Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 31 - Chapitre 40

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,

Fin's voice was a low, lethal growl. "You think Riven planned to return and pull it out himself?"Aeron nodded once."He wounds her with something no one else can touch. The clock starts ticking. He has to return to save her. Claim her. Take her."Jax's breath punched out of him.Aeron placed a hand over Nova's sternum, feeling the faint magic thrumming beneath her ribs.Fin clenched his fists. His voice was razor-thin. "Get it out."The bastard wanted to take her back. He would've succeeded, if they'd been just a few minutes slower.Aeron nodded and turned back to Nova, whose breathing had gone shallow, her lips now tinged more purple than blue.Veins under her eyes started surfacing black."Once I remove it," the mage warned, "the magic will fight to stay. That's how soul-bound weapons work. They embed."Fin's voice didn't shake but the longer they waited, the more his wolf howled."Then rip it out."

Twelve elders sat in a semicircle in the council chamber.Torches flickered along the arched walls, casting long shadows.Each elder wore the crest of their bloodline, and each had already made up their mind.Fin sat higher than the rest at the center. Jax sat at his right and Cael was on his left.The oldest of the council, Elder Rhun, slammed the bottom of his cane against the floor. "You're endangering a hundred-year peace accord for a girl who isn't even a member of this pack!"Fin kept his voice even. "She was attacked and abducted on my land by an armed force without declaration or warning."Elder Kaelith snorted. "Ashbane made no formal claim. You're the one harboring their blood.""She's not Ashbane blood," fin said sharply, "and even if she were, that doesn't give them the right to breach my borders with armed soldiers. The treaty Ashbane agreed to was he would summon her back if he needed her. That never happened."Another elder leaned forward. "She's not bonded to you. She'

Author's Note: Just a heads-up for my readers—the story's tone is maturing starting with this chapter. Explicit/R(18)+ scenes moving forward.__________________________The elders stilled.Another elder, a sharp-eyed man with a hooked nose, spoke."I believe you when you say you love her, son. But she's been unconscious half the time she's been here. She was sick when she arrived, and again now. She won't be able to provide your house an heir. You both look fine. Was she too weak to defend herself?"The implication hung heavy in the air.Fin didn't move. But ice pulsed through his veins. His wolf, Xeon, spoke in his mind again.Xeon: He dares to insult what is yours. Again. Why is your gamma defending your mate? She should be giving Shadowclaw an heir.He stiffened, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.Xeon: Claim her and take control of this council!He watched Jax step forward, and it made something else tighten in his chest.Jax loved her and Fin knew it."She was attacked from al

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 around her, as if he hadn't moved all night.She didn't need to look to know who it was. He smelled like the forest after rain, pine, and the faintest trace of fresh snowfall. Jax.Her body tensed. Almost instantly, the arm around her tightened."You're okay, Nova. I've got you," Jax whispered, his voice low and warm against her ear.Her eyes fluttered open slowly."Jax?" she whispered against his neck, her voice hoarse and uncertain.His reply came low and groggy, thick with sleep. "You're awake.""Where—?""We're in my chambers," he said quickly, maybe too quickly, like he'd rehearsed it. "You nearly died of hypothermia. Elias said you needed warmth. Skin-to-skin."Nova blinked slowly, br