Chapter 30 Nick #2
Sure, supes were violent in nature, but that was because they could handle it. Some of them had airs on, like they were better than humans, but others, especially the turned ones, just wanted to live a good life.
Same world. Different teeth.
Then there was the Syndicate.
Once, I’d thought they were nothing but criminals with crowns, but after Nova… after watching the way she moved through the chaos, protecting what was hers, I understood. She wasn’t evil. She was sure.
Sure about her place in the world, sure about what she needed to accomplish. She was willing to give it her all, and I couldn’t hate her for that. In fact, I was jealous of it.
Shoving the uniform into the garment bag, it was heavy and lifeless, like it was taking the weight from my shoulders. The badge followed with a dull clink. The gun came last—cold metal, no pulse, empty. The shedding of the weight felt great, even right.
Stepping into the station, I could feel all the stares, but I pushed past them to the captain’s office. Knocking on the door, I waited until he called out, “Come in.”
Burnt coffee and old resentment flooded my senses, and I almost covered my nose to keep from drowning in it. I needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. I dropped everything on his desk, the bag, the badge, the gun, the weight of the past years.
“I appreciate everything,” I said, my voice steady, “but I don’t think I’m a fit for the force anymore. I’m resigning.”
His eyes flicked from the badge to my face.
Anger flashed in his eyes, settling into contempt.
“Is all this about the jokes?” he asked, scoffing as he folded his hands over his chest. “Christ, take a few days off. Grow a thicker hide.” His head turned back to the computer, dismissing me like I was already gone.
That told me everything I needed to know.
I straightened, my jaw tight. “Thank you for the years, Captain.” Then I turned and walked out.
His voice followed me. “Hey! Come get your shit!”
I didn’t stop.
“Nick! Get your ass back over here!”
The echo of his chair scraping the floor chased me down the hall.
“I had plans for a cop like you!” he shouted from his door. “Don’t you ruin this for me!”
That was when it hit me, and the sharp truth almost made me laugh. Nova Rossey might’ve been a criminal, her family a nest of killers and crooks, but she’d never say something like that. She didn’t need anyone to make her plans work.
She stood on her own power, ruling with her blood, claws, and strength of will.
A leader who lived by the same code she demanded of her people…. There was something almost pure in that. Something worth following.
Pushing through the double doors, I walked out into the sun and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. The air burned my lungs like a purifying flame. Clean, raw, real.
For the first time in years, the world felt light and honest. I felt free.
Danger.
My wolf’s voice ripped through my mind, low and primal. I stopped mid-step, breath stalled, right before a blur shot out of the shadows.
White-hot pain tore across my cheek, slicing down my neck like fire under my skin. Instinct took over. My palms hit the ground before my face could, my body twisting into a crouch. Gravel bit into my hands, and my wolf surged forward, ready to fight.
“Fuck. His face is fucking solid.”
That voice. That arrogant tone. I knew it.
Blinking through the pain, the shape in front of me sharpened. Golden-brown hair, smug grin, fangs flashing. Conrad.
Relief flickered for a split second, but it vanished as arms locked around my chest and hurled me into the wall.
Bricks met my spine with a sickening crack, and the air got caught in my lungs.
The force itself should’ve killed me, but I could already feel my body knitting itself back together, bones humming as they realigned.
My eyes snagged on the scuffed black boots in front of me, and I lifted my head as a familiar growl filled the alley.
“Now, Nicky,” Zeth snarled as he crouched down, those green-blue eyes glowing in my face. “There are rules in this world. You hurt my mate, so now I hurt you. The vamp,” he threw his thumb toward Conrad, “felt the same way, so he came along for the ride.”
Conrad rolled his eyes, sighing under his breath. “Or it was my idea to catch him at the station, and you followed, but who cares? I just came along for the ride.”
Zeth surged up, turning to Conrad, and grumbled through clenched teeth, “What the fuck is your problem now?”
Seeing them here, my wolf backed down. The adrenaline drained right out of me, and I dropped back to the ground. I sat there with my head tilted up toward the two of them as they continued bickering in front of me.
For a heartbeat, the tension broke in my chest. My wolf peeked out.
Pack. Our pack.
Conrad shifted, nodding his head at me. “Look. Let’s just finish this.”
Zeth jabbed a finger at him. “Nah. You got something to say, say it, then we can get back to beating the shit out of him. Don’t worry about him.”
Conrad’s eyes slid to me, and before I could blink, he was in front of me. His kick drove into my gut, folding me in half. The impact rattled my ribs, the sharp bloom of pain swallowing my body whole.
“My problem,” he said, turning to Zeth, “is that ever since we mated with Nova, you act like you’re the leader.”
The words hit harder than his kick.
Mated.
My wolf whimpered, a guttural sound, inside my chest. Nova. My mate. Their mate now.
Zeth and Conrad’s fight became background noise as my mind reeled from the fact that she’d completed this… mating thing with them. I thought that because of the tattoo on her forearm, they couldn’t…
Conrad’s voice broke through my haze. “Fuck that. I don’t care if you’ve known her the longest. That just makes you the dumbest.”
A hollow laugh slipped out before I could stop it. My head thunked back against the wall. Of course. She didn’t need me, not when she had them. Not when Deslen could heal her, when Zeth could stand next to her in her world, when Conrad could keep up with the business side of things.
I was nothing but a ghost in her story now.
Throwing his hands up, Zeth glared down at me. “Great. Now he’s laughing at us. Real intimidating, Conrad.” His palm dragged down his face before a fist lashed out, unexpected and quick, its impact ringing through my jaw. Blood filled my mouth, warm and metallic, but I didn’t fight back.
Didn’t deserve to.
“Let’s just do what we came here to do,” Zeth said, flexing his knuckles. “Beat him down, make him pay, maybe bring her a souvenir to cheer her up. A hand, a tongue…” He shrugged. “Whatever takes the longest to grow back.”
The words barely registered, but my brain snagged on one line: Make her forget all about him.
*She still thought about me?
“Is she…” My voice broke. “Is she really upset?”
They froze. Conrad’s brows pulled together, and Zeth’s face twisted, fury sparking to life again.
“What the fuck do you think, pissant?!” Zeth roared. The next blows came fast. Fist after fist, my vision clouded, but I just sat there and took it. I welcomed the pain, finding it grounding.
When he finally stopped, chest heaving, he jerked his chin toward Conrad. “Your turn.”
I braced for the next hit, but it never came.
When I dared to open my eyes, Conrad was crouched in front of me, those deep forest green eyes studying me like he could see through the wreckage of my face to something deeper.
“Why do you ask?” he asked coolly.
Zeth’s boots scuffed the pavement behind me, his pacing sharp, restless. Muscles trembled under his jacket like he could barely keep from lunging.
“Looking to sell us out some more, huh? Hand the Syndicate over for a cushy desk and a pat on the head from your human cop boss?” His voice cracked with fury that was sharp enough to cut. “Well, we won’t let—”
“I didn’t.” Both of them narrowed their eyes on me. “In fact, my boss was pissed that I didn’t give him what he wanted, so…”
“I quit,” I rasped, spitting blood onto the ground. I winced when my ribs groaned, the broken bones snapping back into place. “Today, actually.”
The sound of footsteps stopped me cold. I looked up through one good eye to find Zeth frozen mid-step and Conrad leaning back on his heels, one brow raised.
Neither spoke. They just waited.
I shrugged, though the movement caused more pain. “Didn’t belong there anymore.”
Zeth huffed out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, no shit. You’re a fucking werewolf.” He jabbed two fingers against his temple. “Apparently, your skull’s too damn thick to accept that.”
Pressing my palms into the brick wall, I forced myself upright to stand. “That’s not what I meant.” My voice came out steadily despite the dull throbbing throughout my body as it healed. “It’s just… I see clearer now. That badge, that job… it isn’t me anymore.”
The two shared a look, a silent language of raised brows and subtle shifts I didn’t need to translate. I cut in before they could say anything.
“I just wanted to know how the search was going. I know she’s got you three now, her true mates.” The words scraped out of me, each one heavier than the next. “Not trying to step on anyone’s toes.”
Lie. The taste of it seared my tongue. I didn’t want her to be happy without me. I wanted her to ache, to miss me like I missed her. Even if I couldn’t be her mate, I needed a way to stay close—as a guard dog, a grunt, anything. If letting them beat me bloody bought that chance, so be it.
“Are you stupid?!” Zeth threw his hands in the air like he was done with me.
Conrad tilted his head, his expression curious instead of furious. “You really don’t know how mates work, do you?”
I looked at him, my breathing shallow. “You’re mated to her, so, what, you’re married now, right? She’s married to all of you?”
Zeth dragged his hands down his face with a groan. “We don’t have time for this shit. We need to get back before the search starts.”
Search? My pulse jumped. They’re hunting that doctor? The one torturing turned supes?
Conrad’s sigh cut through the tension. “It’s not like marriage,” he said, eyes fixed on mine. “A mate bond is… fate. Your soul’s other half. Not all supes get a mate, and those who do usually only get one, but if you're lucky, fate might bless you with more.”
A feeling of hope that I thought was lost bloomed deep in my gut.
“Each species does it differently,” Conrad went on, tapping his chest. “Vamps bite. Share blood. A mark shows up on their mate’s body.
It's to warn other vamps to back off. Demons—” he jerked his chin toward Zeth—“grow horns. The only two times they show are under extreme anger or when they find their mate.”
Zeth’s lip curled as he crinkled his nose at Conrad, but he didn’t argue.
Then Conrad pointed to me. “Werewolves, on the other hand, are a little different. Your wolf, in essence, picks your mate, and it's for life. In fact, I think that's how most shifter-based beings are, but we would have to ask Deslen since he’s both fae and a shifter. It’s not like he has wings that can change colors like fairies do.”
His eyes locked on mine, steady, unflinching.
“Anyone can reject a mate bond by just ignoring it and dealing with the longing that eventually turns into physical pain, but there have only been one or two known cases of that. Mates are normally treated like a gift from fate, so no one wants to turn that away.” His eyes drilled into mine, saying, ‘Except for you.’ At least he had the class not to say it out loud.
The thing that my mind snagged on was the longing and pain, but I wasn't thinking about me.
The words lodged in my throat. “Does that mean…” My breath hitched. “She’s in pain because of me?”
Zeth groaned, his shaking hands balling into fists.
“I’m done. He ruined the fun of… all of this.
I’ll be waiting in the damn car.” He started off, then paused halfway to the street, glaring over his shoulder.
“Fuck you, man. I hated you at first. Thought you’d steal her from me.
Then somewhere along the way, I… hated you a little less.
” His jaw flexed. “You’re still a major dick. ” With that, he stomped off.
Conrad’s lips twitched, barely holding back a smirk as he watched Zeth yank the door open and slam it shut. The demon sat there with his arms folded, waiting.
After a few seconds, he sighed and slowly stood up before brushing his coat clean from invisible dirt. His fury had cooled into something worse—disappointment and maybe even pity.
“Get your head straight,” he barked. “She’s missing a part of her soul.
That part is you. We’ll hold things down, but if you’re not all in, if there’s even a shred of doubt, don’t come back.
Just disappear from here. Get as far away from us as you can.
Any pain she feels will be replaced with pleasure.
Every stray thought of you will be turned into sweet or dirty thoughts of us.
We’ll make her soul whole by giving her all of ours because we’re her mates. ”
Leaving me with that, he strode away. Once he got into the car, I could see Zeth shouting about something, but Conrad didn’t take his eyes off me until he turned the wheel and drove off.
“Got off light,” I muttered to myself, letting out a shaky laugh. Zeth could’ve broken more than bones tonight. Conrad’s restraint was the real wound.
They’d done it all for Nova. Even their mercy was for her.
That tiny spark of hope flickered again despite everything. She did miss me. That meant something. Everything. It had to.
Having decided what I wanted, I dusted my hands off and made my way over to the truck. My mind was already spinning through the details—gear, routes, supplies. If they were going after that doctor, I wasn’t staying behind.
I had started this fight, and I was damn sure going to finish it.
* Its Not Over by Naughty