The Mating Instinct
---
A Truth Neither of Them Saw Coming
Maya's breathing was still uneven.
Brian could still feel her heartbeat against his skin, matching his own.
And the worst part?
The hunger hadn't faded.
Not really.
It had changed.
Shifted.
But it was still there.
✔ Not just physical.
✔ Not just survival.
✔ Something deeper. Something coded into them.
Maya rolled onto her side, watching him.
Her golden eyes were still hazy, still unfocused.
But when she spoke, her voice was steady.
"This wasn't just us."
Brian knew it too.
Even before she said it.
Even before the thought fully formed in his mind.
This wasn't an accident.
It was designed.
Something in them—in their very biology—had drawn them together.
And they hadn't even realized it was happening.
---
The Primal Bond
Maya sat up, pulling her knees to her chest.
Her skin was still flushed, still warm.
Her body still felt too tight, too aware of him.
She swallowed hard.
"This is something bigger," she murmured.
Brian leaned back against the cabin wall, studying her.
"What do you mean?"
Maya's fingers dug into her thighs.
✔ She had spent years feeling nothing.
✔ Now she was drowning in too much.
✔ She hadn't chosen this—her body had.
"It wasn't just attraction," she muttered.
Brian didn't argue.
Because he knew she was right.
He had spent years alone, untouched, unbothered.
And then she had stepped into his land.
And suddenly, nothing had made sense anymore.
---
Something Had Chosen For Them
"This is part of it," Maya said, voice thick with something she didn't understand.
Brian stiffened.
"Part of what?"
She turned to face him fully.
"The change. The evolution. Whatever the hell this is."
Her golden eyes searched his.
"You feel it too," she whispered.
Brian clenched his fists.
✔ She was right.
✔ He had been trying to ignore it.
✔ But now, there was no denying it.
This wasn't just some primal urge.
This was something woven into them.
Something that had been waiting.
And now that they had found each other—
There was no undoing it.
---
The Instinct That Binds
Maya exhaled, rubbing a hand over her face.
"I think…" she hesitated. "I think we were always supposed to find each other."
Brian's gut twisted.
He didn't like what that meant.
Didn't like the idea that something had already decided this for them.
But Maya wasn't done.
"If we…" she paused, eyes flicking to his, challenging.
"If we have this—this instinct—"
She took a slow breath.
"Then so do the others."
Brian's stomach dropped.
Because she was right.
If this wasn't just random—if this was some kind of biological pull—
That meant every survivor of the evolution had a match.
A primal partner.
Someone who fit them. Completed them.
Someone who was the same kind of monster.
Which meant—
Cain had one too.
---
The Implications
Brian's mind raced.
✔ Cain wasn't alone.
✔ Cain had a match out there.
✔ And if he ever found her?
A cold knot formed in Brian's gut.
Cain was already the most dangerous thing in the wild.
But if he had someone just as strong, just as cruel, just as unhinged?
Then that meant he was only half of a greater horror.
And somewhere out there, the other half was waiting.
Maybe looking for him.
Maybe already awake.
Maybe already hunting.
Brian's breath slowly evened out.
He could feel Maya watching him.
Waiting.
Hoping for a rational explanation.
But there wasn't one.
Not anymore.
This was bigger than either of them.
And the question wasn't what this meant.
It was what came next.
---
The Decision
Maya exhaled, rubbing at her temple.
"So what do we do now?"
Brian didn't answer immediately.
Because his instincts were screaming one thing.
✔ Don't separate.
✔ Don't fight this.
✔ Because you can't fight what you are.
But his mind?
His mind was still catching up.
Still trying to understand something primal.
He looked at her.
At the woman who had walked into his land like she had always belonged here.
At the woman who had taken one step closer, and suddenly, he was never going to be alone again.
At the woman who was his match in ways neither of them understood.
Slowly, he exhaled.
"You're staying," he said simply.
Maya didn't argue.
Because they both knew the truth now.
There was no leaving this.
No undoing what had already started.
They had found each other.
And somewhere out there, Cain's other half was waiting.
The world had changed.
And now?
So had they.
---