Chapter 32 Nova #3
Fluorescent light illuminated all the bumps and deformities of this creature.
A hunched spine, patches of fur fighting for territory along with bare flesh.
One side of its head bulged grotesquely, pulsing with green fluid, and a single long fang emerged from its mouth.
Its fists were two slabs, meaty hammers forged to crush bone.
We all stepped back, catching our breath.
“Zeth,” I murmured, “can you control it?”
He closed his eyes and hurled his power at the creature. When the blast hit, the thing staggered, then shook it off like rain. Zeth strained harder, face contorting and body trembling with the force he was pushing into it.
“I… can’t…” he gasped, chest heaving, sweat along his brow. “I can’t take over.”
The monster took a step toward us, and I knew all hell was about to break loose.
Zeth pulled the magical guns from the back of his waistband—one for each hand—and snapped them open to load each with a glowing round. His voice was steady, focused. “I think the heart is the core. That’s where the magic’s concentrated.”
Before I could answer, a sharp whine sliced through the air.
I snapped my head back just in time to see Nyx fling Deslen across the jagged wall like a discarded toy. His body smacked into the stone wall with a crack that tore a cry from my throat. He slid down. Didn’t move.
No—
She lifted herself with air currents, gliding across the room until she hovered above him. Air spear forming. Arm raised. All her power aimed at the man I—
No. No, no, no—
I lunged forward even though I knew I wouldn’t make it in time. If I couldn’t save him, I’d at least bring her down with me.
A feral growl split the air, and she paused.
Midnight fur tore past me, a blur of fangs and raw fury. The wolf hit her midair, driving her into the ground. Claws and teeth ripped into her throat before she could scream properly. Blood painted the wall as her body convulsed beneath him.
Deslen’s jaguar shook his head as if waking from a nightmare and leapt toward the black wolf's side just as she tried to kick him off.
Nick.
The wolf was Nick. He was here.
He’d saved Deslen. He’d saved my mate.
Something cracked open inside, panic, relief, joy, confusion, all knotted together so tightly I couldn’t pick them apart. No time to try. I pushed it all down and focused on the monster in front of us.
“We can take this bitch.” I gave a humorless laugh, ready to take on the world.
Claws burst from my fingertips with a satisfying sting. “I’m Nova Rossey. I don’t need help killing my enemies.” Glancing back at Zeth and Conrad with a wink, I added, “But I’m a generous boss, so I’ll let you two assist.”
Their matching grins erased any lingering doubt.
“Whatever you say, Boss,” they chimed in unison, then their heads snapped in each other's direction to glare at one another.
“Help me! Help me, p-please! It’s Donnie. That’s Donnie!” Jeremy thrashed and wailed on the stretcher. Annoyed at the sound of his screams, I kicked the stretcher aside, rolling him out of our way. He had a kid to get back to, so he should be out of immediate danger.
The creature roared, making the earth tremble beneath us, and I looked back at it, realizing what he’d meant. This thing was Donnie. Examining his form, I realized he was too far gone to help. The best I could do was end his suffering and make it quick.
So, I charged.
The beast was focused on me, and when one meaty hand swiped out at me, I ducked under its swing, extending my claws as I carved deep gashes into its side. Hot blood sprayed across my face, and I made sure to keep my mouth closed. I did not want to look like this by morning.
Zeth fired two sharp pops. Each bullet slammed into the thing’s chest, making it stagger.
Conrad vaulted onto its arm and scrambled up by digging his claws into its hide. Its other arm rose to swat him off, but I buried my claws into its thigh, wrenching it downward.
The monster collapsed onto its knees with a roar that shook the lights. Conrad tore into its neck, ripping flesh in handfuls. Zeth emptied every shot straight into the center of its chest, and I saw his head loll.
We were winning.
Looking back, Deslen and Nick were tearing the mage apart while Conrad, Zeth, and I had this monstrosity on its knees. Victory was seconds away. All I needed now was the doctor—
A scream ripped through the space—”Watch out!—then everything flipped.
My body slammed to the ground, skull cracking against the floor so hard I was swamped by blurred vision and dizziness. Something heavy crushed me, pinning me in place.
“You’re going to pay for that,” the doctor snarled above me. Spittle hit my cheek. “For ruining everything.”
My head slowly knit itself back together, my vision clearing just in time to see his raised hand holding a syringe glinting with green liquid, aimed toward me.
“Noooo!” a voice roared out from behind, one I knew even if it hurt to admit it.
A body jumped onto me, acting as a shield. Nick.
My chest thumped, warm hope spreading, then time fractured. Moments passed before my eyes like hours.
The doctor’s face took on a crazed look. His hand plunged the needle down, sinking the syringe into Nick’s back.
My eyes flew open, a scream caught in my throat as cold dread took over.
The green substance surged into him. His body jerked on top of me violently. His head snapped back in an unnatural arc, eyes rolling up until only white showed, then the gold color I loved so damn much bled into a sickly, glowing green.
His pupils drowned in a neon glow. The spark behind them dimmed, swallowed whole, and the flickering bond—our bond—twisted. Tightened. Like it was trying to rip itself free from me.
A massive black paw swiped out, backhanding the laughing doctor across the room. The sound of his head cracking against the ground woke me up.
Scrambling up, my hands shook as I pulled Nick into my arms. His body was still convulsing violently, muscles seizing, breath stuttering against me.
“Nick! Nick!” I tapped his cheek. “Stay with me—”
The only answer was the tremor of his body and the sick green glow rising through his veins. The terrifying thought that I might have already lost him hit me.
“No. No. NO!”
Sharp, cracking, wild, the scream tore out of me before I even knew I’d made the sound.
I could hear the others fighting the doctor behind me, the sound of bodies slamming, bones breaking, but it all blurred into the background.
The world shrank until all that existed was the man collapsed in my arms.
My hands flew over him in frantic, useless movements, searching for the puncture as if I could somehow steal the venom from his veins if I were just fast enough.
I knew it wouldn’t work, but I didn’t care. I had to try.
He saved me.
Nick saved me.
My fingers trembled, and his eyelids cracked open. Unnatural neon green eyes blinked up at me. His breathing stuttered into pained hisses, then his hand found mine, weak, shaking, fighting like hell to lift.
“I’m a wolf, Nova…” His voice broke, and my heart stopped. Did he just admit that he was a werewolf?! The man who didn't want to be anything but human finally admitted the truth!
“A-and I f-found my mate. You.”
My world tilted.
Those words, the words I’d dreamt of, feared, and wanted from him were spoken into existence, but instead of filling me with joy, they split me open. They carved their way into my ribs until my heart felt flayed and exposed.
No. No, please. Not now. Not like this.
I couldn’t lose him, not when he finally saw me. Not when he finally accepted himself. Not when he finally accepted us.
His eyes slipped shut as a groan of pure agony ripped out of him. Panic detonated in my chest. I looked up and saw Zeth, Conrad, Deslen, staring with terrified eyes.
I didn’t care about fate. I didn’t care about “forever.” Love, rejection, staying, leaving, none of it mattered.
I just had to keep him alive. He had to live.
My gaze snapped to Zeth’s dark cargo pocket where a thin, familiar outline was sticking out.
The antidote.
“Zeth!” I choked, my arm shooting out. “Give me the antidote! Now!”
His turquoise eyes locked on mine. For half a heartbeat, I saw the hesitation, the conflict. His lips pressed together, gaze flicking to Nick.
“Please—” My voice fractured into splinters. “Please.”
I didn’t need to say the rest. My eyes said everything.
I can’t lose him. He’s mine. He’s my mate. I won’t survive losing him. Not like this.
Zeth exhaled, and the syringe was suddenly in my hand.
I tore the cap off with my teeth, spit it on the floor, and drove the needle into Nick’s chest, shoving the antidote into him as fast as I could.
His eyes and mouth flew open.
His back arched off the ground as a scream ripped out of him, the raw, guttural sound piercing the air. The bond between us snapped tight, vibrating like a wire about to break, but I refused to let it go.
His eyes rolled back, body taut, then he collapsed into my lap, going limp as a ragdoll.
My wolf howled inside me, a keening, broken sound.
I shoved my fingers to his neck, searching for his pulse.
I closed my eyes and listened, feeling the slight tremor in his veins.
It was weak but there. The bond flickered as I held onto it tight, then it slowly stopped trying to tear itself loose from me, settling into a calmer state. Relief punched the air from my lungs.
A wet, choked laugh echoed across the room, grabbing everyone's attention. The doctor. Bloodied, broken, yet still smiling.
This was his fault.
All of it.
He tried to beat me. He tried to take one of my men from me. He tried to rip my mate from me in the most agonizing way possible.
If he thought death was the worst thing I could have planned for him, he had no idea what real suffering looked like.
He would learn today.
* Fangs by Neoni