Darkness had been swallowing him whole—thick and suffocating.
Something stung his shoulder, burning like liquid fire. A rush like lightning ripped through his veins.
Then he tasted something impossibly sweet. The best taste he'd ever could fathom. His heart slammed back to life. His lungs filled in a single convulsive gasp.
In his inhale, her scent filled his lungs. The same scent he was tasting in his mouth.
His fingers twitched, then curled around her wrist.
He felt ecstasy. So much that he couldn't fathom.
Her venom flooded his bloodstream, sending waves of pleasure crashing through him. The sensation so intense it bordered on agony, building with no release, his alpha instincts roaring to life.
And his eyes flew open and his wolf surged to the surface.
Molten gold. Blazing. Alive.
Rex kept her wounded hand pressed to his mouth, sucking greedily at the gash, drawing her blood to anchor.
Still sucking her hand, in a blur of savage motion, taking less than one second, Rex unzipped Nova's training suit, and shoved it down her hips along with her thong. His own suit came off in a blur next, which was already unzipped.
His thick cock throbbed, and without hesitation, he thrust into her tight, hot pussy in one brutal stroke.
Nova's body clenched around him and she whimpered. But her fangs remained buried in his shoulder, venom flooding into his bloodstream with every pulse of her heartbeat.
The sensation amplified everything.
Both wolves were fully in control, feral instincts overriding human restraint. Rex's hips snapped forward, pumping into her with relentless force.
He came immediately, unable to hold back against the rush of her venom coursing through him—hot jets of cum erupting deep inside of her, coating her walls as his body shuddered.
Nova's hand stayed trapped in his mouth, her blood mixing with his saliva, fueling the fire between them.
Rex released her hand, still pumping his cum into her and leaned in. His own fangs extending as he sank them into her neck, right over Fin's existing mark.
His venom surged into her, a burning elixir that sealed their new bond, mingling with the old one in a storm of possession.
Their fated mate bond ignited into a full, unbreakable connection, not just for Rex, but for Nova now too. Threads of shimmering gold weaved between their souls, binding them on a primal level.
Nova's heat built explosively inside her, coiling tight in her core. Her gold eyes flashed green but she was disoriented, and it was too late. Before she realized what was happening, a climax consumed her, writhing bodies locked together in uncontrollable frenzy, unable to stop.
Her eyes turned gold again, her wolf taking back control. Her pussy spasmed around his cock, milking every drop as ecstasy ripped through her.
Rex's eyes flickered back to their regular gold, but he didn't want to stop, groaning. He couldn't have stopped if he tried. The pleasure was all consuming and he had been wanting this since he met Nova.
He had been craving her every day. Every time they touched he felt sparks. Her scent was driving him mad and he had been fighting this urge for weeks. Now that he finally was experiencing it, it was better than he could have even fathomed.
His venom continued to pour into her, heightening every thrust, every clench. The orgasm continued, neither able to retract their fangs for an agonizing five minutes.
It was the most pleasure Rex had ever felt in his life. His hot cum kept pumping into her, flooding her depths with thick ropes that overflowed.
His eyes flickered to molten gold, his wolf taking back control.
He continued thrusting into her. His wolf could feel through their matebond that her wolf wanted this too.
Finally the orgasm came to and end. They lay entwined, breaths ragged, his cock still buried deep inside her pulsing pussy, twitching with aftershocks. He pulled out of her gently.
Nova's eyes fluttered closed, overwhelmed by the potency of his venom flooding her system, pulling her into a haze of sated bliss.
Rex licked the bite wound he'd just made on her neck. The action soothed the bite, his venom sealing it while sending fresh sparks through their bond.
He nuzzled her neck, fangs grazing lightly.
"You're mine." His wolf said through him, voice rough with alpha command.
He then turned to her bleeding hand, licking at the wound with the same possessive care. He sucked it again on instinct.
The golden threads of their bond hummed between them, wolves retreating to a satisfied rumble
Rex's own eyes drifted shut moments later, even with her blood still buzzing in his veins—she'd held her mark on him for a full five minutes, injecting so much venom that it overpowered everything, forging their connection into something unbreakable and raw.
They slept for what felt like twelve hours—deep, unmoving, side by side. Outside the cave, almost no time passed at all.
Rex woke first due to Nova's blood —hot, electric—was strong enough to drag him back to consciousness. His eyelids fluttered open, and he realized she was curled against him. His arms were around her and they were both half-naked.
His breath caught sharply. Heat climbed up his neck. He didn't remember—any of it.
He swallowed hard, gently shifting to sit up without disturbing her. He found his briefs on the grass beside them and pulled them on quickly, averting his eyes. Then he found her thong tangled beside her and slid it up her legs with careful, clinical precision—his gaze fixed firmly on her face the entire time.
The cavern around them steamed softly from the hot spring. The air shimmered with heat.
He reached out and touched her forehead.
She was burning.
"Nova?" he said quietly, shaking her shoulder.
No reaction.
Her breathing was shallow—too shallow.
He pressed fingers to her neck.
Her pulse was uneven.
His heart kicked hard in his chest.
Without hesitation, Rex scooped her into his arms and strode straight into the hot spring.
The moment his foot touched the water, the entire pool surged with light—glowing gold from the bottom up, rippling outward in a perfect circle around him.
He froze looking down at Nova. He wondered if it was because she was in his arms.
He lowered her into the water with him.
The glow exploded—brighter, hotter, flooding the cavern in a blinding gold flash the moment her skin touched the surface. The water vibrated beneath them, resonating like a struck bell.
He held her securely, her back resting against his chest, floating her weightlessly in his arms.
Rex ran trembling hands over her—not in desire, but in pure, sharp worry—checking for wounds, for burns, for bite-marks.
His palms moved slowly, methodically, tracing her shoulders first—checking for cuts, claw marks, bruising beneath the skin. Then down along her ribs where she'd taken the worst hits earlier. His thumbs pressed carefully against her sides, her stomach, searching for any sign she'd been crushed or punctured or magically burned.
Nothing. Every visible wound disappeared into the golden-lit water the moment he touched it.
Rex lowered himself deeper into the spring, hissing softly as the heat wrapped around him. His own bruises flared, then dissolved, one by one. He watched them vanish in real time but didn't bother tracking any of it.
He was too focused on her.
Too terrified of her stillness.
He didn't notice the mark on his own shoulder. Not when she was unresponsive. Not when her pulse fluttered weakly against his fingers.
He held her there for minutes that felt like hours, her head resting against his chest, her breaths too shallow—until a small, broken sound slipped past her lips.
Rex's heart slammed. "Nova?"
Her lashes trembled. Fingers twitched against his arm.
Then she stirred. Her eyes fluttered open, green, unfocused, blinking slowly like she wasn't sure what world she'd woken into. She groaned softly, turning her face toward the heat—toward him.
The moment her gaze locked on his—a voice whispered in her mind.
Mate.
Her entire body went still. She blinked, confused, stunned, her brows knitting as she tried to make sense of the word echoing in her skull. She had no memory—none—of what had just happened.
But she felt him. Sparks wherever his skin was touching hers. A pull—deep, ancient, magnetic—stronger than it had ever been before. Like a bond humming directly against her ribcage.
A tremor ran through her. She sucked in a steadying breath—but then his scent overpowered her. A scent she liked and already knew, but had never experienced it like this.
Golden ember. Sharp pine. A subtle trace of ocean wind.
It slammed into her senses so violently she gasped, fingers tightening instinctively on his arms.
Nova froze, heart thundering.
She'd always felt connected to Rex—ever since meeting in the Redmoon tent, and especially after sharing Onyx. He was her friend since the first moment he stood at her side like he'd been forged for it. There was a familiarity to him she could never explain. A comfort she didn't question. A fondness that lived quietly under her skin.
But she never let herself think beyond that.
Elle did warn her, but she still didn't fully believe it. Rex was someone she trusted with her life—but never let herself daydream about.
Because she already had a mate. She'd drawn that line early. Even if she found him attractive—and she had, painfully so—she buried every spark of curiosity deep, deep down where it would never see daylight.
So when the bond slammed into her—the same magnetic pull she felt toward Jax, the same instinctive tether that linked her to Fin— her mind fractured with confusion.
Her breath caught. Her heart stuttered. Her thoughts tangled into panic.
Why him? Why now? Why like this—?
The turmoil hit so hard she flinched in his arms. Rex felt it immediately. But he didn't understand it.
Because for him, the bond wasn't shocking. It wasn't new. It wasn't a sudden spike or revelation. He knew she was his fated mate from the moment she entered the Redmoon tent before 'Mate' was whispered in his mind.
It had been deep and undeniable. He'd felt the sparks every time their hands brushed. He'd spent weeks agonizing over her scent, drowning in it. He felt her emotions so clearly it bordered on overwhelming. He kept catching himself watching her. His dreams were about her and his mind wandered to her on an hourly basis.
He understood, she didn't feel it yet. He never told her because she already had a mate, technically two mates now, and she was a queen. And Rex—gods help him—respected that more than his own sanity. But he had an inclination that eventually, he would be part of the picture.
So now, when he woke up in the hot spring and the bond strengthened, it didn't feel like a shock to his system. It had been powerful long before this moment—so powerful without a mark, that he hadn't registered the shift.
Rex had already chosen her. Bond or no bond, he'd already fallen head-over-heels in love with her. He'd done it quietly. Hopelessly. Without expecting anything in return.
So when Nova stared at him in stunned panic, her heart pounding against his chest—Rex didn't know the bond had just hit her for the first time. He didn't know she was overwhelmed because she'd never allowed herself to imagine this.
He only felt her shaking.
And he thought she was scared.
"Hey, it's okay, Nova." Rex's voice dropped low and fierce, protective in a way that wrapped around her like armor. "I'm not going to let any of them get near you again."
His certainty hit her harder than the hot spring steam.
Nova swallowed, eyes darting everywhere except his face.
"Rex… what happened?" she whispered, trying—failing—to keep her voice steady. Fighting the overwhelming pull toward him. Fighting the way her fingers wanted to brush his jaw. Fighting the way she had to hold her breath so she wouldn't inhale that maddening scent.
Rex huffed a tired laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well… we almost died, then definitely almost died, then did that really fun part where we almost died again… but hey—turns out we're very good at not dying."
Nova blinked at him.
A tiny, helpless breath of laughter slipped out.
He grinned—equal parts relieved and exhausted. The joke was real, but so was the gratitude pouring through him. She was alive. He was alive. They'd made it out somehow.
Then the smile faded when he felt her emotions spike—sharp, tangled, overwhelmed.
He frowned slightly, head tilting.
"Nova… are you alright?"
She nodded too quickly. Too stiff. Too obviously fighting something she didn't have the words for yet.
Her throat bobbed, eyes flicking away from him again as she forced out, "Yeah. I'm fine."
Rex didn't believe it for a second. He could feel the storm inside her—panic, confusion, heat—but he didn't understand the cause.
He didn't know she was fighting the instinct that whispered mate in the back of her mind every time her eyes met his. He didn't know she was trying not to breathe him in because it felt like her lungs would collapse from how good he smelled. He didn't know she was battling a pull she had denied for weeks.
All he knew was that she was trembling and he didn't know why.
"Nova…" Rex leaned in slightly, voice softening. "You don't have to pretend with me."
Nova drew in a breath—slow, shaky—and pushed herself upright in the steaming water. Her hair clung to her shoulders, her cheeks flushed from heat and the bond still humming under her skin.
"I really dislike this task today," she muttered, rubbing her palms over her face. "This artifact better be worth it."
He let out a laugh.
"I think all of us dislike this one today," he said, leaning back against the stone ledge. "Hyran and Aeron especially look like children denied candy."
Nova shook her head and grinned. "I suppose it it'd be hard to top an ancient civilization and ice dragons."
Rex nodded, deadpan.
"I saw Aeron grinning when he got sucked into that rotating puzzle chamber in the Death Maze of the Temple of Vyramer. Man looked delighted. I swear he was disappointed it hadn't eaten him sooner."
Nova choked on a laugh. "Of course he was."