Her mind was fogged, limbs heavy, but the first thing she noticed was warmth. Not just any warmth—but a strong, living heat wrapped entirely around her.
Nova stirred awake, head foggy and a pair of arms tightened around her.
Arms. A chest. A heartbeat.
Then came the scent.
Gods.
Her lashes fluttered, and she inhaled before she could stop herself. That scent—his scent—hit her like a rush of memories. It was hard to identify everything in his scent. But she knew it well. Fresh pine. Rain on rock. And underneath it all, the smallest amount of eucalyptus. Unmistakably Fin.
She hadn't realized how much she'd craved it—how much she'd missed him—until now, wrapped in it, surrounded by him.
Her head was resting against his bare chest, rising and falling in a steady rhythm. His arms were locked around her, protective and possessive, holding her as if letting go wasn't an option.
Electricity danced across her skin everywhere they touched. Hot and startling. It was already overpowering to begin with, yet it had deepened even more.
And then it hit her. The realization she was only wearing a sports bra and thong. Nothing else.
Her breath caught, and heat rushed to her cheeks. Her entire body flushed with sudden awareness. Shyness crept up fast and sharp.
Fin's chest rose and fell steadily beneath her. She blinked her eyes and tried to shift off him, gentle and careful—but his arms only tightened, keeping her anchored against him.
"You're okay, baby…" Fin's voice was low, rough with sleep and something else—something aching. "Just relax. I've got you."
He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.
She melted back into him, despite the blush that colored her face.
Fin felt her begin to relax and knew he made her feel safe.
He wasn't going to let her move. Not after the hours of watching her nearly die again and again. Not after seeing her on that dragon, Rex touching her freely and her laughing with him like it meant nothing. Not after standing helpless as she fell from the goddamned sky.
He wasn't letting her go. Not now. Not for anything.
Her lashes fluttered again, brushing his chest, and his jaw flexed with the effort to stay still. Every point of contact burned like starlight. The mate bond sang like a live wire between them.
It was maddening. It was perfect.
And it was his.
They laid there for a bit and she breathed him in. Gods she loved him.
"I missed you," she whispered, the words cracking slightly as they slipped out.
She blinked back tears quick and swallowed hard. There was so much more she wanted to say. So much she felt—but the weight of it clogged her throat.
He didn't know. He couldn't possibly know how much she missed him. How deeply the last few days had carved into her. Every decision. Every risk. He didn't know how much she appreciated him, both for being her anchor, but also after walking in his shoes for the last few days. She'd been pretending like she knew what she was doing, but she didn't.
His arms were still around her, but his body had gone tense beneath her. As if remembering something. Fin felt strange emotions. Anger. Frustration. Fear. Possessiveness.
He spoke, jaw clenched. "Do you know what it felt like?" he said, voice low and clipped. "Waking up. Running through a portal into smoke and screams. And you—nowhere."
She swallowed, taking a steadying breath.
"I'm sorry, Fin. I didn't know you were waking up early. I didn't know for sure where Jax or Cael was and I had seconds to act."
"Right," he said, his voice low but dangerous. "So your first instinct, was to jump on a dragon with the next Alpha standing close by?"
Nova flinched. "The mindlink was down. I deferred to Rex because he'd just saved my life. I d-didn't know if I'd make it b-back to the tent alive on m-my own. I trusted him."
He scoffed. "You trusted him? Just like that?" He finally looked at her, eyes blazing.
Nova's throat burned. She hated this. Hated feeling like she let him down, the one person she was trying to not do that with. The one person she wanted comfort from.
Her throat worked around the lump rising there. "I- I didn't know what I was doing. I am sorry to have scared you, Fin," Nova whispered, her voice unsteady. "If I made the wrong call, I'm truly sorry. I w-wa-wanted to come b-back to the tent, but I didn't know if it was compromised. And it was across the camp. There were so many variables."
Her voice cracked. "I f-felt like I couldn't breathe—and I made the d-d-decision to get in the air, away from the fighting."
She hiccuped trying to not let herself get upset. A tear fell from her eye.
Fin stared at the tent ceiling, jaw tight, like he couldn't look at her. "Then tell me why I watched you pull some of the stupidest moves I've ever seen" His voice was sharp and clipped. "Gambling with your life. And mine—because I'm your mate. And frankly, our entire pack's stability and welfare."
His tone was rising now, every word sharper than the last.
"Damnit Nova! You're not indestructible," He screamed, making her jump.
"And I'm not built to watch you die." He said in a sharp tone.
She flinched, another tear falling from her eye. He saw it, and kept going.
"I watched you almost die ten times yesterday," Fin bit out, his voice low but rising with every word. "Then Jax and I spent an hour—an hour—pulling raw magic out of you before it burned you alive. We were making trips into the damn forest to release it. Did you know that?"
Nova's breath caught. "No… I didn't know it got that b-bad. I'm s-sorry Fin."
He kept going, eyes sharp. "Jax and I had a hundred things we needed to do after the battle—command decisions, wounded warriors, securing the camp. But instead? We spent an hour draining you like a bomb about to go off."
His tone was clipped now, dangerous. "And that was after the rest of your show."
"Fin…" she whispered, silent tears now falling freely from her eyes. "I didn't know. And I'm sorry you had to do that. I didn't m-mean for any of this—"
He cut her off.
"It was stupid. Not how a queen acts." He said.
She gulped and hiccuped.
"W-when did you get there yesterday?" she asked suddenly, her voice trembling. "If I'd known you were there—I swear—I would have come to you."
Fin didn't answer.
"Our mindlinks were d-down. I thought you were still unconscious." Her breath hitched. "I couldn't reach Jax or Cael. I made a decision. I kept seeing gaps—open lines, w-weak flanks. I couldn't just stand there and watch the p-people who saved my life get slaughtered. I couldn't watch Shadowclaw warriors walk into ambushes."
She took a steading breath and whispered. "I followed my instincts. I made choices. And I'm not sorry for that. If Rex and I hadn't cut off those points, everyone would've been surrounded. We would've lost the entire eastern s-side."
He scoffed, turning his head away from her, as if he wished he could walk away from her words. But he didn't. He turned his head back, jaw clenched, staring at the ceiling still not looking at her.
"Oh, you mean the bridge?" His tone was sharp. Cold. "Yeah, Nova. I saw that. When you—the Luna of a pack—walked onto a bridge as bait, waited for them to charge, and then hurled yourself off the side, gambling your life on whether or not a dragon would catch you. Your life. My life. And the welfare of Shadowclaw."
Nova flinched. His voice grew louder.
"And then I watched you jump from one dragon to another over a ravine like this was some goddamned training session. Do you know how many times I thought you were going to die in the span of two minutes? At least four. It was reckless, Nova. That was a stupid move. Stupid."
She blinked back more tears, but said nothing. He was still breathing hard.
"You could have blasted the bridge from your dragon and been done with it. You didn't have to lure the soldiers out on the bridge. Unnecessary." He said, yelling now.
Nova didn't say anything for a minute letting his words sink in. She felt like she couldn't get anything right at the moment. She made a decision weighing the variables of the situation and fell on instinct.
She didn't want to talk anymore. There was nothing to say.
Then he said, voice quiet but full of steel, "You're never doing that again."
Nova waited a second. Enough for him to loosen his grip, then aggressively pushed herself off his chest, so quickly he was surprised and couldn't hold her tighter. She needed to get out of that situation and that tent.
Her hands moved fast—grabbing a training suit. She pulled it on as she struggled not to let the tears fall.
Fin sat up instantly. "Where are you going?"
His voice was sharper than intended—snapped out of him like a whip. Too harsh. Too raw.
Nova froze for half a second, then turned, eyes flaring. "I n-need some space."
She didn't yell—but the words hit like thunder. Fin felt her detach herself from him emotionally. Distancing herself from him through their bond. A wall went up and her uncertainty in him rose.
She grabbed her blue cloak and moved out of the tent before putting it on. Before he could say another word.
Fin stood, stunned that she had the audacity to walk away from him. Nobody walked away from him until he said they were done.
Nova walked quickly past the mess of crates and scorched tents where Cael and Jax stood talking. She didn't glance at them, didn't slow down. But both noticed instantly.
Her eyes were red and she heaved a heavy breath. Both could smell tears.
"Nova…?" Jax called after her, his brow furrowing. "What's wrong?"
She stopped and kept her voice as level as she could. "I apologize for wasting an hour of your time yesterday."
That was all she could manage before the knot in her throat threatened to break loose.
He blinked, confusion and something else flickering in his eyes. He felt it—pain, raw and sharp—through their matebond. Her hands were already shaking. Jax felt her fully and his heart cracked.
"Nova," he called again, following a step. "You didn't waste my time… What are you talking about?"
He was about to pull her into a hug but she shook her head once. Hard. As if trying to shake off whatever cracked inside her chest. She still didn't look at him.
"What happened…?" Jax asked, his brow furrowed. He felt her cracking even more, trying to not cry.
She swallowed but didn't answer and walked towards Onyx, cloak still in hand.
Onyx was in sync with her emotions and already knew. He let out a sad, soft whimper and nuzzled her with his head. But she didn't respond to it and quickly climbed on without a word.
Onyx immediately launched into the air, not letting her stay there a second longer. She didn't want to cry in front of anyone.
Within seconds, she was nothing but a silver-and-gold silhouette vanishing into the horizon.