Nova ran through the portal and bolted into the corridor.
"Wait!" Aeron called from behind them. "You'll need these."
He held out their blades and daggers—armored with instinct.
Nova didn't break stride. She and Elle grabbed their daggers on the run, not waiting to see if their mates reached for their swords.
At Alpha speed, Nova surged forward, blowing past Marra in a blur. She didn't know how she knew where to go—but her body moved like it remembered. Then, she saw it.
The stone. The way the light bent through the corridor.
She'd seen this place before. When they unsheathed their blades. Her stomach dropped. This was where Cael died.
She stopped suddenly—dead in her tracks. Jax and Fin blew past her, not expecting the halt. The others were seconds behind.
And just as Cael rounded the corner, about to catch up—
Nova opened a portal and Cael ran straight into it without realizing. It closed behind him instantly—sending him straight to the Shadowclaw Arena.
Far from here. Far from danger. Safe.
Elle looked at her friend, silently thanking her. She too recognized this place.
Nova's expression didn't change. She started running again at Alpha speed, not looking back.
Jax and Fin glanced at one another—just now realizing this was the castle where Cael had died. And Nova… she had made a portal. Both were shocked by the emotionless and fast decision making.
They would've wanted the same thing for Cael. But damn.
Fin took off, finally catching up to Nova and grabbing her arm.
"Nova, wait!" he said, golden flares pulsing in his eyes.
"Alpha, we need to go," Marra cut in, voice cracking. "Now."
Fin hesitated—then nodded, releasing her.
Nova bolted again, a blur of motion.
Fin, Rex, and Jax all took off behind her, sprinting at full Alpha speed.
She turned a sharp corner.
They skidded past.
By the time they corrected, she was gone.
Jax didn't hesitate. He started pulling at the tapestries.
He knew this all too well from Redmoon. Deja Vu.
Sure enough—behind one of the tall Bloodmoon banners, there was a narrow hole in the wall.
He dove in without hesitation.
It was identical to the one at Redmoon.
Fin and Rex looked at one another—surprised. But they didn't say a word and dove in after him.
Meanwhile, Aeron, Elle, and Hyran followed Marra as she led them down a separate passage she knew well. One the others didn't. One not even marked.
Nova didn't hesitate.
There was a burning in her stomach—a violent, twisting sensation. Like her body knew what was coming before her mind could catch up. She hadn't dreamed this. But she knew.
Something horrible was about to happen.
She moved through the tunnels without thinking. Her feet knew the way. Not like Redmoon—no, not as intimately—but enough. The stone here was familiar. Etched into her bones.
It felt like she'd lived here once. Long ago. She couldn't remember it clearly, and she didn't feel the same fondness she did for Redmoon. But it was there.
Without hesitating, she threw open the portrait that concealed a hidden doorway into the throne room—and skidded out in a blur at Alpha speed.
This time, she wasn't early at all. In fact, if she'd been even a second later, she would've been too late.
Balen and Grant were both on their knees, blades pressed to their throats. Starfang and Meredith stood over them, weapons drawn, both glowing with dark magic.
She mindlinked Aeron, Fin, and Jax. Her voice panicked.
Nova:Someone channel into me!
Nova flicked her hand.
The blades went flying from their hands instantly. Gold shields snapped around them before they could hit the ground.
Behind them, Balen and Grant scrambled to their feet. At the same time, shields formed around both.
Grant's eyes were wide as saucers. Shocked. Balen's were just as wide… but slightly less. He had seen her stand on a dragon's head and summon an arrow from the gods, after all.
Starfang lunged at her.
Nova didn't flinch.
Gold magic surged from her palms, colliding with Starfang's black energy. The clash sent a roar echoing through the castle—raw, volatile power shaking the stone.
He was thrown backward, skidding across the floor—but he surged forward again, relentless.
Meredith hurled a dagger at her. Not the same one—a different blade.
Nova twisted, a gold bubble forming around it in mid-air so it never touched her. The blade clattered harmlessly to the ground, imprisoned in light.
Now that Meredith was far enough from Grant and Balen, Nova raised a shield around her—sealing her off.
Starfang came at her again, another blade drawn.
She dodged, knocking it out of his hands with her magic and locking it inside a bubble.
Then, without hesitation—she trapped him too. Starfang hit the inner wall of the golden barrier with a snarl. Contained.
More dark mages flooded into the throne room—just as Fin, Rex, and Jax burst through the hidden portrait door.
The path Nova had taken was a twisted maze of false turns and dead ends. Even with her scent to guide them, it had taken them a full minute longer to find their way.
Now, swords drawn and eyes blazing, they moved without hesitation.
Fin lunged at a mage rushing for Nova, blade flashing. Jax was already on a second. Rex charged a third.
Fin's and Jax's swords sliced clean—two heads hit the floor before the bodies disintegrated into ash. Nova luckily didn't see.
Rex's blade caught gold mid-strike—magic flaring around it, then around him. His entire form lit gold, like something ancient had awakened.
He didn't question it. He knew the source. Nova. He struck, and the third mage vanished in a burst of shadow and dust.
For a split second, the three of them exchanged a glance.
These blades were far more useful than they had anticipated.
For Jax and Fin, that is…
For Rex, it was more of a: So this is what it's like.
More mages entered the room. All masked. But these mages were clearly warriors. They almost looked like shifters. But Nova could tell they weren't. All had dark magic coming from them.
Starfang spoke from his bubble he was trapped in. Eyes were on Nova. "White Wolf. Tell me. How many can you mark?"
Then, darker—voice lowering into something feral: "Or is it just the ones you fuck that get stronger?"
He smiled like he'd drawn blood. "Should we test it? I've a few volunteers."
They ignored Starfang's venom—focused on holding the line as masked mages poured in like a dark tide. But his words had a purpose. A signal.
The warriors paused only for a heartbeat—then every masked face turned to Nova. They moved as one. She was the target. That had been the point. Starfang's grin widened in his prison, satisfied.
From inside her own golden bubble, Meredith screamed, eyes growing unhinged.
"You fucked your way into the Alpha's bed. That was your plan the whole time and I knew it."
She sneered, eyes glassy with rage. "Admit it!"
Nov didn't answer, dodging a dark laced dagger, encaging it with gold magic.
"You're no queen. Just a whore in gold—like your mother. A rat that refuses to die," Meredith hissed, voice twisted with malice.
She smiled coldly, spite thick in every word.
"I wish I'd been there," she said. "To see your face when it happened. Did you feel it tear? Did you feel it drown? Did it claw at you on its way out? Or—" she giggled, choking on her own glee, "—was it just another disappointment that slid out quietly like everything else about you?"
Her voice dropped to a poisonous whisper, eyes shining with triumph.
"You should have died with it. That would have been the only mercy Varos ever got."
Fin and Jax didn't flinch—they were locked in battle, blades flashing.
Nova's expression didn't change. But Rex's jaw tightened, even as he fought. She would not walk free today. He would kill her himself if he had to.
As the last mage hit the ground and dissolved into ash, silence fell over the throne room—thick, heavy, buzzing with residual magic and blood.
Starfang's smile twisted with malicious delight as he leaned forward inside the bubble, eyes locked on Nova.
"The child would've been your Gamma's bastard, wouldn't he?"
He let the words sink in, voice calm—almost conversational.
"You were with the Alpha for what? A week? The summit was called because you were crowned. We just played along. So yes… "
His smile deepened, cruel and deliberate.
"He would've been just like you. Born of a whore. Unclaimed. Unwanted."
Fin's eyes glowed white-hot. His sword surged with energy, flaring like a star. Without a word, he raised his sword.
Nova's bubble remained intact—until Fin's blade sliced through it like air.
Starfang didn't even blink before his head separated cleanly from his shoulders, flying across the room in a clean arc.
A second later, Fin turned to Meredith's bubble. She barely had time to scream before his sword cut through hers as well—her head falling beside Starfang's with a dull thud.
Silence.
Nova gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. She turned away, shoulders stiff—trying not to react.
Their bodies and heads disintegrated a moment later—turning to ash and vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Nova's hands trembled. She blinked, stunned and shaken. Fin closed the distance between them and pulled her into a tight hug. Jax stood beside them, exchanging a hardened, sharp look with Fin.
This was the third and fourth beheading she'd witnessed—and unlike before, she didn't faint.
Instead, she remained standing, trembling, deeply disturbed. They both felt it. She was not meant for bloodshed like this.
Suddenly, the opposite side of the throne room erupted.
Marra and Elle burst through another portrait-door, mirroring the one Nova had come through. Hyran and Aeron followed closely behind.
"There's more…" Marra panted, voice raw.
Her gaze landed behind Nova.
"Grant! Father!" she cried, voice trembling.
Nova, without moving or acknowledging, dropped the shields protecting them.
"Marra! How are you here? This isn't safe!" Balen said.
From Fin's arms, Nova looked to see Grant who seemed fine. Nova was worried he'd faint with his fated mate bond getting snapped.
She looked at Fin who was watching her. He read her feelings through the matebond and already knew what she was thinking. He fought the urge to grin at how adorable her concern was.
He kissed her forehead and then locked eyes with Grant and Balen, sincerity burning in his gaze.
"I'm sorry about your mate, Grant," he said, purely for Nova.
Grant shook his head. "Don't be. I ended the bond with her before I found out she had poisoned Nova."
His voice had changed—it sounded older than it had just a few weeks ago, hardened by something fierce.
"During the war summit—when father wasn't here—she changed completely. She was an absolute nightmare and bat‑shit crazy. I expected I'd be in deep trouble when father came back, so I kept the marriage intact."
Nova's mouth fell open.
Balen shook his head with a sad laugh and put his head in his hands.
"This generation has balls," Balen muttered. "Maybe more than they do brains."
Grant exhaled, jaw tight. "She got word of what happened at your trial before I was notified. She fled."
Marra stepped forward. "Father, I instructed the omegas to hide in the passageways. You're being attacked by dark mages—and our soldiers have no way to defend themselves."
Balen didn't flinch. He remained calm, analyzing.
Fin spoke up, voice firm. "You have allies who are able to fight." He turned to Nova. "Stay here with Marra and Elle."
Without waiting for agreement, he and Jax sprinted into the corridor. Hyran, Aeron, and Rex were right behind them.
"Gods, stay here, Nova. What if more come?" Balen said.
Nova nodded… but she knew. He wasn't saying it out of fear—he was saying it because Fin told her to stay. Balen was far smarter than he let people believe.
Fin and Jax were still channeling into her, and she still had Rex protected. Even if they weren't in sight.
Marra handed Nova a hair tie. Knowing.
"Thank you," Nova whispered, pulling her still-wet hair up into a ponytail. It had been in her way earlier when she was fighting—and somehow, Marra knew. Always ahead.
As she pulled her hair up, she didn't notice the way Balen or Grant stared. Or the guards who had quietly appeared at the door, locking them closed.
For a brief second, she forgot why she'd been upset. Then it hit her again—Jax. Shit. She shook her head.
Seraphine: Something is off Nova. Do you feel that?
Nova paused, realizing Seraphine was right. Something bad was about to happen and Nova felt it in her core.
On instinct, individual gold shields flew up—encasing everyone in the room, including the guards.
The locked doors blasted open. Ashbane burst through at Alpha speed—straight for her.
Nova moved just as fast, dodging out of his path. He stopped short, stunned for a second, eyes narrowing like he was seeing her clearly for the first time.
Then he lunged again. She threw up a shield around him. He hurled a dark dagger her way—she dodged, but it curved midair and came back for her. She caught it in a gold bubble, stopping it cold.
Ashbane didn't pause. He drew a blade, black and pulsing with dark magic. It cleaved through her shield like it was paper. She stumbled as the break rippled through her body, the sensation sharp and visceral as his sword cut through the magic.
With a swish of his hand, the throne room doors slammed shut.
"Well… well," he said, voice low, grin crooked. "Alpha speed. What else are you hiding, White Wolf?"
He walked towards her. Slowly. Like a predator stalking, waiting for the right moment to pounce.
Elle's voice came through the mindlink. Ashbane had his back to her.
Elle: Drop my shield.
Nova dropped Elle's shield without hesitation.
Across the castle, Rex sliced through another mage's head—and froze. Something was wrong. He felt it. A wave of fear through the matebond. Nova was frightened.
He didn't wait for Fin or Jax. He turned and sprinted—full Alpha speed—back toward the secret passage Nova had shown them.
At the same time, Fin staggered, feeling something slice through the edge of his magic. He wasn't sure what it was. His sword lit brighter.
Then, Jax and Fin caught Elle's voice through the mindlink. They both bolted at Alpha speed.