MasukFin sprinted back to his room with Nova. He could feel her and knew she wasn't doing well."Hang on, baby. Almost there."His mind was racing with everything he had just heard.Once they were back in his quarters, the second he put Nova down, she sprinted to their large bathing room. He followed her. She tried to push him away, not wanting him to see her get sick."I am not going anywhere.Sorry. No. There's no way in hell."Before she could respond she turned and threw up into the toilet. All red. Blood.Fin's stomach twisted. She continued hurling for ten minutes.
Mark the Alpha King before tomorrow's sunset.He will remain unconscious for seven days.Fin's weight shifted forward onto the balls of his feet. Seven days. His mate alone. His jaw set like iron.Before that same sun sets, gather every blade named: Gamma, Beta, Beta Luna, & Alpha.Attend the emergency High Council summit in his stead.Wear your crown. Hold your ground. Do not invade yet.There is another path—clearer, stronger. You will see it. You will speak it.Jax's spine straightened. His body reacted before his brain did. He was already strategizing for her.
"Nova of House Moonveil now Luna of House Shadowclaw," Aeron intoned, "do you accept the mantle of Queen of North Varos — to serve with strength, to rule with wisdom, and to uphold the will of the ancestors who guide us?""I do.""Please kneel."She blinked, surprised, but lowered herself slowly.From the side, Cael stepped forward, grinning. In his hands was a golden crown sitting on a velvet pillow.Nova inhaled sharply, staring at it dumbstruck. The crown was unmistakably the mate to Fin's.A mirror but slightly smaller, with brilliant diamonds arcing across the front.Fin took the crown from
She heard it before she saw it. The intake of breath. A hundred people drawing air at the same time. Then silence. Then every single one of them stood.Her and Fin were last to enter the ceremony. They walked side by side, Fin holding her hand firmly.A ripple of energy moved through the crowd like goosebumps crawling over skin. Like instinct itself whispered that something sacred was unfolding. History was being written right before their eyes.Nova wore her white cloak draped over her gold dress and it trailed the stone floor behind her. With every step, glimpses of what lay beneath peeked through the front. Diamonds caught the only light in the room: the soft, flickering glow of the ceremonial basin at the front.
Two days passed, and Fin hadn't left Nova's side once.Bothdays, Jax sat in Fin's chair in the war room and did his job and his Alpha's job. Because that's what best friends did. They were family. He didn't complain once. Every day, he poured himself a whiskey and ended up throwing the glass.Fin got the girl. Jax got the war room. Both of them knew who got the better deal.Nova started to worry that Fin was neglecting his pack for her. She made it halfway through the thought before he shut it down."No. I'm taking care of you.You're mine."He said it like a vow. Because it was one. He'd wasted months, and hewould not waste another
"The Alpha is out with an omega girl."Jax cut the elder off mid-sentence."She's not an omega girl. She's your Gamma Luna as of now, and you will speak with respect."He was sitting in the Alpha's seat, filling in for Fin, Cael next to him."Yes, Gamma Thorne. My apologies."The elders cleared out of the council chambers. Jax and Cael sat there in silence."Nova could be wearing a crown and they'd still call her a bastard omega and Meredith's sister," Cael said, shaking his head. "What I don't understand is why none of them remember Elle was an Omega. They call her Beta Luna no problem."
"...You good?"Fin slowly turned his head, expression blank, hollow, and vaguely murderous."Do I look good to you."Jax snorted. "No. You look like you're about to declare war."Fin inhaled sharply through his nose — the kind of inhale a man takes when he's restraining himself from breaking furnit
Warmth.That was the first thing she felt. Soft furs beneath her knees. A heartbeat.Nova stirred slightly, the ache in her ribs was a dull hum now. Her cheek was pressed against the slope of someone's chest.Her entire body was draped over his.Chest to chest. Legs tangled. His arms wrapped firmly
Lisa Rellane's hands were already shaking before she crossed the threshold. Lieutenant Blackhart escorted her in. Her gaze stayed fixed on the floor, her fingers twisted in her apron like she was trying to wring courage out of the fabric."Sit," Fin said.She obeyed so fast the chair screeched.Fin'
Jax's eyes flashed gold, wolf rising so violently the air thickened. "Get them off."The guard scrambled for protective gloves and unlocked the cuffs as fast as his shaking hands allowed. The metal dropped to the floor with a hiss.Jax didn't loosen his hold on her. He stood with her still cradled







