Chapter 27 - Nova #3
A soft tutting came from her other side. “I don't know, Ray. You might see something you're not meant to.” Papa Avery? Oh, god.
Mom’s scoff was immediate. “Please. It’s not like I haven’t done worse.
What could they possibly be doing that would throw me for a loop?
I’ve fucked five guys at once. I am a fucking goddess.
” Squeezing my eyes tight, I prayed that this was one of my mom’s butt-dial mistakes and she would hang up soon.
“Nova?!” She called my name louder, and I wished for invisibility “Nova! Is that you? Are you sleeping on your desk? That's a little unprofessional.”
Nope. No invisibility. Just humiliation.
My dad Ax’s voice rumbled out, “Now, Siren, do you want us to bring up all the ‘unprofessional’ things you’ve done on your desk?”
She giggled for a second, smiling seductively before she shook it off and scowled. “That was all of your faults. Not mine.”
Before this went into a full-on play-by-play of their time together on her desk, I breathed and wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand. Forcing a grin across my face, I answered, “Hey, Mom! How’s Europe? Find anything fun?”
Her face tightening, she leaned forward before she inhaled as if the truth had punched her. “Nova! Are you crying?”
That was the moment pandemonium erupted. Voices overlapped, sharp, affectionate, and utterly ridiculous.
“What the fuck?”
“Sweetheart, just tell me who we need to kill.”
“Not my Nova. Oh, hell no!”
“All I need is a name, baby girl.”
“We should take the next flight home and gut the whole Rossey old guard. She needs a fresh start. It’s the most logical solution.”
That last one was Father Falcon, and I almost laughed.
Ever since I took over as the Rossey boss, he'd been wanting to get rid of the old guard, knowing they would give me a hard time since they were old school.
His reasoning was to ensure I was respected correctly, and, in his mind, the only way to ensure that was to put new people in place.
He tried to sell it as protecting my reign, but the rest of us called it his way of showing love… and it was out of the question.
I let their noise wash over me, half-embarrassed, fully loved, and absolutely aware that whatever disaster I’d accidentally broadcast, my family would descend like a storm, loud, ridiculous, and fiercely mine.
“All right—out! All of you, out!” my mom screeched, and I took a breath of relief. Talking to the dads about boy problems would be hard since every other word out of their mouths was about how they would make them pay. It was unproductive.
I watched Mom herd my dads like a dog moving cattle, shoulders squared, voice sharp. Men spilled out the doorway, half-grumbling, half-protesting, all wanting information to make this a “quick fix.”
Daddy Lex lingered at the threshold, loud and theatrical as always. “I’ll make them cry for you, baby girl. I’ll even film it! We could have a whole movie night, watching them bawl their weight in tears until they take their final breath! It will be great, and we’ll all have a laugh!”
Mom slammed the door in his face, smoothed a stray hair from her forehead, and turned back to me. “All right, Nov. Lay it on me now that the psychos are gone.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Mom. You’re also one of those psychos.”
A grin split her face, flashing me some fang.
“Oh, but I’m the leader of the psychos, so that means I think about it before I do it.
” I lifted a brow at her, and she crossed her arms, one corner of her mouth lifting.
“Fine. Most of the time. Just remember, I'm not the one trying to book international flights right now.”
That hit a nerve, and I laughed until the sound broke into more tears. I wanted that. I could admit it now. My own pack of lunatics who would flatten the world for me and our kids.
Mom’s expression softened. She leaned forward, and the voice we all called her “magic-mom tone” slipped into place: calm, steady, impossible to argue with. “Tell me what’s going on. Why are you hurting, Nova?”
I didn’t crumble, but I did something worse. I unloaded.
I left out the messy history with Zeth and the mate-blocking tattoo—I wasn't a snitch—but I told her about the four mates who’d shown up, how I’d kept them at arm’s length because of my fear.
Confessed that one of them had broken my heart and walked away.
Explained how confused I was, how stupid I felt for wanting something I wasn’t sure was meant for me.
She listened the way she always did, no interruptions, no judgment. When I finished, the weight I’d been carrying didn’t vanish, but saying it out loud had made it less absolute.
“Oh, honey.” Her smile was kind yet pitying all the same.
She chuckled, and the sound was rich and full.
“I see so much of your dads in all of you. Calix’s focus is so Falcon; Ezra’s clean, no-nonsense like Cosmo; Riot feels deeply like Lex; Aniyah, she’s pure Avery wildness.
And you? You’ve got Ax’s strength—inside and out.
But sometimes, I forget you all have a little slice of me in there, too. ”
I blinked, confused. She reached across the holo and caressed the air like she was tucking back a strand on my hair.
“Nov, I was you once. When your dads showed up, I fought them all tooth and nail, swearing it was just some fun and good sex. Then everyone started declaring themselves my mate, and your grandfathers got into trouble…. It was just so much easier to shove those feelings down, telling myself I’d deal with it all later. Sound familiar?”
My head bobbed.
“The hardest part isn’t knowing that this is your mate, the one or ones you were destined for. It’s the leap, trusting someone with pieces of you, pieces that you don’t even understand yet.” Her voice was quiet, but the words settled in my chest and started to click back on track like gears.
“That fear of the leap is what’s keeping you from going all in. Some people have bigger gaps to leap than others, but the decision is the same for everyone. Is it worth it or not?”
I inhaled, bringing some clarity to my mind as I tried to answer the question honestly.
Were these men worth the risk? Could I let myself fall and hope they would catch me?
Would I be okay if they said no? Could I be okay if some said yes and others said no?
My past screamed ‘no,’ my heart whispered ‘maybe,’ and my wolf screamed ‘yes.’
“Once you figure that out, you’ll know what to do,” Mom said, folding her hands and reclining as if the problem was so simple and I’d just misread the map.
“And remember—if it fails, if you get hurt, you’re never truly alone.
You’ve got your siblings, your dads, your grandfathers, and me, who’d tear the world apart for you.
All you need to do is ask, and they’ll come running. ”
She glanced at the door where a muffled voice snapped, “Move! Some of us are trying to listen!”
She rolled her eyes and threw her thumb over her shoulder. “Or just show up crying and you won’t have to say a damn thing.”
The image of my ridiculous, murderous family circling my mates like vultures made me laugh, a real, breathy kind that pushed out a little more of the darkness in my heart.
Daddy Lex’s voice came through the wood. “This is not me asking, my rose, but Falcon said that he wants to talk to Nova about the substance, which is more important than your girl talk about stupid boys that we will just kill anyway. His words, not mine!”
“I’m going to fucking shoot you and melt your face off!” Father Falcon yelled, the sound breaking his usual iron calm as Daddy Lex gasped in shock.
“But that's my best attribute! That and my dic—” His voice cut off with a loud bang against the door, and a scuffle sounded on the other side.
Mom rolled her eyes but stood up. “I guess we have to call your siblings and talk about business. Are you okay with that?”
I nodded. The hollow that had sat under my ribs loosened enough to let me stand tall. “Yeah. I wallowed long enough. Time to sort this shit out.”
She gave me a soft smile, winking at me as she opened her mouth. Another loud bang came from the door, followed by sounds that said the scuffle had escalated to a fight.
She snapped her head toward the door, voice whipping out in a queen's command. “All right! You can come in, but no talking about killing or chopping people’s balls for her, okay?!”
It was silent until a chorus of muffled ‘okay’s and a grumbled ‘yes’ leaked through before the door opened, which had my sides bursting. My mom was a boss. Always had been and always would be.
I let the ridiculous warmth of my parents in, both the armor and the absurdity. For the first time in days, I felt like I was able to breathe. Whichever way it went, I was definitely going to be okay because I had some crazy people who loved me at my back.