The howl echoed long after it ended.
Not wolf.
Not beast.
Not anything that belonged in this world.
A deep, vibrating call that felt like it curled into the bones beneath my skin.
Owain reacted first.
He moved without thought—
shoving himself between me and the grove,
blocking the sound as if his body could shield me from it.
"Kanah," he murmured, breath ragged, "look at me. Don't listen to him."
I couldn't help it.
The sound was inside me.
Like a hook in my chest, tugging—
slowly at first, then sharper.
My vision blurred.
"Owain… it's happening again—"
He growled, low and furious.
"No. Not again."
Yllas approached, frost swirling around his hands. "We need to move her. The valley is amplifying the call."
Gerrin's markings glowed a bright silver. "He's using direct resonance. The trial-bond made her more sensitive."
Helion appeared beside me in a blur, one hand on my arm.
"And the longer she stays here, the more he'll try to drag her through."
My breath stuttered.
"Drag me—how?! I'm not connected to him!"
Gerrin paused.
His jaw tightened.
"Not directly. But your rune remembers his energy after the rift."
"That's not fair," I whispered.
"No," Yllas said quietly. "It's not."
Another howl rolled across the mountains.
Wolves flinched.
Trees trembled.
The sky dimmed even though night was already thick.
Owain leaned closer, voice rough. "Kanah. Focus on me."
"I'm trying—"
The rune burned.
Not like fire.
Like something clawing from the inside.
I gasped and dropped to my knees.
Owain lunged to catch me, arms caging me against his chest.
Helion swore.
Gerrin leaned in.
Yllas knelt beside me.
All three stared at the glowing pulse over my heart.
"Owain," Gerrin said slowly, "her rune is doing something new."
Owain's grip tightened. "Fix it."
"Fixing it isn't simple—"
"Fix it!" Owain roared.
Yllas grabbed Owain's shoulder. "Let him work."
Owain didn't move.
His breath shook with fear he refused to say aloud.
For the first time, I realized the truth:
He wasn't afraid of the Beast King.
He was afraid of losing me.
"Owain," I whispered weakly. "I'm okay—"
"Don't say that," he snapped, voice cracking. "You're not okay. You're burning up."
Helion pressed two fingers to the glowing mark on my chest.
Heat pulsed beneath his touch.
His expression shifted instantly.
"Shit."
"What?" Owain snarled.
Helion looked up, golden eyes sharp.
"She's awakening a third-stage response."
Gerrin inhaled sharply. "Already?"
Yllas grimaced. "That's too fast. Too dangerous."
Owain lifted me into his arms. "I'm taking her somewhere safe."
Gerrin grabbed his arm. "We need to understand the reaction—"
"Later!"
Owain turned to move.
But then—
The howl came again.
Closer.
My eyes snapped open.
And this time—
I saw something.
Not in the sky.
Not in the grove.
Inside my vision.
A flash of horns.
A silhouette of shifting shadow.
Eyes like molten silver—
Watching me.
Calling me.
Claiming me.
I choked.
Fell out of Owain's arms.
Collapsed onto the ground.
"KANAH!" he shouted, horrified.
My fingers dug into the earth.
The rune pulsed violently—
once
twice
then exploded with a bright, golden shockwave.
The grove was blinded.
Owain slammed into the trees.
Gerrin stumbled.
Helion hissed and shielded his eyes.
Yllas froze the ground to anchor himself.
When the light faded—
Everything was silent.
Owain crawled toward me, eyes wide. "Kanah. Kanah—look at me."
My body shook uncontrollably.
The rune still glowed—but different.
Not warm.
Not painful.
Bright.
Full.
Almost alive.
Gerrin whispered, stunned, "It awakened."
Yllas blinked. "Into what?"
Helion crouched beside me, studying the glow. "A defensive surge. Instinct-based. Humans shouldn't be able to manifest this."
Owain brushed my hair away from my face, voice trembling.
"Kanah. Can you hear me?"
"I'm—here," I whispered.
His eyes shut in relief.
Then snapped open again, burning with anger.
"I'm ending the Trials. Now."
Owain's father approached with slow, heavy steps.
His gaze flicked between me and the grove's runes.
"The Trials are already finished," he said. "She passed all three."
"She nearly died!" Owain snapped.
"But she passed," the elder repeated. "The grove has accepted her bond with you."
"And what does that mean?" Gerrin asked quietly.
Owain's father turned to him.
"It means she carries the Wolf Moon's protection."
Yllas's jaw tightened. "And the Beast King will tear apart anything that stands in his way."
"Then we move," Helion said. "Now."
Owain's father nodded. "Go. Leave the valley. The Beast King's howl is searching for her. Fenr Vale cannot hide her anymore."
Owain scooped me into his arms again.
"Don't put me down," I whispered.
"I wasn't going to."
He strode out of the grove.
The moment we crossed the threshold—
the bond between us pulsed.
Warm.
Steady.
Calming.
Owain inhaled sharply. "Your aura… gods, Kanah, it's syncing with mine."
"That's good, right?"
"It shouldn't be possible," Gerrin said behind us. "Not with a trial-bond."
"Maybe she's special," Helion said casually.
Yllas snorted lightly. "She is."
I blinked. "Y-you think I'm special?"
He met my eyes.
His expression didn't change—cold, steady—but something softened beneath it.
"You survived something no human should survive."
Helion leaned closer. "And you did it in the arms of a wolf."
Owain growled. "Helion."
"What? Am I lying?"
Owain ignored him and carried me deeper into the forest, away from the grove.
The farther we went, the more the rune settled—
not cooling,
not fading,
just calming.
I clung to Owain's cloak, whispering, "What if he comes again?"
"He will," Owain growled. "But he won't take you."
"And if he does?"
Owain stopped walking.
Slowly, he lowered me to my feet.
His hands stayed on my waist.
Warm. Strong. Anchoring.
"Kanah," he said softly, "look at me."
I did.
He held my face gently between his hands.
His eyes were gold—bright, burning, unguarded.
"If the Beast King comes," he whispered, "I will fight him."
"That's impossible," Gerrin said from behind him.
Owain didn't look away from me.
"I don't care."
"Owain—"
He brushed my cheek with his thumb.
"You're not a prize," he said.
"You're not a symbol."
"You're not a mistake."
His voice broke.
"You're mine to protect."
The rune pulsed.
His breath hitched.
My heart stumbled.
Helion muttered a curse under his breath.
Gerrin looked away.
Yllas clenched his jaw.
"Owain," I whispered, "you're trembling."
"Because I almost lost you."
He didn't move closer.
He didn't kiss me.
He just held my face—
waiting.
Not claiming.
Not demanding.
Not assuming.
Waiting for me.
The rune pulsed again—
warm, soft, like a whisper.
I leaned forward and touched my forehead to his.
He inhaled sharply.
The reaction was instantaneous—
Owain's body tensed.
Heat radiated through his hands.
His breath stuttered.
His heart pounded so hard I felt it through his chest.
"Kanah…" he whispered.
And then—
The ground trembled.
Not from the Beast King.
Not from magic.
From wolves.
A pack.
Running fast.
Surrounding us.
Owain spun instantly, pulling me behind him.
"Talon Pack," Helion muttered.
Yllas exhaled coldly. "Of course them."
Gerrin stepped forward. "They must've felt the bond shift."
A tall wolf-man emerged from the shadows.
Dark blond hair.
Sharp blue eyes.
Broad shoulders.
A leader.
His gaze locked on Owain.
"So it's true," he said. "You bonded her. The human."
Owain growled. "This is not your business."
"Oh, it is," the alpha said. "A trial-bond gives her temporary status. But a Wolf Moon mark? That changes everything."
My stomach dropped.
I whispered, "Wolf Moon… mark?"
Gerrin's jaw tightened.
Yllas cursed softly.
Helion sighed.
Owain didn't move.
"Show them," the rival alpha said. "The mark. On her chest."
Owain snarled. "You're not seeing anything."
"We have the right to confirm her status—"
"You have no rights over her!"
The rival alpha bared his teeth. "Then I claim challenge—"
Owain stood taller. "Denied."
"You cannot deny a—"
Owain roared so loudly the earth shook.
"DENIED!"
The wolves behind the rival alpha flinched involuntarily.
But the alpha held his ground.
He pointed at me.
"She's unstable. Untamed. Dangerous. She'll bring ruin to every pack."
Owain's voice dropped to a deadly whisper.
"She's mine to protect."
The rival wolf laughed. "You think you can protect her from the Beast King?"
Owain didn't blink.
"I'll die trying."
The world went still.
Even the wind stopped.
The rival alpha stepped closer.
"And what happens," he asked, "when your instincts turn on her? When the Wolf Moon pushes the bond deeper? Stronger? Permanent?"
Owain stiffened.
My breath hitched.
"And what happens," the alpha continued, "when the other Highborn want her too?"
All eyes turned to Yllas, Helion, and Gerrin.
Owain snarled, "They won't touch her."
Helion smirked.
Yllas scoffed.
Gerrin said nothing.
The rival alpha's gaze sharpened.
"There it is."
He looked straight into my eyes.
"You don't belong to the wolves."
My chest tightened.
"You don't belong to the dragons either. Nor the elves. Nor the leopards."
Owain stepped forward. "Don't you dare speak to her—"
"But the one who calls you—"
The alpha tilted his head toward the sky.
"—he knows exactly what you are."
A silence fell over the forest.
The rune pulsed—
not warm
not painful
but loud
like a warning bell.
Owain grabbed my hand. "Run."
"What?"
"Run!"
And behind us—
the Beast King's howl came again.
Closer.
Too close.