Owain froze the moment the words left her mouth.
"Bite me."
Kanah's voice trembled, raw and breaking.
Her hunger pulsed in her veins, jagged and desperate like it wanted to claw its way out through her skin.
Owain felt every shake of her body against his chest.
He lowered his forehead to hers.
"Kana… are you sure?"
Her eyes—one human brown, the other black-gold—locked onto his.
"I'm losing myself," she whispered.
"And the only thing keeping me here—
is you."
Owain's breath stopped.
Not out of shock.
But out of pure, overwhelming instinct.
Wolf instinct.
Mate instinct.
He cupped her face gently, even as her nails curled into his shirt.
Gerrin, kneeling beside them, spoke softly:
"Owain… if you complete the bite, it will anchor her resonance directly to you. Her hunger… her instincts… all tied to your heartbeat."
Owain didn't look away from her.
"I want that."
Helion huffed softly.
"Of course you do."
Yllas exhaled, low and steady.
"It is the only path. For her life and her mind."
Kanah swallowed hard, tears slipping down her cheeks.
"Owain… if you don't anchor me, he will. I can feel him pulling. Like hooks under my ribs."
Owain's jaw clenched so hard his teeth creaked.
"That ends now."
He slid one arm under her knees and lifted her carefully, as if she were made of something breakable.
Kanah curled against him, breath shaking.
"Owain."
"I've got you."
"Don't let go."
"I won't."
Not for anything.
THE CIRCLE AROUND THEM
The others instinctively formed a circle—
not trapping them, but shielding them.
Gerrin with his soft silver glow.
Yllas with flickering frost-blue flame.
Helion pacing behind them, golden eyes sharp and alert.
Ilai with her hands over her mouth, praying under her breath.
The guardian beast standing behind Kanah like a mountain of dark iron.
Owain lowered them both to their knees under a massive pine.
Kanah trembled, pressing her forehead to his collarbone.
"Please—just do it—please—before he comes back—"
Owain held her cheeks, forcing her eyes open.
"Kana. Look at me."
Her pupils dilated wildly, breath erratic.
But she focused.
Barely.
Owain brushed her hair behind her ear.
"Kana… I'm not biting you until you tell me one thing."
Her lips parted.
"What?"
"Are you choosing this—
or are you running from him?"
Her breath hitched.
Silence.
Then—
"I'm choosing you."
A whisper.
A vow.
Owain exhaled shakily, pressing his forehead to hers.
"Say it again."
She slid her shaky hands along his jaw.
"I choose you, Owain."
Fire sparked in his chest.
Golden, hot, anchoring.
He framed her neck with both hands, pulling her close.
"Then I bite you."
Kanah's breath caught.
"Yes."
Gerrin whispered behind them:
"It has to be the shoulder or the junction of the neck. Those places hold instinct resonance."
Owain nodded once.
"Kana… breathe."
She did—
barely.
Her scent hit him like a storm.
Her pulse thrummed under his hands.
"I'm scared," she whispered.
He kissed her temple.
"So am I."
Her grip tightened at that.
"Owain…"
He shifted closer, positioning his mouth near the curve of her neck.
"I'm here. Every second of this, I'm here."
Kanah closed her eyes.
"Owain… hurry."
And Owain—
finally—
bit her.
THE BITE
Not violently.
Not to claim.
Not to mark.
To anchor.
His fangs sank into her skin, slow and careful until they pierced through just enough—
Kanah gasped—
her back arching—
her hunger slashing upward—
but Owain tightened his arms around her, growling low in his chest.
A grounding growl.
A mating growl.
A promise growl.
Her breath hitched as warmth flooded down her spine—
not pain—
not Devourer hunger—
something else.
Bond resonance.
Owain murmured into her skin between shallow breaths:
"That's it. Good girl. You're doing so good—"
She sobbed, not from pain, but relief.
"Owain—Owain—Owain—"
He bit deeper—
And Kanah's entire world snapped into clarity.
The hunger inside her stopped clawing.
Stopped screaming.
It settled.
It obeyed.
For the first time since her father forced the awakening—
the hunger bowed.
To him.
To the bond.
To her choice.
Kanah clutched him so tightly her knuckles whitened.
"Owain—something's happening—"
He growled against her skin, heartbeat slamming into hers.
"I know. Let it."
Her veins pulsed gold-black—
the unstable pattern smoothing out in waves.
Gerrin whispered, awe in his voice:
"Her resonance… it's syncing."
Yllas exhaled slowly.
"It's beautiful."
Helion whispered:
"She's stabilizing."
Ilai wiped tears from her face.
"Thank the spirits…"
Owain pulled back slightly, fangs slipping free.
Kanah cried out—
the sound raw, deep—
a mix of instinct and overwhelming relief.
Owain held her through the tremors.
"Breathe. Just breathe, Kana."
Her forehead fell against his shoulder.
"Owain… I'm here. I'm… back."
He kissed the bleeding mark gently.
"You're home."
THE AFTERSHOCK
Kanah trembled in his arms, exhaustion finally overtaking the fear and hunger that had driven her for hours.
Her breathing steadied.
Her Devourer eye dimmed.
Her stomach stopped twisting.
Peace—
peace she hadn't felt since the awakening—
finally slid into her bones.
Her father's pull—
the brother's resonance—
everything—
gone.
Owain tilted her chin.
"Look at me."
She did.
And her eyes—
both of them—
were hers again.
Brown and gold.
Human and Devourer.
Balanced.
Owain swallowed hard.
"Kana… how do you feel?"
She inhaled slowly.
"For the first time…"
She brushed her fingers over his bite mark on her neck.
"…I'm not starving."
Owain exhaled a shaky sigh of relief.
Gerrin wiped his forehead.
"Her resonance is stable for now."
Yllas nodded.
"She is safe."
Helion smirked.
"And she's officially wolf-claimed."
Kanah flushed, exhausted and overwhelmed.
Owain held her closer.
"She claimed me too," he murmured.
Her eyes softened.
"It was always you."
Owain's voice broke quietly, just for her:
"And I'm never letting you go again."
Kanah leaned into his chest, finally letting herself rest.
But the moment lasted only seconds.
Because the guardian beast lifted its head suddenly.
Helion stiffened.
Gerrin's magic flickered.
Yllas's wings twitched.
Owain's arms tightened around Kanah.
"What is it?" Kanah whispered, still weak.
Owain growled.
"Something's coming."
And the guardian confirmed it—
by releasing a deep, thunderous growl that shook the clearing.
Kanah's Devourer sense tingled.
Her brother's resonance…
was moving.
Fast.
And he wasn't alone.