Fin and Jax stepped into Nova's chambers, the air thick with exhaustion and incense. Fin leaned down and pressed a kiss to Nova's forehead, exhaling like a man about to deliver a diplomatic disaster.
"I have some good news and some bad news," he began, rubbing a hand over his face.
Jax snorted. "Here we go."
"Good news: our Beta is very much alive. Bad news: his mate marked him, and he's been unconscious for the past day. I have to return to Shadowclaw."
"Wait—you don't think Elle is ready to run things in his stead?" Jax asked dryly, then shook his head cracking up.
Fin shot him a pointed look sharp enough to cut steel.
"Based on the fact she knocked out the Beta of Shadowclaw, and didn't tell a single soul outside of Marra and Elias… Gods help us, no."
Fin turned to Jax, voice firm but edged with something that sounded far too much like worry.
"If she doesn't wake in the next hour, you still need to mark her. Worst case, she'll be furious at both of us." He paused. "She'll get over it."
Jax nodded once, sharp and sure. "Understood. She will be marked before the hour is up."
His wolf howled in his mind—so loud, so primal, that Jax's pulse kicked hard in his throat.
"Good." Fin clapped him on the back. "I'll return in the morning."
He slipped out the door, quiet as a shadow and twice as burdened.
Jax stripped off his training suit and caught sight of the lavish Redmoon shower—steam drifting, water cascading from the ceiling like warm rainfall. It should have been inviting. It felt wrong. He wasn't about to step under that when she couldn't even stand.
Instead, he grabbed a wet cloth and returned to her side. He wiped the remaining dried blood from her ribs and shoulders—slow, careful, reverent.
Gold light flared from his palms without conscious command, spilling into her skin, sinking into her like she was made to receive it. The backlash hit him instantly—her pain slamming into his chest so hard his breath stalled.
Worse than earlier if that was even possible. Much worse.
His wolf growled, frantic.
Talon: Mark her now.
Jax swallowed hard, jaw clenched so tight it ached. He laid a cool cloth across her burning forehead and brushed a thumb against her cheek, fighting the helplessness clawing up his throat.
"Gods… baby…" he whispered, his voice breaking in a way it never did on any battlefield. "I'm sorry. This isn't right. You shouldn't be fighting at all—let alone getting stabbed, or bleeding out, or…" He stopped. His breath hitched. "You shouldn't be carrying any of this."
He leaned his forehead against hers, letting his warmth bleed into her.
He reached into the bag the Shadowclaw omegas had packed and pulled out a pair of silk shorts and the matching camisole she loved. He held them for a moment, exhaling.
His wolf wanted her bare against him, wrapped in nothing but his scent. Marked. Claimed. Safe. But the memory of her bolting from him the last time they'd been intimate cut clean through the instinct. She had run, panicked and overwhelmed.
He whispered to the silks, almost bitterly fond, "You win tonight."
He peeled off her training suit and dressed her gently, tying the drawstring of the shorts with care.
Even unconscious, she looked stunning—thin, fragile, silver-blonde hair falling over the pillow like spilled moonlight. It made something violent twist inside him.
Tomorrow she was supposed to fight like this.
He tucked the blankets around her and climbed in beside her, gathering her against his chest with a tenderness few ever lived to witness.
Unable to stop himself, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips—immediately regretting it. A shock ripped through him, a molten current racing up his spine, and his entire body tightened with hunger he absolutely should not have awakened right now.
Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused and confused.
Jax froze, careful not to grip her too tightly. His own ribs were bandaged. He couldn't haul her onto him the way every feral part of him wanted.
"Hey… how are you feeling?" he asked, voice low, steady only through sheer force.
"My head doesn't hurt right now," Nova murmured, blinking slowly.
Jax's grin was immediate, instinctive—but he swallowed back any comment about what had just happened. Her mind was still compromised by Ashbane.
He inhaled, bracing himself.
There was no graceful way to do this. So he did it like a soldier—direct, blunt, all at once.
"Nova, there's something Fin and I need to tell you," he said in one breath. "It's just me because Fin had to go back to Shadowclaw. And for the record, Cael is unconscious because a very feisty redhead mate-marked him without warning."
He shook his head, muttering, "Gods help that man."
Nova blinked again. Still dazed. But then grinned and laughed, unable to contain it.
And Jax realized—this was it. No more delays. No more waiting for the perfect moment. No more pretending this wasn't the truth binding all of them together.
His pulse thundered. His wolf howled.
He tightened his arm slightly around her waist—gentle, protective, but unmistakably claiming.
"Nova… you're mine too."
Jax drew a slow breath, searching for the right words—there were none. So he chose honesty.
"Fin and I agreed over a week ago that…" He paused, jaw working, trying to form the sentence without scaring her. "We're going to share you. I meant everything I ever said about you, Nova. I never stopped loving you. Not once."
The words hit her like a physical force.
A ripple of anxiety shuddered through her, and a single tear slid down her cheek.
"Jax… I don't know how that would—"
He cut her off softly but firmly, cupping her cheek.
"Nova, don't worry about that. Fin and I will make this easy. We already have. That's our job, not yours."
But unease tightened in her chest.
She did love Jax—gods, she did—but the thought of sharing, of having two mates… it twisted something deep inside her. Her stomach knotted. Her breath hitched.
Her mother had shared.
Her mother had trusted.
Her mother had died for it.
Nova could still hear the whispers of that memory. The way Queen Velora murdered her, the betrayal and blood. It lingered like a ghost in every decision she made.
She didn't even know how to handle one mate without breaking him. Without dying on him. Without dragging him into danger.
Two?
Her voice cracked as the fear slipped out, raw and unfiltered.
"Jax… I don't know anything about this. About… two. My mother shared and it destroyed her. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't know how to do any of this."
Jax's expression softened with a fierce, grounding tenderness.
"You don't have to know," he murmured. "You just have to breathe. Fin and I will figure out the rest."
"We grew up together," he said quietly, thumb brushing her damp cheek. "We're brothers in arms. We've shared everything our entire lives."
He kissed her forehead, soft and steady.
"Do you trust me, Nova?"
"Of course," she whispered without a flicker of hesitation.
Another tear slipped down her face. "Is it because I'm dying…?"
"No. Nova, no." His voice was firm, steady, unshakable. "Fin and I would have come to this even if things were different. If I had broken the matebond with Marra that night, like I wanted to, and you later discovered you were fated to Fin, we would have shared you. There is no world where one of us steps aside and leaves the other with half a heart."
"There's no question you were meant for me—and gods, you're perfect for me. But you're also meant for him. It doesn't have to make sense. Fate doesn't ask our permission."
He brushed a tear from her cheek.
"You are way too damn pretty," he murmured, shaking his head in disbelief, "even when you cry."
Color rose in her cheeks.
"And when you blush," he added, leaning in to kiss her temple, then her shoulder—slow, reverent. Like she was something he'd been starved for.
She let herself breathe him in, and it steadied her—the weight of him, the warmth of him. It felt like finding water in a desert after wandering far too long.
"I miss you so much," she choked out, voice cracking.
"I know…" Jax whispered, his voice breaking just enough for her to hear it. He pressed his forehead gently to hers. "I miss you too. You are always my moon, my luna, my wife. And I will always love you. I can't stand being apart from you."
Nova's breath hitched.
"I love you too, Jax," she whispered. "I never stopped."
He caught another tear with his thumb—slow, careful—his jaw tightening as the flood of emotion hit him through the matebond. Love. Raw and unguarded. The kind she'd buried, locked away, forced herself to silence for weeks.
His chest rose sharply.
Gods… she'd been holding all of that back. And now he felt every ounce of it.
His lips found hers, and they both felt the sharp spark the instant they touched, like something locking into place.
She was still hesitant, as if none of this was real. He held firm, not allowing her to pull away, and kissed her softly, unwilling to compromise or let her go.
She breathed in his scent again, and finally her body began to relax into his. He felt like home. Like a comfort she had been starved for. Through the matebond, he felt her emotions as if they were his own.
Their kiss deepened and his hands slid down her body.
She moaned in his mouth on accident and he smelled her arousal.
Without any hesitation, he pulled down her silk shorts and thong. Quickly. Not gently. Not waiting for permission.
"Wait Jax…." She said.
"No. I want to taste you." He said, eyes flashing gold for a second.
He was already licking her before she could tell him she needed to shower. He groaned.
His finger entered her while he sucked her clit. He felt her heat rise through the matebond.
Everywhere his tongue touched was like hot electricity in her core. Her body responded to his touch, whether she wanted to or not.
He grabbed her chin gently, eyes flashing gold. "Cum for me, Nova."
Her eyes flickered silver and his tongue found its way inside of her. Her orgasm was intense and ripped through her body. He held her while she writhed at his touch.
He felt her through the matebond and it all was too much. His cock was throbbing.
"Jax… I want to feel you inside of me," she said, blushing. She did though.
His briefs were already down before she said 'me.'
"I don't want to hurt you, baby…" Jax said, pausing even though his body and wolf were screaming otherwise.
"You won't hurt me." She said, trying to not smirk, thinking about how ungodly rough Fin was in comparison.
Jax stood and pulled her gently to the edge of the bed. He entered her immediately, unable to wait any longer.
She winced at how large he was.
He groaned, trying to be as gentle as possible as he pushed fully into her.
"Gods… why are you so tight..."
Then, his body moved on its own. He began pumping, involuntary. On instinct, his fingers rubbed her clit.
He felt her heat rise like it was his own. The smell of her arousal hit him again. Hard.
"Cum for me, baby," he said. His eyes flashed gold for a moment.
She gasped, eyes flickering silver, as an orgasm ripped through her. At the same time, Jax released hot spurts of cum inside of her pussy.
His wolf was fighting to surface and mark her. He swallowed, pushing it back down and pulled out with a groan. He knew if he kept going at this angle, he wouldn't be able to control it.
As soon as he pulled out, before he realized what he was doing, he started to lick her pussy again, unable to stop himself. The taste of her was so addicting.
He picked her up with one arm, on his uninjured side, and sat down on the couch in front of the fire.
He pulled off her silk camisole gently, and his breath hitched taking in her full body.
She immediately blushed under his gaze.
"You are so beautiful. Every time I see you my breath is taken," he said, kissing her lips gently.
His mouth then went to one of her nipples, sucking it. She groaned.
His dick was throbbing again and he needed to be in her. He entered her from under.
She gasped. But he thrust into her again. And again.
Her body started to move in rhythm. Responding to his touch.
He groaned. "Ride me. Just like that, baby."
His mouth went back on her nipple and his thumb found her clit.
"Jax…." She said, gasping. He felt her tighten on him, heat building inside of her. She was going to cum again, her body responding to everything he did. Perfectly, like she was made for him. Because she was.
Her orgasm brought him over the edge, and they both came.
He kept thrusting into her. He couldn't stop. His thumb still on her clit and mouth still sucking her nipple.
Jax's eyes flashed gold with his wolf fighting to mark her. He let go of her nipple.
She was close to orgasm again and he felt it.
"Cum for me again, baby." He said, eyes flashing gold.
He felt a sting in his neck and realized she had marked him. Again.
Her venom felt like ecstasy all over his body.
A second later, his fangs sunk into her neck, where his mark used to be. Putting it back where it belonged.
The orgasm that hit both was mind blowing, lasting two minutes. Neither released their fangs from the other.
She let go first after feeling her limbs grow heavy. She got off of Jax, and winced. It did hurt.
She curled in his lap and her eyes fluttered closed. Jax grabbed a blanket next to them, putting it over her. He licked his mark on her neck for a minute, before his eyes closed.
Neither were aware that their bodies glowed gold.
__________________________
Jax woke first. The absence of pain struck him immediately. Every bruise he'd taken was gone.
He checked beneath his own bandages, finding unbroken skin, not even a scar. Carefully, he lifted Nova from where she'd been resting against him and carried her to the bed.
His breath tightened as he checked her bandages next. Relief followed when the skin beneath them was fully healed. He peeled the wrappings away with careful fingers.
He slid beneath the blankets and pulled her gently onto his chest. She fit there like she always had—like she was meant to live in that space and nowhere else. His arms wrapped around her, protective and unyielding.
A hum ignited beneath his skin in his core. A hum he recognized immediately. Their matebond snapped back into place. A pull, a tether, a homecoming. Fitting how it should be.
He kissed her head slowly, as if relearning the shape of her, and drew in a steady breath, letting her scent soothe the storm inside him.
"I love you so much, baby. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he whispered, rubbing slow circles across her back.
She was in his arms finally. He'd be damned if anything else came in between them.
Sleep pulled him under quickly—peaceful and deep. The kind of sleep he only got with her.