It was easier that way. I could tell myself it wasn't me, that I wasn’t unlucky in love. Men were just too intimidated or too scared, and none of that wasmyfault.
I could blame it all on the mate-blocker tattoo, but that was just an excuse. My shield. The reason I could claim I’d never found “the one” when I knew what the truth was. I thought “the one” had left me.
When Aniyah confessed that her tattoo had stopped working, two things had taken root inside me—hope and fear. Of course, it was the fear that thrived. It grew wild, tangling around everything I wanted until I couldn’t tell where it ended and I began.
So, how could I fault him for rejecting something that had been forced on him when I’d willingly done the same thing? I’d beaten him to it, denying myself the opportunity before anyone else could.
And the cruelest part was—Iknewbetter. I’d grown up surrounded by fated mates, proof of what that mate bond could be like.
The more I thought about it, the clearer it became. Nick and I weren’t opposites; we weremirrors. Both lost between what our bodies screamed for and what our minds refused to accept. His mind wanted to stay human, so even if his wolf wanted me,hedidn’t.
If that had been the only source of my pain, maybe I could’ve let it go. Maybe I could’ve stopped thinking about him. Then I remembered his true purpose. His betrayal.
He was a cop sent by humans to watch me, to see if I slipped up so they could take advantage. So they could take me and my family down. It wasn't the first time, but the fact that it was him, my mate, sent rage crackling through me, hot and sharp as sparks of steel.
My fingers locked together, knuckles whitening, and something deep inside me trembled. He’d played me. Betrayed me. Betrayedus.
But in his mind, he wasn’t part of thatus.He was still human, just one cursed with fur and fangs. A man who hated what he’d become.
The memory of that cave and how he’d looked at me hit like an uppercut. The way he’d pulled that boy behind him, shielding him frommelike I’d tear into a terrified human child just for breathing the same air as me. That hurt worse than the betrayal. That was how he saw me, as something monstrous, dangerous by nature.
The ache in my chest throbbed. We hadn’t even spent that much time together, but somehow, it was enough to make his judgment feel like a blade to the gut.
Yeah, I was rough around the edges. I mean, I’d grown up in a mob family. Violence was in our blood—hell, it was the main way we communicated—but so was control. We hit hard because that was how our world worked. Supes could take it. We healed fast and bounced back, shrugging off things that would kill a human. To us, losing an arm wasn't a tragedy. It was a major inconvenience.
That was why humans feared us. Why they whispered ‘monster’behind closed doors. Why someone like Nick would never want to be tied to someone like me.
I slumped over the desk, exhaustion making my body heavy as stone. My mind was spinning between bad thoughts and worse ones until I stopped trying to rein it in.
If I’d been more his type, maybe he would’ve looked past my lifestyle, my past. Men did it all the time, falling for women who were bad for them because they couldn’t see past a pretty face, but not him.Story of my damn life.
The sting in my eyes warned me before the tears came. I buried my face in my arms, trying to choke them back. “Bet his type’s some fragile little thing,” I muttered into my sleeve, voice rough. “Someone soft he can protect.” Men like that, they lived for it, and I was never going to be that. I couldn’t.
A single tear slipped free, hot against my skin. I swiped it away, furious.
Don’t you fucking cry over him. Don’t you dare. You’re the fucking Rossey boss. You have to be strong. Show no weakness. Strength is your only defense.
Another one fell, then another, until they came so hard and fast I couldn’t wipe them away, carving silent tracks down my cheeks.
My shoulders shook, breath hitching.This is so stupid,I told myself.He’s just a man. I have three other mates. Do the math, Nova. You still win.
But the truth cut through, soft and cruel.
He was supposed to be my mate, too, and he didn’t want me.
“Nova? You there?”
Dread knifed through me the moment I heard the voice. An image of my mom popped up in front of me, all warm and excited.
“My rose,” I heard Daddy Lex calling in the background, “you’re all-powerful and ethereal in my eyes, so you can do no wrong, but… I think you hit the direct button. Those are only for emergencies.”
Perfect. Of course, I’d chosen to have a meltdown in the one place where people could still reach me. I should’ve curled under my covers, in my bed, like a normal person. Hiding from the world.
“Thisisan emergency, Lex,” Mom snapped. “I’m their mother, and when I want to talk to them, it's an emergency.” Her logic slammed down like a gavel.
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.
