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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

NOVA

T he air feels heavier than it should, and the metallic taste on the back of my tongue feels like I swallowed a lightning bolt. My pulse thrums in my ears, too fast, too loud, as I press my back against the wall outside the ICU. Something’s wrong—Tai’s magic is stretched too thin, the kind of threadbare that frays under pressure. My hand tightens on the doorframe, the hum of magic brushing against my fingertips where it seeps through.

This isn’t normal. This is bad.

An instinct pulls me forward, one I don't understand, but can't ignore.

Something’s waiting for me beyond this door.

Someone.

“Nova.” Callum steps in behind me. “What are ye thinkin’?”

“That he’s going to get himself killed if I don’t do something,” I mutter, pushing off the wall.

“Ye can’t go out there!” Callum hisses, grabbing my arm. “Tai’s no’ the only one wi’ magic right now.”

My lips press into a thin line as I glance back at him. “Exactly. Which is why I’m not just going to stand here while he burns himself out trying to fix it.”

“You stay here, I’ll go.” He peeks through the doorway.

But before Callum can argue, I yank my arm free and push through the barrier Tai set. The pulse of energy prickles across my skin as I step into the hallway, the magic weaker than it should be. If his power were at full strength, I wouldn’t have slipped through—his wards have always been impenetrable..

The first thing I see is a fully shifted wolf, his golden eyes glowing with an intensity that sends a jolt through my chest—deep, unsettling, as if something inside me is trying to reach for him. It’s not fear. It’s not recognition. But it’s there, clawing at the edges of my awareness like an itch I can’t scratch.

He’s been hurt. Pretty badly, judging by the scar across his brow that still shows on his wolf form. Fae heal quickly, especially between shifts.

Claws rake against the shattered remnants of a hospital bed, and the cords and monitors that once restrained him dangle uselessly, sparking in the magic-thick air. My pulse stumbles. A wolf fae here ? In the same hospital my father’s in? The coincidence is too big, too bizarre to ignore.

Tai stands in front of the beast, shoulders squared, shadows curling at his fingers as he tries to force control over the situation. But the wolf’s eyes stay locked on me. Something pulls at my chest, a force I don’t understand, one I shouldn’t even feel.

Pack .

The word slams into me like a physical thing—echoing inside my skull, weaving through my bones, through something deeper, older.

It wasn’t my dad saying pack , but him. This wolf.

My breath hitches, but I shove it down before the panic can take root. No. My teeth grind together as I force my spine straight. Whatever this is, whatever he is—he’s wrong. I don’t need a pack. I don’t want a pack.

Because I’m not a fucking wolf fae.

And if I am? I’d rather die .

“Nova!” Tai’s panicked shout carves through the electric hum of the hall. His hand rises, another rune flashing to life between his fingers, ready to shove me back behind the barrier.

I lift my chin, ignoring the fear clawing its way up my throat. “You’re welcome,” I call over the din, rushing over to him.

“What the hell are you doing?” Tai shifts his stance, moving to shield me from the wolf.

“Stopping you from getting yourself killed.”

The wolf’s gaze narrows, flitting between Tai and me, his golden eyes glowing brighter. A low warning growl rumbles deep in his chest, the kind of sound that triggers something primal in the back of your mind—a fight-or-flight instinct I refuse to listen to.

I meet his stare, not blinking and not backing down. “Enough,” I hiss. “Stop using magic in front of those terrified humans.”

Granted, the humans are now holed up in a large glass room at the center of the unit, hiding behind chairs and under desks.

Tai is running on absolute fumes. I’ll do what I must, though it’s no hardship. Sidling up beside my guard, I wrap my arms around him, my fingers working their way under his coat and shirt to feel his abs. I stand on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his neck, allowing my lips to linger there.

“Nova, what are you—” he starts to say, but I silence him when my fingers slip beneath his waistband.

The wolf’s snarls increase as he swipes at the barrier.

“Let me help you. Tell me to stop and I will,” I whisper against Tai’s neck and nibble on his skin. “Compel him to go home, then we can get out of here.”

“I don’t think stop is in my vocabulary right now,” Tai grunts, as my fingers wrap around his hardening length, the soft velvet of his skin leaving me in awe. This is the first time I’ve ever held a cock, and it’s his . A shudder ripples through his body as I stroke him with a torturously slow rhythm, coaxing his desire to the surface as his breath grows ragged, his pre-come lubricating my hand.

“You’re going to embarrass me in a minute, Your Highness,” he rasps.

It takes a moment for my brain to catch up with his meaning. “Good,” I whisper in his ear as my pace picks up, and I work him towards release.

Tai’s eyes flutter closed as a low moan escapes his lips. His body tenses, his hips thrusting involuntarily into my hand. I can feel the power surging within him, the magic filling his reserves, as though I were threading light into the fabric of his being, each strand pulling taut, strengthening the weave of what he is.

The wolf's snarls fade into the background, drowned out by the pounding of my own heart and Tai's barely restrained moans.

"Nova ..." His voice is a hoarse whisper, his hips rocking instinctively into my touch. "I can't ... I'm going to ..."

"Let go," I murmur, nipping at his earlobe. "Give in to me."

With a shuddering groan, Tai reaches his climax, spilling his release into my hand as his body trembles against mine, his hips jerking with each pulse. Then for a moment, he sags against me, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “Fuck.”

I hold him close, savoring the intimacy of the moment, the feeling of his warm skin beneath my fingers. As his breathing slows, he lifts his head, his brown eyes meeting mine. In their depths, I see a host of emotions—desire, gratitude, and something deeper that makes my heart race. A promise, perhaps.

Sliding back out of his pants, I hold his stare as I drag my tongue across my hand, licking up his release. I haven’t heard everything about all fae orders, but everyone knows an incubus’s come is a sweet-tasting aphrodisiac, and as the spiced honey-like essence hits my tongue, a rush of heat floods my body. My nipples tighten, and a fresh wave of arousal pools between my thighs.

His eyes darken with renewed hunger as he watches me taste him. “You’re playing with fire,” he rumbles as he straightens out his clothes.

Fingers all cleaned, I grin up at him. “Maybe I want to get burned.”

He clears his throat, adjusting his erection, attention going back to the feral wolf fae contained behind a barrier. “Go home.” Tai’s voice takes on his seductive tone that’s near impossible to resist without training.

The wolf’s eyes glaze over as the incubus compulsion takes hold. With a final snarl, he leaps over the upturned hospital bed and takes off down the hallway.

Tai exhales slowly, his shoulders sagging with relief. "That was close," he murmurs, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Too close."

Callum clears his throat. “That’s certainly one way tae go aboot it.” He holds the elevator door open for us at the end of the hallway. “Whenever ye’re ready.”