Wolf Said Mine. He Said Fuck.

Leaving him felt like putting down the only weapon she had. She couldn't explain why.

She didn't know his name. Didn't know his face. But her mind calmed the second he touched her and she wanted to protect him.

"Stay here. Don't come out until you hear them go." Before he could stop her, she quickly pulled out of his arms. His hand closed around the air behind her.

"Back so soon, little sister. You embarrassed me in front of my guests."

"You embarrassed yourself, Riven. I just helped."

He backhanded her so hard she tasted copper. Guards cuffed her, and the silver seared into her wrists immediately.

Riven snapped his fingers at a hooded figure behind him.

"Portal. Now." Riven didn't look at the mage.

"Yes, Alpha." The mage lifted his hands, and dark light ripped the air open between two trees.

"Tower. Top floor. Chain her to the wall." Riven shoved her through the portal. "You're lucky I don't rip your throat out."

From the cave opening, Fin watched the portal collapse. The forest went silent. His eyes stayed locked on the space where she'd vanished.

Fin: Jax. They are taking her to a tower.

Jax: That narrows it down to about fifty places in this castle.

Fin: Find her. Don't get caught. I'll handle Riven

✦✦✦

It took him four minutes to find her scent. Vanilla, moonlight, and something underneath.

Jax locked onto it and moved.

Footsteps. He pressed flat against the wall and stopped breathing. Two guards passed close enough that he could've touched them. They didn't look up.

With every step, her scent grew stronger and so did the smell of burning skin.

Three flights up. Two left turns. One locked corridor.

He stopped in front of a door bolted shut. The only thing standing between him and her.

The bolt held on the first hit. It didn't hold on the second. The door slammed open and Jax was through it before it finished swinging

The first thing he saw was her hair. Silver in the torchlight, hanging over her face. Then the chains. Then the burns where the silver met skin.

Jax froze. First disbelief. Then absolute horror. The girl was still, and for a heartbeat, he thought she was dead.

Then he noticed her ribs expand. Barely. His wolf spoke in his mind.

MINE.

"Fuck." Jax was moving before the word finished leaving his mouth. He grabbed the only chair in the room and dragged it across the stone, stopping beneath her. He stepped up, arms locking around her waist, and lifted until the chains above went slack.

Silver chains burned into his skin in the process. But he didn't move. He would stand here until his hands turned to ash if it meant she could breathe.

Jax: Found her. East tower, old part of the castle. They have her hanging in chains. I need you here yesterday.

Aeron: How charming. Two minutes.

Two minutes felt like an eternity.

Every second she hung there cost her something. He could see it in the way her fingers had gone white. Each breath was a negotiation between her body and whatever the silver was doing to it. Her pulse was uneven, and he could feel her fever even through the fabric on her dress.

His wolf had one suggestion. The same suggestion. On a loop. With zero fucks given about the context.

Mark her.

Jax had been ignoring it for one minute and fifty-nine seconds.

Just when he was about to mindlink again, the door opened. Aeron stepped inside and shut it with a flick of his fingers. The broken lock knit itself whole again with a soft metallic click.

Jax tore his eyes from her just long enough to look at him. "Silver, Aeron. On her body. Get it off."

"That's the girl Finric found in a cave?"

"Yes."

"The Moonveil wolves were said to have hair like moonlight," Aeron commented. "The only survivor was Selene Moonveil. Taken by Riven's daddy-dearest."

"Aeron."

Aeron reached out and touched her forehead, gold light blooming at his fingertips. He whispered an incantation and let the magic flow through her.

Her eyes fluttered open. Green. Deep. Terrified. Beautiful.

She looked down, noticing Jax's arms around her. Immediately she jolted, which caused silver to sear into her skin and his. A broken sound escaped her lips, somewhere between a whimper and a sob.

"Hey... easy. Hang on." Jax's voice came out a lot softer than his expression.

Her eyes widened at Aeron's glowing palms next.

"Please don't..."

As soon as she said those two words, panic slammed into Jax. It hit his chest with such force he almost let go of her. Almost. He shook his head, pushing it away.

Aeron lifted his brows. "Well, that's rude. I haven't even set anything on fire yet."

"Aeron. Now."

"What? She doesn't know me. Statistically, I'm delightful."

"We aren't going to hurt you," Jax said quickly, still supporting her weight. "I realize a strange man holding you in the dark isn't the most reassuring visual. But here we are."

He tipped his chin towards Aeron. "He just healed you."

Her expression softened. Jax felt her body relax a hair, which was impressive considering the positioning.

"Thank you. Both of you. But Riven will kill you if you're found here. For helping me."

She broke into a violent fit of coughing, her thin frame shaking beneath the strain, the chains rattling softly with each convulsion.

Every muscle in Jax's body tightened, holding her through the coughs. All of this was wrong.

"We'll take our chances."

She didn't answer him. Pain twisted across her face, then her body went slack again in his arms.

"Aeron. Break these damn chains now."

Aeron tilted his head. "Perhaps we pause the heroics for five seconds? We don't know what she did. It might be profoundly stupid to free her before we know the full story."

"She didn't do anything."

Aeron lifted both brows. "Ah. Lovely. We're making decisions based on vibes now."

He reached around Jax, pressing a glowing hand to her forehead.

"Oh." His smirk fell instantly. "That's bad. She's burning up. And I don't sense anything dark in her."

Jax's jaw worked once.

"Break them."

"You know, if anyone else spoke to me like that, I'd shove their face into a wall."

"Break." Jax's eyes surged molten gold, his wolf pushing to the surface. "Now."

Aeron muttered, "Bossy."

He lifted his hands, palms igniting with golden light. The chains shattered, bursting into a spray of gold sparks that dissolved before touching the floor.

Jax shifted her weight, holding her bridal style.

"If they chain her again tonight..." Aeron's voice trailed off. He shook his head. "She'll be dead before dawn."

"Fin is meeting with Riven now. Standby. There's a fifty-fifty chance we'll need to make a portal right here depending on how it goes."

"Lovely. We come here for peace. And we leave with a Helen of Troy and a war."

Jax looked down at the girl in his arms. Too beautiful for a place like this.

Whatever war was coming, he had already picked his side.