Nova yanked her hand back again, as hard as she could and pulled it away from the woman. Her heart was pounding but deep down, she felt defeat. Like something bad was going to happen and she couldn't fight it.
Fin felt that through the matebond and his wolf spoke in his mind.
Xeon: Mate. She's ours. Claim her.
"Enough—" Milo snapped. "We're done here."
The woman grabbed Milo at unnatural speed. Her eyes rolled white.
"You'll die in battle," she hissed, voice splitting between octaves. "Young. Before your mate. You'll die protecting the white wolf."
Her grip trembled, lips twisting into something like a smile.
"Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The clock bleeds faster for you, little soldier."
Then her hand shot toward Rael.
"You must choose," she breathed, the words cold enough to frost the
