Rex and Hyran had been the first to depart at dawn, called back to Redmoon by duties that could no longer wait.
By midmorning, the castle had quieted.
Fin noticed something he couldn't quite name.
A shift. A new gravity in the room.
Marra sat beside Aeron again—close enough that their shoulders nearly touched, but careful not to. Their hands rested a breath apart, a deliberate distance neither crossed. They weren't touching. Not yet. Not until she could speak with Jax.
Still… Fin wasn't blind.
Something had changed. But he wasn't sure what.
He glanced at Jax, who—as usual—wasn't focused on Marra and fixed entirely on Nova. He leaned over her, brushing his fingers along her cheek, checking her temperature with a reverence he didn't bother hiding in the slightest.
Fin resisted the urge to sigh. Jax was so disconnected from his poor mate. They were going to share Nova moving forward. He wasn't sure what that would look like, but they'd figure it out. But he still couldn't help but feel bad for Marra.
Marra's mindlink cut through the silence, soft but steady, slipping into Jax's mind with surprising clarity.
Marra:Jax… might we speak in private?
Jax's head snapped up. His eyes found her instantly, surprised—not by her words, but that she had spoken to him at all.
Jax:Of course.
He rose from Nova's bedside, casting one last glance at her sleeping form before turning to Marra. Fin caught the moment—the flicker of nerves in Jax's shoulders, the way Marra's fingers curled just slightly as she stood.
The conversation they were about to have would not be fun. He wondered if she was upset by how attentive he was being to Nova and how freely he'd been touching her.
They both exited the room. Cael whistled and Elle burst out laughing.
Fin didn't notice as Nova was finally free. He crossed the infirmary to her. Kissing her forehead. "I love you, baby…" He whispered, kissing her hands. He could care less about Marra and Jax at the moment.
He wanted Nova back in her private suite, but he didn't want to disturb her.
Fin frowned. The bruising had gone down a little, but not by much. She was still burning up. He had just given more of his blood, now dripping through an IV into her arm. He lay on the bed beside her, careful not to disturb the lines, not giving a rat's ass who saw him. He pulled her against him, slipped under the blanket with her. She was ice-cold everywhere except the fever burning beneath her skin.
Truthfully, he was exhausted. He hadn't been back to their rooms in days, sleeping in chairs. He wouldn't leave. Not without her.
Her skin sparked weakly against his — dim, faltering, like a dying ember instead of the wildfire she should have been. He pressed a kiss to the crook of her neck, breathed her in, and his eyes grew heavy.
Exhaustion finally dragged him under.
Fin fell asleep, a severe expression carved into his face.
Across the room, Aeron and Cael exchanged a single glance—then both immediately fought back laughter. Their fearsome, battle-hardened Alpha, curled around his mate like a lovesick wolf pup, would never cease to be entertaining. Watching him nuzzle her, kiss her neck, whisper baby like a man completely undone…
Gods, it would never get old.
Cael shook his head with a soft, knowing smile. Aeron smirked, folding his arms as if to hide it.
Fin loved her.
Truly, painfully, entirely.
And at this point, all of Varos could see it.
Down on the grounds, Marra and Jax walked in silence for a moment, the air cool around them. Jax spoke first, voice low but steady.
"Marra… I meant what I said the other night. I will protect you, whatever comes. You are not alone. We both lost a mate, and I want you to know—I see you. Your story matters to me."
Marra's expression softened. "Thank you, Jax. That is very kind of you."
They walked another few steps before she spoke again, quieter this time. "We have spoken of this before. You love Nova. There is no doubt. Your bond with her is stronger now than ours has ever was. I see the hurt in her when she looks at you… and I asked you to consider what would be best for all of us. Did you?"
Jax nodded. "Fin brought it up to me, actually."
Marra let out a surprised breath. "That's… unexpected."
Jax huffed a small laugh. "I was shocked myself. But yes—he seems at peace with it. And I am as well. But I would never move forward without you being at peace too, Marra."
She nodded relieved. It told him more than words could.
"Our matebond," she said softly, "it has been fading every day. You know it. I know it."
Jax slowed, turning to face her fully. Her use of the past tense struck him.
She had felt something shift.
"When I woke yesterday morning," she continued, "I felt… nothing. It was gone."
Jax swallowed, searching her eyes. "Do you feel it now?"
"No. And thank the gods for it," Marra said with a dry laugh. "Far better than having to sever it ourselves. And thank every ancestor you possess that you never marked me."
"Gone for me as well," Jax replied.
Then he barked out a laugh. "It's official. We have the most catastrophically fucked-up fated mate situation I've ever heard of."
Marra snorted. "Accurate."
She sobered a moment later. "There is something I need to tell you, Jax. And… I think I may need your counsel on how to handle it. Can I have your word this stays between us?"
Jax's brows drew down. "Of course."
Marra exhaled, bracing herself. "I'm certain you've pieced this together already—you'd have to be pretty dense considering you helped me right after my last one." She gave a small, humorless laugh. "I am a dreamwalker. The clearer the dream, the more certain the fate."
Jax's mouth curved. "I had a suspicion."
She rolled her eyes lightly. "As you know, mages and abilities are not legal in Bloodmoon. It wasn't until I stayed in Redmoon that I had the space to explore what this… gift actually was. Even then, I was barely scratching the surface."
"That must have been a shock," Jax said, tone gentler now.
Marra let out a breath, softer. "It was a relief. A breath of air I didn't realize I had been starving for. I would have stayed longer, but everything there reminded me of Michael."
Jax nodded in understanding.
"I dreamwalked the night before last. As you are aware," Marra said. "The difference was… it was in real time, not in the future. When I dreamwalk, no one can see me or hear me. But this time, someone did."
Jax looked up, not understanding.
"Aeron could see me," she continued. "He could hear my soul speak. It's hard to explain, but I was able to warn him about the black rain—we got the camp evacuated. His soul called to mine, and that is why I could reach him in real time."
"You saved Cael and Aeron's life. And most of the camp," Jax said, pride warming his voice.
"It would appear so," she replied.
"A soul does not reveal itself to another unless there is a sacred bond," she went on. "Michael used to meet me in my dreams while he slept. That is one form… but dreamwalking in real time—where one person is awake and sees the other—that is rare. Rarer than even what I had with Michael."
Recognition flickered across Jax's face.
"And his soul was able to channel his magic through me," Marra added. "That is also very rare. He wasn't even aware of it—he was unconscious."
Jax's face lit up with the biggest smile she'd ever seen from him. She couldn't help but grin back.
"It's called a soul tie," she said. "Mages have fated bonds as we do … but soul ties are recognized as deeper."
He pulled her into a tight hug, grinning ear to ear.
"I'm so damn happy for you, Marra. Truly. But just so we're clear—you're not getting out of your Gamma duties. Not a chance. You don't save our warriors, our Beta, and our Mage in one afternoon and then casually resign. Sorry but Shadowclaw's keeping you."
Marra laughed. "I enjoy being a Gamma. I learned from the best Beta in Varos."
Jax nodded solemnly. "Michael must have been one hell of a Beta. Sorry, Cael—Marra's testimony outranks yours."
A beat passed before Jax scrubbed a hand over his face.
"I'm such an idiot. How did I not notice you giving Aeron your blood? Or the fact you never left his bedside? Or, gods, that you were using magic at all?" He shook his head, exasperated with himself.
"Because Nova is the love of your life. And she's not well. It's really not that complicated," Marra said gently.
She exhaled. "If word got back to Bloodmoon, I would not be able to return."
"That is a predicament," Jax agreed. "As far as I'm concerned, you can stay as Luna of House Thorne. And if you want to change that one day, that's fine by me too."
"You and I both know who the real Luna of House Thorne is," Marra replied with a soft smile.
"My instinct is to hold off announcing anything for now," Jax said. "We need to sort out this prophecy, get Nova better, and figure out your situation first."
"I think you're right." Marra tilted her head. "How will Fin react? Since I've been here, I know he's under a lot of pressure, but he's… moody. And if you repeat that, I'll deny it and say it came from you."
"Gods…" Jax groaned, laughing.
"The elders of Shadowclaw don't seem keen on change anyway," Marra added. "Considering they still believe Meredith is Nova's half-sister."
"We both have the elders as a shared dilemma," Jax said.
"You could put them in separate bubbles at the next council meeting," Marra suggested, straight-faced. "Only one bubble pops at a time. And it only pops if the elder says something helpful."
Jax burst out laughing.
They walked back toward the infirmary. Inside, Fin was asleep, curled protectively around Nova. Aeron's eyes found Marra the second she entered, lighting up like he'd been waiting only for her.
Jax clapped Aeron on the shoulder. "Take care of her."
"I plan on it," Aeron said, lifting Marra's hand and kissing it. Gold magic flared softly where his lips touched her skin.
Elias muttered under his breath, "No one in this group makes a damn bit of sense."