Warmth.
That was the first thing I felt.
Not the Spire's molten heat. Not the Beast King's burning mark.
A gentler warmth—rough wool and soft sunlight.
And Owain's scent.
I blinked awake slowly, vision blurring into shapes and shadows. The air tasted different here—pine, moss, cold air, wolf musk.
Fenr Vale.
I was back in wolf territory.
My body jerked upward. "Owain—?"
He was there instantly.
He sat at my bedside, large hands wrapped around one of mine, forehead pressed to it like he'd been praying.
His voice cracked when he heard me move.
"Kanah?"
I squeezed his fingers. "I'm here."
He lifted his head—
and his eyes—
Gods.
They were red-rimmed, exhausted, swollen, and still glowing faint amber from instinct.
"Don't ever do that again," he whispered, pulling me into his arms. "I thought—"
He broke off. His breath hitched against my shoulder.
"I thought I lost you."
I hugged him back with shaking arms. "I didn't choose to pass out, you idiot."
He laughed—a choked, desperate sound—and held me tighter.
His chest trembled under my palms.
"I carried you home," he murmured against my hair. "I didn't trust anyone else."
"Did the dragons let you just… leave?"
Owain stiffened.
A storm rolled across his face.
"They didn't have a choice."
My stomach tightened. "Owain. What did you do?"
Before he could answer—
A howl cut the air outside the tent.
Dozens of responding howls rose with it.
Owain surged to his feet, fangs bared.
"STAY HERE," he growled, stepping in front of me.
"What's happening?"
He didn't turn around. "They smell like you're awake."
My heart dropped.
He clarified, voice shaking with fury:
"They smell the mark."
My breath froze.
Because outside—
The wolves weren't howling in celebration.
They were howling in aggression.
A sound like a forest of sharpening blades.
Owain braced the tent flap with his body. "They won't come in."
Something slammed the outside of the tent.
A snarl followed.
"OWAIN!" a wolf voice barked. "Let us see her!"
Owain snapped, "GET BACK!"
Another slam.
Helion's irritated voice echoed from a distance, "If one of you mangy mutts RIPS this tent, I swear I'll skin you—"
Gerrin's calm voice followed, strained. "Everyone, step back. She just woke up—"
Another snarl. "The Beast King touched her. We smell it!"
Owain's entire body shook.
"COME INSIDE," I whispered urgently. "Owain, please—"
But he didn't move.
He was shielding me with everything he had.
"Owain," I said again, standing. My legs gave out. "Owain—"
He turned instantly, catching me in his arms.
"Don't get up! You're not—"
But before he finished—
a shattering CRACK split the air.
Dragonfire.
Owain snarled. "No. NO."
Another crack—closer.
The camp went silent.
Completely silent.
Then—
a voice thundered across Fenr Vale:
"Give her back."
Yllas.
Owain's hackles raised. "Over my corpse."
The tent flap exploded open.
Gerrin stumbled in first, panting. "Owain—stop—don't—"
Helion shoved him aside. "I told you the dragon idiot would follow—"
Yllas stepped in behind them.
Half-shifted.
Wings flared wide, scales gleaming like shards of a dying sun.
Fire crawled up his arms.
His pupils were thin vertical slits.
His aura filled the entire tent.
He was terrifying.
Owain stepped in front of me, claws out. "You're not taking her."
Yllas' voice sent the temperature spiking.
"She does NOT belong in wolf territory."
"She belongs with ME," Owain snarled.
"Not while the Beast King can track her," Yllas hissed.
Owain lunged.
Yllas lunged.
The ground shook with the collision.
Wolf claws met dragon scales—sparks flying.
Owain's snarl turned feral.
Yllas' roar cracked the tent poles.
Helion groaned. "Here we go…"
Gerrin shoved forward. "STOP—STOP THIS RIGHT—"
OWAIN: "HE MARKED HER—"
YLLAS: "YOU BROUGHT HER HERE—"
OWAIN: "YOU LET HIM TOUCH HER—"
YLLAS: "I FOUGHT HIM—YOU COULDN'T STAND—"
OWAIN: "FUCK YOU—"
YLLAS: "TRY."
The entire tent erupted.
Yllas slammed Owain backward, flames streaking across the ground.
Owain twisted midair, landed on all fours, and launched back with a wolf howl so fierce even Helion muttered, "Gods damn."
Gerrin shouted over the chaos—
"Owain, Yllas—STOP! The mark will react—"
He was too late.
The silver mark on my chest burned like molten metal.
I screamed.
Both males froze instantly.
Owain turned first, eyes wide. "Kanah—?!"
Yllas snapped toward me, wings curling inward. "She's destabilizing—"
The mark pulsed violently.
Owain ran to me, catching me as my knees buckled.
His hands covered my face, frantic.
"Kanah—look at me—stay with me—"
The Beast King's whisper trickled through the edges of my awareness:
Mine.
I shook my head violently. "No—no—stay out—"
Owain growled, aura flaring. "DON'T TOUCH HER."
The mark fought back harder, searing my skin.
Yllas slammed a glowing hand over my sternum.
Golden fire erupted from his palm.
Owain roared. "GET YOUR HAND OFF HER—"
"It's the only way to contain it," Yllas snapped.
Helion pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Perfect. Wolf goes berserk. Dragon plays the hero. Rune lighting up like a festival lantern. Great day for us all."
Gerrin's markings blazed bright silver.
"Everyone HOLD HER," Gerrin ordered.
Owain pulled me against his chest, arms locked around me.
Yllas pressed his hand to the glowing mark.
Helion braced my shoulders.
"Try not to die, sweetheart."
Gerrin grabbed my wrists. "Kanah. Focus."
"I—I can't—"
"You can," Gerrin snapped. "You will. Breathe—"
But the mark burst open, flooding my vision with silver—
And then something else.
A new color.
Not gold.
Not silver.
Blue.
A cold, ancient blue that made the air freeze.
Yllas choked on a breath. "No…"
Gerrin whispered, "Impossible."
Helion stepped back. "That's—"
Owain's eyes widened. "What is that?"
The blue pulsed again.
Gerrin swallowed.
"That is Queen's Shadow magic. The rarest form of the First Queen's power."
Yllas' voice was low, reverent, and horrified.
"That means her bloodline is even stronger than the prophecy suggests."
Owain paled. "What does that mean?"
Gerrin looked at me.
At the mark.
At the shimmering blue light.
"It means," he whispered,
"The Beast King didn't just claim her."
Silence swallowed the tent.
Owain shivered. "Say it."
Gerrin met my eyes.
"He recognized her."
My heart stopped.
Helion's face was drained of color. "Holy shit."
Yllas' wings folded tightly, jaw clenched. "A First Queen descendant born outside the beast races…"
Owain shook his head. "No. No."
Gerrin finished:
"The Beast King believes she is his destined mate."
Owain's breath broke.
"No."
Yllas stepped back, fire flickering uncontrollably at his fingertips.
Helion muttered a curse.
I whispered—
"I don't want that."
Owain wrapped me tighter, pressing his forehead to mine.
"Then we won't let it happen."
"But how?" I whispered.
Gerrin lifted his staff. "We break his bond."
Yllas nodded sharply. "We strengthen hers."
Helion smirked. "We choose her mate."
All eyes swung to him.
He shrugged. "What? Someone has to say it."
Owain growled. "She chooses. Not you."
Helion smirked. "Sure. Eventually."
Gerrin rubbed his temples. "Owain… choosing won't be easy for her."
"It's not supposed to be!" Owain snapped. "It's her decision—"
Yllas cut in quietly.
"It may not stay her decision."
Owain spun on him. "WHAT?!"
The air tightened.
Yllas looked directly into my eyes.
"The Beast King's bond has awakened.
It will override your will at the next connection."
My stomach dropped.
"So…"
My voice shook.
"…next time he reaches for me…"
Yllas nodded.
"You won't be able to refuse."
Owain's heart broke audibly in the silence.
"No," he whispered.
Gerrin stepped closer. "Kanah. We have to bind you to someone."
"No," Owain snapped instantly. "She's not choosing out of fear."
Yllas whispered, "It's not about fear. It's about survival."
Helion crossed his arms. "And if she waits too long—he'll take her."
The rune pulsed again.
The mark throbbed.
And I realized—
All four were right.
Owain cupped my face, voice breaking.
"Kanah… you choose who you want. I mean it. I'll fight every male alive for you. I'll protect you against every instinct, every prophecy, every goddamned King."
His forehead pressed to mine.
"But don't let him take you."
Yllas stepped forward slowly, fear and want and fire in his eyes.
Gerrin placed a steady hand on my shoulder, calm but urgent.
Helion leaned in with a rare seriousness behind his golden gaze.
Four instincts.
Four bonds waiting.
Four futures.
And only one way to break the Beast King's hold.
My heart thundered painfully.
"I don't—"
My voice cracked.
"I don't know who to choose."
And the chapter ends with the mark pulsing again—
silver
gold
blue—
before fading to black.