Chapter 316 Through All of it, She Stayed
Veda’s fingers finally stilled on the keys, the scrolling data reflecting in her amber eyes as she turned her full attention to Jax. The sharp, clinical edge of her voice softened into something older, something that carried the weight of destiny.
"I am not saying this is a possibility, Jax. I am telling you this is going to happen," Veda said, her voice a low, steady hum. "And when it does, she is going to need you to be her shoulder, not her judge. Most humans fear the wolf because they see it as a curse—a jagged, ugly thing born of hate and rogue snacks left alive to rot with feral blood. Those poor souls always turn rabid because there is no love in the bite, only hunger."
She gestured toward the screen, where the golden markers of Iggy’s blood continued to weave through Ginny’s system.
"But this? This is different. The Council thought they were playing with science, but the Goddess was playing a much longer game. She knew Leela was a werewolf long before Leela ever felt the moon. She knew that only the Blackwoods—with your ancient, guarded elemental bloodline—were strong enough to take on a Divine Elemental as a mate. That is why she woke Fennigan in the fog."
Veda leaned forward, her milky eyes boring into Jax’s soul. "And she didn't forget you, Jax. There was a reason Leela and Ginny were sisters in everything but blood. Ginny was the anchor when Leela was blowing things up and didn't know why. Leela was the strength Ginny needed while she was being tossed from foster home to foster home like a leaf in the wind. The Goddess picked Ginny for you long before either of you drew your first breath."
Fennigan stepped closer, his hand resting on his brother's shoulder, feeling the tremor of Jax’s suppressed Irish-twin energy.
"She wasn't just a 'perfect specimen' for a lab, Jax," Veda continued, her voice firm. "She was the perfect match for a Blackwood heart. The Council tried to use her as a vessel for their rot, but the Goddess used her as a vessel for a bridge. Because of Iggy’s blood, she is becoming one of us—not through a feral bite, but through the love of her son and the destiny of her mate."
Jax closed his eyes, his head bowing as he finally let the truth settle into his bones. The guilt that had been eating at him—the fear that he had stolen her humanity—began to burn away, replaced by the realization that their union was part of a tapestry that started generations ago.
"She’s not a victim of a lab experiment," Jax whispered, his voice finally regaining its strength. "She’s the other half of the prophecy."
"Exactly," Veda barked, turning back to the monitors. "Now, stop acting like you’ve lost something and start preparing for what you’ve gained. She’s fighting, Jax. And with Iggy’s Alpha blood reinforcing her, she’s going to wake up as something the High Council never expected: a human heart with the soul of a Queen. Now, Elias, show me that protein fold again. We have a transition to stabilize."
Veda leaned back, her gnarled hand reaching out to grip Jax’s forearm with surprising strength. Her eyes weren't on the computer anymore; they were locked onto his, demanding he hear the weight of her words.
"And when she does start this transition, Jax, she has to know how much you love her. Do you hear me?" Veda’s voice was no longer a rasp; it was a command. "She is going to be terrified. Her skin will feel like it’s on fire and her bones will feel like they’re turning to liquid. There will come a moment—a tipping point—where she will feel ready for the mate bonding. She is going to need your mark to help her shed that last, stubborn anchor of human DNA. You must be there. Not as a guard, not as a warrior, but as her soul's anchor."
Jax’s jaw worked, his eyes shimmering with the intensity of his focus.
"She has to know she isn't falling into some great, dark unknown," Veda continued, her expression softening just a fraction. "She has to know she is being brought into something good. Something holy. Think about it, Jax—how long has she been living here among us? Three, maybe four years? She’s breathed our air, eaten our food, and slept under the protection of our stones."
Fennigan nodded slowly, glancing at the monitors that showed the steady pulse of his brother’s mate. "She’s been one of us in every way but the shift for a long time."
"Exactly," Veda said, turning back to Jax. "Has she ever left your side? Even when the sky started falling, even when the Council's shadows started creeping in, did she run? No. She stood by you. She survived foster homes and a world that didn't want her, and she did it so she could find her way to this pack. She’s already a wolf in her heart, Jax. The blood Iggy gave her is just the body finally catching up to the spirit."
Jax let out a long, shuddering breath, the tension in his massive frame finally beginning to break. He thought of Ginny—her laugh, her fierce loyalty to Leela, the way she never blinked when things got "weird" at the estate. She had been his mate long before a needle or a lab ever touched her.
"She stayed," Jax whispered, a fierce, protective light finally returning to his eyes. "Through all of it, she stayed."
"Then you stay," Veda barked, though her eyes were kind. "You go back to that room. You hold her hand, and you make sure that when she opens her eyes, the first thing she feels isn't fear of a mutation, but the heat of your love. That is the only medicine that will make the transition hold."
She shoved him toward the door with her cane. "Go! Elias and I have the numbers. You go be the mate she stayed for."
Jax didn't need to be told twice. He looked at Fennigan, who gave him a sharp, supportive nod, and then he vanished into the hallway, his boots thudding against the stone as he raced back to the medical wing—not to a patient, but to the woman who was finally, fully, coming home to the pack.