Jax stood frozen—stunned, silent tears already streaking down his face.
He hadn't known Marra had heard everything the spirits had said that night, yet she had pretended to be fine. He hadn't realized she noticed his pain, or worse, that she blamed herself for being the reason behind it.
He hadn't seen her own turmoil, or the truth of what she had endured—being taken, losing her memories. Why hadn't she told him?
He hadn't taken the time to truly see her.
He didn't know about the miscarriage. Listening to that conversation, he realized he had learned more about Marra in 20 minutes than he had in a full week of sharing a home with her.
Guilt crashed into him like a wave. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling like a bastard of a man.
But what hit Jax hardest—what cracked something in him wide open—was realizing Nova never knew.
She didn't know that he had loved her from the very beginning.
The moment he laid eyes on her in that tower, bruised and exhausted. He knew he loved her then. When he held her unconscious riding away from Ashbane taking her home where she belonged. He loved her. He hadn't hesitated. There was no slow burn, no growing affection. It was instant. A spark lit so violently it nearly consumed him.
He hadn't needed a matebond to feel it. He had simply known.
The mark on her may have been an accident. But he wanted it. Badly. He would have marked her the day he brought her home. There was never a second he didn't want that.
He hadn't realized that Nova sensed him moving toward Marra that day, either. The way his body reacted against his wishes. That she'd felt that moment, and mistaken it for something bigger than it was. She thought he had chosen Marra. That the pull toward his fated mate outweighed what he felt towards her. But it never had. It never could.
And he hated how she had spoken about their bond—as if it were lesser because they weren't fated. Like his love was less because of that. He felt her emotions when she said that part and it killed him. She didn't want to be an option when another woman was his destiny.
That wasn't Nova's fault. It was his.
He should've rejected Marra the moment he saw her. He should've grabbed Nova's hand, looked her in the eyes, and chosen her again in front of the entire pack. Without hesitation. Without fear.
But he had been weak. Frozen. Hesitant. And that was the reason. She thought she saw that flicker of doubt that wasn't there. And she had severed the bond for them both.
She thought he had only suffered because of his ancestors because of the Gamma essence shifting. Not because of her.
How her scent still haunted every corner of their shared quarters. He didn't let the Omega's take all of her clothes because he wanted to smell her. Every time he took a bath this week he got choked up thinking about her. They did that everyday. How just the memory of her voice saying his name could undo him.
How her being in heat was the most intense, best night of his life. How he dreamed about her and her wolf.
She didn't know that every time he saw her in pain, something in his chest fractured. That when she bled in that ceremony, his wolf lost control. That even now, his instincts screamed to protect her.
Not because of a prophecy. Not because of a past life. Not because fate bleed it. It was because of her. Just her. Nova.
Claimed by the Moon Goddess or not, the bond that existed between them had always felt stronger than his first fated and second chance matebond. And his wolf knew it too. Even when she was bonded to someone else, she was home.
And now she was someone else's mate.
Jax swallowed hard, jaw tense. His wolf was silent, brooding in the background.
Fin hadn't said a word, but Jax felt the rising tension between them like a wire pulled tight. And maybe he deserved that.
Because no matter what bond he shared with Marra—how kind, noble, or strong she was—it had never lit his soul on fire the way Nova did by simply existing in a room.
That wasn't something you chose. That was something carved into your soul.
And it would never waver. She was his.
Fin, watching from across the hall where they were hidden, caught the storm in his friend's expression. He saw the guilt, the grief, and the regret—but what he felt in his own chest was something else entirely.
Possession.
Nova was his. His mate. His Queen.
And he didn't like the thought of Jax being alone with her for days while he was out—especially with how vulnerable she was right now. She was already in pain. Fin had no intention of letting anyone else, past or fated, make it worse.