Page 56 of Eternal Light (Fated in the Stars #5)

The world tilts, and everything inside Jay’s mind becomes static and echoes.

One moment, he is there on the altar, fury pounding behind his eyes and in every muscle of his body, and the next, there’s a heavy pressure against the wall in his mind that Grayson had constructed with his magic.

It bursts like a popped bubble, and in the next instant, Withers is in his mind, like an invisible hand pressing against the walls of his consciousness.

Oooh, look at all these Daddy issues. He was so disappointed in you. And your poor mom. You know she’s dead because of you. If only you’d made her go with you. If only you hadn’t been such a failure as a son. Yikes, that must hurt. But, you know what would make this pain go away?

Jay’s heart aches at the reminder of his parents. What Withers is saying is true: for his whole life, he’d been a disappointment and a source of embarrassment. No matter how he’d tried, they couldn’t love him, and that, in the end, he hadn’t been alpha enough to save his mom.

So much heartache. I can make it go away, pluck it right out. I promise I’ll make it quick. Just say yes.

When he’d been younger, even before Nix had come back to him—to them—Jay might have considered saying yes. Even for a second, and perhaps that’s all Withers would have needed.

But not now, because despite the ever-present painful self-doubt he hides from everyone but himself, he has no problem remembering his reason for living.

“No,” Jay moans, struggling against the onslaught of painful images. “Mates.”

Oh, come on. Look how you let Nix suffer. So many years of agony that you could have prevented—how can he even look at you?

Agony sears through his heart, his bond with Nix glowing red-hot when he hears his own self-recriminating words in someone else’s voice.

And the others. Surely you know they don’t need you. They have each other. They have never really loved you. It’s all because of the fame and fortune that they ignore how useless you are. You should have let that boy take your place and saved them all a world of trouble .

Jay’s heart burns in his chest, his bonds with each of his mates surge white-hot, because he knows that’s a lie.

Withers could have chosen anything else to undermine Jay’s love for himself—all the failures he tries to make up for in everything he does, in every aspect of his life, for the rest of his life.

But trying to prey on his bonds with his mates? That’s a mistake.

Because Jay is loved.

He feels it in how Gideon reveals his soft underbelly when they make love, in the quiet vulnerability they share, and in how they care for their family and make big decisions together.

He sees it in Leo’s unwavering confidence in him—the way he has always held him up and held him close, a pillar of strength in Jay’s life from the very beginning.

He sees it in Grayson’s eyes—eyes that look at him with pure desire and trust, even though Grayson is arguably the most beautiful person Jay has ever seen, an enigma who has chosen to let Jay lead.

He feels it in Luca’s trust—how Luca allows himself to be cared for in his most vulnerable moments and lives his most authentic life because he places his faith in Jay to be the best man he can be.

He sees it in Finn’s mischievous grin and in the way he seeks his comfort when the world feels like too much, trusting Jay to be his shield from life’s hardest edges.

He feels it in Rowan’s wolf—how it honors Jay’s wolf with its deference, while simultaneously making Jay feel worthy of that respect and reverence.

And Nix. His first love, his Beloved, the one who brought sunshine and color back into Jay’s life when he hadn’t known how gray it had been.

Nix made it possible to come home to Clearwater, to heal, even in what has been the second hardest time of his life—Nix has never once blamed Jay for the choices he made when he was a child.

He is loved. Deeply, completely, and without question.

“You blew it, asshole. You don’t know anything about me or my life. How can you? You’ve probably never been loved,” Jay says, his voice steady as he meets his tormentor’s cold, unfeeling eyes. “Unlike you, I belong to people who have always—and will always—love me.”

Withers’s sadistic smile falters, replaced by a flicker of frustration. The pressure in Jay’s chest intensifies, unbearable now, and he barely manages to cry out.

“So tiresome. I guess it’s time for no more Mr. Nice Guy,” Withers hisses. “Are you sure you don’t want to make this easier on yourself?”

A drop of Withers’s saliva falls onto Jay’s cheek, sizzling against his skin like acid. He flinches but refuses to look away as Withers leans closer, his grotesque face of blackened bone and charred gristle filling Jay’s vision.

The blade of a large knife catches the light from the flickering candles, glinting ominously in his periphery.

“Go. Fuck. Yourself,” Jay growls, his voice sharp and unyielding despite the suffocating pain.

“Fine, have it your way,” Withers snarls, as he holds the silver blade to Jay’s heart.

Jay holds tightly to the image of his mates from last Christmas—laughter, warmth, and love etched in his mind’s eye.

But the sharp, piercing pain he’s bracing for never comes.

Instead, Withers’s shriek rips through the air, deafening and raw, as the cage of air dissipates with a crack.

Like an avenging angel, Nix has broken through Withers’s magic, tackling him to the ground—the impact sending them skidding across the stone floor.

In moments, Nix is kneeling on the edge of the altar, their bond burning hot with worry and love, his expression fierce as he pulls at the iron bonds holding Jay captive.

A small, triumphant smile plays at Jay’s mouth, despite the chaos around them.

“My hero,” Jay whispers, his voice hoarse but filled with affection.

Before he can say more, Nix kisses him hard enough that their teeth clack.

Pulling even harder at Jay’s arms, Nix keeps trying to free him, but it only makes the bonds tighten further.

Spinning, Nix growls, “Free him.”

Withers is on his feet, brushing himself off. “No can do. Do you like the nice little party trick I had set up for Carnell? The harder you struggle, the tighter they get. The iron is receptive to The Plain and can stand up to even an angry alpha. A guy has to be prepared. Now get out of my way.”

“Kick his ass, Nix,” Finn calls, his voice rough but undeniably coherent.

Relief washes over Jay—if Finn’s feeling good enough to throw out a quip, then Grayson’s healing must have worked, at least partially.

“I will gladly kick your ass, although it looks like someone already did. You have ten seconds to free him, or I will make you,” Nix says, his voice barely more than a growl.

“Make me?” Withers sneers, his laugh sharp and grating. “You’re hardly more than an annoyance. Now, get out of my way.”

He raises his hand, and the wind roars to life, a violent storm spiraling outward with feral intensity, but instead of hurling Nix back, it twists around him before dissipating harmlessly into the night.

Nix doesn’t flinch.

“That’s not very nice,” Nix says, crossing his arms, and while Withers might not notice, Jay can tell his omega is just as surprised that the magic has no impact.

“Is your magic defensive, then? How are you doing that?”

Nix says nothing, but shrugs.

Withers snarls. “No matter. Even the best shields break, eventually.”

A wave of searing heat surges toward Nix, one blast after another, glowing and ferocious. But each one fizzles out inches before it can reach him, leaving nothing but smoke in the air.

Nix tilts his head. “Was that supposed to hurt?”

“How are you doing it?!” Withers screeches, his composure crumbling.

The more frustrated Withers gets, the more Jay risks testing his bonds.

If Withers’s focus wavers, maybe the magic holding the alpha iron will, too.

Every twist of his wrists sends a searing ache up his arms, but he keeps at it, his persistence fueled by equal parts determination and fury.

The bonds might be strong, but they’re no match for an enigma’s persistence—or fury.

With a last surge of effort, his bonds come free.

Keeping his movements slow and deliberate to avoid drawing Withers’s attention, Jay works the restraints loose. One by one, the bonds fall away, until his legs and feet are free too.

When the blaze of Withers’s fire magic shifts into a volley of jagged ice, Jay sees his opening. The crashing storm of a thousand icicles shatters uselessly against the stone, deafening and chaotic—just enough cover. He rolls off the altar, landing in a low crouch behind it.

Nix is already facing off with Withers, braced and battle-ready, radiating a calm that steals Jay’s breath.

With both hands raised, their nemesis calls a wave of cold, black water from the sea behind him—the water roaring like a beast unleashed.

So deafening that Jay can hardly hear his mates’ shouts in the background, it covers the rampart in an ice-cold deluge. It parts like the Red Sea, flowing around Nix, and the altar where Jay has taken cover, leaving Nix unfazed, without so much as a drop touching his skin.

It’s as if Nix is protected by divine intervention.

With a feral roar of frustration, Withers gives up on his magical assault, gearing up for a physical one.

Nix recognizes it, too, bracing for impact, his magnificent claws out and fangs gleaming in the moonlight.

The air shivers with Withers’s first steps, his angry aura slithering out around him, but Nix doesn’t waver. Instead, he bares his teeth in a smile that promises the battle is far from over.

Stumbling through the side door and onto the rampart with Leo and Gideon hard on his heels, Luca’s voice tears through the air like a firework. “NIX!” It’s so desperate that even Withers falters.

Leo doesn’t slow down, sprinting to where Jay’s mates are huddled out of range of Withers’s magical storm.