Nikolai
I’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 walk into the office, I notice that Konstantin and Dimitri are present as well.
“Is this going to be a three-way cuss fest?” I ask, trying to hide my actual fear with my cocky attitude. All three of my brothers looked at me with disappointment, and I immediately shut up. But other than that, there’s something else wrong; I can tell by the way Kai is gritting his teeth.
“This is not about you, asshole, but I’m sure Kai will get to that shortly,” Konstantin says while downing a glass of what smells like vodka. “Shit’s brewing in Maine.”
I frown and cross my arms, looking at Kai. “Maine? What happened?”
Kai sits back in his office chair and sighs. “The entire Winter Sun pack has been obliterated,” he says, leaning his elbow on the arm rest and biting the back of his thumb. “But that’s not all; everything points to murder-suicide.”
My eyes widened at this. “Murder-suicide? They killed one another?” I ask.
Kai nods. “That’s what it looks like. They were a nomad pack under me, and it seems this is the reason they were targeted.”
“But why would they do that? They were under BloodCrest protection.” Dimitri says, perplexed but Kai only shakes his head.
“And yet this happened to them. I am starting to suspect that Father is on the move and attempting to discredit my rule and leadership. This ‘murder-suicide’ smells a lot like what happened to Dimitri and Arya.” Kai says, and I can literally see Dimitri cringe at this.
Konstantin steps forward. “If that’s the case, does that mean we have to go all around the fucking country to the packs under us and have Marle and her sisters check everyone again?” He asks incredulously, the rest of us groaning when Kai nods.
“That’s exactly what this fucking means. The witches on Father’s side seem to rival ours; it makes me wonder if they're not one of the supposed dead Ancients as well.” Kai says, then stands up and walks around his desk. “I’ll speak to Marle and Caterina tonight and plan a way forward. For now, let’s not alert anyone else in the pack about this; it will only cause unrest.”
My brothers and I nod, and then Kai dismisses us.
“Not you, Nikolai,” he warns when I’m about to walk out, and Konstantin slaps my back and chuckles at my mistake as he closes the door behind him. Fuck.
I sigh and turn around, still getting the anger/disappointment in his scent. “I’m sure you know why I asked you to stay behind.” He says, perching on the edge of his desk, and I had to bite back an arrogant comment, so I simply nod. “Care to explain what happened?”
“I suppose I have to,” ah, fuck. “Sorry. I… went to the bar Nova works at and lost my temper.”
Kai scoffs. “You tore a guy apart; I think you more than lost your temper, little brother. Be honest with me and explain what happened.”
I know Kai will understand more than anyone, but I don’t want him to look down on me and feel ashamed of my actions. Yeah, Knight reacted before I did, but that was only because he yearned for his mate.
“I saw her pressed up against the wall with a bloody nose and bruised cheek, she also had her skirt pulled up, and the guy I killed was getting ready to violate her.” I spilt out everything but refused to make eye contact with him.
When I eventually look up, he’s crossed his arms and looks deep in thought. “So you killed him because he violated your mate? That’s acceptable.” He says, my eyes widening to dinner plate levels, but his following line crushing my spirit.
“What is unacceptable is the fact that you haven’t claimed your mate yet and left your wolf yearning so much for her that you let him take over in a moment of weakness.”
Did Knight speak with him?
“I know,” I sigh, sounding like a child being reprimanded.
“No, you don’t understand, Nikolai. Have you thought about how this is making Nova feel? In her already fragile mind, you’ve rejected her, but now you’re hanging around her place of work acting like a jealous lover. Marle has informed me that the rejection was voided since it wasn’t you who rejected her but the demonic parasite inside of you at the time.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
He clenches his jaw and breathes out. “That being said, I’m giving you two months, little brother - either reject your mate or claim her.” He says, walking to his desk and leaving me dumbfounded at his words.
I blink in confusion and shake my head. “What? No, not with the war-”
“You heard me, and stop making excuses. Now go get some sleep because you’re leaving with me for Maine tomorrow, then to all the other packs under me.” He says, dismissing me with those final fucked up words and I leave the bar for the confines of my fucking penthouse to stew in my self-pity some more.
Claim Nova in the next two months where I’ve been trying to keep her out of everything? Is Kai being serious? It’s not like I’m running away from my responsibility; I’m trying to keep her out of this war!
/“Keep telling yourself that,”/ Knight cuts through my thoughts, pissing me off even more.
/“Shut the fuck up; I’m trying here!”/ I growl, falling down on my couch and breathing out a sigh. /“I want to keep her safe.”/
/“Look how safe she was tonight; what would have happened if we weren’t there?”/ He says before tuning me out and disappearing.
What would have happened if we weren’t there? I don’t want to think about it.
***
“They’ve been here - I don’t even have to step inside to know that. The same spell used on Dimitri and his mate was used on this entire pack.” Marle says, looking horrified when we reach the border of the slaughtered Winter Sun Pack.
Kai growls and walks into the grounds. “This settles it then; Father is involved in this war and probably instrumental in why two of the five turned. We need to burn the bodies and bless them before we leave.” He says while walking on ahead.
We spend the better part of two hours burning the bodies of the 150 members' strong pack and blessing the corpses. As an Alpha, I know Kai sees this as an incredible loss since they depended on him for protection, only to have their lives snuffed out. Not even the children were spared, not even the fucking infants.
“This is fucked up,” I say as I look at the body of what seems like a three-month-old pup. “How could they do something like this?”
Kai walks over to me and places a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll avenge them all, little brother, but for now, we need to lay them to rest.” He says, then slaps my back and walks away.
“This is why I don’t want Nova at my side, Kai; this is what I’m fucking afraid of!” I exclaimed, throwing a match on the body of the pup and walking towards my brother, pushing him back. “How can I bring her into this when death surrounds us?!”
Kai tries to contain a growl and fails. “You think death isn’t surrounding every other pack aligned with us?! How would you feel if this had to happen to the SilverSun Pack tomorrow and you have to be the one to bless Nova’s remains? How will you fucking feel then?” He snarls, and I look at him in disbelief; then, he breathes out a sigh and shakes his head.
“All I am saying is she would be safer with us than out there, Nikolai. What would have happened if you weren’t there to protect her the other night in the alley?” He says, then walks away from me once again.
It’s the second time I'm being asked that question, and I still don’t know how to answer it.
**THE REMAINDER OF THE BOOK WILL BE UPLOADED ON SUNDAY 1ST MAY 2022**
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
Nova This man is going to be the reason my heart gives out one day. The kiss in his truck did a lot more than leave me flustered - I wanted him to do all sorts of filthy things to me and not stop. God, I’m pathetic, aren’t I? When the elevator door closes, Nikolai pushes me against the mirrored wall and cages me in by placing both of his palms against it on either side of my head. “You know, I can promise to keep my hands off you, but you will need to do something about your lust, little Rogue.” He says as his eyes flash silver, pressing his hard body against mine. “Do you want me to rip your clothes off right here and now, or will you reel in your scent?” “S-sorry…” I mutter, trying to think of naked old people and failing. “I didn’t mean-” “That’s okay; at least I know I can make you feel like this without so much as a touch. Although I want to do more than fucking touch you.” He says, then steps back, laces his fingers with mine and walks out into his familiar penthouse. Am