By the time the reinforced wagon reached the Ashborne property, the moon was already high above Greenriver.
The Stoneback Direwolf hadn’t stopped growling once.
Even bound by reinforced vines and locked inside a steel transport cage, the enormous beast radiated enough hostility that the old Mosshorn immediately retreated to the far side of its stable.
Rowan noticed.
“Put the cage behind the second enclosure.” The two guild hunters who had accompanied them nodded.
Nobody argued.
The Direwolf’s wounds had already begun closing.
Kael could see it clearly now.
The puncture near its hind leg was smaller than it had been an hour ago.
Even the deep wounds left by the Ironclaw Bear were beginning to knit together.
Finn stared through the bars.
“Are we absolutely certain bringing that home was a good idea?” “No,” Kael said.
Finn turned.
“I appreciate your honesty.” Thunder growled from beside him.
The Direwolf’s amber eyes shifted toward the tiger cub.
Thunder immediately moved behind Finn’s leg.
Finn looked down.
“I respect your tactical judgment.” The front door opened.
Clara stepped outside.
She took one look at the cage.
Then at Rowan.
Then at Kael.
Silence.
Kael suddenly wished he was still fighting the Direwolf.
His mother folded her arms.
“You went into the forest as an observer.” Kael cleared his throat.
“Technically…” Rowan immediately walked away.
Coward.
Kael watched his father abandon him without hesitation.
Clara raised an eyebrow.
“Technically?” Kael glanced at the enormous monster.
“…I observed it.” A strangled sound came from Finn.
He turned away, shoulders shaking.
Kael made a mental note to remember this betrayal.
His mother closed her eyes.
“Inside.” “Mom—” “After I examine the monster.” Kael blinked.
Clara sighed.
“If you’ve dragged an injured wild beast into my backyard, the least I can do is make sure it isn’t dying.” That was his mother.
She could be furious with someone and still treat their wounds.
Even if that someone happened to be a two-meter-tall predator currently attempting to bite through reinforced steel.
The Facehugger remained on top of the cage.
It hadn’t moved during the entire conversation.
That bothered Kael more than the Direwolf.
Normally, it reacted to everything.
Finn approaching too quickly.
Thunder growling.
Lily attempting to touch it.
A bird flying overhead.
Now?
Nothing.
Its entire attention belonged to the creature beneath it.
Kael felt the impulses through their Soul Pact.
Stronger than before.
Approach.
Secure.
Host.
And something else.
Continue.
Kael didn’t understand that last one.
Not yet.
The Facehugger crawled toward an opening between the bars.
“Wait.” It stopped.
Immediately.
Finn noticed.
He had become increasingly fascinated by that.
“That’s terrifying.” Kael looked at him.
“What?” “The fact that it actually listens to you.” “Thunder listens to you.” Finn looked down.
Thunder was chewing his backpack strap.
“No, he doesn’t.” Despite himself, Kael smiled.
Clara examined the Direwolf from outside the cage while Rowan and the hunters maintained the restraints.
“Heartbeat is strong.” She studied its wounds.
“Regeneration is exceptional.” The Direwolf snapped at her.
Clara didn’t even flinch.
Finn leaned toward Kael.
“Your mother is scarier than the wolf.” “I heard that,” Clara said.
Finn immediately straightened.
“I said you’re very brave, Aunt Clara.” “Of course you did.” After several minutes, she stepped back.
“It isn’t dying.” Kael exhaled.
“How healthy is it?” Clara looked at him strangely.
“Considering it was beaten unconscious several hours ago?
Surprisingly healthy.” “Would it survive another…
biological process?” Silence.
Rowan turned toward him.
“What biological process?” Kael had known the question was coming.
He looked at the Facehugger.
Then at his family.
Lily was watching from an upstairs window despite having been explicitly told to stay inside.
Kael pretended not to notice.
“I think my beast needs the Direwolf.” Rowan’s expression hardened.
“For food?” “No.” “For what?” Kael hesitated.
“Evolution.” That wasn’t entirely accurate.
But it was the closest explanation he had.
“My beast needs a living creature to complete some kind of natural biological process.” Clara looked toward the Facehugger.
Understanding appeared in her eyes.
“That’s why its digestive system was underdeveloped.” “Maybe.” “And you don’t know what happens afterward?” “No.” Rowan stared at him.
“And you’re willing to let it do something you don’t understand?” Kael looked at his companion.
The Facehugger remained motionless.
Waiting.
It had wanted this from the moment it hatched.
It could have attacked the Mosshorn.
It could have attempted to take Thunder.
It could have thrown itself onto the Ironhide Stalker.
It hadn’t.
Because Kael had said no.
“No.” Rowan frowned.
Kael continued.
“I’m willing to trust it while making sure I’m there when it happens.” His father said nothing.
Kael placed his hand on the Facehugger’s back.
It immediately leaned against him.
“It trusted me every time I told it to stop.” He looked at Rowan.
“I think I owe it the same.” Something softened in his father’s expression.
Not approval.
Understanding.
“Then I’m staying.” “So am I,” Finn said.
Kael turned.
“You should go home.” “No.” “Finn.” “No.” “It’s late.” Finn folded his arms.
“You dragged me into a forest, nearly got me eaten by a giant wolf, let your nightmare hand-beast jump onto its face, and then brought the wolf home.” “You followed me.” “Details.” Finn pointed toward himself.
“I’m invested now.” Thunder growled supportively.
Kael sighed.
“Fine.” They moved the cage behind the reinforced enclosure.
Then something unexpected happened.
Kael placed his hand against the bars.
He was thinking about the Pocket World.
About the Facehugger’s leaf.
About how much safer it would be to perform whatever came next there.
The Infinite World Tree responded.
Kael’s breath caught.
He felt the Direwolf.
Not as a contract.
Not as a companion.
Something completely different.
Host.
The Facehugger touched his wrist.
The world twisted.
The cage became empty.
Everyone froze.
Finn’s mouth opened.
Rowan’s expression changed completely.
“Kael.” Kael barely heard him.
The Direwolf was inside.
Inside the Pocket World.
“I…” He looked at his father.
“I think I can bring it into my Beast Space.” Rowan stared at the empty cage.
“Normal Beast Spaces can’t contain uncontracted living creatures.” “I know.” That silence was worse.
Kael could see questions forming.
Rowan finally exhaled.
“Later.” Kael nodded gratefully.
He closed his eyes.
“Stay here.” Then he entered.
Darkness.
Warm air.
Stone.
Kael appeared inside the Facehugger’s Pocket World.
The Direwolf lay several meters away, still bound.
The Facehugger appeared beside him.
Something had changed.
The caverns felt alive.
Humidity clung to Kael’s skin.
Faint organic ridges along the walls seemed almost to pulse.
The Direwolf’s eyes opened.
It struggled.
Then it smelled something.
Its head turned.
Toward the Facehugger.
The enormous predator froze.
Kael felt something he hadn’t expected.
Fear.
The Stoneback Direwolf had fought an Ironclaw Bear.
It had charged multiple hunters.
It had attacked Rowan without hesitation.
Now…
It was afraid of something smaller than its head.
The Facehugger approached.
The Direwolf tried retreating.
Its restraints prevented it.
Kael’s heartbeat accelerated.
Some part of the wolf understood what his mind didn’t.
The Facehugger stopped beside him.
Then climbed onto his arm.
Its body trembled.
Host?
Kael looked at the Direwolf.
There was still time to stop.
He remembered its abilities.
Armor.
Speed.
Senses.
Endurance.
Regeneration.
Adaptability.
He looked down at his companion.
“Are you sure?” A wave crossed their bond.
Not words.
Certainty.
Kael placed his palm gently against its back.
“Go.” The Facehugger vanished.
The Direwolf roared.
Too late.
The pale creature struck its face.
Eight limbs spread across the massive skull.
The Direwolf thrashed violently.
Kael stepped forward.
“Wait—” Then he felt the Facehugger.
Calm.
Completely calm.
Its tail wrapped around the Direwolf’s throat.
Not crushing.
Controlling.
The wolf tried scraping it away.
The Facehugger shifted perfectly with every movement.
Then something extended from beneath its body.
Kael stopped.
He understood enough.
The Direwolf’s struggles became weaker.
Its growls faded.
Its legs stopped kicking.
Eventually…
Silence.
The wolf continued breathing.
Slowly.
Deeply.
The Facehugger remained attached.
Kael sat down.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Nothing changed.
Kael didn’t leave.
He couldn’t.
Through the Soul Pact, he could feel something happening.
Something biological.
Complex.
Far beyond anything he understood.
But slowly…
Another sensation appeared.
Weakness.
Kael frowned.
“Are you alright?” No response.
The weakness increased.
Kael moved closer.
“Hey.” The Facehugger remained attached.
His chest tightened.
“What is happening?” Then something reached him.
Safe.
Kael froze.
The impression wasn’t directed toward the Direwolf.
It was directed toward him.
His companion was reassuring him.
Kael swallowed.
“That’s supposed to be my job.” A faint pulse crossed the bond.
Kael laughed quietly.
It didn’t sound convincing.
So he sat.
And waited.
Eventually, he started talking.
“I always imagined my first beast would be easier.” No response.
“Maybe a wolf.” The Direwolf breathed beside him.
Kael glanced at it.
“Not that one.” Nothing.
“A bird would’ve been nice.” He leaned against a rock.
“Finn would have been jealous if I could fly before him.” The Facehugger remained still.
“Actually, Finn is jealous of everyone who can fly.” Kael smiled.
“He really did get his tiger.” He continued talking.
About Greenriver.
About Lily.
About his mother.
About his father.
About the first time he’d seen a Beast Master flying across the sky.
He wasn’t sure why.
Perhaps because silence had become uncomfortable.
Perhaps because somewhere deep down…
He was frightened.
Hours passed.
The darkness inside the Pocket World didn’t change, but Kael somehow knew dawn was approaching outside.
Then the Facehugger moved.
Kael immediately stood.
Its limbs loosened.
One.
Then another.
The creature slowly detached itself from the Direwolf.
It fell.
Kael caught it.
“Hey.” Too light.
That was his first thought.
It felt too light.
The Facehugger’s limbs moved weakly.
Its tail hung limp.
Kael’s heartbeat quickened.
“No.” He touched the Infinite World Tree through their connection.
Energy.
Healing.
Anything.
Nothing happened.
“Come on.” The Facehugger shifted.
One limb wrapped around his finger.
Weakly.
Kael stared.
“You knew.” A faint emotion reached him.
Completion.
No fear.
No pain.
No regret.
Just…
Done.
Kael’s throat tightened.
“No.” He shook his head.
“This isn’t done.” The Facehugger’s grip weakened.
“We haven’t even figured out what you are.” Nothing.
“Finn still hasn’t found a name you don’t hate.” A tiny pulse.
Kael laughed once.
It broke halfway through.
“You can’t leave after four days.” The Soul Pact flickered.
Kael froze.
For the first time since awakening, the presence that had constantly existed at the edge of his mind became faint.
“No.” He pulled the creature closer.
“Stay.” The Facehugger’s tail moved once.
Then stopped.
Its limb slowly slipped from Kael’s finger.
The connection vanished.
Kael sat completely still.
He waited.
For anger.
For hunger.
For that familiar wild irritation whenever Finn came too close.
Anything.
There was nothing.
The creature lay motionless in his hands.
Kael lowered his head.
He had promised his father that whatever beast he received, he would protect it.
Four days.
He had managed four days.
Behind him…
The Stoneback Direwolf breathed.
Once.
Twice.
Kael didn’t look.
He couldn’t.
He simply held his first companion against his chest.
And for the first time since the Infinite World Tree had appeared…
Kael Ashborne wished he had never allowed its first egg to hatch.