Jax and Fin stepped into Meredith's chambers.
A staged, delicate little cough drifted from the bed — the kind of cough someone practiced in the mirror.
Meredith lay nestled in silk sheets and an excessive number of pillows, arranged like she was posing for her own death portrait. Her hair was perfectly brushed. Lips glossed. Zero sign of injury anywhere.
Fin and Jax wore identical expressions: polite concern layered over pure internal suffering.
"Are you alright, Princess?" Jax asked smoothly, respectful enough to pass for genuine — if you didn't know him.
"Oh, Gamma Thorne," Meredith breathed, voice trembling with the fragility of a dying swan, three seconds too dramatic. "I'm… trying to be."
Fin stepped forward with the grace of a king and the soul of a man deeply regretting his life choices.
He leaned in.
He kissed her forehead.
He survived it.
Barely.
Jax stared at the wall so he wouldn't burst out laughing.
"I'm glad you're alright," Fin said gently — warm, soft, the kind of voice he used on grieving families and dying elders, not princesses who weaponized cosmetics. "Can you tell us what happened?"
Meredith let out a sigh — not the sigh of someone traumatized, but the sigh of someone receiving applause in her imagination.
"I woke in the night," she whispered dramatically. "And I sensed… something wrong. Disturbed. Dangerous."
Jax's left eyebrow twitched.
"I opened my eyes," she continued, lowering her lashes significantly for effect, "and Nova was standing over me."
Fin didn't blink.
Jax forgot how air worked.
"She grabbed me by the throat," Meredith said breathlessly, her fingers fluttering to her neck — the smooth, unmarked, absolutely bruise-free neck. "She squeezed. I could barely breathe. It was… terrifying."
Fin stared directly at the completely flawless skin and said, tone syrupy-sincere,
"And that bruise must have been very painful."
Jax nearly choked.
"She struck me before I could scream," Meredith continued bravely, even though her face showed not a trace of trauma. "I fell. I don't remember everything. It's all… a blur."
"Of course," Fin murmured, nodding solemnly. "Trauma often is."
Jax had to look at the ceiling.
"And then," Meredith whispered, clutching the blanket as though it were the only thing keeping her alive, "she grabbed my golden comb. I told her… she could have it. I begged her. But she told me—" her voice dropped to a trembling hush, "she told me she wanted more. That she deserved more. That everything I have… should be hers."
A single tear slid down her cheek — deliberate, practiced.
"I was terrified."
"I'm glad you're safe now," Fin said, voice rich with concern so perfectly performed it could have won awards.
Jax nodded solemnly, doing his best not to laugh in her face.
Fin lifted a thoughtful hand to his chin, eyebrows pinched in manufactured contemplation.
"I'm only thinking aloud, Princess… but are you certain it was Nova? Was the person masked?"
His tone was warm. Gentle.
And the lie he slipped in was silk-wrapped steel.
"Because Nova was cleaning the fields with a team of omegas that entire night. Remus Draven supervised."
A test.
A trap.
Meredith's face faltered — just barely — before she caught it.
"Oh—yes," she said quickly, breath shuddering in a way that was supposed to seem shaken. "Yes, the person was masked. But I caught her scent. It was Nova's scent."
Fin nodded slowly, the picture of thoughtful acceptance.
"Did you see the size and build of the perpetrator?"
"Oh, yes," Meredith said with immediate confidence, lifting her chin. "Entirely too scrawny. And… unattractive."
Jax nodded sympathetically, because if he didn't force himself into character, he was going to explode.
"That must have been terrifying."
"It was," she breathed, clearly enjoying that someone finally believed her performance.
"Princess," Jax said gently, bowing his head, "we will conduct a full investigation. We'll get to the bottom of this. You have my word."
Fin added, voice dipped in quiet, careful concern,
"We've already begun asking questions, actually. Which is how we learned Nova was not in her room at all — she was working the fields with Remus all night."
He paused.
"Are there any omegas we could speak with who might confirm or expand on what you experienced?"
The color drained from Meredith's face like ink from parchment.
"N–no," she blurted, too fast. "No omegas would know anything. And there is no need for further investigation."
There it was.
The panic.
The tightening around her eyes.
The microflinch of someone feeling the ground shift beneath her lies.
Fin inclined his head, soothing, gentle, the perfect Alpha protector.
"If you think of anyone we can question, please let me know," he said, stepping closer to her bedside in a show of support. "In the meantime, I'll assign double guards to your wing. I want you to feel safe."
Meredith nearly sat upright in alarm, composure cracking.
"Oh—that's not necessary. Truly. Just… remove Nova. She's the one behind this."
Jax stepped forward, posture respectful, tone perfectly polite.
"Princess, may I ask… during the struggle, did Nova say anything else? Anything that might help us understand her motive?"
Meredith blinked rapidly.
"M–motive?"
Fin added gently, hands clasped behind his back in the picture of Alpha concern.
"If she threatened you, even verbally, we must document it. Did she say why she wanted the comb?"
"Well, she… uh…" Meredith looked up at the ceiling, as though the answer lived there. "She said she wanted what was mine."
Fin nodded with sympathetic gravity.
"I see. In that case, I should question her myself, so we uncover anything else of value."
Meredith's fingers tightened around her blanket like a vise.
"That—won't be necessary," she said, voice wobbling. "I have my golden comb back and… and I survived the incident. She should be locked up—or sent back to Ashbane. Immediately."
"I'll take that under advisement," Fin said warmly, as though she'd suggested redecorating a guest room. "But I still will ask Nova for clarity on your behalf."
Meredith paled.
"No. I mean—no, that won't be… helpful."
"Not helpful?" Jax echoed with polite confusion. "Princess, you were the one harmed. Surely you'd want her to explain herself."
"Well… perhaps she'll lie," Meredith said quickly.
Fin stepped closer, offering reassuring Alpha softness.
"Then your account will hold even stronger weight. But… if she's innocent, we must know that too. You wouldn't want to punish someone unjustly."
Her throat bobbed.
"Of course not."
"So questioning her is best," Fin concluded softly.
Meredith's eyes darted between them—calculating, panicked.
"Actually… perhaps it's better if we don't ask Nova anything at all. She may be… unstable. It could upset her."
Jax blinked slowly.
"Unstable? She attacked you with precision."
Meredith faltered.
"Well—maybe not unstable. Just… fragile."
Fin's expression remained serenely supportive.
"Then we'll question her even more gently."
Meredith shook her head rapidly.
"No. Actually—I've been thinking. Maybe… maybe she shouldn't be questioned. Maybe it's best she stays where she is and we all just… move on."
Fin folded his arms, tone still perfectly mild.
"Princess, to be clear… moments ago you said she should be locked up or sent back to Ashbane. Now you say she should stay and not be questioned. Which do you prefer?"
Meredith's composure fractured.
"I—well—I only meant that the matter shouldn't be… overcomplicated."
"Overcomplicated?" Jax echoed kindly. "Princess, someone attacked you. That is not something we simply overlook."
Her breath stuttered. "Perhaps… perhaps Nova didn't mean it. Or perhaps I misremembered parts. We don't need to investigate."
Jax nodded sympathetically.
"Regardless, we will ensure your safety. You handled yourself admirably."
She sat a little straighter, glowing.
"Thank you, Gamma."
Fin pretended to consider his next words.
"Very well. I will hold off on questioning Nova—unless you tell me otherwise."
Meredith relaxed into her pillows, smug as a cat in a cream bowl.
"Yes. Exactly. That is best."
Fin offered a warm smile.
"Will you be well enough to meet with me tomorrow for lunch?"
"Oh, yes, Alpha," Meredith said eagerly. "I am fine."
"Good. I'm glad you're alright."
He leaned in and pressed another kiss to her forehead.
Professional. Tender.
Utterly hollow.
"I'm assigning double guards outside your chambers for the next few weeks," he added. "At least until this settles."
"Oh, Alpha," Meredith said, flushed with triumph. "So thoughtful."
Jax bowed with a hand to his chest.
"Rest well, Princess. And do tell us if you change your mind about pursuing justice. We will handle everything."
"I will, Gamma Thorne," she said sweetly. "Though I assure you—there's no need."
Jax inclined his head.
"Nothing is more important than our future Luna."
Meredith beamed, radiant with self-satisfaction.
"As it should be," she said smugly.
The moment Fin and Jax turned away, she let out a dreamy, victorious sigh—
utterly convinced she had outsmarted Shadowclaw's Alpha and Gamma.
She had not.
Not even close.