was too much.
Not dangerous.
Not painful.
Overwhelming.
"Owain—"
"I've got you," he murmured. "You're safe."
My fingers dug into his shirt as the instincts pressed harder.
Voices whispered across the grove.
"The human will break—"
"She's too fragile—"
"She'll choose—"
"She must submit—"
"She will fall—"
Owain snapped.
His aura exploded outward in a violent burst of golden heat.
"ENOUGH!"
A shockwave rippled through the wolves.
Growls fell silent.
Eyes lowered.
Bodies tensed.
Owain's father raised a brow. "Your instincts show, son."
Owain barely breathed. "She is NOT yours to test."
The grove stilled.
Even the runes dimmed in reaction.
Owain turned back to me, voice shaking with intensity.
"Kanah… look at me. Not them."
"I am."
His chest rose and fell.
"Then listen carefully."
He stepped closer until our noses nearly touched again.
His breath shook with restraint.
"My instincts are trying to pull you closer."
A beat.
"But I won't let them unless you want it."
My heart clenched painfully.
"I—I don't know what I want," I admitted.
Owain cupped my cheek gently.
"You want safety."
"I want… you," slipped out before I could stop it.
Owain froze.
Gerrin mutely cursed under his breath.
Yllas growled low.
Helion actually laughed. "Oh this is going to be FUN."
Owain swallowed hard, eyes burning into mine.
"Kanah…"
His voice broke.
"You can't say things like that during a Trial."
"Why?"
He leaned close—
"Because the grove will take it literally."
And it did.
The runes beneath us flared—
BRIGHT
WHITE
BLINDING
My chest burst with warmth.
The rune ignited—
not painfully
not dangerously
—powerfully.
Wolves gasped.
Owain's father whispered, "Her rune is choosing."
Choosing?
Yllas tensed. "This is not normal—"
Gerrin whispered sharply, "Owain, step back!"
Owain didn't.
He stood frozen as the rune's light reached toward him like a glowing thread.
"Kanah…"
His voice trembled.
"Do you want this? Do you choose me?"
Choose?
Everything stilled.
Owain.
His scent.
His warmth.
His steadiness.
His hand trembling against my cheek.
The rune pulsed like a heartbeat.
My voice came out quiet.
Honest.
Terrifying.
"I trust you."
The grove exploded.
The wolves roared.
The ground shook.
The runes burst like lightning.
Owain's eyes widened as the rune shot forward—
a soft warm glow—
connecting me to him.
He gasped.
I gasped.
A thread.
A tether.
Not a mate-bond.
Not permanent.
A trial-bond.
Owain caught me as my knees buckled, pulling me tightly against him.
He buried his face in my neck, breathing sharply.
"Kanah… gods—Kanah—"
His aura wrapped around me like heat.
Like safety.
Like instinct shielding me from everything.
The wolves bowed.
Some in awe.
Some in confusion.
Some… in fear.
Owain's father stepped forward, gaze stunned.
"She passes."
Helion smirked. "Of course she does."
Gerrin exhaled. "The bond is complete."
Yllas' eyes flashed with frustration and something else—
something like hunger.
Owain held me tighter, forehead pressed to my shoulder.
"You did it," he whispered.
"No," I whispered.
"You did."
He pulled back, eyes glowing brightly.
His instincts were visible in his expression.
Protect.
Guard.
Shelter.
Claim—
No.
Restrain.
He swallowed hard and stepped back enough to let me breathe.
The runes dimmed.
The grove steadied.
But then—
The air cracked.
Like lightning striking inside my skull.
Helion's eyes snapped toward the sky. "Not again—"
Gerrin's markings lit with alarm. "No. It's too soon."
Yllas growled, frost swirling violently. "The Beast King felt the trial-bond."
Owain stiffened.
"What does that mean?" I asked, heart pounding.
Gerrin answered quietly.
"It means the Beast King knows exactly who you chose."
And the rift began to tear open again.