NOVA
My angel-like crush was leaning against the wall with a pint of beer in his hand. A dark half-smile curled up his mouth while his eyes thoroughly explored the giggling blonde's cleavage. She knew which part of her body stirred his attention and even pushed her chest toward him, giving him easier access.
"Seriously?" I couldn't help but let out a sharp hiss that signaled my irritation.
Jarvis let out a deep sigh. "Fortunately, Felix doesn't come here often," he commented. "Every time he does, he makes me want to have a pair of bobbies and become one of those cheap sluts around him."
I snorted, turning my eyes back to the bartender. "You can't be serious, Jarvis. I know that this guy is handsome, but that wouldn't make me lose every ounce of self-esteem like this half-naked blonde."
Jarvis leaned on the counter and smirked. "He is NOT handsome; he is a GOD of sexiness."
More laughter came out of my throat, but this time it sounded hysterical. "Oh, come on! He's not THAT hot!"
Jarvis' eyebrows rose. "You haven't seen him naked, have you?"
I cleared my throat and smiled awkwardly. "No. How would I? I only know his name," I said since I still hadn't confirmed whether or not those incredible abdominal muscles I touched in the forest were his. "Have you?"
Jarvis nodded, biting his lip. "I ran in the woods with him once. When he shifted back, I almost had a heart attack. Since that day, I started praying to Goddess to send me a mate as BIG as him."
This information did weird things to my imagination, and I had to bite my tongue not to drag the matter of Felix's size any further. I took a deep breath, trying to focus on my beer, but before I knew it, my eyes shifted to Felix's side of the bar. Our eyes met.
"Hecate, save me," I mumbled, already melting in the blue of his irises.
The half-naked blonde had her hand looped under his arm, and they were walking out of the bar, but strangely, his eyes were locked on me. I gulped. Whatever dumb expression formed on my face earned me his insanely seductive smile. I could breathe again only after he and that blonde walked out of the bar.
"Oh. My. Fucking. Goddess!" Jarvis clapped his hands, grinning at me with wicked excitement. "You are so on his radar, girl!"
I laughed in an absolute panic. What the hell was wrong with me?! That guy had just left the bar with some blonde tramp, but the image of his smile had engraved itself in my mind so deeply that I couldn't think of anything but him.
I had every reason to avoid him. A rational woman with self-respect would have rolled her eyes in disapproval or flipped him a bird, but did I react like that? No! I practically drooled while looking at him! Could I be any more obvious… or pathetic?!
Jarvis was still grinning at me, making me want to punch him. Since I would try anything just to wipe that smile off his face, I said, "I'm not on his radar or whatever. He caught me staring at him and his date, so he offered me a smile—a charity for a dumb, mediocre witch."
Jarvis frowned. "I can agree with the dumb part, but only because you are obviously underestimating your looks. I might be gay, but even I acknowledge that you are one hot babe. With your black hair, flawless skin, and emerald eyes, you are impossible not to stare at. I also bet that more than half of my male customers fantasize about fondling those curves of yours. Those who don't fantasize about you are gay."
I chuckled and blew him a kiss. "Thanks, Jarvis. You know how to brighten the girl's mood."
A minute later, I started chewing on my burger, trying to erase any Felix-related images from my head. It worked... sort of: I was able to get rid of the image of his smile by thinking about him naked. Goddess, I should find a nice guy and get rid of my horniness problem. By the end of devouring my meal, I decided to place all my hopes in Jarvis's first statement about Felix: he didn't come to this bar often. That gave me a chance to survive the upcoming weeks without meeting him and making a fool of myself again.
***
Jarvis was wrong. Felix showed up the next day, a minute after I walked in. I panicked, thinking that perhaps my friend was right, and Felix had truly chosen me as his next prey, but he had never even gotten close to me. A few of his friends showed up, and, a little while later, another half-naked she-wolf was writhing to get his attention.
"He is bad news, Nova," I told myself. "Ignore him. Don't look at him; soon you will forget about him."
Of course, that didn't work. He was impossible to ignore. He smelled like lime and rosemary, and whenever he walked into the bar, all I could smell was him. That was why I was able to register the sole second he appeared without even looking, and he kept coming to that bar—my favorite bar—every single night. Was he doing it on purpose to torment me?! Had I done something to him in my previous life?!
I caught him staring at me a few times, and every time, his gaze ignited the hellfire within me. Luckily, I survived. I sent thank-you prayers to every higher power when I had finally finished my assignment and knew that it was the last day I was forced to dine in that bar in the evening. But that night was different...
When I walked into the bar, Felix was already there. He was alone. I walked past him and sat in my usual place by the bar. This time he got up and sat next to me. My heart started to race, and heat flooded me with the strength of a tsunami.
"It looks like I'm into witches," he said, piercing me with his alluring blue eyes, and then he added, "For the last two weeks I fucked she-wolves, but only thought of you."
My jaw might have dropped at that moment. Was he serious?! That sounded like the worst pick-up line ever! Did he think I would be impressed by his cocky confession?! Who did he think he was?! Fury rose within me. I was going to yell at him… or slap him…
He kissed me. That son-of-a-bitch kissed me! He used my moment of silence to pull me close. He snaked his arms around my waist, and his mouth crashed against mine. His tongue daringly parted my lips, giving me the sweetest caresses I had ever felt. And the worst part was that I kissed him back!
"Wow," he murmured when he finally broke our kiss. "It was even better than in my dream."
I blinked in disbelief. "Y-you dreamed about me?"
He curved his seductive lips and purred, "Every night since I found you in that forest."
I was melting again. His words fried my brain's circuits. My sanity clearly went elsewhere since he just grabbed my hand and said, "Come with me." Then he pulled me out of the bar, and I just let him lead the way.
Yes, I must have gone insane. He wasn't a "nice guy." On the contrary, there were all kinds of flashing red warning signs around him. But I couldn't resist him. I wanted him badly. I made my choice.
NOVAThere was no doubt that my sanity had left me when I sat on Felix's motorcycle and put my arms around his waist. He chuckled as he started the engine, proving that he was fully aware of how much I enjoyed feeling his rigid muscles underneath my fingertips. I thanked the Goddess that I was sitting behind him, and he couldn't see my heavily blushing cheeks."Hold on tight, love," he all but purred before stepping on the gas.I pressed my chest against his back, and I could feel the growl resonating within his chest. Going out with him could have been the most reckless and most likely the dumbest of all the decisions I had ever made, but then why did being close to him feel so right?We arrived at the luxurious estate near the palace. Well, it was no surprise that Felix was wealthy; he was the royal pack's Beta heir after all. He stopped in front of a lush, modern mansion."This is where I live," he said, pointing at the opaque glass door.I smiled nervously. My heart started to pou
NOVAI woke up wrapped tightly in Felix's arms. My cheek rested on his chest, heaving and falling with his calm, steady breath. I listened to his heartbeat while inhaling his lime and rosemary scent. It was odd. I felt no specific smell from any other wolf, but there was something about Felix that made him different. I heard that identifying others by their scent was a wolf thing, and it was considered one of the things that helped mates find each other. But I wasn't a wolf; I wasn't a half-breed either. Was I feeling this way because Felix was one of those pheromone-laden, high-ranking wolves? Did he feel that my scent was special to him too…?The night with him was incredible. He said that he was going to ruin me, and he was right. He ruined me for every other man that would come after him. I have no words to describe how I felt when he touched me, when he was inside me...The warmth I felt while lying in his arms was addictive. Correction: I was already an addict. How could I leave
NOVAMy hopeful state didn't last long. I hadn't seen Felix since the moment we talked about our friendship, and aside from a few exchanged text messages, I had no contact with him."I guess he is busy dating other women," I muttered angrily when he didn't answer my call.Was I expecting too much? Friends call each other, don't they? Or maybe I'd already started to act like those intrusive girls, begging for his attention?"Nova, stop it! He is NOT your boyfriend, and you need to start living your life!" I scolded myself.I had an apartment in the central district, and the digits on my bank account kept increasing. I gained the kind of independence I had dreamed of all my life, and instead of celebrating that fact, I was worrying about my so-called friendship with Felix.Finally, I decided not to contact Felix, but I was still hoping he would call me himself. Then I decided to do something to invest in my abilities. My clients' demands grew, and it was time for me to develop a few mor
NOVA I woke up in Felix's embrace. I could get used to it. My head had learned to use his chest as a pillow, finding it irresistibly comfortable. The sound of his breathing was amazingly soothing. This sense of serenity was magical. I wish it could last for eternity. "Tell me about yourself," Felix murmured with his eyes still closed. I stiffened then laughed nervously. "What would you like to know?" He shrugged and blessed me with the gaze of his mesmerizing blue irises. "Tell me something you haven't told anyone." I laughed again. "This will be easy since I rarely tell people anything about myself." He lifted me gently, placing my head on the pillow, while he rolled to the side to look at me. "Tell me about how you were growing up." Those words wiped every sliver of a smile off my face. The cold air painted a shiver across my skin. I sucked air into my lungs, struggling to keep my composure. Felix reached out his hand and stroked my cheek. "You don't have to tell me if it's t
NOVAI might have stuck on cloud number nine. My feelings for Felix were growing, and it was an irreversible process. I spent the whole next day grinning like an idiot and laughing to myself in public places. I received odd stares from people, probably thinking I was a lunatic, but I ignored them all. I was an absolutely hopeless case…My rationality surfaced every few minutes, slapping me in the face with all the combinations of "Felix" and "no relationships," but it was too late. I had exposed myself in front of him, and he didn't reject me; he embraced me and my disfigured face, breaking every defense mechanism I could place around my heart.The world outside was gloomy and dark as if autumn had come in the middle of summer, but I could see the sun shining above the clouds. I bounced my way to the post office to collect my insanely huge package with the spell books I ordered. It was too heavy for me to lift, so I started to drag it across the floor. Fortunately, two of Felix's subo
NOVA I had never thought that the Alpha King's death would change so many aspects of my life, but it did. The Moon Blade Pack now had a new leader—Alpha King Tyrion Venard, and with him sitting on the throne, Felix Montel had officially become the royal pack's Beta. Some would say that I was a lucky girl because I was currently acquainted with all the ranked wolves in the Moon Blade Pack, including the Alpha King himself, but somehow, I couldn't see how it was supposed to be fortunate. I hadn't seen Felix since the moment Alpha Tyrion, Zane, and he returned from their secret mission. He didn't even reply to my messages or call me back. I only briefly saw him during the late King's funeral, but our contact lasted a single glance. I kept telling myself that this new situation must be hard for him, yet I couldn't help but feel pushed away. Felix had to move out of his house and was now living in the palace, aka the packhouse, which created even more distance between us since I had to a
NOVA Three years later It took me a while before I pulled every splinter with Felix's name on it out of my heart, but today, I could finally say that I was cured. Focusing entirely on work helped a lot. My list of customers kept growing, and I could proudly call myself a successful and independent woman. Of course, I would never call my healing process easy. I began with a wide river of tears I cried over my enormous stupidity. After this painful recovery, I could now shamefully admit that Felix was right about one thing—I was an idiot. How could I give my heart to a bastard who didn't even ask for it? I entered the deep waters after reading "How to Swim in the Ocean of Emotions: A Handbook for Dummies." Well, I guess the theory wasn't enough to survive this kind of relationship experience. I genuinely thought that I had this casual-sex-only thing all figured out, and yet I threw all defenses out the window and embraced the uncertainty more dangerous than Russian roulette. A bullet
NOVAA light slap on the cheek jolted me back to consciousness. I was still numb and felt as if something was blocking my throat, but at least my senses returned. Lime and rosemary. My heart squeezed as I recognized Felix's scent. I slowly lifted my eyelids."Nova... Love, please wake up," I heard his deep voice whispering.I blinked, releasing the lingering tears, and heard him sigh in relief. I still couldn't move or even open my mouth to talk. If I hadn't been paralyzed, I would have cried out his name, thankful for having him near me, thankful that it was him instead of the one who attacked me...I blinked again, cautiously acknowledging my surroundings. My lower body lay on the ground, possibly in the middle of the road. My upper body was in Felix's embrace. He pressed me against his bare chest, allowing me to hear his hectically pounding heart. He saved me… but how did he know? How did he get here? And what had happened to Max? Did he escape? Or…"Can you hear me, love?" he aske