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 all sides. I got there in time to stop her from being abducted. There were at least 50 there. "Riven stabbed her. With a poisoned blade," Jax said voice calm.

  He paused only to swallow the lump in his throat. He chose that word carefully. Not black magic. Not cursed. Poisoned.

  Fin's voice cut through, "He proceeded to pull her off a 60-foot cliff into freezing water. He shifted before impact, but she couldn't shift because she was stabbed. I've seen warriors die for less."

  Jax took a breath, teeth clenched. "Questioning whether she can carry a child based on her condition after what we just endured is a waste of this council's time. It is an insult to my mate and to me."

  Finric's wolf protested becoming restless again.

  But he didn't act. Not out of fear. Not out of lack of desire, because gods he wanted to claim her and tell them all to go to hell.

  He didn't act because this was Jax. He would not take this from his oldest friend. Not like this.

  He couldn't. Jax was the purest, best person Fin knew.

  Elder Thornewald finally leaned forward and broke the silence with a sigh heavy as time itself.

  "Very well..." he said slowly. "You claim her, and we will honor that."

  A few heads snapped in his direction.

  "But she'll need to become an official member of this pack. Immediately."

  Fin spoke, voice cold. "Anything else we need to discuss?"

  No one replied.

  "Good," he said. "This meeting is adjourned."

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  He didn't wait for their bows. Or for the ritual close.

  He turned and walked out of the chamber with ice in his eyes... and war in his chest.

  ???

  Fin's boots slammed against the stone corridor floor, fast and loud. Every step was a storm.

  Nova's scent still clung to him. The faintest trace of vanilla and moonlight.

  The moment the door to his chambers came into view, he shoved it open, jaw tight, breath short.

  He needed space. He needed time to think.

  He needed—

  "Oh," came a soft, syrupy voice.

  He froze.

  Meredith was draped across the armchair by the fire, wearing far too little and smiling like she belonged there.

  "Finally," she purred. "I thought you'd locked yourself away for the night."

  He said nothing. Just stared at her.

  "I came to check on you," she added, rising from the chair with fluid grace, her gown slipping off one shoulder. "You've been so tense lately. So distracted."

  She approached slowly — a serpent in silk — and placed both hands on his chest.

  He didn't move.

  She mistook that for permission.

  With a small, practiced smile, she ran her hands up toward his shoulders and around his back.

  Her fingers began to knead the muscles there, warm and invasive.

  "You're wound up like a bowstring," she whispered into his ear, pressing closer. "Let me take care of you."

  Her hands slid lower. Finric grabbed her wrist.

  "Relax Alpha. I don't bite."

  His eyes met hers, cold and furious. "What are you doing in my room, Princess?"

  Her lashes fluttered. "I told you. I came to check on you. I was worried."

  "I don't need your worry," he said, voice like flint. "Or your hands."

  She blinked, stunned, then scoffed.

  "You're upset." She stepped back and smoothed her gown. "You're lashing out."

  "Don't." He growled.

  Meredith's mouth snapped shut. She hadn't seen that edge before.

  But her name thundered in his mind like a battle drum. Nova.

  Fin's breath hitched as Meredith's fingers began to knead the tension from his shoulders, her touch gentle yet firm.

  He lost his train of thought.

  He could feel the heat of her body, close behind him, and it sent a shiver down his spine. Her hands moved lower, tracing the line of his spine, and he felt a familiar stirring in his loins.

  He was used to taking what he wanted, his strength and reputation making it easy.

  Yet her scent and presence repulsed him.

  He turned to face her, his eyes meeting hers.

  Her gaze was steady, unyielding, and he saw a spark of evil in her eyes. She was not the silver-blonde he wanted.

  "You don't need to feel guilty, Alpha," she whispered, her voice a low purr. "I can help you find release. I can help you forget."

  She pulled his face down to hers, her lips capturing his in a fierce, hungry kiss.

  She pressed her body against his as her hands moved to his waist.

  He could feel her fingers fumbling with the fastenings of his pants, and he broke the kiss, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

  This felt so wrong.

  "My heart yearns for another." He voiced, hoarse.

  She ignored him, her hands pushing his pants down, revealing the hard length of him.

  She looked up at him, her eyes filled with a wicked gleam, and sank to her knees. Her hands wrapped around him and he groaned, head falling back.

  Her tongue flicked out, tasting him. But, it didn't feel pleasurable like it should.

  She took him fully into her mouth, her head moving slowly, her lips tight around him.

  He wanted release... but he looked down and saw black strands.

  Closing his eyes, he pretended it wasn't Meredith in his chambers.

  He was with Nova. He wondered how beautiful her body was, under those undergarments. Her skin against his. He felt sparks today when he touched her.

  He wondered if her cum would taste as good as her scent.

  He could only imagine how tight she would feel around him when he entered her for the first time.

  His emotions were a storm of desire, anger, the frustration, the pain— but finally he was able to release into Meredith's mouth as she moaned and swallowed his cum.

  "Feeling better Alpha?"

  "Get out."

  "I know it felt good."

  He took a single step toward her.

  She calmly left the room.

  And Fin was left standing alone, breath ragged, fists clenched.

  Her name still thundered in his mind like a battle drum.

  Nova.

  Down the hall, Nova was still unconscious.

  Jax turned the corner and froze.

  Princess Meredith's silhouette lingered at the door across from Fin's quarters, her fingers tightening around the handle.

  She began to ease it open with a soft, deliberate creak.