Chapter 21 Nova #2
“Due to the language barrier, he mistook mate for partner.” I eyed him on the floor with a smile, “This will make my legal team throw a fit, but what the hell!” I threw my hands up and chuckled before holding one out to help him up.
“Right before this fight, Rossey Fighting Enterprise signed Deslen, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of his fights to come. ”
Deslen rose slowly, that unshakable grin plastered across his face. With a smile, I threw my chin to the crowd, and he nodded, turning to wave at the crowd like my lie was gospel.
The humans ate it up, laughing, clapping, completely oblivious. The supes, though… their eyes told another story. No one mistook mate for business partner. They knew, but I could deal with them later, ripping their hearts out one by one if I had to. The humans were the ones I needed to convince.
Letting go of his hand, I clapped for Deslen as they buckled the championship belt around his waist, then I began to retreat, heading toward the cage door. When Deslen tried to follow, I cut him a warning glance. You. Stay.
He froze, his expression flickering before he fixed on that charming grin and turned back to his adoring audience.
Zeth, Conrad, and Nick were waiting just outside the cage. Zeth started to speak, but I shook my head. He shut his mouth and moved in beside me, solid and silent. His presence steadied me just enough.
“How about a drink? I know I need one,” Conrad said, looping an arm through mine. I leaned into him for a heartbeat, just long enough to feel the weight shift off my shoulders.
Then my phone buzzed against my thigh.
Of course, it would.
Reaching into the hidden pocket of the dress, I pulled it out and caught the name flashing across the screen.
Ezra. Video chat.
Oh, fuck.
I pushed my way out as fast as I could, the roar of the crowd snapping at my heels. “Zeth, get the car,” I called back, but he already had his phone out and was ordering someone to bring it around the front fast.
Voices called after me—people trying to either rub elbows or talk to me about that epic ending to my first televised fight—but I couldn't deal with them now.
I felt someone covering me, and Conrad’s voice followed, tossing out clever excuses with ease. Something about an after-party and having a tight schedule tonight. Lies, every one of them, but I appreciated his help in saving face.
I glanced down at my wrist, where the faint outline of the wolfsbane plant twining around my forearm pulsed again. Warmth rippled through me like liquid gold, and my knees buckled from the force. A pair of rough hands steadied me.
“I gotcha.”
I looked over my shoulder and met a set of metallic-gold eyes clouded with concern. Nick. I drew strength from them and got my feet back under me.
The limo was already waiting at the curb, its door open. I barely hit the last step before diving inside and sliding all the way to the back where the partition was up. My fingers fumbled as I swiped the screen, answering the incoming video call.
All four of my siblings filled the display.
Aniyah’s squeal nearly blew out my eardrum. “Oh, my god, girl! You bagged a behemoth! Lucus kept covering my eyes because I wouldn’t stop pointing out the bulge in his shorts! You’re gonna be blessed tonight! Stains on top of stains!”
Two fingers went to my temple, massaging it before I responded to my sister. “Aniyah—”
Ezra’s calm voice cut in. “You handled the press well. Most humans bought your explanation, and now that Deslen’s repeating your story on camera, it should hold—at least publicly.”
“But not with the supes,” I muttered because we all knew the truth.
Her expression iced over. “Riot, keep your men on the chatter. First hundred supes who mention it—break their legs and make sure to use the slow-healing poison on them. Next hundred? Make them disappear. That should send a message.”
Riot nodded once, dark and sharp, her fingers moving across her phone. “On it.” Without missing a beat, she asked, “Should I kill him tonight?”
The air in the limo thinned, and my chest tightened. I knew she was doing her job, helping me, even, but the thought of Deslen lying dead somewhere, that open smile gone cold, tore at something raw inside me. My wolf howled deep in my soul.
“No. Don’t.” The words slipped out before I could stop them. My hand fisted on my thigh.
I didn't really know this asshole, and I was already defending him. Fuck! I didn't need this right now!
Silence stretched. All four pairs of eyes on my phone were fixed on me. Calix ran a hand over his face and sighed like the weight of the world had already crushed him once today. “Nova,” he said softly, “don’t tell me that—”
“I don’t know.” My voice came out tight. The wolf inside me was pacing, snarling, “yes,” but my mind refused to listen. The tattoo burned faintly, giving me all the proof I didn’t want. All I knew for sure was that I didn’t want Deslen to be hurt physically.
“We don’t have time to cover up or explain a high-profile death, which, after this fight, he would be. Plus, I need to focus on this substance problem. I have a lead I’ll talk to tonight.” Staring at Ezra, I hoped she understood that I didn't want to talk about what she was worried about. Not yet.
I sighed. “For now, leave him.”
Ezra watched me for a long ten seconds, eyes unreadable, before nodding slowly. “Agreed. The green goo takes priority.”
Of course, she’d call it that. Ezra could topple big corporate conglomerates and convince an educated man to purchase air, but when it came to naming things, she had the imagination of a brick.
I cleared my throat. “Any updates?” I needed to talk about anything to move on from this conversation.
Calix nodded. “I’ll send what I have soon. I’m comparing the compound to the tissue Ezra preserved from the creature that attacked Aniyah. If they match, the incidents are connected.”
“And someone’s targeting us,” Ezra finished, her tone matter-of-fact. The call went quiet as that reality sank in. Having an enemy that we knew nothing about was a big issue, one that would affect us all.
Right at the most inopportune moment, my wrist pulsed and heat rolled through me again. My thighs trembled. My body felt like it was perched on the edge of something vast and uncontrollable.
“Nova?” someone said, but I couldn’t answer. Not until I forced my breathing to steady. When I opened my eyes, my siblings were watching me, each of them waiting for an explanation I didn’t have.
Riot broke the tension. “It was… enjoyable. The fight. You did a good job.” I sent her a silent thank you.
Then Aniyah jumped in, laughing and teasing, describing how her mates were currently trying to outdo one another with ridiculous feats of strength since she’d made a comment about liking the muscles on the fighters.
She winked and whispered about how she was about to let them use her as a sexy barbell.
Make gym time finally work in her favor.
Calix groaned. “Aniyah, if you mention your sex life one more time, I’m cutting one of your mate’s balls off.”
She gasped, immediately retaliating by telling him she would cut off one of his in return. The two of them started bickering, and their noise filled the space, chasing away the echo of the mark pulsing under my skin.
“Enough,” Ezra said sharply, shaking her head before focusing on me. “Nova, you did good. I’ll have numbers in the morning. Celebrate tonight for a job well done. All of us are proud of you.”
I nodded, told them all thank you, and ended the call. Setting my phone on the seat beside me, I let my eyes close for a moment, knowing my night wasn't over yet. I still needed to talk to Conrad’s contact.
The silence in the limo didn’t bother me; it felt… safe. Three sets of eyes still lingered, but instead of pressure, they brought a strange sense of calm.
Wait. Three?
I blinked and looked up. Conrad, Zeth, and Nick were watching me.
“Where are you going?” I asked Nick.
“With you guys,” he said simply. “Benson met a girl and took the car.”
I exhaled hard through my nose. The last thing I needed was another body tangled up in this mess, but at least he was already in the Syndicate ranks, which meant I owned him. I’d just count him as free labor.
“Fine,” I said. “You can help, but you follow my lead with no questions asked.”
He nodded, and I sat up, taking a breath before reminding everyone, “Nothing that is said leaves this car. Is that understood?”
A round of nods went all around, and I turned to Conrad. Those forest-green eyes had a way of cutting through my chaos, so I took a breath. “We need to make a plan for how we’re going to find your lead and get him somewhere to talk.”
Despite the layers of tension between us, the three of them easily fell into their roles as they started to talk strategy. I tried to focus, but my mind kept drifting back to him.
Deslen.
I didn’t dare look down at my wrist again, didn’t want to feel that warmth spreading, that pull tightening in my chest. I shoved the thought away, choosing to cling to the question that popped into my brain. How was he dealing with the sudden fame?
Under all the noise, one word whispered through my mind again and again—steady, insistent, undeniable.
Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.