Nova
“Alpha Cain,” I say and get to my feet. The sight and angry scent of my Alpha immediately made me feel ashamed.
He walks towards me with his arms crossed and breathes out a sigh. However, his features soften before he wraps his thick arms around me. “Nova,” he says my name and that dam finally cracks.
Four years' worth of anger, shame and resentment come out as he rubs my back. This man trusted me, and I broke his trust by not coming to him for help, I know he will see it that way. No matter how I look at it, this is ultimately me not trusting in my Alpha.
Fifteen minutes pass, and I finally pull away from him, wiping my tears away and sniffing. “I’m so sorry,” I say, peering up at him with half-blind eyes.
“What exactly are you sorry for, little Nova? You’ve done nothing wrong.” He says, leading me over to my couch.
“Will has been abusing me for the better part of a year, and I didn’t come to you with it. He’s forced me to sleep with others for money, took my salary weekly and would beat me when I try to leave.” I finally told him my shame while being unable to make eye contact.
Alpha Cain sighs and places his hand on my knee. “I had a feeling he was getting handsy but was hoping you would have come to me with this sooner as I did not want to pry. Did I give you a reason not to trust me, Nova?” He asks with horrified and slightly hurtful eyes, but I shake my head.
“That’s not it at all. You’ve already done so much for me; I didn’t want to be a bother to you by coming to you with this,” I say, realising how pathetic it actually sounded now that I am saying it out loud.
“Nova,” he starts, letting out a sigh again. “Not only are you an important part of my pack and my literal Delta, but I see you as my little sister. Please don’t ever hesitate to come to me with anything; this is what being an Alpha is. I’m not only here to protect and lead but to help and council. Don’t ever fucking think so lowly of yourself again because you’re family to me.”
I start sobbing again and mumbling apologies when he says this, and he hands me tissues while I break down again.
“So I’m guessing this is the reason Nikolai killed him?” he asks calmly, and I nod, wiping my nose.
Alpha Cain chuckles and sits backwards on the sofa. “Fucking Bratva brat. He needs to hurry up and claim you, for fuck sakes.”
“He won’t; that’s why I was about to reject him,” I say matter of factly. He doesn’t want me for me; he wants me so he can own me. “What he did tonight spoke volumes; no one else is allowed to have me, only him, but he refuses to reject me.”
I peer up at Alpha Cain again and see the frown knitting his brow. “That’s what you think he’s doing?” He asks, and I nod again. “Nova, do you know what’s happening in the werewolf world right now? Are you aware of the War of The Five?”
“Huh?” I ask incredulously. “War?”
He nods. “Yes, war and the BloodCrest Pack is right in the middle of it. Bringing you into his pack right now would only spell danger. It could be why Nikolai doesn’t want you there right now, but the best person to ask would be him.” Alpha Cain says, then sits forward. “Do you want him, Nova?”
My head snaps towards him. “Want him? He’s my mate, Alpha Cain; there’s no such thing as simply wanting him.” I say sadly, embarrassed at the fact that I crave him. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you do know that I would never keep you from him, right? Once you two sort this out, I would never do that. You have my blessing if you want to leave the pack and go to your mate.” He says.
“That’s not only up to me, I’m afraid. Nikolai rejected me once, then changed his mind while I waited here for four years, only to be ignored. I’m not opening myself up to that heartache and humiliation again; that’s why I was about to reject him first. I won’t beg for his attention, Alpha Cain, not again.” I say with finality but only see the disappointment in his eyes.
He sighs, then pats my knee and gets up. “Well, if that is what you wish. Take off for the next week and recover; I’ll have Estelle keep an eye on the bar and hire another bar lady.”
“I couldn’t possibly-”
“I insist,” he growls, his eyes flashing crimson. “Listen to me for once, Nova and take the fucking week off. Besides, I’ll be in town for a while - I’ll be meeting my Luna Bride.”
My head snaps towards him when he says this, and I jump up. “Luna Bride? You’ve met your mate?” I ask incredulously.
Alpha Cain shakes his head. “No, she’s not my mate; his marriage is needed as an agreement with a neighbouring pack. I killed my mate over three years ago when I realised that I didn’t need one; I simply needed this union to strengthen a bond.” He says and is about to walk out when I run towards him and pull him back.
“You killed your mate?! WHY?!” I scream, startled at his admission. How could he kill his fated mate?! They’re chosen for us for a reason! “You could have had children with your mate and married her!”
After everything I’m going through with my mate, he thinks I would be OK with something like this? It’s worse than taboo!
“No,” he says sadly and sighs. “We wouldn’t have been able to get married or have children, not with the way our bodies were made. Forget about my dead mate and take the week off, Nova. I’ll see you soon.” He says with finality and scents me into submission with sadness lacing his scent.
I stare at his back as he walks out, confused as hell at what he had just said. With the way their bodies were made? Was his mate disabled or something, so he saw her as useless or worthless? How could he do something like that and tell me about it when he knows I’m in agony over my mate?
Walking towards my bedroom, I decided to have a long ass bubble bath with the hopes of washing this entire fucked up evening away.
NikolaiI’ve been sitting on my motorcycle outside The Slip for the last twenty minutes, too terrified to walk inside. Kai is pissed off with me. I can smell the anger on his scent all the way out here, and it is close to knocking me out cold.I messed up tonight, I fucking know that, and now my older brother and Alpha will make me pay. He’s been going easy on me lately, but I have a feeling that this is the last straw. Not only that, but I came across as unfeeling and cold towards my mate. She was in shock and hurting, and I couldn’t even push my ego aside to ask her if she was okay. What the hell is wrong with me?!/“I know you’re out there, Nikolai,”/ Kai suddenly says through the mind link causing me to cringe internally. Fuck, I guess it’s now or never.Taking a huge ass gulp of air and bracing myself for a shitstorm, I tuck my helmet underneath my arm and make my way inside the club. When I
NovaWhat the hell is wrong with me? It’s been close to a month, and Nikolai has disappeared yet again. I keep setting myself up for this, but whenever I try to reject him, the words die in my mouth. My heart aches whenever I think about it, so much so that I feel breathless at times.I want Nikolai, and I want him to crave me as much as I do him, but I know he never will.Tonight it’s busier than usual in the bar, but I know the reason why; the full moon is tomorrow, and the unmated males are nearing their rut. Not a good thing for an unmated female like me, especially since I can feel my heat approaching./“Nova,”/ Alpha Cain calls me through the mind link at about 8 PM. /“Close up early and go home; I don’t want Nikolai Volkov killing anyone else in my territory because you’re nearing your heat.”/I blush beet red when he says this and relay the message to Estie a
Nikolai I should have prepared for this and listened to Kai, but I upped and walked into enemy territory out of sheer fucking anger. Alder Grey, Gamma from the IronCrest Pack, has had it out for me the last few months, and by killing three of my bookies, he’s succeeded in luring me out of BloodCrest territory. And into his fucking hands. Surrounded by him and two of his pack warriors, I fought them off as best I could, but what I didn’t expect was to run into fucking hunters on my way out. Granted, Connecticut is Alpha Bastien lands, but now I have a feeling he’s aligned with hunters to keep enemies out. I tell Kai this over the mind link and hightail it out of there on my Ducati, needing to breach our own border. But a few blocks away from Hell’s Kitchen, the wheels slip on the slick tar, and I crash into a fucking store front. Kai won’t like this, I know he won’t, but right now, I can barely think as the wolfsbane makes its way into my system. I allow Knight to lead me to a s
Nova “Thank you again, Nova,” Alpha Kai says before leaving with Nikolai in tow. I couldn’t help but notice how pissed off Nikolai looked as soon as he saw his older brother. Did he not want Alpha Kai to know about his injuries or something? Oh, well, not my circus, not my monkeys. I’m about to lock the bar when I look up and see Nikolai’s grinning face on the other side of the door. “What are you still doing here?” I ask, confused. I’m pretty sure I saw him getting in Kai’s car earlier. He grins, then stretches out his hand. “Give me your cell phone; we haven’t exchanged numbers, and we’re supposed to be fated mates.” My eyes widen at this, and I can feel a blush coming on again, but I hand him my phone anyway. After inputting his number, he rings his cell as well and then hands mine back to me. “There, now you can give me your answer later,” he says, but as he hands me my phone, he grips my wrist and pulls me into his arms. “Hmmm, I can’t wait to make you mine finally.” He
Nova What a long ass week. I’ve been itching to get out of my damn apartment, and now that my heat has passed, I cannot wait to stretch my legs. Who knows, maybe it will be my last heat as an unclaimed mate. The thought made me smile like an idiot, and I shake my head as I unlock the door to my apartment. I’ve decided to go to one of my favourite coffee shops and enjoy myself for a change since I never think of myself. To say that Will’s death and Alpha Cain’s chat changed me is putting it lightly. I know my worth now, and I’ve grown somewhat of a backbone - none of the wolves who used to eye fuck me even dare to anymore. I needed this, needed the trauma and pain to realise that I’m not anyone’s doormat. Now I just need to get a bit tougher in the fighting department. “Hey, Nova. I haven’t seen you in ages!” One of the baristas, Owen, greets me when I walk in. I wave and give him a slight smile before taking a seat at the back of the cafe. I didn’t come here to chat with anyone,
Nikolai I need to calm down and not piss Nova off, but I also need to know who that fucking guy thought he was. I would have ripped his throat out if she wasn’t there, maimed him and made him cry for his mother while- “You can ask me, Nickybabe,” she suddenly says, calling me that nickname that makes my heart stutter and cutting through my violent thoughts. I look over at her in the passenger side of my black SUV. She’s smiling and shaking her head, then she turns to me again. “I know it’s killing you.” “Damn right it is,” I grumble, turning back to the road. “However, you’re allowed to have friends of your own, Nova and I won’t be the guy to keep you from that.” I can tell that this surprises her, but truth be told, I had no right to tell her who she can and can’t be friends with. I won’t be the abusive asshole who keeps her from living her life the way she wants to - I can’t be that guy. “Thank you,” I hear her saying softly before she sighs. “But he was only an old friend fro
Nova Whatever I expected was trumped by what Nikolai did today. I didn’t know this sweet, sensitive side to him existed, and from everything he’s shown me today, I can tell this is the real Nikolai. There was no faking, no cocky attitude, no over the top behaviour—just us talking about anything and everything under the sun. The fact that he’s been keeping his distance from me because of the ongoing war makes sense as well. But he could have told me about what he was doing instead of blatantly ignoring me for over four years. I would have understood his reasoning better and would not have walked into Will’s arms due to loneliness. But what’s past is past, and I have something even better to look forward to now. He’s claiming me on the next full moon, and to say I’m excited is an understatement. He wanted to take me out for dinner on our drive back, but I, unfortunately, had my shift at the bar tonight. Since we’ve been closed for about a week, I know tonight will be one of our bus
Nikolai “Ah, fuck,” I grumble as I sit up. My head is killing me, and by the taste in my mouth, it seems like I knocked back at least three bottles of bourbon last night. Fuck, why did I drink so much? The image of Nova smiling and talking to that asshole shimmers into view, and the anger takes the place of confusion. Why does seeing her talking to other men get me this angry? Why do I feel so fucking overprotective of her when I trust her completely and know she is mine? Did Kai feel like this when he met Caterina? Did Kon when Lily went missing? I swing my legs over and take in my surroundings, noticing that I am not in my own penthouse; in fact… I didn’t know where the fuck I was. Getting up, I catch a whiff of peaches and know precisely where I am - Nova’s apartment. Did she bring me here last night? Fuck, I got blackout drunk, and she dragged me here, didn’t she? I need to apologise. Walking towards where her scent is the most prominent, I knock and open the door. “Nova?” I