Chapter 303: JAX

POV Jax:

“Why is he unconscious, my dear? Hurting him hurts me far more than it hurts you. He is my son.” Maeve’s cold voice echoed across the skies, and my heart plummeted.

“No,” I whispered. “No, please.”

“She was guarding the coven for Lunessa. The moment we entered, we didn’t stand a chance. Finn tried to fight them, but there were too many. I can feel him dying, Jax, and I can’t save him. I can’t save anyone.”

“Where are you? Tell me where you are!”

“It’s too late for me,” she said weakly, as she looked into my eyes. “Run, Jax. Run!”

Pain ripped through my body, and I choked as I lost Anna. Back in the coven, the crystal slipped from my hands and shattered. London’s wolf roared in my face as he positioned himself above me.

Looking over his shoulder, I saw the door. Three wolves had already entered, and another filled the entrance. Two more were at my feet.

Shit. Maeve had Anna and Finn, and soon she would have us both.

While London shielded me, I shifted. I had to assume those four wolves were only the beginning.

We were about to fight for our lives.

(...)

POV Anna:

They had nearly killed Finn in the coven, but Maeve had ordered that he be taken alive. Apparently, she wanted the pleasure of killing her own son with her bare hands.

Chained to the wall, I was helpless as Maeve wiped Finn’s blood from her hands. If she suspected that I had just spoken to Jax, she didn’t show it. At least it was good to see him again before I split the mountain in half and bled for Maeve’s obsession with world domination.

“You destroyed him, did you know?” Maeve said, muttering furiously. “He was meant to be my heir, and now he defies his own mother and bleeds for you.”

“Maybe if you had actually been a mother to him, instead of sending him as a child to hunt down two adults and his friend, he might still care about you.”

Her hand moved quickly and struck my face, my teeth crashing together. In pain, I spat blood. From the moment we had been dragged from the coven, the only pain I had felt was from their attempts to capture me. Maeve had wanted me as unscathed as possible, but apparently even she had her limits.

“Soon you’ll know what it means to be a mother,” she said as she ran her knuckles across my stomach. “And you’ll understand what I’m going through.”

“Stop lying. You and I both know I won’t survive this ritual.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Well, of course you will. That’s why a ternary is chosen. They’re strong enough to survive. I admire you, Anna. I would never want to kill you. Look at everything you’ve survived. You will survive this too.”

“No. I won’t. Look at reality, Maeve. I may have a wolf, magic, and fae talent, but I still bleed. I’ve nearly died countless times, and it wasn’t my magic that saved me. It was others. If you do this ritual, it will rip everything out of me. You’ll be my murderer—and my baby’s murderer.”

Her gaze dropped to my stomach, her lips narrowing. “Then you will die knowing you served the greater good.”

“The greater good? How is owning all the power the greater good? Look at all the damage you’ve caused just to get here!”

“Look at what this mountain has become on its own! By allowing so many mercenaries to run free, we’re putting our way of life at risk! Wolves should be under a pack, under a leader! When the king exiled this mountain, he condemned us.”

God, was that what this was all about? Maeve wanted to be queen of the wolves? “Doesn’t look like condemnation to me. We’re thriving. Those who want to be in a pack are. They’re safe. And those who want solitude are fine. Mercenaries are dangerous, yes, but you use them as weapons and excuses. All you want is power. A crown must be earned, not stolen.”

“And what do you know?” she hissed. “You’re just a child!”

“A child who’s seen every side of this mountain, thanks to you. I’ve seen the darkness and the light. The hatred and the love. What you’re doing is stripping the wildness from our animals and putting them on leashes. Eventually, the magic of the ritual will fade, the witches will stop following you, the serums will lose their effect, and they’ll rise against you. No one wants this, Maeve. If they did, you wouldn’t have to kill so many wolves and witches to make it happen.”

“My pack is behind me, and the witches have been waiting for this day. I have their support,” she murmured, a manic gleam in her eyes. “We’re so close.”

I was losing my breath. Nothing would stop her now, but somehow, I needed her to see the damage she was causing. “Was it easy to kill Lucy? To kill your own flesh and blood?”

“You think that now, when I’m so close, I’ll have regrets?” she asked coldly. “I’ve spent decades planning this. I’ve thought through every angle. Every moment. There is nothing you can say that will turn me from it. This is what’s best for the mountain, and I’m willing to make any sacrifice.”

Stepping closer, she pulled out a syringe and shoved the needle into my arm. For a second, I thought she was injecting me with something, but she only drew blood. Then, without another word, she left the room and slammed the door.

The chains were lined with iron and salt. They didn’t burn, but every attempt to free myself had been useless. I called my wolf. She rose inside me. The shift was strange, since I couldn’t fall to all fours, but the chains fell away from me and I trembled. Returning to human form, I tried the door to the hall, but it was locked, just as I suspected.

The adjacent door was another story, and when I opened it, horror filled me at the sight. Finn was collapsed, bleeding from open wounds. His face was so swollen his eyes couldn’t even open.

“Finn,” I whispered. His chains were tighter, forcing him to remain standing, so I knew he wasn’t unconscious. “Finn, you have to shift so I can get these chains off you.”

His mouth worked for a few seconds before finally opening. “Can’t. Spell.”

I placed my hands on the chains and smiled at him, even though he couldn’t see it. “Try again.”

I could feel the magic of the shackles fading, and I stayed silent through several agonizing minutes as Finn gathered the strength to shift. When the chains finally fell from him, his wolf collapsed onto the floor, and I laid my hands over him and began the work. Wound by wound, I used my magic to heal him, until at last his wolf lifted his head and looked at me.