Serena returns to Koen after failing to ease her rising Heat on her own. She awkwardly admits what she tried, and explains that Layla plans to give her a progesterone injection the next morning to suppress the Heat. Koen says he will support whatever Serena chooses, but when Serena presses him, Koen admits the truth: if Serena spent her Heat with someone else, he would not be able to bear it.

Because Serena wants only Koen, Serena climbs into Koen’s lap and starts grinding against him for relief. Koen tries to hold the line created by his oath and celibacy, but he also admits that what exists between them has been sexual from the moment they met. Serena keeps pushing for clarity, and Koen finally tells Serena that it is easier for him to endure this if he can frame it as taking care of Serena rather than taking what he wants for himself.

Koen then takes control of the situation without fully crossing his own boundary. Koen promises to make Serena come as many times as Serena needs, but says he will go elsewhere afterward to handle his own arousal because direct sexual contact would break his restraint. When Koen mouths and bites Serena’s gland, Serena realizes how physically specific their connection feels, and Serena insists that no one else is right for her. Koen counters that Serena may have other options, but his words are edged with jealousy and possessiveness.

Serena climaxes from the combination of friction, Koen’s scent, Koen’s voice, and the stimulation of her gland. When Serena reaches for more, Koen admits that if he directly touched her between the legs, he would lose control completely. Serena finds a loophole by placing Koen’s hand on her breast and moving against it herself. As Serena works herself toward a second orgasm, Koen confesses how deeply he has wanted her and how easily he imagines a domestic life with Serena safe in his home.

Near her second climax, Serena asks whether this will be the last time they ever do this. Koen does not promise a future, but says that if it were the last time, he would regret nothing. After Serena comes again, Serena feels no shame, only a stronger desire to give Koen what he needs in return. Serena offers herself emotionally and physically despite the danger, but Koen ends the moment with the clearest statement of his conflict: Koen would throw away his pack, life, and world for Serena, and that is exactly why Koen believes he cannot have her.