Nova reached in without hesitation and closed her fingers around it. The moment the gold touched her skin, the flame returned to its original dim blue.
She moved back from the basin in a single sharp breath, turning away from Jax, shoulders tight, spine rigid—trying to hide the fracture in her composure.
"Nova, wait!"
Jax moved before the last syllable left his mouth. He was already in front of her, cutting off her retreat, instinct faster than thought. He caught her by the arms and pulled her into him.
She didn't fight.
Silent tears slid down her face, streaking her cheeks without a sound. Her breath hitched once against his chest, and he kissed the top of her head — soft, instinctive, nothing he could stop even if he tried.
"I'm sorry, Jax…" she whispered, voice breaking, barely audible.
He tightened his arms around her. "It's not your fault," he said, low and fierce. "None of this is."
She didn't push him away.
She let him hold her, not wanting to let go. His arms wrapped around her with a grip that was both steady and breaking. For the first time since their bond had severed, she wasn't fighting her instincts or hiding from him. She wasn't holding her breath or stepping back. She was right there in his arms, heart pounding against his chest, her tears soaking into his skin.
It was enough to break the last restraint he had.
He couldn't keep silent any longer. She needed to know. He needed to say it. She clearly didn't remember what he'd told her when she was in the infirmary and the truth had been clawing at his ribs.
"Nova…" His voice was rough, thick with everything he'd buried. "I love you. I'm no longer bonded to Marra."
She froze.
Every muscle went rigid against him. Her breath stumbled. And what hit him through the matebond nearly dropped him to his knees—confusion, longing, relief she didn't want to feel, and guilt. More guilt than anything.
He cupped her face gently, forcing her to look at him even as her eyes shook.
"I should have broken that fated bond the night she and I met," he said, voice steady despite the tremor in his chest. "From the beginning… my choice was you. Always you."
The words weren't rushed. They were carved out of him.
"I wanted to break it that night," he continued, sorrow tightening his jaw. "I was going to and almost did."
He swallowed hard.
"But then I found out you were fated to Fin."
The truth settled between them like a blade made of fire and memory—sharp, painful, and undeniable.
Tears spilled freely down her cheeks now, silent and unstoppable. Jax lifted his hand instinctively, wiping them away with his thumb. His own eyes were glassy—pain flickering there at the memory he'd carried alone for so long.
"Jax… poor Marra… I…" Nova whispered, voice breaking.
Nova's breath shuddered. "Jax, you don't mean that…"
"Yes I do, Nova."
His voice held no hesitation. No conflict. Just truth.
He reached to his collar—soft fabric clinging to him from the water—and tugged it loose. The cloth slipped aside, baring his shoulder.
And there, unmistakable even in the dim cave lighting, was a mark.
Her mark. Glowing at the edges like moonlight, similar to Fin's. Clean and permanent. Nova blinked—utterly confused, breath caught in her throat. Her pulse hammered.
"I never left," he said, voice low, steady, unflinching. "I was always with you."
Her breath caught.
"I would never interfere with you and Fin," he continued, tone soft but resolute. "I would never ask you to leave him. But I love you so much that I would rather have this—have you be a part of me, feel you, know you're safe—than lose you entirely."
More tears welled in her eyes—thick, shimmering, helpless. He felt her guilt slam into him through the matebond, sharp enough to make him inhale.
"Nova," he whispered, thumbs brushing her cheeks, "Marra has a soul tie to Aeron. That's how she knew about the black rain. They are fated. Neither of us severed the bond. Marra and I both had stronger ties to others, and it faded on its own."
He leaned in and kissed her forehead—gentle, reverent, and devastating. His hands framed her face as he felt a flicker of relief break through her guilt… but gods, the guilt was still enormous. Heavy. Crushing.
"Marra and I were friends," he said softly. "We will always be friends. That was it."
He didn't look away from her. Didn't flinch. Didn't waver.
She was trembling from everything she had held in for too long.
Jax took a steadying breath, thumb brushing her cheek as though grounding himself. His voice dropped to a low, intimate rasp.
"I told you I loved you—and that you were my choice—when you were in the infirmary," he said. "You couldn't speak. I don't think you remember. I fell asleep beside you… and when I woke, my wolf told me you were my fated mate."
Nova's breath trembled.
"The pull I already had… I'd felt it for months," he said, voice low, rough with truth. "The same pull that made me question my prior fated bond to Cira—because I felt it so much stronger toward you. From the second I laid eyes on you, when I carried you into Shadowclaw… the pull was there. Immediate. Relentless."
His thumb brushed her cheek, slow, reverent.
"My wolf and I questioned endlessly why we weren't fated to you—why we felt so strongly toward you but you weren't supposed to be ours." His jaw tightened. "Countless times. Over and over."
He drew in a shaking breath.
"And that pull—gods, Nova—that pull overpowered my bond with Marra. It mocked it. It was laughable how much stronger it was."
Her lips parted, trembling.
"That pull I always had for you never faded. Not once. It was constant, steady, maddening."
He leaned closer, eyes locked on hers, voice barely above a whisper.
"But when I woke up—before my wolf ever spoke, before he told me we were fated mates — The same pull that was already driving me insane for months…"
He swallowed hard.
"…it multiplied. Tenfold."
His breath shook.
"But even if my wolf hadn't finally whispered what I already knew—that you were my fated mate…" His voice lowered, thick with conviction. "Nova… fate or not. I will always love you, and nothing will change that. Nothing."
Her breath hitched, a small sound breaking loose from her chest.
"And let's say there wasn't a magnetic pull to begin with—" he continued, eyes locked on hers, "which there most certainly was—but if there wasn't?" His hand slid to her jaw, thumb tracing the line of her cheek with reverence he couldn't hide. "I need you to know I still would have fallen for you. Hard."
His voice shook—not with weakness, but with the sheer force of truth he'd been carrying too long.
"I would have done everything—everything—to make you mine. Not out of instinct. Not out of bond. But because I love you with everything I have." His forehead touched hers, breath mingling. "Your mind. Your soul. Your heart."
He searched her eyes, the cave's dim gold catching in his own.
"And gods, Nova… you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen—in all the continents." His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. "It would have been impossible not to love you."
She stood perfectly still. Perfectly shattered. And through the matebond, he felt it— the longing, the grief, the guilt, the love she was terrified to name… all crashing into him at once.
He had been her world. Her everything for months, and being without his touch—his love—being without him had been a weight she carried in silence.
"Jax, we can't do this," she gasped, dragging in air like it hurt to breathe. She was trembling—half sob, half instinct—fighting herself, fighting the bond, fighting everything tearing through her chest.
Jax didn't let her finish.
He pulled her into a kiss—sudden, fierce, desperate in the way only truth finally unleashed can be. His hands cupped her face, his mouth claiming hers before another word of denial could leave her lips.
The moment their lips met, an electric current shot between them. It was sharp, consuming, and felt as if it were locking their bond into place.
And immediately, her body answered him.
She'd been starving for him for weeks. His touch. His love. The connection she'd forced herself to purge now roared back to life like something feral.
She kissed him back.
Not cautiously. Not hesitantly. Her body moved first — honest, unrestrained, agonizingly true.
Jax lifted her—effortless, instinctive—his hands anchoring her to him as her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. The kiss deepened instantly, no longer soft, no longer cautious. It was need, unspoken and unrelenting.
Their bodies moved in rhythm, slow at first, then deeper, like a dance they already knew. Her back pressed to the cave wall, the golden amulet still clutched in her fist, forgotten. Her other hand in his hair.
At alpha speed, his pants lowered slightly and he ripped the silk shorts under her robe.
He entered her before her mind had a chance to catch up. Not gently.
Each thrust was a release of the longing he had for her over the past weeks. The pain that he felt her holding through their bond. The helplessness he felt as she endured so much. His love for her and desire to hold her every second of every day. It came out in each movement.
Before either had a second to process what was happening, he started to cum and he felt her orgasm through their matebond at the same time.
Their bodies kept going, his lips still on hers. Everywhere their skin touched the sparks were maddening. He felt her heat rising again. Before he had time to process, she orgasmed again and his body followed, releasing into her.
He continued to pump into her and her body responded. He felt it and felt his own mirroring.
He felt her on the cusp of a third orgasm and his eyes flashed gold. His wolf wanted to mark her. He wanted to mark her too. But just as his fangs grazed her neck she pushed him away.
"Jax!" she said, horrified, shoving him back with both hands.
Jax stood dazed for a second, cock throbbing in protest and breath ragged. He blinked, realizing he felt the remnants of sparks on his chest, right where her hand had touched his skin to push him away.
His wolf howled in protest in his mind trying to surface. Jax forced it down.
He was shocked by how quickly that escalated. The intensity reminded him of when she was in heat but more.
"Oh gods…" Nova whispered, hand pressed to her forehead, horror tightening every breath. Guilt twisted in her gut like a knife.
What am I going to tell Fin?
The golden token glinted in her palm, heavy with meaning. Heavy with everything that had just happened.
She looked around—there was no space to open a portal on this side. The chamber was narrow, enclosed in crystal and stone.
Without hesitating, she stepped back into the sapphire water, dove in, and swam fast—cutting through the glowing lake until she reached the opposite shore, where the cavern opened wider.
"Nova—wait!" Jax shouted, leaping in after her.
Soaked and shaking, she climbed out, water trailing down her skin, and stood just long enough to summon the strength.
A portal tore open. The golden rim crackled, revealing the quiet interior of Fin's private study.
She ran through without a word, Jax behind her.
But the moment he stepped through—he stopped cold.
Aeron. Fin. Cael. Elle.
All standing there.