That's An Order, Gamma

She's too cold.

Nova's lips were blue. Her skin pale and lifeless in Jax's arms, her chest barely rising beneath the soaked training suit clinging to her like ice.

If they didn't move now, she wouldn't make it.

Fin mindlinked.

Fin: We need a hot spring. She's going into shock.

Jax didn't look up. Just held her tighter.

Fin stepped toward him, shifting back into human form, steam curling off his bare skin as the cold hit him like a slap.

But he'd been in wolf form the entire fight and worked up a sweat. His core temperature was holding. He could run. He could make it.

He reached down to take her.

Jax didn't let go.

"She'll die if you don't let go."

"I can run—"

"You're shaking."

Jax gritted his teeth. His entire body trembled, blood seeping from a wound in his thigh. His muscles were locking from the cold.

Fin's voice dropped to a growl. "That's an order, Gamma. Shift."

For a long, tense second, Jax didn't move.

Then—with a curse under his breath—he nodded, teeth bared, and shifted into wolf form. Massive. Black. He took off like a shadow over snow, heading west where the earth steamed from deep rock springs.

Fin looked down.

Nova's body was trembling. Her wet training suit had frozen to her skin. Her hair was brittle with frost.

Too slow. Too damn slow.

He moved swiftly to a nearby tree, one marked with the symbol of the moon — the hidden emergency cache nestled among its roots.

Pulling it open, he grabbed the spare training suit and a cloak inside. There wasn't much. He tugged on the bottom part of a training suit so he could run with her and grabbed the cloak for her.

No time. No shame. He unzipped the back of her training suit, revealing the dark fabric of a sports bra beneath, still soaked and freezing.

He decided to leave the sports bra on her. They should have enough skin-to-skin contact. When his fingers grazed her skin, he felt jolts of electricity course through his body.

It took him a second to calibrate. Was the matebond that strong the first time he touched her on the cheek months ago?

His wolf howled inside of him.

He was almost shocked with how frail she was. She was skin and bone and ice.

He wanted to hold her forever. This felt so right... yet so wrong.

Without thinking, Fin pulled her closer against his chest — her skin on his.

Her cheek pressed to his collarbone and sparks exploded at that spot along with everywhere else.

His wolf whimpered in his mind.

Xeon: She is dying. Something dark inside of her is spreading.

Fin didn't have time to dwell on what his wolf was trying to tell him.

He wrapped the cloak around her, tucking it up to cover her head, shielding her from the wind. 

Then he ran. Faster than alpha speed. Faster than anything living should move on two legs.

Through snow and fog and ice-bright trees, his breath coming ragged, muscles burning.

✦✦✦

Still in wolf form, Jax stepped into the hot spring.

His body trembled as the heat soaked into his frozen fur.

He didn't shift back immediately because he couldn't. 

That alone confirmed Fin was right. He wouldn't have been able to carry her. It was cold enough to paralyze a shifter. 

Negative degrees, at least. The river hadn't frozen yet, but it would. Hours. Maybe less.

It took Jax another minute before he could shift back — skin pale, lip split, thigh wound still red.

He looked up to see Fin running, holding Nova against his chest.

"I need your help," Fin called. He was shaking now and felt his hands and feet turning numb.

Jax nodded, face tight. He moved quickly towards them wanting to get Nova warm as soon as possible.

The two of them — covered in blood, bruises, snow in their hair — looked like hell had dragged them out and thrown them into winter's mouth.

Nova's lips were blue, breath shallow.

Neither of them said it aloud. But they were both thinking the same thing. The bottom half of her training suit was soaked. Frozen. They couldn't exactly strip her in this state — but if they didn't get her submerged soon...

Jax took her gently, cradling her against his bare chest while Fin stepped into the spring. The heat hit his frozen skin and his whole body locked up for a second before the warmth took over.

His fingers were blue. Arms shaking. Shifters could handle a lot. But not this. Not for long.

Jax moved quickly with her in his arms getting back into warmth. He lowered her all the way into the hot spring, her head rested in the crook of his neck before he noticed.

The spring lit up beneath her. A pulse of gold. Then flickers of silver swirled outward from her body, like starlight.

Fin's side, where Riven's claws had torn into him, began to knit back together.

Fin stared down at it, stunned.

Jax watched as cuts, gashes, and bruises healed rapidly on his own body. His lips parted in silent disbelief.

Then he muttered under his breath, low and hoarse. "Why am I not surprised by anything that happens with this girl anymore?"

Fin didn't answer.

✦✦✦

The spring was now full liquid gold.

Light swirled beneath the water, casting halos on stone.

Nova lay limp in Jax's arms, her face pressed weakly against the crook of his neck, skin pale, lashes wet with melted frost.

Fin stood waist-deep in the spring, watching.

He was about to speak when Nova stirred.

"...Jax..." she whispered.

Her eyes fluttered open. 

Clouded green. Glazed with pain. Beautiful. Still full of fire.

She flinched, and her whole body tensed.

She breathed, trying to keep her voice steady, "Riven.... stabbed."

Fin's eyes snapped to her abdomen where her hand was. The blood coming out was red... not silver.

Jax looked down.

His expression went slack.

"Shit."

In a matter of seconds, the red blood had turned black like ink. The light from the spring recoiled from it, twisting away like it knew the wound wasn't right.

Fin was already moving through the water. A slow tension building under his skin.

He didn't like the way she'd whispered Jax's name. Didn't like the way Jax was holding her like she belonged there. How natural it looked. Like he'd done it countless times before.

When did that happen? How much time had they spent together?

"Lay her out," Fin commanded, his tone sharper than he meant. "On the ground. Flat."

Jax didn't move at first. Eyes locked on the wound. Mind racing. His wolf howling with panic beneath his skin.

Finric's voice cut again, tighter. "Jax."

That snapped him out of it.

Jax rose and carried her to the snowy bank, laying her down as gently. Her knees and boots were still in the water.

Her hair spread out around her like starlight, still half-frozen.

Her lips were still blue. Her breathing shallow.

Finric stepped beside her. Looked down. And there — just beneath her ribs — was the blade's hilt. Black metal.

He knelt. Reached for it.

The moment his fingers touched the hilt— Agony.

A sizzle of fire shot through his palm. He yanked back, teeth bared in a growl. Smoke curled from his fingertips.

"What the hell is on this blade?" he hissed.

Poison?

Dark magic?

Both?

He didn't wait.

His mindlink flared hot, coming out as a roar.

Fin: Aeron. I need you. Now. Nova was stabbed and bleeding black. The blade burns me.

No reply.

Fin: Aeron—do you copy?

He tried again, angrier.

Fin: Does anyone copy?