Her 'Brother' Threw Her Off a Cliff

Nova's breathing slowed. Her hands, still faintly glowing, fell limply to her sides. Blood trailed from under her ribs.

He saw her cheek was bruised and bleeding as well.

Silver.

Finric's pulse roared.

Was it always silver? How did she know her blood would heal Jax?

His wolf rose like a storm beneath his skin. Every hair on his arms lifted.

Not rogues. Not wanderers. These were trained warriors.

The air shifted. The forest went still.

And then they came — slipping between trees like wraiths. Not one or two. Fifty, at least.

A strike team.

Jax growled nearby. He moved towards Nova, but five warriors tackled him — chains, cuffs, blades. Silver gleamed.

Nova screamed.

Fin's control shattered.

He launched himself forward, intercepting a wolf mid-pounce. Blood sprayed. He didn't care. He didn't stop.

He turned to shield her again when a figure emerged from the tree line.

Etched steel across his face, and arrogance in every step.

Fin didn't need to see his eyes to know who it was.

Riven Ashbane.

Nova's so called half-brother. Her tormentor. The newly crowned Alpha of the pack she'd once been prisoner to.

His omega half-sister. He thought she was an embarrassment. A threat. A possession.

Now he wanted her back.

Not happening.

Fin stepped between them, his wolf form humming with power.

Nova whimpered behind him — still conscious, barely — clutching her side.

Riven said nothing. Just looked at her like his prized possession gone missing.

Fin bared his teeth.

Then lifted his hand. A command for the attackers to take down the enemy. They came all at once. Jax and Fin moved forward keeping them away from Nova.

Ashbane lunged, cutting through the chaos like a shadow unbound.

His hands clamped around Nova without hesitation, dragging her into his arms like she was prey and he'd finally claimed her. His grip was rough, uncaring, almost eager to hurt.

Nova stirred, trying to push him away, but her strength failed her. Her body was slick with blood, half-frozen from the snow.

Her limbs felt heavy. Distant. She was cold. Slipping. And now in enemy hands.

More attackers charged at Fin and Jax. There were too many to get to Nova.

Riven charged toward the cliff's edge with her in his arms.

He looked down at her.

And then, without another word, he jumped.

Fearless and absolute, as if daring death to follow.

Parts of the river were frozen but the waterfall still roared behind them. This jump was a death for most shifters.

If you avoided the rocks at the bottom, the water would be ice cold this time of year. The undercurrents would be fierce.

Her wolf and magic were drained. She couldn't shift before impact and it hit full force.

✦✦✦

The instant Riven leapt off the cliff with Nova in his arms, Jax and Fin followed without hesitation, paws driving them over the edge and into the air.

The world exploded into a blur of snow, wind, and white sky.

The river hit like stone, and Jax went under fast.

His wolf's limbs screamed against the cold, the current dragging him sideways.

Freezing. Violent. Unforgiving.

His lungs burned, limbs screamed, but his wolf surged through the pain with one command.

Find her. Find her. Find her.

He broke the surface gasping, head snapping left. He saw a flash of silver beneath the water.

Nova. Drifting, weightless, her hair swirling like liquid moonlight in the dark current.

Underwater, he forced a shift, bones cracking and lungs screaming. His human hands found her, his arms closed tightly around her.

He kicked with everything he had left, driving them upward, and broke through the surface with a gasp.

She wasn't breathing.

Shit.

He kicked toward the bank, the current nearly tearing them apart.

A shape fought above them in the trees—Fin. Holding off Ashbane.

He slammed onto the rocky shore with Nova in his arms, gasping, teeth chattering, eyes burning from the cold.

No. No no no—

Her lips were blue.

Her chest wasn't moving.

"Nova!" Jax shouted, voice breaking.

Jax laid her flat, hands shaking. He pumped her chest and tilted her head, blew in air, pumped again— One. Two. Three. Four.

"Come on, dammit—don't you do this."

And then, she jerked.

Coughed.

Choked.

Water spilled from her mouth as she rolled to her side, gasping, shivering violently. She tried to sit up.

Jax sagged in relief, brushing wet hair from her face, his hand still on her back.

"You good?" he panted, voice hoarse. "You done dying every time I turn around or should I start carrying a damn stretcher?"

Nova let out a weak, watery laugh that turned into a sob. Her shoulders shook, and she collapsed into his chest.

He caught her.

Held her.

"I got you. You're alright now."

Her side was bleeding. Her skin freezing.

There was a blur of movement above and a sharp crack of claws meeting claws.

Jax looked up just in time to see a figure leap through the trees: Riven Ashbane, retreating with a snarl.

Fin didn't chase him. He staggered, bloodied, breathing hard. 

Nova clutched Jax tighter.

She took one more shaky breath. 

Then her eyes closed, and her body went limp in his arms.