Silence smothered the battlefield.
Even the malformed Devourer-born froze in place—
not from fear,
but from instinctive submission.
The Devourer King stepped from the shadows like he'd simply been waiting for the right moment.
Tall.
Straight-backed.
Eyes black as obsidian with gold spirals shifting lazily within.
His presence pressed against the air—
not divine,
not magical—
but predatory.
Biological dominance so old and deep that the forest bent around him.
Kanah's knees buckled.
Owain caught her instantly, pulling her behind him.
"KANA STAY BACK—"
But Kanah couldn't breathe.
Her father's aura crashed into her like a tidal wave—
cold, hungry, sharp, invasive.
Not mind control.
Not telepathy.
Just forced biological instinct:
You belong to me.
Kanah choked on a sob.
"N-no— I don't—"
Her father took one step forward.
And Owain planted himself in front of Kanah so hard the ground cracked beneath his feet.
His voice was a snarl ripped from his soul:
"TAKE.
ONE.
MORE.
STEP—
and I tear your throat out."
The Devourer King's gaze lowered to him.
Not impressed.
Not angered.
Simply… curious.
"You are the wolf," he said quietly.
Owain bared his fangs.
"I am the one between you and her."
"A foolish position."
"A permanent one."
Kanah gasped as another wave of Devourer pressure hit her.
She felt it in her bones—
in her pulse—
in the seed she fought so hard to tame.
Her father tilted his head.
"You have grown, Kanara.
But not enough."
Owain snarled.
"She doesn't need to grow.
She needs you GONE."
The Devourer King ignored him.
He spoke only to Kanah.
"You stabilized a pack."
His gaze flicked to the twenty Devourer-born huddled behind Kanah.
"Impressive.
Unexpected.
Impossible."
Kanah forced herself upright.
Owain held onto her waist to steady her, but she stepped slightly forward—
just enough to show her father she wasn't hiding.
Her voice shook but did not break.
"They aren't yours," she whispered.
"I freed them."
Her father's expression sharpened.
"You deprived me of soldiers."
"You tortured them," she spat.
"Torture is a human word.
You are not human."
Kanah's breath seized.
"Yes," she said, "I am."
Her father's eyes narrowed.
"The seed says otherwise."
Owain shoved forward with a growl.
"The seed doesn't get a vote."
The Devourer King raised his chin.
"How dare you speak—"
"How dare you?" Owain snapped, stepping closer, claws scraping stone.
"How dare you drag her across a world to break her?
How dare you touch her mind?
How dare you call yourself her father?"
A flicker of something dangerous flashed in the Devourer King's eyes.
Not anger.
Not insult.
Recognition.
"You are bound to her."
Owain growled.
"She is bound to me."
The Devourer King's gaze tightened.
"Impossible."
The Eldress hissed from the treeline.
"Oh he hasn't been paying attention."
Vaeryn landed behind Kanah with molten flame rippling down his scales.
"The wolf has claimed the girl."
Rhaegor's voice cut through the air:
"And the girl claimed him."
Kanah's father stared at Owain for a long, unbearable moment.
Then—
he smiled.
Slow.
Cold.
Terrifying.
"So you are the one who refuses to let her kneel."
Owain didn't blink.
"She will never kneel to you."
The Devourer King took another step.
Owain stepped forward too.
Growl rumbling from deep in his chest.
"If you touch her," he said, voice breaking into something feral,
"I will end you."
The Devourer King's gaze flickered to Kanah.
"You defy your blood."
"I choose my own path," she said, voice trembling but steady.
"You choose wrong."
"No.
You do."
His eyes narrowed.
"You are mine."
Kanah's resonance pulsed like a heartbeat behind her ribs.
"No," she whispered.
"I'm not."
The Devourer King extended his hand.
"Kanara.
Come.
Now."
The command wasn't psychic.
It wasn't magical.
It was biological domination—
pure instinct manipulation.
Kanah gasped—
her feet moved a fraction—
Owain roared.
He grabbed her and yanked her into his arms.
"KANA—FOCUS ON ME—"
She clutched his tunic, shaking.
"I—I feel him—he's—he's pulling—"
Gerrin pressed his palms to her back.
"Breathe—I'm reinforcing your resonance—"
Yllas summoned flames to block the Devourer King's path.
Helion dropped from above, claws out.
Leopards hissed from the branches.
Elves raised barriers.
Dragons lowered their wings to form a protective dome around Kanah.
The entire Beastworld shifted to defend her.
The Devourer King's eyes flared gold-black.
"You protect her," he said quietly.
Kanah's voice broke as she clung to Owain.
"They always have," she whispered.
Owain's arms tightened around her.
The Devourer King looked at the wolves, dragons, elves, leopards—
all united
all against him
all gathered around a human girl who refused to break.
Something dark rippled behind his expression.
"You would wage war for her."
Owain bared his teeth.
"Try us."
The Devourer King exhaled.
Slow.
Cold.
Then—
he stepped back.
Not in retreat.
In acknowledgment.
"You are not ready to face me," he said to Kanah.
"But you will be."
Owain snarled.
"You're leaving?"
Her father turned away.
"Today was a test."
Yllas growled.
"What?! You call this a TEST?"
Kanah's heart pounded painfully.
"What—what do you mean—?"
Her father's voice drifted like smoke.
"I have seen enough.
Your seed grows.
Your bond strengthens.
Your defiance matures."
He glanced over his shoulder one last time—
"Soon, Kanara."
Owain snapped:
"NO—"
But the Devourer King vanished into the shadows.
Gone.
The malformed Devourer-born collapsed without his presence, many dissolving into dust.
Kanah sagged in Owain's grasp, dizzy, shaking, breathless.
"O-Owain—"
He held her against his chest, arms trembling with fury and fear.
"Kana," he whispered, forehead pressed to hers,
"we're not letting him take you.
Not ever."
Kanah buried her face in his throat.
"They're coming," she whispered.
"He's going to bring everything."
Owain cupped her cheek, forcing her to look at him.
"Then we'll bring everything too."
The Heart of the Forest pulsed under their feet—
a warning
a promise
a call to arms.
War had truly begun.