Nova stirred, blinking groggily, her body heavy with the haze of sleep and something deeper.
Something felt different.
She shifted against the sheets, slow and confused.
And then her eyes found him.
Jax stood across the room. Shirtless, arms braced against the window ledge, his head bowed. One hand gripped the back of his neck like he was holding himself together. Every line of his body was drawn tight. Worry was carved into every muscle.
"Jax?" She whispered, confused.
His head whipped up and his hazel eyes met hers, wide with something she didn't expect.
Not tenderness. Not relief. Guilt.
"I'm so sorry, Nova."
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
He didn't move.
"I—" His voice cracked.
"I lost control."
She tried to sit up, wanting to go to him. But then, she felt a slight sting on her thigh.
She touched it with her fingers where his mouth had been, and her breath caught.
Jax stepped toward her slowly, carefully, like she might bolt. "I didn't mean to," he said hoarsely. "I swear it. My wolf… I tried to stop him."
Her fingers trembled against the sheets. Memories surfaced in fragments. Their kisses. The way her body had answered his like it had always known him. The euphoria.
And then blackness.
Jax dropped to his knees beside the bed, head bowed, guilt radiating off him like heat. "This is on me," he said quietly. "All of it. I'll take the blame. Whatever comes of this, I won't let it fall on you." His voice faltered, just barely. "There is a way to undo it. To sever the mark."
He swallowed hard, jaw tightening as if the words themselves cut him. "But it would break the bond completely." His hand clenched against the stone floor. "It would tear my heart out of my chest. And I would still do it, Nova, if that's what you want. Because I never meant to mark you. Not like that. Not before you were ready."
His head stayed bowed. He didn't look at her.
Because if he did, he wasn't sure he could survive hearing her say yes.
But Nova was staring at the mark on her thigh — a small crescent bite, already healing, etched in skin that still tingled.
She didn't feel regret. She didn't feel shame. She felt his claim. And she wanted it.
Jax started to speak again, another apology forming, when she reached for him.
"Jax."
He stopped instantly. She closed her fingers around his arm, gentle but sure, and he turned back toward her.
"Were you hesitant," she asked quietly, swallowing once, "about marking me so soon?"
He didn't hesitate. "No. I wanted it. So bad. I promise you. It wasn't too soon for me. I would have marked you the day I claimed you."
"Good," she whispered, steady and sure. "Because I'm not sorry."
His hazel eyes widened, stunned, relief flashing through them.
She held his gaze, her voice quiet but unwavering. "I may not know exactly what I'm doing," she said softly, "but I know what I feel. And I want you." She hesitated, then admitted, "Sometimes I can't even believe you would want me."
Jax's heart cracked at that.
"I want you, Nova," he said firmly. He climbed on top of her, supporting his weight. She slipped her fingers behind his neck, grounding him. "I love everything about you," he added, jaw tight as he fought the instinct to kiss her senseless.
"You're all I want," she said, sincere and unguarded. "That's not going to change." Then she leaned up and brushed her lips against his, gentle and unplanned, catching him off guard again.
He exhaled sharply, like her words had finally punched through the wall of restraint he'd been holding since the moment she woke.
"Nova…" he breathed, low and reverent. "You have no idea what it means to hear you say that."
He pressed his forehead to hers.
After a moment, he added quietly, "I'll mark you on your neck when you're ready."
Nova absorbed that in silence. She knew mate marks belonged on the neck. But he, or his wolf, hadn't marked her there. Even though he said he wanted to. She understood that a public mark like that was binding. They were only a few days into being mates. Meredith had been in Shadowclaw for months and, to Nova's knowledge, still wasn't marked or crowned.
She thought about it for a moment and decided that, with Meredith as her only point of reference, maybe he wanted to wait for that. Yes, he was reassuring her that he didn't regret it. But what he was really reassuring her of was that he wanted her. She understood that was the underlying message. So she decided she would let him raise it when he was ready.
"Jax…" Nova whispered.
He pulled her close and kissed her lips. "Yes?"
Nova swallowed trying to find the words. "Thank you for coming with me after the ceremony… and for taking care of me."
Her face flushed, she looked at him with grateful eyes that melted him. Eyes that hit him harder than any blade ever had.
His chest tightened.
Her emotions slammed into him like a sudden impact he couldn't breathe through. Gratitude. Adoration. Guilt. Worry she'd inconvenienced him.
"I was planning on seeing you afterward anyway," he said with a grin, trying to lighten the weight pouring from her. But gods, her worry cut straight through him.
He stroked her cheek, his eyes never leaving hers."Taking care of you is my favorite hobby," he said lightly. "It usually ends with you kissing me."
Nova laughed. Soft. Bright. Breathtaking. He felt her worry loosen, felt it ease its grip on her chest.
Music. Absolute music.
Everywhere his skin touched hers sparked like lightning.
She felt it too. He knew she did. He could feel it, deep and unmistakable, far beyond anything he had ever experienced. Fated or not, this level of synchrony was not normal. Feeling her this clearly, this completely. There was no doubt left in his mind. She was meant for him.
Her breath hitched. Her pulse fluttered, falling into step with his. He felt her nerves, her butterflies, as if they were his own.
He wanted to tell her he loved her. Not someday. Not eventually.
Now.
Because the truth was, he'd loved her since the second he set eyes on her. He loved her completely. He wanted her in his quarters today. Wanted her to take his rank and his name today. Wanted her to stop training with omegas and start shadowing him as a Gamma Luna today.
The words pressed against his teeth, fierce and undeniable. He felt it burning through him, raw and real, humming through the bond like a second heartbeat.
But he stayed silent.
He had already crossed a line. Already marked her by accident.
The last thing he wanted was to overwhelm her. To turn something precious into something heavy.
So he swallowed the confession and let it burn through him without release.
Instead, he said gently, his voice low and rough with everything he wasn't saying,
"I'll always show up for you, Nova."
Her breath caught, and warmth surged through her.
His thumb brushed her wrist, gentle but unmistakably claiming.
"And gods help anyone who thinks they can keep me from you."
Their lips met in an electrifying kiss.