Owain didn't sleep.
He held Kanah against him beneath the glowing forest canopy, but his body remained tense, every muscle coiled and ready as if expecting the shadows to reach out and steal her.
The others felt it too.
Not fear.
Not exhaustion.
Instinct.
A King's instinct.
Yllas sat on the nearest root, sharpening a blade with slow, deliberate drags.
"You're trembling, Owain."
Owain didn't look up.
"I'm not."
Kanah glanced down from his embrace.
He absolutely was.
Just slightly.
Just enough that she could feel each tremor in her spine where his arm lay beneath her.
"Owain," she whispered softly, "you're shaking. I can feel it."
His jaw tightened.
His voice came out low, strained.
"I almost lost you tonight."
Her breath softened.
"I know."
He pulled her closer, wrapping himself around her more tightly, chin resting on her shoulder.
"I don't ever want to experience that again."
Kanah laid a hand over his heart.
"You didn't lose me. I'm right here."
Owain closed his eyes, voice deep and rough with something raw.
"I should've killed him."
Kanah stiffened.
Yllas' wings shifted with unease.
Gerrin's staff pulse-flickered.
Helion's ears angled toward them, making him break mid-sharpen.
Kanah whispered:
"Owain… that man wasn't human."
Owain's grip tightened.
"I know."
She turned slightly in his arms, meeting his eyes.
Those eyes—
amber laced with molten gold—
were hot with emotion.
"Owain, he's powerful. Too powerful. If you attacked him, he would've—"
"What?" Owain cut in, voice dark.
"Killed me?"
Kanah flinched.
Owain cupped her cheek instantly, thumb brushing it gently.
"No.
I'm not afraid of dying."
Her heartbeat stumbled.
"Owain…"
He lowered his forehead to hers.
"I'm afraid of leaving you alone."
She closed her eyes as tears threatened.
"Owain… you won't—"
He cupped her jaw, voice thick.
"You don't understand. If he's right—if my instincts ever snap—if I…"
His throat tightened.
"…if I ever hurt you…"
Kanah grabbed both sides of his face firmly.
"You won't."
"I could."
"You won't."
"Kana—"
She pressed her forehead harder to his, nose brushing his.
"You won't."
His breath stuttered.
"Why are you so sure?"
Kanah swallowed.
"Because your heart is louder than your instincts."
Owain's entire body froze.
Kanah whispered:
"And your heart loves me."
Owain's breath broke, shaky and unsteady, and he wrapped her in his arms again—
holding her like she was the center of the world.
Because she was.
The Team Speaks
Yllas rose to his feet, voice steady and authoritative.
"We need to discuss what happened."
Owain growled softly.
Yllas continued anyway.
"That wasn't a human. Or if he was… he is no longer one."
Helion's tail flicked.
"I didn't smell skin. I didn't smell sweat. Not even blood under the skin. Nothing."
Gerrin nodded.
"Magic didn't respond to him either. Not even the throne's residue could identify him."
Kanah tightened her arms around Owain.
"Owain… he said he watched me for years…"
Owain stiffened violently.
"He stalked you," he snarled. "I'll kill him."
"Owain—stop—"
"No."
He stood up fully, pulling her with him.
"I'm not letting him near you again. Ever."
Kanah held his hand tightly.
"We… we need answers first."
Owain inhaled sharply, fighting instinct and rage both.
Yllas crossed his arms.
"That being said… I think I know what he is."
Kanah looked at him sharply.
"You do?"
Yllas nodded grimly.
"There's only one type of being that can walk between worlds, mask its aura, and manipulate the throne's domain."
He paused.
Gerrin frowned.
"Are you sure?"
Helion grimaced.
"No. No way. That's impossible."
Kanah swallowed.
"What is he?"
Yllas exhaled.
"A Lost Architect."
Owain's eyes widened.
"No."
Kanah blinked. "Lost… what?"
Gerrin stepped closer.
"The beings who created the first bridges between worlds. The first portals. The original laws of Beastworld were woven by them."
Helion added:
"They disappeared a thousand years ago. Everyone thought they died."
Yllas shook his head.
"Not dead."
His eyes fixed on Kanah.
"Banished."
Kanah's blood turned cold.
"Owain," she whispered.
"Why would a banished being bring me here?"
Owain pulled her close.
"He shouldn't have."
Travel Begins
They left the glowing forest at dawn.
Owain carried Kanah for the first hour despite her insistence she could walk.
"I'm fine," she said.
"You fainted three times in the last two hours," Owain replied.
"That was because—"
"You tried using your Queen sight. And you nearly walked into a tree."
"That tree moved!"
Owain smirked.
"It didn't."
She crossed her arms.
Gerrin laughed under his breath.
"It did, actually," he murmured.
Owain glared at him.
"Stop helping her."
Gerrin didn't.
Helion snorted.
"So, Kana, how's it feel being royalty?"
Kanah sighed heavily.
"No one told me the throne comes with fainting."
Owain snorted softly.
"Then stop pushing yourself."
"But I need to practice."
"Not until your body stabilizes."
She looked up at him.
"You're being overprotective again."
"That's my job."
"It's too much."
"No, it's not."
"It is."
"Too bad."
Kanah sighed.
Owain didn't budge.
Instinct Shift
By midday, Owain's instincts sharpened more.
Every sound made his head snap toward it.
Every smell he caught triggered a growl.
Every time Kanah drifted more than two steps from him—
"Owain—OWAIN—STOP—LET GO OF MY WAIST—!!"
"No."
"You can't just—carry me every time I walk away!"
"Yes, I can."
"Owain—!!"
He lifted her again without effort.
"It's safer."
She slapped his arm lightly.
"Put me down this instant!"
He didn't.
Yllas chuckled.
"It's the crown. It amplifies territorial instincts."
Helion snorted.
"Wolf King instincts. They're… extreme."
Gerrin coughed politely.
"That's the gentle word."
Kanah groaned into her hands.
The group moved on.
Owain refused to let go of her.
Nightfall
That night, they rested in a grove of shimmering trees that hummed softly with protection magic.
Gerrin placed sigils around the perimeter.
Yllas polished his wings.
Helion lay back in the moss, pretending not to be exhausted.
Kanah sat beside Owain, who hadn't relaxed once since the encounter.
She placed her hand over his.
"Owain. Please rest."
He shook his head.
"Can't."
"Why?"
His eyes glowed faintly.
"I feel eyes on us."
Kanah stiffened.
"Owain… do you mean—"
"No," he murmured.
"Not the Architect.
Something else."
Kanah moved closer, instinctively wanting to help him.
"Owain…"
She touched his cheek.
"I'm right here."
His breath hitched.
Then—
Something moved in the trees.
Owain snapped up instantly, claws out, pulling Kanah behind him.
"STAY BACK."
Gerrin's staff flared.
Helion leapt to his feet.
Yllas drew both blades.
Kanah clutched his coat.
"Owain—what is it—?"
Owain's eyes narrowed.
"It's hunting us."
Kanah's pulse surged.
"What's hunting—"
A shape lunged from the trees—
Fast.
Silent.
Black as a tear in reality.
Owain shoved Kanah down and spun, claws colliding with the creature mid-leap.
SNAP.
The creature hit the ground, hissing, twisting—
Half-shadow, half-beast, glowing with unnatural gold marks.
Kanah gasped.
"That mark—!! It's—"
Owain's eyes widened.
"…throne energy."
Gerrin paled.
"That's not possible."
Helion cursed violently.
"Oh hell—NO—are you—are you joking—?!"
Kanah grabbed Owain's arm.
"What is it!?"
Owain's breath deepened, voice low.
"It's a Throne Wraith."
Yllas froze.
"A creature born from the throne's collapse."
Kanah's stomach dropped.
"But—why hunt us—?"
Owain didn't answer.
He charged.
The creature shrieked and lunged for Kanah—
Owain intercepted it.
His claws tore through its chest with a sound that shook the very trees.
Kanah covered her mouth.
Owain roared, King-instinct blazing, dropping the creature at her feet.
It dissolved into shadow.
Kanah trembled.
"Owain… you… you saved me."
He grabbed her shoulders, voice shaking.
"Kana—look at me—look at me—"
She lifted her gaze.
His eyes were wild.
Terrified.
"I almost didn't make it in time."
Kanah hugged him instantly, burying her face in his chest.
"Owain—no—don't think that—"
He clutched her so tight she could barely breathe.
"I can't lose you. I won't. I CAN'T."
Kanah stroked his hair, grounding him.
"You won't. You won't lose me."
Yllas, pale, approached them.
"Kanah… Owain…
The throne sent that creature after you."
Kanah froze.
Owain growled.
Gerrin whispered urgently:
"Something in the throne's collapse… took shape."
Helion muttered:
"And it thinks she belongs to it."
Kanah gripped Owain tighter.
"Owain…"
He cupped the back of her head.
His next words were soft.
Certain.
Fatal to anything that opposed them.
"No one takes you from me."
Kanah breathed into his chest:
"And I won't let anything take you either."
Owain closed his eyes, trembling.
The night wind whispered through the trees.
Far away, the messenger beast listened.
"The Queen has been claimed," it hissed.
"And the Wolf King awakens."
It melted into shadow, carrying the news to the darkness gathering beyond the horizon.