Chapter 31 Nova
NOVA
“Boss, we’ve hit every lake, every stream with a bank big enough to hide something. Every rock formation, landmark, and…” Robert swallowed. “Nothing.”
My palm cracked against the table. The holographic map flickered in and out. I didn’t bother turning toward him as heat crawled up my neck, my words coming out like I’d swallowed gravel. “So, we tore through half the damn wilderness, and not a single thing looked off to you?”
Silence. A hollow, guilty silence that only fed the fiery rage in my chest.
I turned on my heel and closed in, the air between us tightening with quiet menace.
“You’re a werewolf,” I hissed, jabbing a finger at his chest. “One of my best trackers. Supes are getting snatched and turned into walking time bombs, and you’re standing here telling me you can’t sniff out one damn clue? ”
His gaze hit the floor. At least he had that much sense.
I turned away and stalked back to the table before I did something regrettable.
The map hovered above it, blue and gold layers twisting in slow rotation, showing mountain ranges etched in sharp, bright light.
I touched the marker in the region he claimed to have checked, and the surface flashed before it became grey.
What the fuck am I missing!?
The door opened, and Zeth’s voice rang out with authority. “Rob, out.”
Robert hesitated for a heartbeat, looking at me, and when I gave a curt nod, he retreated as fast as he could. One set of footsteps faded down the hall as two sets of footsteps came up from behind.
Deslen was in the room with me, lingering by the window with his arms folded, eyes combing the forest like he expected something to pop out. An earthy grapefruit scent wafted from close by, and Conrad sat next to me, jaw tight, his glare firmly fixed on the glowing terrain.
Tattooed arms slid around my waist, that familiar cherry almond scent wrapping around me.
My first instinct was to shrug him off. Couldn’t have my men thinking I’d grown soft. That I wasn’t some weakling that couldn’t handle the pressure.
I closed my eyes and took a breath, but Zeth tightened his grip before I could move. “Shhhh,” he murmured against the shell of my ear. “No one’s watching. I waited ‘til he left.”
My shoulders unclenched as my worry melted away. He was right. It was just us.
I leaned back into him, letting his quiet sway pull the tension out of me. It was so… gentle. So un-Zeth that I almost doubted it was him for a second.
The Zeth I’d known for five years? Jokes, lingering glances, hesitant to do anything that might step over the line.
The Zeth holding me now? Pushy. Intense. A spark of heat licking under every word. And, damn it, I liked this version just as much.
“We’ll get him, Nova,” he whispered, an angry heat that matched my own threading through the promise. “We’ll make him pay.”
A soft laugh escaped me, breathier than I meant it to be. His voice lit something low in my spine, but the reminder of the mission dragged me back. Even if I wanted this moment to stretch on, I couldn’t. That was what bosses did—the hard thing.
I’d like some hard things right now.
That very Aniyah thought slipped through my mind, and I almost laughed out loud. Instead, I pressed a kiss under his jaw, squeezing my thighs together when I felt the small, involuntary groan rumble out of him. Focus, Nova. Boss work. Not mate work.
Even though mate work sounded way better.
My wolf howled her agreement in the back of my mind, but my damn Desmond pride shoved everything else aside. I tapped his arm, and he let me go even though neither of us wanted that.
With the heat in my chest cooled, I faced the map again.
The cave guy’s words replayed in my head.
Lake and bank. I’d assumed he meant the bank of a lake, which made perfect sense for someone running a hidden operation or a lab.
Easy access to water meant free power. A homemade hydro set-up wasn’t exactly rocket science.
I’d already sent teams to comb through every possible spot, but all of them had come back empty.
Which meant I was missing something. I needed a new angle. A different interpretation.
If he isn’t drawing power from water, then what the hell is he using?
I yanked out my phone and punched in Gil’s number. If my brother wanted to pretend his little pet techie was my IT guy, then fine—I’d use him like one.
As soon as the phone clicked over, I said, “Gil, it’s Nova.”
A crash echoed on the other end, metal hitting tile, a yelp, then the muffled scrape of someone scrambling to grab their phone. When he finally spoke, his voice wobbled. “Y-yes, Boss Rossey?”
“I need you to hack into the power company and check for any spikes. Anyone pulling more energy than usual, I need that information now.”
A breath, followed by a dry swallow I could practically hear. “Um… I—I don’t know—”
“That’s the wrong answer, Gilly.” My jaw locked, every word sliding out like a warning. A familiar tingling pricked my fingertips, claws itching to break the surface and remind him what failure cost around here. “I’m calling back in ten minutes. I expect answers.”
I hung up and slammed the phone onto the table. A crack split the silence. I winced. Great. I broke another one!
“So, you don’t think he’s near a lake anymore?” Conrad asked.
My eyes drifted back to the shimmering map.
“I’m not ruling it out. I’m just not betting everything on it.
The only thing I know is that he needs power.
A hydroelectric source makes the most sense, especially when you put it with ‘lake’ and ‘bank,’ but we’ve got nothing to show for it, so I’m widening the search. ”
I tapped a button on the side of the table. The terrain dissolved, replaced by a holographic layout of the city. Another tap, and patches of red flared across the display.
“If they’re hiding in plain sight,” I said, pointing at the glowing sectors, “these are the areas my men patrol the most. Easy to blend in. Easy to disappear.”
I dropped into a chair, lacing my fingers together before I broke something else. “If they’re in the city, it’s a smaller crew. Easier movement. I’m betting he’s got a mage—probably an air mage—handling transport for the captured supes. Quiet. Efficient. Off my radar.”
Zeth stepped beside me and hit another switch. A constellation of green dots blinked to life. “Our properties,” he said. “You can eliminate those.”
Conrad leaned forward, studying the map like it had insulted him.
“Underground,” he muttered. “If I wanted to keep something from you, that’s where I’d put it.
” His chair scraped as he rose, arms folded as he paced.
“And with an air mage, they could dig silently and filter debris right into the wind. You’d never see it. ”
I nodded and fired off a message to my men. Sewer scans. Full sweep. Anything weird, notify me immediately.
“We’ll have a map of the underground system in twenty minutes.”
I’d barely set my phone back down when Gil’s name flashed across the screen. I hit the speaker and dropped my voice into something that left no room for hesitation.
“Talk.”
“U-um… s-so—” Gil’s voice trembled like it was trying to escape his throat. “I c-cross-referenced l-last year’s usage with th-this year’s, and there’s a… a pretty big jump at the c-city’s hydropower plant.”
Deslen turned from the window at the same time all three of us snapped our attention toward the map. My fingers flew across the controls, zooming in on the section he mentioned. The hydropower plant sat right on the outskirts of town, hugging our biggest lake.
My heart stuttered against my ribs, adrenaline humming through me. “What buildings are around it?” The question came out sharp, but the edge was pure anticipation.
Rapid, panicked taps sounded through the speaker. The room held its breath, every one of us leaning forward as if we could somehow will him to go faster.
“Looks like they b-bought up the surrounding buildings a f-few years ago… planned to expand but…” He hesitated. “But the project was stopped due to funding.”
My words snapped tight. “What buildings?”
More clacking. “Uh… a strip mall with a coffee shop, a thrift store, and a massage parlor. And—”
He paused again. “Oh. And a local bank.”
My chair scraped the floor as I shot upright. Conrad moved at the same time. Zeth already had his phone to his ear, barking orders until I threw out a hand.
“Wait. Tell them to stage a few miles out.”
He relayed the order without question.
Deslen drifted to my side, brows pulled together. His strawberry and peppercorn scent had me licking my lips. “Why not roll in and take the place now?”
I shook my head, mind already moving ahead of him. “We don’t know what the hell we’re stepping into. A full assault could spook them or give them enough time to slip out a back tunnel. A small, quiet team gets in cleaner. We gather intel and grab the doctor for answers before getting rid of him.”
Zeth hung up and faced me, jaw set. “They’ll get into position and wait for our signal.”
A feral smile slowly curled across my face, one I hadn’t felt in a long while. The thought of the doctor’s blood covering my hands, his screams traveling through the air as I beat the truth out of him, sent delicious tremors down my hands.
I looked at my men, my mates. Smart. Fast. Precise. The perfect blend.
Still could use a scrappy black wolf with good instincts. Shaking that thought off, I made sure to keep my smile in place. I didn't want them to know who I was thinking about.
“Looks like I’ve got my go team,” I said, letting my gaze drag over each of them. The energy in the room spiked, all of us needing some kind of action after the week we’d had. “Ten minutes to get ready, boys. Gear up.”
They were ready faster than I expected, already lined up by the door. Black shirts clung to muscle, cargo pants fitted sharp, boots planted. A dark, menacing, lethal wall of men. My men.
My wolf slammed against my skull.
Mates. Ours. Take them. Now.