When Nova woke, her head wasn't throbbing—shockingly.
No sadness.
No dread clawing at her ribs.
No crushing weight she'd grown so used to that she barely remembered life without it.
Just… quiet.
She inhaled and froze at the scent that filled her lungs—cedarwood, pine, snowfall, and firelight. Jax.
And then she realized she was naked, sprawled across his chest.
Her eyes flew open. Heat flooded her face as she tensed, muscles locking in startled panic.
Jax's arms tightened instantly, before she could even attempt to pull away.
"Hey, baby… it's okay," he murmured against her hair, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. His thumbs stroked slow, calming lines along her spine, grounding her.
She was confused for a moment. She remembered Jax saying that he and Fin were going to share her—an impossible sentence, one that should've made no sense at all. Had she imagined it? Dreamed it?
She focused on the memory, trying to gather the pieces, and trying to understand how she'd ended up naked on top of him.
Before she spiraled any further, a sudden flood of calm and overwhelming love slammed through her. So powerful she jolted and her breath caught.
Jax's warmth wrapped around her like a tidal wave through their matebond.
"I love you, Nova. I'm not going anywhere," he whispered, kissing her again.
Her body relaxed on him. Her mind calmed, and her eyes grew heavy. She drifted back to sleep feeling safe.
When she woke, her face was in the crook of Jax's neck. She wasn't dreaming.
Before she opened her eyes, Jax surged more love and calmness into her, causing her breath to hitch again.
She breathed him in and a low hum thrummed through her body.
The matebond.
The one she had broken.
Snapping back into place with a certainty that made her chest ache.
Everything felt clearer. Lighter. Better.
"We have to get up, unfortunately," Jax murmured against her hair, kissing her once more.
He shifted her gently, rolling her onto her back before leaning over her—his lips brushing hers once.
Twice.
A third time.
Each kiss sparked against her skin like struck flint.
She blinked up at him, dazed, breath unsteady, because she had missed him—truly missed him—for weeks, and it felt unreal to finally touch him again.
Jax slid from the bed and disappeared into the bathing chamber. She heard water running. Before she even had the thought to sit up, he was back.
He scooped her into his arms as if she weighed nothing.
Her face flushed scarlet.
"Why are you so adorable when you blush?" he said, voice low and warm.
He shook his head affectionately as he carried her toward the bath, holding her as if letting go wasn't an option.
To her surprise, he was fully healed. She touched where he was stabbed but there was nothing there. Not even a red mark.
Jax pressed his forehead to hers giving her a soft Eskimo kiss, grinning like she was the sun rising just for him.
He set her into the warm water with a gentleness that made her chest tighten, then slid in behind her, drawing her back against him. His arms wrapped around her waist. His breath touched her shoulder. His lips brushed the crown of her head as if grounding himself in her presence.
She felt like she'd come home.
His scent, his warmth, the matebond humming back to life between them—every piece of it felt so achingly right that it didn't feel real. She had missed this. Missed him.
Jax washed her hair slowly, carefully, fingertips threading through the strands as if each motion mattered. She turned and did the same—hands in his hair, foreheads pressed together, a soft kiss to his shoulder. She didn't speak. She couldn't. The words weren't there.
When she finally looked at him, her eyes were red—fear, relief, love, all tangled together. As if she was terrified she'd lose him again.
Through the matebond, it hit him—a surge of love so fierce it almost buckled him. His own eyes burned, vision stinging as he swallowed hard past the knot in his throat.
"Baby… I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me," he murmured, kissing her softly.
The effect was immediate—he felt it through the matebond. She liked that. It was like a warm pulse. Safety. Relief. The tension she'd been carrying, loosened slightly beneath his hands.
It hit him so clearly he made a silent promise to say it to her as many times as it took for it to root deep and stay.
He could feel her emotions stronger now than he ever had before.
She turned towards him, straddling him, and kissed him.
His cock throbbed wanting her. His lips traveled to her mark. The mark he'd given her the night before. He licked it, and then sucked, on instinct. She groaned.
Her groan was it for him.
He thrusted and entered her. She gasped, wincing, but he was already thrusting again. He pulled out and did it again, holding her still. Sucking her mark. Each thrust was him pushing away what the last few weeks were. He wasn't free of the scars either.
His lips found her nipple and he sucked. He held her tightly and continued to thrust. Her body responding to his. Heat rose in her core.
Then, she started to cum. He felt it through their matebond, and that tipped him over the edge.
His hips started moving rapidly while he pumped hot cum inside of her.
She groaned, feeling his pleasure through their matebond, and started to orgasm again.
He felt her orgasm and his cock pulsed. Before he realized what was happening, he was already cumming again.
It had been less than thirty seconds.
"Gods… Nova..."
His breath hitched, feeling her orgasm already start to rise again. His body was thrusting into her still.
Even when she was in heat, they switched positions.
Her orgasm hit him and he groaned, cumming again with her.
They kept going. Unable to stop or move.
After about ten rounds, dawn light started to come through the window and Nova noticed
She tried to get off of him.
"Wait, baby… no..." Jax said, pulling her down and starting to pump into her again In a needy voice that was adorable.
She felt the urge to mark him. She stiffened. In that moment, his eyes flashed gold and hers answered in the same molten shimmer.
Both of their wolves wanted to claim what belonged to them.
"Jax… I'm fighting the urge to …" Nova said unable to finish the sentence. She shut her eyes for a moment.
Jax fought his wolf, pushing him back down.
Talon: Mine. Mate her again. Mark her.
She got off him gently, wincing as she did. That sting would never go away.
He rose smoothly, scooping her into his arms as though she weighed nothing, wrapping a towel around her first and then himself.
He dried her gently, thoroughly, his hands steady even though the bond between them pulsed hot enough to make his chest tighten. He kissed her shoulder, her temple, the curve of her cheek—little reverent touches he couldn't seem to stop.
When she finally looked up at him, her eyes were soft and luminous, filled with a depth of love and adoration that hit him like a blow.
His heart just—melted.
Completely.
He drew in a breath. If he had his way, they would stay there all day. But he knew if he caved into his instincts and started kissing her again, they wouldn't be able to leave.
"Redmoon had this made for you," Jax said, handing Nova a folded black suit. "Thermal combat weave armor, laced with Pyrestone Thread. From what I'm told, dragon riders wear it because it holds against burns. It's also insulated against frostbite, even underwater."
He nudged a second bag with his foot. "Fin had this brought this for you."
Nova's cheeks flushed warm. She nodded, pretending not to notice the fond grin forming on Jax's face.
"You know," he added lightly, "I've seen you naked before. And I've seen you change clothes before."
"Jax, stop!" she protested, but he'd already scooped her up, fake-nibbling her ear with playful growls until she broke into helpless laughter.
The suit slid over her skin like warm water—soft, impossibly lightweight, molding perfectly to her shape as though it remembered her.
The armor plating was different from even the hard shell training suites Aeron gave her. This was smooth, matte-black shells shaped to the curves of her body—chest, spine, ribs, elbows, knees—each piece interlocking seamlessly with the fabric beneath. They were thin as paper, the some padding, almost weightless.
The entire suit felt like a second skin designed to move with her, not against her—flexible where she needed it, reinforced where she'd be struck, engineered for speed, stealth, and survival.
Jax watched her with open admiration.
"He actually had two made, just in case this one was too small…" Jax said, giving her a soft kiss. "But looks like it fits you perfectly."
His smile lingered, but a faint crease formed between his brows. Even wrapped in armor, she looked smaller than she had weeks ago—like daily stresses were carving pieces out of her one at a time. The worry in his chest tightened.
A knock sounded at the door, sharp enough to snap him out of it.
Alejandro stepped inside carrying a tray of tonics—one for Jax, three for Nova.
He took one look at them, stopped short, and blinked.
He checked Jax first and then moved to Nova.
"You were both stabbed," Alejandro muttered, baffled. "Badly. Last night you, Queen Shadowclaw, were half-dead."
His brow furrowed deeper as he scanned them with a glow of diagnostic magic.
"…How in the gods' names are you healed?"
Jax cleared his throat, looking suspiciously innocent. Nova looked at the floor.
Alejandro just sighed—the kind of long, weighted sigh healers gave when they knew they weren't being told the full story, but didn't have the time or energy to fight it.
After Alejandro left, Jax downed his tonic in one swallow. His eyes widened.
"Gods—these are so much better than Elias's," he said.
"So good it's almost sexual." Nova added dryly with a grin.
"Nova!" Jax barked, half-laughing as he tackled her onto the bed. "If you keep talking like that, I'm taking this off of you and we're not leaving this room."
She burst into laughter—bright and unrestrained—music to his ears.
She was halfway through her third tonic when the door opened and Fin stepped in.
The moment he saw her, he crossed the room in three strides and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her head, then pressed his forehead against hers, eyes shut, breathing her in like he needed her to keep standing.
He pulled her gently down onto his lap. Her face flushed bright red, but he didn't let her shift away. His arm stayed firm around her waist as he looked over her shoulder at Jax.
"Nova," he said softly, "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke… but I want you to hear it from me too. Jax and I are going to share you."
The bond flared—emotion tightening inside her all at once: discomfort, confusion, guilt, overwhelm.
Fin felt every shade of it.
Jax did too, his expression sobering.
Fin kissed her temple, thumb brushing her cheek.
"I promise, Nova. This will be easy. Give us a chance to show you."
She swallowed, not trusting her voice.
Fin opened his mouth to say more—then paused, eyes narrowing at her armor.
"Hold on," he said slowly, looking between her suit and Jax. "Did Redmoon somehow manage to make a training suit that fits Nova before Shadowclaw did?"
Jax snorted. "Apparently."
Fin's jaw dropped a little. "Unbelievable. My entire kingdom has failed me."
"My thoughts exactly. And these tonics from Alejandro…" Jax lifted the empty vial, shaking his head in disbelief. "They make Elias's look like—gods, I don't know—dirty dish water mixed with regret."
Nova let out a small laugh despite herself.
Both Fin and Jax felt it through the bond—the tiny easing of her chest, that soft exhale of tension slipping away.
Fin had already unzipped the back of Nova's suit before she even realized he'd moved—his hands gentle but efficient as he checked the spot where she'd been stabbed.
"All healed," Fin murmured, relief softening his expression. "I woke up healed as well."
"Same here," Jax added, rolling his shoulders.
Fin kissed Nova's temple again, lingering there for a moment.
"Let's see how you do with Rex this morning."
Nova blinked. "Who's watching Shadowclaw right now?"
"Marra is in charge."
Nova grinned immediately and turned to Jax.
"I'm still convinced your ancestors thought she was a tax collector."
Jax didn't hesitate—he grabbed the nearest pillow and launched it at her.
It hit her square in the shoulder.
Nova burst into laughter, the sound bright and warm. Fin started laughing too and shook his head.
"They apologized!" Jax said in a mock serious tone, laughing now too.
Nova was still a little on edge, but she was loosening, breath by breath.
Fin and Jax felt it through the bond, the slow unwinding of her tension, and both silently vowed to make this as easy as possible for her.