"Now, Elle," Nova commanded.
Elle didn't hesitate—she had been waiting for that moment. The instant the words left Nova's mouth, she leapt into the spring.
The water blazed brighter in response, the glow intensifying until it looked more like molten metal than liquid. With all four of them inside, the spring had transformed into a pool of thick, living gold.
Smoke continued to pour from Aeron's and Cael's bodies—dark, acrid, writhing as it was drawn out. The air around them shimmered with pressure and light.
None of them spoke.
For ten minutes, they remained locked in perfect concentration. Magic poured, layered, intertwined. No distractions.
Aeron's smoke began to fade. Slowly, gradually, the black tendrils thinned, dissolving into the golden mist. Cael's, by contrast, worsened. The darkness around him thickened—swirling faster, more violently. And his heartbeat had stopped for a minute, but flickered back. Still, no one moved to stop. They held the line.
Aeron's eyes finally flickered open.
But before breath or words could form, dark magic lashed toward him—wild, fast, feral. A barrier of green and gold intercepted it midair and under water. Marra didn't falter. She continued the incantations, voice unwavering, still channeling Aeron's consciousness through her. He remained flat on his back, unable to speak or rise. Jax held steady at his side, magic still flooding into him.
"Gamma, switch to Cael," Nova ordered, tone sharp, immediate.
Jax obeyed without question, shifting his focus, his hands, his power. The moment his gold light touched Cael, the spring surged again—but the darkness in Cael did not retreat.
It kept coming. Coiled and relentless.
Nova's eyes never left Cael. With a flick of her hand, another portal opened—this one narrow, hanging in the air like a window—and it connected to Elias.
He jumped, nearly dropping the tray in his hands. "Oh gods!" he yelped, clutching his chest.
"Elias," Nova said, tone unshaken, "do you have Ashthorn Bloom?"
"Yes… Nova—wait, how are you even standing right now?" he asked, eyes wide.
"I require it ground finely and infused into a health tonic. Immediately," she replied, her voice calm, crisp, and completely devoid of warmth.
Elias frowned, confusion knitting his brows. "Are you sure? That's not usually what it's—"
"You have ninety seconds," Nova interrupted flatly, and the portal snapped closed.
Ninety seconds later, she opened a full portal.
Elias flinched so hard he nearly dropped the mortar. "Gods, Nova, you're going to give me a heart attack."
"Is it done?" Nova asked, voice steady and devoid of emotion.
"Yes… but I was trying to say—" Elias began, lifting the vial slightly.
"Assist Aeron in drinking it. Do not touch him. Aeron, do not reach for the glass," Nova said sharply, cutting him off with the same formal, unyielding tone.
Elias blinked. Fin and Jax exchanged a glance, both stunned. But none of them objected. At this point, it was clear: Nova was in charge. And stranger still, their magic agreed with it. The hierarchy shifted—not by choice, but by instinct. As though their power recognized an authority beyond the pack's structure.
Without another word, Elias knelt beside Aeron, holding the tonic to his lips with delicate care. Aeron's hands trembled violently, but he managed to raise his arms, steadying himself against the wall of the spring.
Nova's voice came again, even and clear. "Aeron—submerge fully once the tonic is finished."
Aeron nodded once and complied, shoulders dropping below the surface, silver-scarred skin vanishing into the golden water.
Meanwhile, the dark smoke rising from Cael finally began to thin. It didn't vanish—but it slowed, curling sluggishly like something reluctant to leave.
Marra and Jax both knew why.
Cael had taken the brunt of it.
Aeron had only been clipped—his back burned from the blast. But Cael had sat in the direct path of that cursed rain, absorbing it minute after minute. Neither of them said a word.
Nova didn't shift her gaze from Cael. "Elias. Drop the glass into the spring. Prepare for a transfusion. You have seven minutes. Donor—Marra."
Elias obeyed. He let the empty glass slip from his fingers into the water.
The moment it sank, a curl of black smoke hissed upward from it.
Aeron slipped beneath the surface, following Nova's instructions without hesitation. Dark smoke hissed from his hair and scalp, rising in slow tendrils as the spring worked its magic. He didn't surface right away. Instead, he remained under—twenty, thirty seconds at a time—each submersion more effective than the last. Every time he came up for breath, he plunged back down again, determined to purge every last trace.
"One more minute, Aeron. Continue submerging," Nova said, voice clear and precise, still focused entirely on Cael.
Back in the infirmary, Elias stepped calmly through the portal that Nova had left open for him—centered neatly in the middle of his workspace. He had no intention of waiting around for another surprise window to flash open in front of his face. Not again. He checked the clock, saw he had a minute to spare, and made his way to the spring.
"Elias, is the transfusion ready?" Nova asked without turning.
"Yes, but—Shifters and mages don't intermix—" he started, tone cautious.
"Thirty seconds remaining," Nova interrupted, unfazed. "Marra, stop the incantations. Assist Elias in lifting Aeron out."
"Nova, did you hear me?" Elias tried again, voice raising slightly.
She didn't respond.
Elias sighed dramatically and muttered under his breath, "Great. Everyone's glowing in the dark, defying the natural laws of anatomy, and I'm the one getting ignored. Love that for me."
"Now," Nova said, tone final.
Marra halted her chanting at once, stepping in beside Elias. As she moved, Elle's green magic adjusted seamlessly, reinforcing the perimeter and catching any residue that threatened to escape into the air.
Marra and Elias moved quickly, lifting Aeron out of the spring with practiced coordination. Together, they guided him through the portal and onto one of the infirmary beds. Elias immediately went to work—checking vitals, calling for an assistant, setting up IV lines with the efficiency of someone trying very hard not to think about the madness happening just outside his door. One of his assistants moved beside Marra, already drawing her blood with sterile precision.
As the commotion settled, Marra and Aeron locked eyes. She looked confused. Guarded. Processing.
He looked at her like she was sacred.
Aeron, like most mages, aged slowly. He appeared only a few years older than Fin, there was a stillness in him that came from time. He attractive, but Marra had never noticed. Shifters and mages rarely crossed like that. The blood didn't mix easily. The worlds were too different.
She'd been Jax's fated mate. At least, she had been. Something had snapped between them—not spoken aloud yet, not confirmed—but she could feel it. Whatever had once bound them, it no longer pulled the same way. She suspected Jax felt it too.
Aeron was still staring. Blue eyes burning. Not with hunger, not even desire. But something quieter. Something older. Like he already knew.
Like she had always been meant for him.
He didn't look away.
Elias noticed the stare. Noted it. Filed it. Said absolutely nothing.
Instead, he silently cursed himself and hooked Marra's blood into Aeron's IV line, regulating it to a slow, cautious trickle.
"We'll monitor this closely," he muttered. "If you go into shock, or your body starts rejecting it…"
He trailed off. Because it didn't.
But to his surprise, nothing happened. No seizing. No convulsions. No sparks. No immediate screaming.
Quite the opposite.
Aeron's breathing eased. His color improved. Elias blinked, frowned, leaned in closer as if squinting at the blood would reveal what sort of absurdity he was witnessing.
Marra stepped forward quietly, moving to Aeron's side. She touched his forehead gently.
"Are you alright?" she whispered.
Aeron's hand found hers. He didn't speak—he just brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Eyes not leaving her.
She froze, eyes wide. But then—she felt it. The pull. That spark deep in her chest. The familiar whisper that didn't come from her own thoughts, but something older, woven into her blood.
Mate.
Elias stood there, holding the empty vial, watching it all unfold with visible disbelief.
It was clear Jax was still in love with Nova. No question.
"Unbelievable," he muttered. "This pack swaps mates like they're playing enchanted musical chairs. I need a damn seating chart."
Marra's expression was one of pure shock, but she didn't pull her hand away. She didn't want to—and Aeron didn't let go. He knew she felt it. The spark. The tether. The same way he did.
And for her, it was at the same intensity she'd once felt with Michael… something she never imagined could happen again. She held his gaze, eyes locked with his for a long, quiet moment.
Around them, Elias and the assistants moved briskly, gathering supplies, preparing the room—but neither Marra nor Aeron noticed. They were in their own world. Buzzing with unspoken things.