The howl shattered through the fortress stones like a physical blow.
Owain staggered.
Ilai clutched the wall.
Kanah froze mid-breath, her teeth still grazing the skin of Owain's neck.
Her father turned sharply toward the far wall, eyes narrowing.
"That sound…"
The stone under their feet trembled again as the howl echoed a second time—deeper, louder, layered with rough instinct, not language.
Not wolf.
Not Devourer.
Not Hollow.
But alive.
Wild.
Massive.
Ilai whispered, pale:
"That's not any beast I know."
Owain's arms tightened around Kanah protectively.
His voice was low, instinctual.
"That's a call. A beastcall."
Kanah's heart pounded painfully against her ribs.
Her father's eyes glowed black-gold.
"Interesting. Something answers her awakening. Something old."
Kanah staggered backward, nausea hitting her.
"No— I didn't call anything— I didn't—"
Owain steadied her.
"Kana. Look at me. Breathe."
Another howl—this one closer—rolled across the fortress like thunder.
Kanah clutched Owain's arm.
"I—I know that sound."
Owain stiffened.
Kanah swallowed hard.
"It's the sound from the Pit. The one I heard when I was a child."
Her father raised a brow.
"You remember that?"
Kanah shook her head, trembling.
"I didn't— until now."
Owain stepped in front of her fully, claws out.
"Whatever it is, it's coming for her."
Ilai pulled a dagger from her boot, breath shaking.
"Do we have ANY beasts out there on our side?"
Owain's jaw tightened.
"No."
Kanah whispered, horrified:
"Then what is answering me?"
Her father answered before anyone else could.
"The Devourer seed inside you."
Kanah jerked.
"No. No— I didn't awaken anything like that—"
Her father's voice stayed calm.
"You did, when you bit him. It was instinctive. Uncontrolled. You broadcast your resonance."
Kanah's breath stopped.
And Owain's face changed.
Realization.
Understanding.
Dread.
"Kana," he said quietly. "You didn't call a beast."
Her heart hammered.
"What… what did I call?"
Owain's claws flexed, slow and controlled.
"You called a predator."
The howl boomed again.
Closer.
Inside the inner courtyard.
Stone dust drifted from the ceiling.
Ilai cursed under her breath.
"No—no—if something breaks the fortress wall from outside, the whole East Spine collapses!"
Her father smirked faintly.
"Then perhaps you should run."
Owain growled.
"We can't run with Kanah like this."
His voice sharpened as he looked at her.
"Kana. Listen to me. You're not bonded fully yet. Your hunger isn't stable. You can't control what your resonance reaches."
Kanah clutched her head, breath shaking.
"I didn't mean to— I didn't want to—"
Owain cupped her cheeks.
"Kana."
Her eyes snapped to his.
"You're not wrong. You're not broken. You're awakening. And beasts respond to awakening."
"But what kind of beast responds like that?"
"Ours," her father answered.
Kanah turned toward him.
"What do you mean ours?"
Her father's eyes darkened with something between pride and warning.
"Only ancient predators respond to Devourer frequency."
Another crash shook the wall.
A massive claw—long, hooked, obsidian-black—punched through the outer stone.
Ilai screamed.
Owain shoved Kanah backward, shielding her with his body.
Her father merely observed, intrigued.
Stone split.
The wall buckled.
And something breathed through the crack—
a heavy, low exhale that felt like hot smoke rolling over skin.
Owain snarled under his breath.
"That's not a beast I've EVER seen."
Ilai grabbed Kanah's arm.
"We have to MOVE!"
Owain didn't budge.
"I'm not turning my back on that thing."
The claw withdrew—
And then the wall exploded inward.
Not shattered.
Not broken.
Exploded—
as if something enormous had slammed its body through it.
A gale of dust and debris blasted the chamber.
Owain turned his body fully around Kanah.
Kanah coughed through the dust—
Then froze.
The creature stood framed in the broken stone arch.
A silhouette first.
Then shape.
Massive.
Long-limbed.
Muscular.
Fur black as ink.
Eyes molten gold.
But it wasn't a wolf.
Wasn't a cat.
Wasn't any Beastworld species Kanah had ever seen.
Its chest heaved with slow, deliberate breaths.
Its claws dripped black-gold sparks—resonance sparks.
Owain's voice came out rough.
"Kana… that thing has your scent."
Kanah's blood ran cold.
"What?"
Her father spoke softly:
"So. The old ones still walk."
Kanah staggered back.
"Old ones?"
Her father gave a faint, chilling smile.
"Ancient Devourer guardians."
Owain snarled.
"Guardians? That thing is here to kill us."
Her father shook his head once.
"No. It is here for her."
Kanah's heart hammered painfully.
The creature took one slow step into the chamber.
Its gaze locked on her instantly—
not Owain,
not Ilai,
not the Devourer lord.
Her.
Kanah felt her knees weaken.
"Owain… I don't think it's here to attack."
Owain growled.
"It LOOKS like it's here to attack."
Kanah shook her head faintly.
"It's… responding to something."
Her father nodded.
"Correct. Your hunger bond is incomplete. The guardian responds to unfinished resonance."
Owain snapped his head toward him.
"Guardian of WHAT?"
The creature inhaled deeply—
a low, guttural rumble shaking its chest.
Kanah felt the pull.
Like gravity.
Like instinct.
Like an echo of her own hunger staring back at her in animal form.
Her stomach flipped.
"It's responding to the bite."
Owain stiffened.
"To MY bite?"
Kanah's father smiled faintly.
"No. To hers. She broadcast a signal. It came to claim its awakening kin."
Owain's claws shot out again.
"She's not kin to anything except me."
Ilai whispered, terrified:
"Owain… that thing is three times your size—"
Owain didn't back down.
"I don't care."
The creature let out a slow, deep rumble—
something between a growl and a greeting.
Kanah's lips parted.
"It's calling me."
Kanah's father nodded.
"Yes. And if you do not stabilize your bond to the wolf… it will take you instead."
Owain's blood went cold.
Kanah's breath hitched.
Ilai covered her mouth.
And the creature stepped closer.
One more step…
Then another.
Owain's snarl ripped through the air—
"STAY BACK!"
But Kanah grabbed his hand with shaking fingers.
"Owain… I think it wants to—"
The creature dropped to one knee.
Its head bowed.
Its claws scraped the floor in a gesture Kanah didn't understand—
But her father did.
His voice lowered.
"It is kneeling."
Owain blinked.
"What?"
"It kneels to the awakened. To the Devourer heir."
Kanah's heart pounded.
"No—no— I'm not—"
Her father's voice sharpened.
"You are."
Owain stepped in front of her again, voice raw.
"She's not going anywhere with that thing."
The guardian lifted its head slowly.
Golden eyes locked onto Kanah.
And for the first time—
it spoke.
Barely a whisper.
Barely language.
But unmistakable.
"Kanah."
Owain's heart stopped.
Ilai froze.
Kanah's blood turned to ice.
And her father exhaled, deeply satisfied.
"It knows her name."
Kanah whispered, shaking:
"Why… why does it know my name?"
Her father smiled.
"Because you called it."
Owain stepped forward, claws blazing.
"Kana. You stay behind me."
Kanah nodded.
But her instincts—
her Devourer instincts—
the ones she'd been fighting—
the ones tied to the bite—
to the bond—
to the resonance—
stirred softly.
Not hunger.
Recognition.
As if some ancient part of her whispered:
This one is ours.
Kanah swallowed hard.
"We… we need to run."
Owain nodded sharply.
"We do."
But the guardian took another step.
Ilai hissed.
"Kana— say something— stop it— command it— anything—"
Kanah shook her head frantically.
"I don't know HOW—"
Her father's voice cut across the chaos:
"If you don't bite the wolf and stabilize your bond—
the guardian will take you."
Silence crashed down.
Owain's pulse pounded.
Kanah's breath hitched.
The guardian's golden eyes fixed on her, unblinking.
And the bond inside her—
the hunger she had barely contained—
surged in warning.
Owain grabbed her hand.
"Kana. Choose me."
She squeezed his fingers painfully.
"I— I do— I DO—"
"Then bite me."
She hesitated.
One second.
Half a second.
And in that hesitation—
the guardian moved.