The first sign came at dusk.
A hush had settled over the valley, silver mist curling around tree roots as the moon rose. Wolves padded through the clearing, preparing for night watch. Dragons folded their wings. Elves tended their lanterns.
And Kanah—
warm from the day, comfortable in their den—
felt something shift beneath her skin.
A pulse.
Soft at first.
Almost like a heartbeat that wasn't hers.
Thump.
Owain stiffened immediately.
"Kana," he whispered, turning to her slowly.
"…Did you feel that?"
Kanah swallowed.
"Yes."
Owain cupped her cheek gently—then inhaled sharply.
His pupils expanded instantly.
"Oh… gods," he breathed, voice dropping an octave.
Kanah blinked.
"Owain…?"
He exhaled shakily.
"You're in resonance heat."
Silence filled the den.
Then heat spread through Kanah's limbs—
slow at first, then deeper, coiling low in her belly.
She clutched the furs beneath her.
"Owain… what does that mean?"
"It means," he said, voice deep and rough, "your body has synced with mine."
He leaned closer, his breath warm against her skin.
"It means you're fertile.
Ready.
Calling to me."
Kanah's face burned.
"Owain!"
He growled softly, closing the distance between them.
"Kana… every wolf can sense their mate's heat. But only I feel it here—"
His hand pressed gently to his chest.
"—and here."
He took her wrist and placed her palm over his racing heartbeat.
It pounded violently.
Kanah gasped.
"Owain…"
"Your body," he whispered into her hair, "is asking for mine."
Kanah's breath hitched—
the heat in her belly blooming hotter, brighter.
"Owain…"
He sat back, hands trembling as he tried to keep restraint.
"Kana, if we do anything tonight—
if we even touch the wrong way—
I won't be able to stop."
She swallowed.
"Do you… want to stop?"
Owain froze.
His voice came out broken.
"No."
He leaned his forehead to hers, breathing her in like she was the only air he needed.
"I want you.
I want you so badly I can't think.
I can barely breathe."
Kanah lifted a hand and brushed her fingers along his jaw.
He shuddered.
"Kiss me," she whispered.
Owain inhaled sharply.
"Kana… if I kiss you now—"
"Then kiss me," she repeated softly.
His restraint snapped like silk.
Owain surged forward, kissing her with a hunger he'd been holding back for days.
His hands framed her face, then slid down her back, pulling her into his lap.
Kanah gasped against his mouth.
Everything was heat—
warmth, breath, soft moans, tangled fingers.
Owain kissed her deeper, then deeper still, lips moving with desperate reverence.
"Kana," he murmured between kisses, "you're burning."
"I know," she breathed.
"I can feel it through the bond—your heat surging into me."
Kanah trembled as his hands slid down her sides, slow and warm.
"Owain—"
He kissed her neck.
She gasped.
He froze.
"Don't make sounds like that," he whispered, voice hoarse, "unless you want me to lose all control."
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"I don't want you to lose control," she whispered.
He looked at her, eyes molten gold.
"Kana…"
"I want you," she said softly.
Owain growled—a deep, instinctive sound as he lifted her and laid her gently into the furs, bracing himself over her.
He searched her face, breath trembling.
"Tell me to stop," he whispered.
"Tell me before I can't."
Kanah brushed her lips to his.
"I don't want you to stop."
Owain made a broken, reverent sound.
He kissed her again—
slow, intense, consuming.
His hands moved with growing confidence and tenderness.
Kanah's breath came faster.
Owain's control thinned by the second.
Her fingers slid into his hair—
Owain shuddered violently.
"Kana," he panted, "if you touch me again, I will—"
She touched him again.
Owain inhaled sharply—
then lowered his forehead to her chest, shaking with need.
"Kana…
love…
If we continue—"
"I know," she whispered, pulling him up.
He kissed her—
her lips, her jaw, her neck—
each kiss deeper, slower, more desperate.
Their breaths tangled.
Their bodies moved closer.
Heat rose and rose and rose—
"Owain—"
"Kana—"
The world blurred.
Desire crashed through them.
Owain's voice was the last clear sound before everything turned to warmth and instinct:
"I love you…
Let me have you…
my mate."
He kissed her—
and everything faded into heat and darkness.