Fin stormed out of the tent a minute later, his jaw ticking, eyes hard with barely contained rage. The cold air hit him like a slap, but it did nothing to cool the fire boiling in his chest.
Rex was also walking towards them, feeling Nova's heartbreak and something else. Was she feeling ashamed of something? Angry at herself? Rex was getting better at reading her through their bond and he wasn't going to let her feel that way.
A few yards ahead, Jax and Cael were standing—both tense. Jax's arms were folded across his chest, his expression unreadable. Cael's was not.
Cael took a step forward, fury clear in his voice. "What the hell did you say to her?"
Fin's glare snapped to him. "What did I say? She's throwing herself off bridges like she's indestructible. Like her life doesn't matter. Stupid and reckless. She baited an army to charge her, jumped off a bridge, and nearly burned herself alive channeling magic."
He paced, voice rising with every word. "And for what? To show off? To gamble with our pack's welfare? To gamble with my life? It's not just hers that she's affecting. It's my life. It was stupid and selfish. Yesterday was stupid."
Jax straightened, slowly unfolding his arms. His jaw ticked. "She wasn't showing off."
"She jumped off a bridge, Jax!" Fin snapped, spinning to face him. "With a full battalion coming at her. She went parading with the first Alpha standing next to her who didn't happen to kill her on a fucking dragon. She went through enough magic to burn her alive, and we—YOU—spent an hour dragging it out of her body so she didn't fry from the inside out. And now she's upset at me for having a problem with it? Yeah I have a problem with it."
His hands were shaking now.
Rex stood nearby, silent but seething, his fists clenched at his sides, jaw flexing with every word Fin threw like a dagger.
Jax's voice came low—measured—but it was shaking with barely restrained fury. "You've been gone for days, Fin."
Fin opened his mouth, but Jax didn't let him speak.
"She had to lead. Alone. Without her Alpha. Without her mate. She had to make decisions and face the consequences alone. You want to talk about what's stupid? Let's talk about how she stood in your place at a war summit. One day into being queen. One week after she severed a matebond that nearly broke her. She was here alone and she held the line. Representing you. Representing Shadowclaw. The weight of the world on her shoulders. And you then have the audacity to yell at her after she had been holding herself together. You want to talk about stupid, that is stupid."
Fin opened his mouth, but Jax kept going.
His voice rose, his composure cracking. "She had to walk into a war council full of alphas and acted with grace, even with the knowledge that one of them was going to kill her."
"She said she missed you to me and I heard her tell you that herself yesterday. And you treat her like that." Jax said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Fin felt his own anger rising. "She could've died! It has nothing to do with that. She gambled with her life and therefore my life. Our entire pack's welfare." He shouted.
"Yeah," Cael snapped. "She could've. But she didn't. And what she did worked."
Fin's eyes blazed. "You're all just going to stand here and defend her, nearly getting herself killed?"
"Did I like watching her jump off that bridge?" Cael growled. "Of course not. But it saved us. We would've been surrounded. We would've been slaughtered. She didn't wait for orders. She made the call—and she was right. Not many warriors would have had the balls to do what she did there. I'm damn proud of her."
Jax's hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white. "She saved hundreds yesterday. Not just Shadowclaw—all of our allies. You want to scream about how she used too much magic? I volunteered. I'd do it again. And again. And again."
"It was reckless and stupid. She could have shot the bridge from her dragon if she wanted to." Fin said jaw ticking and fists clenched.
"No," Jax snapped, whirling on him. "You don't know that." He took a step closer, eyes sharp, cutting. "She is always two steps ahead. Always. Nothing she does is stupid. Nothing."
His laugh was short and disbelieving.
"You do not get to call her stupid." Jax shook his head slowly, like the words coming out of Fin's mouth were unreal. "You've been her mate for one week—one fucking week—and you think you know her?"
His voice dropped low and lethal. "You don't. How dare you talk to her like that."
"I do know her and I have eyes. That was reckless along with her other antics yesterday." Fin snapped back through gritted teeth.
Cael let out a short, disbelieving laugh and shook his head, rubbing a hand over his face like he could not believe he was hearing this.
Jax's jaw ticked.
"No," he said dangerously. "You don't."
The air stilled.
"Did you know she retains everything she reads?" He continued, each word clipped and controlled. "To the point where she can recite it verbatim. Page number. Chapter heading. Table of contents. Perfect recall." His eyes stayed locked on Fin. "No. I didn't think so."
He took a breath, visibly forcing himself to slow down. When he spoke again, his voice dropped, heavier now. Sharper.
"She read that damn war strategy book in one hour. The one that took you months." A pause, deliberate. "One hour. Took that test weeks later. No, I bet you didn't know that. Did you?"
Cael swore under his breath.
Jax went on. "She connected the face and pack affiliation of every single person in this camp after one lap around the perimeter. Already knew their histories. Their politics. Their war doctrines." His mouth twisted. "She didn't say a word. Not to show off. Not to posture. She stayed quiet until Marra figured it out."
He shook his head slowly. "So no. She wasn't being reckless. And she wasn't grandstanding. She's humble. Too humble."
His gaze hardened. "You don't know her. Not the way you think you do. And when you say shit like that to her, it doesn't just piss me off." His voice roughened. "It hurts her. In more than one way."
Fin blinked stunned. The truth was, he wasn't aware her recall was to that degree.
Jax's knuckles were white, hands shaking at his sides. All the rage he had kept leashed for days finally tore free, and Fin needed to hear every word of it.
Through gritted teeth, his voice dropped low and deadly. "Did you know she had a panic attack before the fourth council meeting?" His eyes burned. "That she was shaking so badly she could barely breathe, trying to hide it like she always does?"
A bitter exhale. "No. You didn't. Because you weren't there."
He stepped closer, just enough. "She missed you so badly it hurt to watch." His jaw flexed. "Do you have any idea how hard this has been on her?"
Jax shook his head, disgust bleeding through his restraint. "She already was having issues before coming here from severing our matebond. That literally broke her and it was a week before coming here." His voice roughened. "She's fragile and in her own head right now. You don't know her and if you did, you wouldn't have spoken to her like that. Ever."
Fin's chest heaved, fury and guilt warring in his expression.
"You want to talk about choices? She made them. She bore the weight of everything while you were gone." He shook his head again in disgust.
His fists clenched harder."She apologized to me for wasting my time yesterday. Like she is a waste of time. You think I gave a shit about the hour I spent helping her? That was nothing. She can have every hour I have left." His voice cracked. "She can have all the time in the world from me. I never saw it as a waste—as her mate, and I sure as hell don't now."
He lifted his chin, eyes locked on Fin. "You think that hour mattered to me? She mattered. She always has. And I will always put her first."
Fin took a step forward, eyes flashing. "That's what this is? She's not yours to put first."
Cael stepped between them. "Stop it."
But neither man moved.
"You're sure as hell not. I was with Nova for months as her mate. I never raised my voice at her. Never. What the actual fuck is wrong with you?" Jax said, taking a step towards Fin.
"You're not her mate anymore," Fin said through gritted teeth.
Jax let out a sound that was half laugh, half snarl. "You don't claim her for months. Then you do. And this is how you treat her?" His hands were shaking now, rage burning too hot to contain. "You don't deserve her."
His eyes locked onto Fin's, vicious and honest. "You told me yourself. You said if you ever treated her poorly, to kick your ass."
Jax stepped forward, voice raw. "Try that again, and I'll make good on what I promised. I'll kick your ass and take her from you. I'll treat her the way she deserves to be treated."
Cael moved instantly, hands shooting out. "Both of you. Stop."
Fin lunged first, fury driving his body before thought could catch up. He slammed into Jax, expecting him to stumble like he used to. Gamma to Alpha. Reflex and rank.
Jax did not budge.
Alpha strength met Alpha strength, and it was Fin who staggered back, surprise flashing across his face just as Jax's fist came fast and hard. It slammed into Fin's ribs, knocking the breath clean out of him.
"You don't get to take this out on her," Jax snarled, landing another blow before Fin could recover.
They collided again, fists and elbows clashing in a blur of rage and impact. Fin cursed, tried to throw Jax down, tried to overpower him. Jax twisted, hooked his leg with practiced precision, and sent Fin crashing to the ground.
Jax was on him in seconds.
"You're not mad she jumped off that bridge," Jax shouted, fist clenched but not striking yet. "You're mad it wasn't you who caught her."
"You're mad Rex did."
Fin froze.
"You're mad the other Alphas think you abandoned your queen and now you're scrambling to do damage control." Jax's voice shook with fury, words cutting deeper than any punch. "You're upset about your reputation. And you're jealous of the person who saved her life."
The words hit harder than anything physical.
Fin stopped fighting.
He lay there, chest heaving, staring up at Jax as the truth landed.
Jax's breath was ragged, but his hands stayed fisted for a second longer—until he realized Fin wasn't fighting back anymore.
They froze like that. Panting. Bleeding. Locked in the aftermath. Jax shoved off him and stormed away, fury still burning in his bones.
Fin pushed himself upright slowly. Every breath hurt, but the ache in his chest was worse than any bruise. He looked up just in time to see Rex in the distance, already mounting his dragon.
Wings spread wide.
The beast launched into the sky, chasing after Nova.
Fin dropped his head into his hands.
A beat later, Cael crossed his arms beside him, staring out at the empty sky where the dragon had vanished.
"If Elle did what Nova did yesterday," he muttered, voice low, steady, "I'd be proud of her. Gods help me, I'd be shouting it from the battlements."
Fin did not look up.
Cael glanced down at him then, something softer cutting through the bluntness. "And I'd damn well make sure she knew it."
He clapped a firm hand on Fin's shoulder. Not gentle. Not cruel. Just real.
"Damn," Cael added, exhaling through his nose, "I already miss her." He straightened, rolling his shoulders like a man making a decision that mattered. "I'm going to go tell my mate I love her."
He walked away without another word.
Fin stayed where he was, alone now, the echoes of everything he should have said ringing louder than the silence.