Fin held her in his arms, her weight tucked close against his chest. Pride pulsed through him with every heartbeat. His mate had saved fifty children — no casualties, no chaos. She'd stayed calm, formed a strategy, and it had worked.
Her head rested against him, her breathing soft but uneven, as he carried her toward the cave.
"You weren't kidding about the powers," Fin said to Jax with a crooked grin.
Jax gave a small smile. "Nope. You've got that to look forward to. Hopefully you don't lose your mind and vanish into the woods for a week like I did."
Fin's grin faded into something more serious. "Thank you... for coming. For helping."
"Anytime. What are Gammas for?" Jax said with a shrug.
He didn't mention that he still wore Nova's mark. Or that every moment of her grief over the past day had cracked against his heart like a hammer.
As they reached the cave mouth, Cael leaned against the stone wall, arms crossed. He gave a low whistle.
"You two make one hell of a team," he said. "But the three of you? Unstoppable. I'll be the genius in the back. You're welcome." He winked.
"Thanks," Jax replied dryly.
Cael's eyes shifted to Nova. "She doesn't look great."
"Her magic…" Aeron spoke softly from behind. "The gold — it wasn't hers. It was channeled. From someone else."
Jax's jaw tightened and his eyes locked on Nova. "Why in the hell would they think coming all the way out here was a good idea?"
Cael sighed. "Elle was bringing her into the city. Just to get her out, give her something light. Nova wasn't sure if she should tell you, Fin, — or if you'd even want to know — so Elle offered to mindlink me just in case."
Fin's chest tightened. She didn't think I'd want to know? One day into their bond and he was already failing her.
"Of course I'd want to know," he said, jaw clenched. "I don't like being left in the dark."
Cael nodded slowly. "She told Elle something else, too. Said all Bloodmoon or the alliance would need to do is ask around our pack for who has a white wolf. She's not wrong. She was spiraling. Said she was a liability. Matebond-breaking anxiety."
"Sounds like Balen's poison," Jax said, shaking his head. "And seeing her name plastered on those ransom signs confirmed everything in her head."
Fin mindlinked Cael.
Fin: I need to speak with you. In private.
Cael: Your study or mine.
Fin: Mine.
Cael: I'll follow you there.
Fin had been feeling her through their bond, and today has been hard for her. No doubt. He mindlinked Elias.
Fin: Hey, Elias. Do you have any more of that calming tonic?
Elias: Yes. Why?
Fin: My mate's having a rough time. It's that or whiskey.
Elias: Mate?
Fin: She fainted. Just saved fifty kids, took out a dark wizard, thirty soldiers, and fought off twenty possessed corpses.
Elias: Ha. Ha. Very funny.
Fin: I'm bringing her to my quarters. Can you meet me there?
Elias: Yes, Alpha.
Fin let out a quiet chuckle.
Jax glanced over. "What are you laughing at?"
"Told Elias I needed him to check on someone who fainted. He asked why. I said she saved fifty kids, took down thirty soldiers, a dark wizard, and twenty possessed corpses. He didn't believe me."
"That's because I killed the wizard and most of the corpses," Jax muttered.
"Exactly," Cael added. "Much more believable."
When they arrived back in his quarters, Fin laid Nova gently on the bed.
They made their way to his private study.
Fin gave one nod, the kind that carried more command than most men's speeches.
Cael gave him a grin, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Congrats, man."
"Thanks." Fin exhaled, jaw ticking. "I do need to ask, though… what else did Nova say? I want to understand what's going on in her head."
Cael's smile faded a bit. "She wasn't sure if she should tell Elle about the bond. Didn't know if it'd make you—or Jax—look bad."
"It doesn't." Fin didn't hesitate. "If she wants to tell Elle, she tells Elle."
"What else?"
Cael shrugged. "What does she say if other people ask her?"
"She answers how she wants. I'm not censoring her."
"When you announce her as your mate, are you going to say chosen or fated?"
"Fated." Fin's voice was flat, decisive. "There's no scenario where I pretend she isn't mine."
Cael shifted, clearly uneasy. "She made Elle promise not to tell anyone, so if I repeat it, I'm the one getting chewed out."
"Repeat what?"
"Just… give her a day or two. Some whiskey. That calming tonic. Breaking a mate bond's no small thing."
"Did it have anything to do with me?" Fin asked, voice steady.
Cael narrowed his eyes. "Are you using your Alpha aura on me right now?"
"Yes."
Cael groaned. "Well, in that case… Elle can't be mad. Alpha orders. So, yeah."
Fin took one step closer, eyes locked on him. "Then stop circling it. What did she say?"
Cael leaned against the wall. "Look—she's damn near perfect. But she doesn't do well with silver chains or breaking soulmate bonds. It messes with her head."
Fin waited, silent, immovable.
Cael hesitated. "The first part is good… she said she wished she could just run with your wolf and let her wolf just take over for a little. She loved doing that with you."
Something in Fin's jaw eased a fraction. "She did?"
Cael nodded. "But then it led to the topic of her wolf, she started spiraling and then it turned into once you realized how much of a liability she really is, you'd probably not want to be her mate. Why would anyone want that? And if she'd only bring danger to a pack, she's not Luna material."
Fin's expression darkened.
"Right, even before saving 50 pups. Still very Luna material." Cael said, shaking his head.
He hesitated.
"Speak." Fin said coldly.
"She also was worried you might be confused and she wasn't your fated mate," Cael said.
Fin's eyes narrowed. "I told her we were. That makes no sense."
"Well… you waited months. So she thought maybe there was something wrong with her, like you weren't physically attracted to her or her scent was off."
Fin's expression darkened, slow and lethal. Cael immediately put his hands up.
"Don't shoot the messenger. You did wait months and avoided her."
Fin dragged a hand through his hair, irritated at himself. "I did… but I told her that I did want her when I explained."
Cael snorted. "You're going to have to say that one hundred more times. Take it from experience."
Fin shot him a look, but Cael barreled on.
"Elle tried to talk her down from attraction being the problem… but she said something about wearing makeup and perfume… that would solve the problem." Cael rolled his eyes. "Neither of them understand how powerful the bond is when you're fated."
Fin's jaw flexed. "Her scent is perfect. She is beautiful."
Cael nodded quickly. "Yeah, well, Elle did tell her that you'd be the only man outside of me who isn't interested in Nova like that."
Fin blinked once, slowly.
"Nova said worst case, you'd break the bond. Elle then had the bright idea to say she'd have the worst love life in Varos if that happened… then Nova said that must run in her family." Cael grimaced. "Well. You know that whole fucked situation."
Fin's entire aura pressed on Cael, and the temperature in the room dropped several degrees.
Cael winced. "She wasn't herself. Don't worry about it."
Fin did not ease the pressure.
"What else did she say?" He said jaw ticking.
Cael swallowed. "She told her that fated bonds start at different spots and some are a slow burn. And you didn't know Nova that well yet… outside of a friendship… so you'd grow to care for her. Something along those lines. Which also was probably the wrong thing to say in hindsight."
Fin exhaled, rubbing his forehead.
Cael shook his head. "Elle said she started stuttering. Couldn't breathe, was in her own head and having horrible anxiety. Then apologizing for being 'all over the place.' Elle was really worried. I didn't know she was going to take her out of the grounds or I would've shut it down. A day after bond severing? Not exactly ideal."
Fin stood still.
Cael straightened.
"And for the record? If they're going to hunt her, they'll do it no matter where she is. Might as well be here. With you, her fated, who evidently is about to be a Greek god."