Chapter 28
Nova
“Is he okay?” Tucker asks, leaning into whisper.
We watch as Nick stomps around like an angry bull.
“I don’t know.” I whisper back. Part of me wants to ask, but something tells me this isn’t his normal grumpiness. “He’s been acting weird the past few days.”
“Should we ask him about it?”
“Does he look like he wants to be bothered?”
It’s weird. It’s like he’s here, but not. He hasn’t talked much and when I’ve asked if he was okay, or what has him feeling all pissy, he just glares at me and tells me to leave it alone.
At this point, I'm starting to panic that something is wrong.
Has all this become too much for him? Is it the club? I try to stay out of their business, so I don’t know much of what's going on regarding that part of his life.
Is he pissed that Tucker and I have been spending so much time together? We try to include him too, but he’s been working extra hours at the clubhouse .
I still think he hasn’t really taken the time to process the new changes going on in our lives.
He’s going to have to sooner or later, and I think it’s best for all of us if it’s sooner.
Nick grabs his jacket and without even a goodbye, he leaves the house, slamming the door shut.
“Okay, what the fuck was that?” I get to my feet from where I was sitting on the couch and put Petunia on Tucker’s lap. She scrambles up to his shoulders and drapes herself across them like she does with Nick. She likes Tucker now, almost as much as she likes Nick.
And I’ve seen the little smile Nick has when he sees the two of them together.
Tucker is still weirded out by her, but he does his best to try and act like he’s not uncomfortable.
“No idea. There is a way we could find out though. He’s been very weird, coming and going. Does it make you uneasy too?”
“Yeah, a bit.”
“Maybe we should talk to him.” He sets Petuina down and she hisses her displeasure before scampering away.
“Maybe.” I sigh. He steps up to me, pulling me into his arms.
“For now, let’s get out of here and grab a bite to eat. When he comes back, we can talk to him together. I’ll sleep over again.”
Tucker has been spending more time at our place, sleeping over with me in my nest. Will and Ian are not happy about it, so I often find myself snatched from my nest in the middle of the night and trapped between the two big Alphas on my bed.
The cutest part is, sometimes Nick will get into the nest with me and Tucker after we’ve fallen asleep. So when the guys take me, Nick and Tucker end up cuddling. It’s so damn adorable.
Nick tries to play it off like it’s nothing, but I see the smile Tucker gives him when Nick’s not looking.
“Yeah. I could use some food. Maybe ice cream."
"Ice cream sounds great.”
After changing into a cute spring dress, Tucker and I head downtown.
We grab some ice cream and decide to go for a walk to enjoy the nice weather.
I’m taking a big lick of my cone when I pause, brows furrowing. Swallowing my tongue full of ice cream, I nudge Tucker. “Is that Nick?” I ask, as a man who looks identical to Nick goes into the flower shop.
“What is he doing in there?” Tucker asks.
“I have no idea, but we’re going to find out.” Grabbing Tucker’s hand, I pull him across the street and toward the flower shop. We slip inside and hide behind a shelf. Peeking through the cracks, I see Nick standing at the cash register with a big bouquet of flowers.
“Good afternoon, Nicholas.” The sweet old lady named Mrs. Roswell says. “What a pretty bunch you’ve picked out. Is that for Nova or Tucker?”
Pretty much the whole town knows about our pack dynamic. It didn’t take them long to put two and two together after seeing me with Tucker a lot. And they all know who my Alpahs are.
It’s taken the guys at the MC a little time to accept Tucker, but knowing what he did, telling us about what Chris was going to do, won him a lot of points. They’re just not the best with cops, and it’s understandable.
“No.” Nick grunts, handing her money. He says nothing else as he takes the flowers and leaves.
When he’s gone, I turn to Tucker. “What the fuck does he mean it’s not for one of us? Who the fuck else would he be giving flowers to!?”
“I don’t know.” Tucker says, frowning at the door. “You don’t think he’s seeing someone else, do you?”
“He better fucking not be.” I growl, anger and fear hitting my gut.
“Don’t bikers sleep with those girls? What are they called, sugar butts?”
“Sweetbutts.” I correct him. “And he would never.” Even though some have tried. Not a second time, though, after I’ve threatened to cut their throats. “At least I don’t think he would.” I look towards the door.
“Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” I ask as Tucker pulls me out of the shop. He takes our ice cream and tosses them in the trash, making me pout. “I was eating that.”
“I’ll get you more later. Come on, let’s go before we lose him.”
We get to Tucker’s car just in time to see Nick pulling out of the parking spot he was in, driving Will’s truck.
We keep a few cars behind him as we follow him.
It’s not until we’re heading to the edge of town, deeper into the woods that I wonder where he’s going. Is he cheating on us with someone in another town?
But there’s no towns this way. Only the city cemetery.
“Oh fuck.” I whisper as we pull into the road that leads to the cemetery.
“What?” Tucker asks, parking the car next to a few others.
Pulling my phone out, I call Ian.
“Hey baby. What's up? You and Tucker being good?”
No. “What day did Reina die?”
“What?”
“What day was Reina killed?”
Ian goes quiet and then curses. “Fuck. Now it makes sense that he’s been a raging asshole more than normal.”
“It’s the anniversary of her death, isn’t it?” I whisper, a lump forming in my throat.
“Yeah, Little Doe. Give him a break today, okay?”
“Yeah.” I swallow hard. “Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too, baby.”
I hang up the phone and let out a deep breath.
“Who’s Reina?” Tucker asks.
Chewing my lip, I debate on whether I should tell Tucker. It’s not my story, but this is his Omega. It took me months before I got Nick to open up to me.
If it were any other circumstance, I’d tell Tucker to talk to Nick.
“I don’t want to go into details, because it’s not my past to talk about. But, Nick had a girlfriend when he was younger and her death fucked him up, big time.”
“Oh.” Tucker whispers, looking out the window. “Is he going to be okay?”
“I don’t know.” I tell him honestly. “This is the first time since her death that he’s been with anyone seriously. I’m sure it’s eating at him.”
“Let’s go.” Tucker gets out of the car.
“What? Go where?”
“We keep our distance and if he needs us, we'll be there for him.”
“I don’t know.”
“You know what it feels like to lose someone you loved. Someone who meant the world to you. What was the one thing you wanted after seeing them?”
“Someone to hang and cry with.” Not that I think Nick would do that. He’s not one to cry.
“Just in case.”
I nod. “Just in case.”
Nick
Standing in front of the gravestone, I read the words I’ve read a million times and wish more than anything I could go back in time and stop him. To take the gun from his hand and turn it on him. Kill him before he could take her from me.
It’s the same thing I’ve wished for every year when I’d come to visit her grave.
But this year is different. This year I’m conflicted.
“Hey Rain Cloud.” I mumble, crouching down to place the bouquet of flowers on the grass in front of her gravestone. “How have you been? I hope wherever you are, they’re treating you good. A lot has happened since the last time I’ve come to visit."
Running my fingers along the photo engraved on the stone, my heart clenches at her beautiful smile. She always managed to light up a room with it.
“I’m conflicted and I don’t know what to think anymore.
I used to pray I’d get the chance to turn back time, to save you.
But if I did, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.
I wouldn’t have the life that I'm living. You were taken from me far too soon. And I’ll hate myself every day for being the reason you're gone.” My chest hurts as I think about the look in her eyes as she took her last breath.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I take in a shuddering breath.
“I have an Omega now. Two actually.” I huff out a laugh.
“Can you believe that? Me, with two scent matched Omegas.” I shake my head.
“They drive me crazy, you know, but I think you’d like them.
Nova is a spitfire, she loves to pick at me and get me going.
I love it too. We fight like we hate one another, but fuck, Reina, I love that girl so much that it’s hard to breath sometimes. ”
I take a seat on the ground and pick at the grass in front of me.
“Then there’s Tucker, the one I never expected.
He’s perfect for Nova. Sweet, kind, and loving, and despite what I thought when I first met him, he’s insanely loyal.
I’m just struggling, I guess. Before him, I’ve never thought of a man sexually.
Now, any time he’s in the room, all I want to do is.
..” I laugh. “I won’t go into details, but I’m sure you can guess. ”
I look up at the sky, a few crows flying around.
“So many changes in a small amount of time. I’ve spent years with a plan to leave this town, and everything in it, behind.
To start over new, fresh, where no one knows us, but things changed.
Now I’m living the life I swore I’d never live.
I’m not only back with the Steel Devils, I’m the president. ” I laugh, shaking my head.
My gaze drops back down to the photo of her. “But, I have good news. The bastard is dead. His body is six feet in the ground where it belongs, while his soul burns in hell. I hope the devil has taken a special liking to him, giving him extra attention.”
I sit there for a while, just staring at her photo.
“I miss you Rain Cloud. I’m not sure if you can hear me, but I want you to know that I’m sorry.
You can hate me, but if you don’t, I hate myself enough for the both of us.
” I let out a heavy sigh. The sound of thunder has me looking up.
“I should get going. Looks like we’re going to get a bit of rain.
I brought you some flowers, I hope you like them.
” I get to my feet, dusting off my jeans.
“Anyway.” I clear my throat. “I’ll see you again next year. ”
I turn away feeling a little bit better than I was earlier. I keep telling myself that I shouldn’t feel guilty for moving on.
Reina was someone I was with when I was a teenager; she’s been gone for years now. I don’t think I’m feeling the guilt of finding someone else, it’s the fact that I’m the reason she died in the first place.
She wouldn’t want me to hate myself like that. She was so damn sweet and loving. If she could talk to me, she’d tell me to move on, to be happy.
I know that's what I should be doing, and maybe it’s time I stop letting my past hold me back and embrace my fate. With both Nova and Tucker.
Whether I like it or not, I’m obsessed with that man now, almost as much as I’m obsessed with Nova.
As I head towards the parking lot, I stop and squint. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I groan.
Standing there are my two Omegas looking like deers caught in headlights.
“You two are in so much shit!” I shout and they both look at each other in fear.
Good. They better be afraid.
Nosy little shits.