The moon hung high above Shadowclaw Castle, casting silver light across the treetops as the spring ball roared in the great hall behind them. Music drifted faintly through the walls — laughter, clinking glasses, the soft shuffle of dancing feet.
Fin stepped into the balcony corridor off the east wing and exhaled slowly.
Fin: Jax, can I have a word? I promise I won't keep you from Marra for long.
There was a pause.
Jax: Yes. Where are you?
Fin: East wing, just past the war room.
Less than a minute later, Jax appeared, still in his formal suit, dark hair ruffled like he'd been dragging his hand through it too often. His face was tense, jaw sharp, but he was keeping it together. Barely.
They stepped onto the balcony. The cold night air bit at their collars, but neither of them mentioned it.
"I wanted to say thank you," Fin said after a moment. "For how you handled earlier. Nova will remember that you didn't make her fight for her dignity."
Jax looked out across the snow-dusted grounds. "She never should've had to make that choice in the first place."
Fin was silent.
"I keep asking myself how this happened," Jax went on. "How I love someone that deeply, and the bond wasn't fated. But then the Moon Goddess sends me a second chance mate, now, like that's supposed to mean anything to me."
"You don't feel it?" Fin asked carefully.
"I feel the pull. The bond, yeah," Jax admitted. "But it's not the same. I'm trying to do the right thing. Marra's kind. She's not the problem. But I still love Nova that deeply. It's not even close with Marra. None of it is even close."
Fin nodded slowly, thoughtful. "Then what are you thinking?"
Jax sighed. "I'm thinking I would've burned the entire realm to the ground for Nova four hours ago, and now I'm expected to turn around and play house with someone else."
A long silence stretched between them.
Fin leaned on the stone railing, eyes on the snow. "Fated or not. It is powerful. Don't let anyone say it wasn't real. You know it. She knows it. The rest of us saw it every day."
Jax swallowed hard.
Fin turned to face him. "She loved you enough to let you go. That's the most painful kind of loyalty."
Jax said nothing.
"You're my chosen brother in arms. My oldest friend. And you know I love you—would burn down the world for you, right?" Fin said, voice tight.
"Yes. And I'd do the same for you," Jax responded cautiously.
"There's something I need to tell you. Long overdue."
Fin exhaled and looked away for a second before continuing.
"The last few months have been absolute agony. My best friend—the best man I know—fell in love with my fated mate. And she didn't even know she was mine."
Jax froze.
Fin's voice softened. "Instead of claiming her, I threw her in omega quarters. Avoided her. Ignored her. Lied to myself, thinking I could just reject her when the bond surfaced for her and everything would work itself out."
His throat bobbed.
"I wanted to claim her so many times, but couldn't. When you claimed her so fearlessly at the council meeting… When you jumped in to save her, outnumbered, without even blinking… when you told the elders you loved her—I knew right then. You deserved her more than I ever did."
Fin's voice cracked. "You were the man I wanted to be… and wasn't."
He paused, wiping a tear away.
"So I stayed away. Tried to. When she marked you and you disappeared, I watched her break. I couldn't stay away anymore. I told her I'd help her find you. She never wavered from you. Never dishonored you. Always defended you. Fiercely loyal."
Fin shook his head. "I wondered how you two weren't fated."
Jax didn't speak, stunned into silence.
Fin blinked away tears. "This isn't how I wanted to tell you. But I needed you to hear it from me. I'm going to tell her the truth when she wakes up. And if she still chooses you—if you two want to try again—I won't stand in your way."
Another long silence passed.
"There were signs," Jax finally said bitterly. "A fountain of gold flames. The pack choosing her at her initiation. And when she marked me… my magic didn't just turn sapphire. The core of it went gold."
"I'm happy being Shadowclaw's Gamma. I'm not going anywhere… but her mark gave me an alpha aura, alpha strength and speed. Part of me wondered if I was good enough for her as a gamma."
"You are," Fin said, stunned. "You're the best man for her."
"She always fought the feeling that she wasn't good enough for me," Jax said. "She's the most stunning woman I've ever seen—inside and out. She takes my damn breath away."
Jax looked out at the snowy tree line, a distant expression on his face. "You know how I can talk to my wolf?"
"Yes," Fin nodded.
"He said if her fated passed away, I'd be her second chance. Or if her fated hadn't been born—we'd have been fated. And my ancestors chose her at her gamma ceremony. They only do that for the most pure fated love. It made no sense to me."
Fin closed his eyes, letting that land.
"If anyone's going to have her who isn't me," Jax said softly, "you're the only person I'd ever approve of."
He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and shook his head. "Gods… once the bond surfaced, that choice would've killed her."
Fin's throat tightened.
"Why didn't you claim her? Did you not want her? I wanted to claim her the day I laid eyes on her but I didn't want to scare her." Jax said.
"I was stupid, trying to be a good leader. Manage Ashbane. When we saved her… the day she got stabbed, I wanted to claim her in the council meeting. You did it first, and I knew how much you loved Cira. I knew you wouldn't have claimed her if you didn't mean it. I couldn't take that from you. Not after the five years you've been through." Fin said, voice cracking.
Jax stared off into the distance for a moment before turning to look at Fin.
"If you don't plan on giving her everything—tell me. Because I will. I won't hesitate to break this fated bond to be with her. But I want to respect her wishes… and I don't want her to carry the weight of her own fated bond broken either."
Fin didn't speak. Was he… giving his blessing?
Fin finally answered, steady and sure. "I plan on giving her everything. I want her to be my queen. My Luna—if she'll have me."
Jax nodded, pain visible behind his eyes. "She was shocked the first time I called her that. I didn't want to scare her so I waited and wondered why she was still unsure if I wanted her. But when I said it, she lit up like I'd given her the stars. I felt like a damn idiot for not saying it sooner."
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
"I don't want her pushed back to omega quarters. Don't take away her role shadowing us. Don't take away her title as Luna of House Thorne and Gamma Luna. She deserves respect. Until you give her your mark and she becomes Luna of Shadowclaw, she's still mine in the eyes of this pack."
"You won't need to ask twice." Fin said. He then added, voice cracking, "We'll get through this."
"I'll do my best," Jax replied. Then, after a pause— "Can you give me your word that you'll treat her like I treated her? Or better?"
"You have my word," Fin said firmly.
Jax had silent tears falling down his face.
"And can you give me yours," Fin said, wiping his eyes, "that if I ever don't—you'll kick my ass with all your Alpha strength and Gamma magic?"
Jax cracked a smile. "You have my word."
Jax extended a hand. Fin took it—and pulled him into a hug, clapping him on the back.
"Love you, brother," Fin said.
"You too. You can always tell me things. It's never too late," Jax said, stepping back. "I don't love how this turned out, but… we're still family."
"Done," Fin agreed quietly.