Chapter 2 Nova #2
A spike of rage hit me, and my hands tightened so hard the tips of my claws poked my palm.
My wolf turned her attention to him, and a flood of emotions ran through me.
Excitement. Longing. Heartbreak. Hope. Everything she was feeling for him came at full force.
It was unfair, really, especially when I wanted to throw him into the wall as much as I wanted to hug him.
“What are you doing here?” I swallowed hard, trying to keep my cool.
Pretending I didn't care that my best friend and first love was sitting next to me.
The same man I shared a passionate kiss with and then the next day disappeared on me.
Sure, I was told he was undergoing special training with my grandpa Manic but that it was something he requested. He wanted to leave.
“You're not glad to see me, Nov?”
Hearing the nickname he used to call me caused my body to shudder. In my head, my wolf howled that her mate was back. That he didn't reject her. I just wanted to roll my eyes at the claims.
How could he reject you when we never told him that you picked him as your mate? How could anything happen between us after he left once I finally hinted at my feelings for him?
With a whine, she settled into the background. She remembered how I’d felt when he left without a word. She remembered what I’d told myself.
Never again.
I would never again be put in that kind of a position. To be hurt so completely.
The crowd roared as the mage got in a round of jabs and hooks that made a bloody mess before dodging the vampire's counterattacks with the wind below his feet. Only thirty seconds left of the third round, and this vampire had yet to do any real damage. The mage had a shot.
“What are you doing here, Zeth? I’m working.” I kept my tone sharp and clipped, letting him know he was treading on thin ice with me.
He leaned over, getting too close for comfort. “Aniyah had her twenty-first birthday, right?”
Tearing my eyes away from the ring, I wanted to yell. Why the fuck does he care? He left! He has no reason to be here. Before the words came out, those sea green eyes captured mine, luring me into their depths before I could get an angry word out.
His breath skated across my skin, eyes shining bright. “You’re going to be Boss Rossey soon, right?” He paused, and his tongue swiped along his lips before he said, “I’m ready to take my place beside you. Be your second. Like I was always meant to be.”
The bell rang just as I shot up out of my seat, the crowd roaring in the background, but my focus was on the insufferable man next to me. Now he wanted to be by my side, right when I was about to take my seat?
I grabbed him by the arm, yanking him up with all my might as I growled, “Locker room. Now.”
His eyes flicked to where my fingers were digging into his bicep. His muscles flexed, and I let go like he’d burned me. “Of course, Boss Rossey.”
We easily made our way to the back since everyone was paying close attention to the judges, waiting for the final verdict. I was pretty sure the mage won, purely based on how many hits he had landed versus the vampire. He was just too quick for him.
He propped open the door for me, and I went in. No one was in there, but there was a dark section off to the side, so I went in that direction.
The door clicked shut, and I spun around, grabbing him by the neck and slamming him into the lockers. Longing and rage warred within me.
I wanted him as my second. I missed him as my best friend, but the pain was still raw.
Getting in his face, I could feel my body vibrating with the warring emotions, and my voice clipped out, “You think it's just that easy? You disappear on me for a year, no reason, no explanation, and then bam, you’re back! You think you deserve your spot again?!”
Not trying to get out of my grip, his eyes narrowed. “It's my spot, rightfully. Our dads worked together. I’ve trained by your side. I know what to do and what is expected of me. I’m a good fit for the job.”
My fingers dug into his neck harder, the anger edging out. “It’s. Your. Spot. Only. If. I. Say. It. Is.”
I could feel his muscles move as he swallowed, taking short, shallow breaths. Still, there was no hint of fighting back. “You’re right,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “Can’t we… move on?”
Move on? He thought rejecting me and running away was something we just needed to move past? Did that kiss mean nothing to him?
Taking a step away from him, I let him go, and he bent over, gasping for air.
My wolf was teetering between being upset and wanting to rage.
Her feelings of rejection and pain threatened to take over, but I pulled up that strength and control from my training and shoved it all down into a deep black box inside of me, never to be brought up again.
He would never know that my wolf had picked him as my mate.
Rubbing my hands over my face, I shoved down all the feelings and looked at this logically.
He was one of the only people that knew me inside and out.
I’d built a rapport with him, and I knew he would follow my directions to a T.
He also knew the inner workings of the Rossey clan dealings and how to get stuff done the Syndicate way.
He was a legacy, so he already had his own connections and network he could tap into.
All of those reasons said it made sense to keep him at my side, but those nagging, hurt feelings built up in the background until I felt the pressure of it all against my skull.
“Look, Zeth,” I sighed, tired of keeping all these emotions at bay, “I just don’t—”
Footsteps echoed outside. I caught Zeth’s arm, yanking him into the dark shadows of the corner before this conversation ended up as locker room gossip.
“Don’t worry about it, man. The decision went your way anyway.”
A familiar voice carried in as the metal door slammed open. Since this was the locker room, I assumed it was one of the fighters.
I shot Zeth a look that said shut it. He gave a small, tight nod, and I was again reminded that he would be a great second… if it wasn't for my damn heart.
“Fucking mage! I just couldn’t catch the slimy asshole.” The voice was a low snarl, each word dragged over fangs. “What the hell do you know? You didn’t even show up until the last thirty seconds! Some cousin I have.”
“I’m sorry!” The other voice was smoother, lighter, and although the speaker was attempting to sound sorry, his words tasted of arrogance. I knew that voice but couldn’t place it. It tugged at my memory like a burr in fur.
The growly voice kept griping about the mage and the decision. This was the vampire that had fought the mage. He was favored to win by a landslide, but apparently, that didn't happen. The mage must’ve lasted the full fight. Impressive. I’d need to find him later.
“But don’t worry,” the slick voice reassured, puffed with smugness, “I think I solved all our problems.”
I moved toward the edge, needing to see them. Zeth’s grip clamped on my arm, but I shook him off.
“Oh, yeah? How?”
“I met one of the Syndicate heirs tonight!”
That made me freeze. Zeth’s face darkened like a storm cloud.
I pressed a finger to my lips.
“No, you didn’t. Someone tricked you,” the growly voice scoffed, then metal slammed as a locker shut.
“Yes, I did. Got her number, too.”
The laugh that followed was a knife scrape. “I wanted the younger one, she so fucking hot, but my friend got her. So I took the other. Bit manly for my taste, but desperate. I threw her some attention, and she swallowed it whole. Guess who?”
The slow boil in my gut hit my lungs. My stomach clenched tight, the knot twisting and twisting until it felt like it would choke me.
“It was Nova fucking Rossey. I bet if I fuck her a few times, she’ll be putty in my hands. I could get you into prime-time fights, and we’ll rake in the cash.”
Everything inside me went ice-cold. Not rage. Not yet. Just that familiar, splintering ache I thought I’d buried.
I hadn’t been expecting forever with Liam, far from it, but I had thought, maybe, for a heartbeat, that someone wanted me. That someone saw me as a woman, not just an heir to a dangerous name. That maybe I could be… enough.
Stupid.
All of it was stupid. I should’ve known better. I did know better.
This wasn’t just rejection. It was mockery, a slap in the face wrapped in smug arrogance. A reminder that, to some people, I’d always be “the Rossey sister,” the one you settled for.
“Get out of here,” a growly voice tried, but Liam’s mouth was still running, digging his grave further and further.
“For real! Smell my fingers. Got her to come on the dance floor. She was so fucking easy.” A pause, then a chuckle followed. “For a manly woman, she tasted sweet.”
The sound of their laughter wasn’t just noise. It was every whispered comparison, every sideways look, every smirk from someone who thought I didn’t notice. It was the sting of years pressed into a single moment, a sharp, cutting reminder that the hurt had never really gone away.
This was why Zeth didn't want me, why he put distance between us until now. He didn't feel that way for me, how a man feels for a woman. Being the loyal second he was, he just didn't want to hurt my feelings or embarrass me.
Piping hot anger splintered up my spine. Anger at myself, at Zeth, at my beautiful sister, but most of all, at the man in front of me.
My dad’s voice echoed in my skull. We can’t let disrespect go unpunished.
I straightened my back, took a calm breath, and focused on the two men talking in front of us.
No. We can’t.
*“Lock the door.” The clipped order was powered by quiet fury. I was holding it all back until I was ready.
As soon as I heard the lock slide into place, I lunged. My body broke and reformed mid-air. Bones shifted, fur bursting over skin. My jaws lengthened into a predator’s snarl before my paws hit the ground, the change happening in record speed.