Fin listened.
True Shadowclaw Luna.
Incarnate of the First Queen of Wolves.
Descendant of the Moon Goddess.
We have been waiting for you.
We have met before. You have done this before.
This task is yours alone to bear the burden.
You must listen, so history does not repeat.
Do you accept?
Another wave of heat rolled over Nova's body, followed by an intense rush of nausea. Her knees nearly gave out. Still, she forced the words from her mind.
I accept.
The voices grew louder—overlapping, distorted. Dozens of tones, all speaking as one. The sound was wrong—not human. Not divine. Something ancient in between.
The clock ticks.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The sound echoed through her core.
In one day's time, an emergency summit of the High Council will be held. There will be a war. It will destroy the North, the South, and the East.
You will be poisoned.
And you will lose your first child.
A son.
The words hit Jax like a blade. Fin's stomach turned to ice. Nova felt like something had just punched her in the chest. Her breath caught. Her body locked.
They continued, sounding like many beings speaking through one vessel.
Both Betas will perish in 30 days. Gamma Thorne will be murdered before the end of summer by the hands of his fated mate.
Nova's heart slammed against her ribs.
You will lose your fated mate—the Alpha King—at the hands of Ashbane.
You will be taken and suffer a fate worse than your mother.
Your daughter will be raped. Your son—murdered. A child will be cut from your womb.
Another violent wave of nausea surged through her.
The whispers didn't stop.
You have thirty days to rewrite the chain of events.
Mark the Alpha King before tomorrow's sunset—he will remain unconscious for seven days. Before that same sun sets, gather every blade named: Gamma, Beta, Beta Luna, & Alpha.
Attend the emergency High Council summit in his stead. Wear your crown. Hold your ground. Do not invade yet. There is another path—clearer, stronger. You will see it. You will speak it.
Nova took a steadying breath and felt a wave of heat ripple through her.
Stay in the battle tents in your Alpha's stead until he awakens. Attend every meeting for the Alpha. If you do not, this pack will fall.
You will be poisoned again by the same hands, and same poison.
Keep your pack healer in the tents; he must have the antidote ready.
Another echo rang out in her skull:
Do not bring the Gamma or Beta to the third and fourth meetings.
There is no other way.
The Starfang Alpha walks bound to black magic. Let him never touch you. At the fourth High Council he will strike to kill. Do not move, do not react, stay still when he comes towards you.
Station Gamma Thorne outside the meeting, blade ready.
Nova swallowed. Numb.
There are four books hidden in the library behind a hidden door. When you pry it open, an arrow, poisoned with old black, will fly. Let none of it touch you.
Only Gamma or Alpha may stand with you to unmake the black lodged in that shaft. Their hands must cleanse it.
Only you will be able to read the four books. Retrieve all four artifacts before entering the Moonveil territory. You must claim that prophecy before the full moon after the Black Rain — only then can the two Betas be spared.
The ancient Moonveil ruins in the jungle await. Whomever you bring will share your destiny; choose the hearts that will stand beside you. This choice will ripple through time. Prepare a contingency plan if blood claims you. Succeed, and the subsequent current of days will bend.
Nova blinked. They waited. She asked the first question she thought of.
Can I wake up the Alpha after I mark him?
Yes. He may be woken. But time will demand its due.
Let him sleep seven days, and his power will bloom whole. Call him at the third dawn, and the debt doubles. Fourteen days must pass before his power manifests.
Wake him before the second dawn, and the debt triples to twenty-one. He will stand unarmed when you need him most.
Choose wisely. Time does not bend twice.
Nova took a breath.
Can I bring him to the summit?
The whispers answered.
If you awaken him early, do not allow him to protect you at the fourth council meeting or he will lose his life to the Starfang Alpha.
He must stay hidden until then. You must act in his stead. Only Thorne can kill Starfang until his powers manifest fully. The clock ticks down.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The gold light poured through her for a few more seconds, and then started to dim on her skin.
Whispers erupted from the crowd, all in awe.
"Gold," Aeron called loudly, hushing the whispers. "The ancestors have heard your oath and marked you as Alpha. The aura of your mate now binds to your soul."
Nova began to pull her hand away, but it was yanked back so forcefully she let out a half whimper before catching herself.
Her body then heaved, and she fought the urge to throw up. Another wave of heat traveled through her with a wave of nausea.
Sapphire fire hitting the ceiling.
Sweet Luna your kindness is your downfall.
If you cannot trust them, they will kill you.
You will hesitate and it will lead to your death.
Bring someone who won't hesitate.
Do not wait this time to tell Thorne. It is his burden to hold with you and the Alpha.
His fate from his mate falls on your shoulders. You must keep her away when the prophecy activates. Put her in chains. If you tell her why, they will come, watching through her eyes. She won't remember hunting him.
Call a meeting with Alpha, Gamma, Beta, and Mage tonight. No mates. Outline what you have heard today.
While Shadowclaw is out, Thorne has final decisions. You will be second in the chain of command behind him, Valehart third, Lancaster fourth. Follow that at all times.
Do not fail this time. Do not let history repeat again.
The clock has already started.
Your first task starts tonight.
Then sapphire light faded down to normal and she pulled her hand out quickly. No more of this. She had had enough.
She felt a wave of nausea come through her and started seeing spots.
The torches around the room roared to life in unison, then extinguished. Another vibration swept backwards. Everyone stumbled back again. Nova was looking at the wall in front, away from anyone's gaze outside of Aeron. Her hair was sticking to her neck, her new dress was drenched, her hands were trembling so she put them in front of her.
She felt another wave of nausea.
Nova: Aeron I'm going to be sick. Can we end this immediately?
She mindlinked, as an involuntary heave came from her silently.
She tried to keep her back straight so no one in the audience noticed. But Jax, Cael, Elle, and Fin definitely all saw. Sweat was now coming down her face and her legs were shaking.
"This ceremony is adjourned." Aeron said.
Fin was in shock. He quickly snapped out of it and moved forward to her, grabbing her arm. She looked composed, like nothing had happened. But all the color had drained from her face, her entire body was trembling.
Fin mindlinked Jax and Cael.
Fin: We need to go first.
Jax watched her closely, his eyes sharpened by pain and need. He felt what she was hiding, even as the desire to claim her flickered just beneath his control.
She walked composed—masking every tremor—holding Fin's hand, offering Marra a small, warm smile. Marra looked back at her in awe.
The line of elders and lords bowed deeply as Nova passed by Fin's side. The audience was silent but their bodies shifted with the lingering shock of what they had just witnessed.
Fin moved beside her swiftly. As soon as they turned the corner and stepped into the corridor, he scooped her up in his arms and bolted toward their quarters—no words needed, just urgency in the pace of his footsteps.
_______________________________
Jax stood there a second too long when it was his and Marra's turn to walk out—last in line behind the Betas. The order had been quietly reversed, not out of formality, but necessity. Nova was gagging, visibly trying not to be sick, and Fin had already swept her from the room.
The four of them noticed. No one said a word.
Jax's feet stayed rooted to the floor as he stared at the space where she had just been. Marra gently touched his arm, a wordless nudge forward, but he didn't move.
His eyes lingered on the door and hallway she'd disappeared down. His jaw locked, chest tight.
For the first time since the bond had been severed, he allowed himself to fully look at her, while she walked by. It haunted him.
Gaunt. Her cloak couldn't hide how her collarbones jutted more sharply than before, how her frame looked like it had dropped entirely too much weight. She was already too thin.
She looked exhausted. Hollowed.
And it shattered something inside him.
His wolf growled, low and mournful.
His heart twisted.
It took everything in him not to go after her. Not to run down the hall after Fin and scoop her up himself. But he didn't. He clenched his jaw, breathed through his nose, and turned to Marra. His fated. His responsibility now.
Talon: She is not well. She is ours.
Jax: She is not ours anymore. Didn't you just tell me to give Marra a chance?
Talon: If she doesn't get better, we take her back. She is ours.
Jax: We can't take her back. She is bound to Fin no matter what we do.
Talon: He loves her I can tell. But you LOVE her so fiercely that pull of the fated matebond isn't affecting you anymore and she doesn't even wear your mark.
Jax: I wear her mark, remember.
Talon: That is not the same. Your mark, the male mark is always the most powerful.
Jax: She wears Fin's mark now. She is fated to him. Their bond is stronger. The sooner we can come to terms with that the better.
Talon: Reject Marra and mark her.
Jax noticed Marra looking at him unsure, with her kind brown eyes. He felt a pang of guilt.
He grabbed her hand and offered her a grin. "Welcome Gamma."
Her face lit up with a grateful smile, and she gave a small nod, seeming to relax under his touch. But it only made the guilt worse. Why didn't he feel more?
Why didn't he want to kiss her? Why didn't his wolf react to her the way it had always reacted to Nova? She wasn't unattractive.
What was wrong with him?
He shook his head as if he could physically knock the thoughts away. But they came back. All of them.
The whispers.
The pain.
The look on Nova's face.
The word child echoing in his mind like a war drum.
Was she…?
His heart lurched again remembering that part. He hadn't gotten her the dragonscale tea after her heat. Neither of them had remembered—too lost in each other, in stolen moments and primal connection. He'd forgotten to ask her afterwards.
Part of him was happy… he wanted Nova to be the mother of his child. He still wanted that. But part of him ached for Nova and his child. This was a goddamned a mess.
Did Nova pick up on that? He must have misheard.
He shook his head as he walked Marra back to their quarters doing his best to be kind.