Jax mindlinked one of the castle's senior omegas with simple instructions: draw Nova a bath, move quickly, and work discreetly.
He led her into his private study, to her confusion, and quietly shut the door behind them—cutting off her view of what was about to happen beyond it. He didn't want her seeing the omega servants moving her things just yet. Not until it was done.
Because this wasn't his room anymore. It was theirs.
She had been tiptoeing around their quarters —treating it like she was a guest. Like she didn't deserve to be there.
But after tonight, she wouldn't have a choice. He was putting his foot down. She belonged here—with him—and he would not ignore his instincts with her moving forward.
Jax guided her to the armchair near the fire and pulled her gently into his lap. She didn't fight it, but her muscles were still tense, her breathing uneven.
"We need to talk," he said, his voice low as he pulled her gently back further in his lap.
She snuggled into the crook of his neck and he felt her eyelashes on his skin.
"T-t-that sounds b-bad." She started trembling again.
That gave him pause for a moment, just now noticing her stutter. He had never heard her stutter before. Whatever happened had really rattled her. More than getting poisoned or stabbed.
His resolve only thickened.
There was a knock on his study door.
That better not be one of the omega servants who are supposed to be working silently and discreetly. Jax thought to himself.
"Come in." He called.
Nova tried to get off his lap but he held her firm and she wasn't able to stand up.
Elias came in with a tonic balanced in one hand like he was already bored of carrying it. "I just gave Elle one of these and she said you might need one too."
Nova blinked up at him. "W-w-what is it?"
Elias's brows pinched together. In three long strides he was in front of her, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead with the clinical decisiveness of a man checking a corpse for warmth. "It calms the nerves. And apparently your brain, because you're feverish and still pretending you're fine."
"Thank you b-but, I'm f-f-fine. Really neither of you need to worry."
Her voice had that wobble — the one that made both men freeze like she had just announced she was dying politely.
Jax exhaled sharply, ready to argue.
Elias didn't give him the chance. "You are not fine, Nova. You have a fever too. Drink."
He didn't hand her the tonic so much as set it in her palm with the energy of a man saying try me.
She took it.
"No training. No work. No omega chores. No stress for three days. Minimum." His tone was absolute. "Neither of you are remotely recuperated from being poisoned. And before either of you attempt martyrdom again, I am not reviving you. I already have enough patients who treat their bodies like disposable equipment."
Jax:Gods. Thank you.
"What happened?" Elias asked aloud, eyes on Nova, pretending he hadn't heard the mindlink he just definitely heard.
"I s-spoke out of turn to Pr-p-professor Shard. Elle was just d-defending me. We had to c-clean all night."
She left out the location and the fight leading into it — but her guilt sank through the room like weight. Her shoulders dipped, and Jax felt through the bond how genuinely bad she felt. Shard's punishment had actually worked on her conscience.
Elias snorted under his breath. "I heard that. I also heard he was an absolute ass."
"D-did Elle tell you what happened?" Nova asked.
"Cael told me a little." Elias waved a hand, dismissive. "Elle's version would have involved more dramatics and probably glitter. I'll be back to check on you later."
He turned to leave with the tired swagger of a man who knew the day was already too long and it wasn't even noon.
At the threshold, he flicked a mindlink to Jax.
Elias:What the hell happened to her?
Jax paused, stomach twisting. Even explaining it silently felt like reopening a wound.
Jax:I'll fill you in later.
Elias didn't push. He didn't need to — the look he shot Jax on his way out said he expected a full report and would hunt him down for it.
Jax refocused on Nova. "Drink more," he murmured, tipping the tonic back so she had no choice but to swallow quicker.
He felt her hands trembling again — small, uneven tremors that made his jaw lock hard. Was it from the assault? From seeing those chains again? Or was there something she wasn't telling him at all?
Whatever it was, it had rattled her to the bone.
His arms tightened around her instinctively, as if he could keep anything else from touching her.
"T–t-thank you," she whispered.
Jax kissed the top of her head, pulling her deeper against his chest. She was always so painfully, heartbreakingly polite — even when he was practically forcing a tonic down her throat.
"You're welcome, baby," he whispered into her ear. "I love you."
"I love you t-t-too." She said not skipping a beat.
She looked at him with loving eyes that melted him. "I feel so s-safe when I'm w-w-with you and you make me s-s-so happy. I sometimes ca-can't believe y-you picked me to be your mate."
Jax felt a frog in his throat.
"I can't believe you picked me to be your mate. I am the luckiest bastard here and you're all mine." He said, voice breaking in spite of him.
He nibbled her ear playfully, earning a soft, breathy laugh from her. He needed that sound. Needed something to cut through the swell in his chest, because her words had just hit him in a way he wasn't prepared for. It punched straight through the armor he wore everywhere else.
He felt tears threatening — gods, actual tears — and he forced a slow exhale, pressing his forehead gently to her temple.
He was trying to keep things light, to keep from falling apart on her, but he needed this conversation. Needed it like air.
He wasn't going to let the moment pass.
He had to tell her.
"I-I need to talk to you about something t-t-too," she whispered. "But you can go first."
Jax nodded, heart thudding.
"Do you trust me, Nova?" He asked.
"Yes." She answered, not hesitating.
He cupped her cheek. "You're not in trouble, and I'm not mad or upset at you."
The second he said it, she pushed up from his chest, trying to sit fully, trying to pull away to gauge his expression. He kept his hands firm on her hips, keeping her anchored in his lap.
"I-is it because I was d-disrespectful to Professor S-shard?" she asked, trembling.
"I'm really sorry if that affected you in any way." She said, swallowing.
"No," Jax said immediately, voice like iron. "I'll be having a word with him. The issue I'm having is that he disrespected you. He shouldn't be doing that. You are my mate, and when someone undermines you, they undermine me."
"I didn't react to it for as long as I could, b-but then I wondered if that would look w-worse for you. What is the b-best way to respond in that situation?" She asked, with glassy eyes.
Jax's heart slammed against his ribs. It hadn't even crossed his mind that she'd been worried about him—about appearances, about consequences, about making his life harder. Her actions had been justified. Hell, he would've torn Shard's head off for less.
"Let me make one thing clear," he said, voice low and unwavering. "You did nothing wrong. You handled that like a queen. I am proud."
"How do you know what h-happened?" She asked.
"Fin filled me in." He lied smoothly.
He added, "I didn't want you to take the punishment, neither did Fin. It was bullshit. But we have an order of command for a reason, and if we let you out of it, it could set a bad precedent to the cadets and other students.
"I understand," Nova said.
In truth, it hadn't even occurred to her that Fin or Jax might try to pull her out of a punishment. That possibility lived in a universe far from her own. She accepted the consequences the moment she opened her mouth to speak out of turn. It hadn't been impulsive. It had been a choice — deliberate, steady, hers.
And she stood by it.
Even if it… may have gotten slightly carried away.
"I wouldn't have allowed it if I'd known you were going to Maximus South. All night." Jax's voice tightened as he felt her emotions twist under the surface. Of course he would've tried to get her out of the punishment — even if she had deserved it. Even if she'd started a full-scale rebellion in Shard's classroom. But he wasn't going to address that. Not now.
"Have you b-been to Maximus S-South?" Nova asked, eyes widening.
"Yes, lovely place." Jax responded grinning. Nova laughed — a real laugh, soft but bright enough to loosen the knot in his chest.
Jax ran a hand up her spine, grounding her again as her laughter faded. "Now that you're smiling again… listen to me."
He tipped her chin up gently.
"There's a few changes that we need to make." Jax said.
"Okay." She whispered. Nova arms tucked to her chest like she was bracing for a blow. It gutted him.
"You've been treating this place—our quarters—like you're borrowing space. Like it's mine and not yours. Like you're not mine."
She went still. He kept going.
"That ends tonight. While you've been in here, I've already had your things moved in. Quietly. Permanently. You live here now. Not in the omega wing. You never should have been there to begin with. But especially not after I claimed you."
Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
"I've also assigned a personal omega to assist you. Just like every Gamma Luna before you had. You'll never be left to fend for yourself again. No more sorting your own laundry after training or scrubbing your own floors. You are my mate, Nova. That means you carry my name, my rank, and my protection."
Her eyes looked glassy and she blinked. "It's hard for me to…." She trailed off "People already—"
"No." Jax cut her off kissing a silent tear that just fell down her face. "You've proven yourself over and over again. You don't need to be training like you are going to be on the frontlines of the battlefield. You don't need to be exhausted every day to have value. You're my partner now, and that comes with a different kind of duty."
She blinked, stunned. "W-what kind of duty?"
"You're a Gamma now. You sit beside me in all things."
Nova was quiet, processing. Jax cupped her face in his hand, thumb brushing her cheek.
"You'll be shadowing me from now on. Sitting beside me in council meetings, in the war room, everywhere. You will know everything I know. That's how royal packs work—two Gammas.
Her brows pinched. "W-won't that cause problems for you?"
"I don't care." His tone sharpened, leaving no room for argument. "You're my mate. My wife. The Luna of House Thorne, and a Gamma of this pack. You are Nova Thorne now. I had paperwork drawn up already to give you that title."
She blinked.
My wife.
Heat rushed to her cheeks. He had never called her that before.
And something warm inside her swelled. It made her happy.
He paused, brushing a thumb across her cheek. "I should've done this the moment I marked you. I didn't. Not because I didn't want to—but because I didn't want to scare you."
Nova's cheeks flushed pink, her eyes wide. "That doesn't scare me." Her voice was soft, but sure. "It makes me h-happy that you want me to b-be that."
Jax blinked, feeling his own relief crash into him at her reaction. He'd been nervous bringing it up — him, the Gamma, the one who didn't hesitate on battlefields. But with her? Gods, she unraveled him.
He felt a flutter of her nervousness through the bond — tinged with a hope he had never felt from her before.
Maybe he should've told her sooner. Maybe she needed to hear it plainly. She had never brought it up, and he hadn't wanted to scare her.
But then his thoughts shifted from maybe to a blunt, absolute truth.
He was an idiot.
That's exactly what he should have done. And exactly what she needed. He should have trusted his instincts with her from the start.
A slow smile pulled at his mouth as he pressed his forehead to hers.
"Then it's settled."
He paused for a beat, then added, "After you rest, you'll be doing the Gamma ceremony. It gives you my aura, if you need it. And it makes you our official Gamma Luna, no questions asked."
He watched her expression shift from surprise to something thoughtful.
"You and Elle will be doing it together."