The ritual ended as suddenly as it had begun. One by one, the growls softened, the snarling shadows faded, and the fire's heat once more seemed greater than the beasts' presence. Slowly, painfully, the transformations unraveled. Fur sank back into skin, claws dulled into calloused fingers, and the monstrous strength of the hunters melted away, leaving men where beasts had stood.
Kael was among the last to return. His chest rose and fell heavily, sweat and rain mixing on his skin as he dropped to one knee, panting. His shoulders still trembled with the strain of holding back the beast, but when he lifted his head, his eyes were unmistakably human again — and they sought only her.
Charlisa rose before she realized she had moved. She pushed through the murmuring crowd of women until she was standing at the edge of the circle. For a moment, she hesitated, her breath catching. His body glistened in the firelight, scars cutting across muscle, and yet she did not see the wild beast anymore. She saw the man who had carried her through storms, who had laughed with her beneath the trees, who had kissed her softly when no one was watching.
Kael's voice came low, rough from the strain.
"Did I frighten you?"
She shook her head quickly, though her throat was tight. "No… you didn't." Her voice wavered, but not with fear — with something deeper. "I thought I would be… but when I saw you like that, I felt—" She swallowed. "—that you were still you. Even then."
A faint smile curved his lips. He staggered to his feet, still catching his breath, and reached for her hand. His palm was hot, the roughness of a hunter, but the way his fingers curled around hers was gentle, deliberate, almost fragile.
"I am both, Charlisa," he whispered, drawing her closer so only she could hear. "The beast is not separate from me… it is me. But the man you love stands with it. Without you, I fear one would swallow the other."
Her chest ached at his words. She touched his face, her thumb brushing along his cheekbone, tracing the line where sweat and ash stained his skin. "Then I will keep them whole. I will keep you whole, Kael."
The murmurs of the crowd faded behind them, the night shrinking until it was only the two of them by the firelight. For the first time, she felt no divide between man and beast — only Kael. Her Kael.