She gasped, immediately retaliating by telling him she would cut off one of his in return. The two of them started bickering, and their noise filled the space, chasing away the echo of the mark pulsing under my skin.
“Enough,” Ezra said sharply, shaking her head before focusing on me. “Nova, you did good. I’ll have numbers in the morning. Celebrate tonight for a job well done. All of us are proud of you.”
I nodded, told them all thank you, and ended the call. Setting my phone on the seat beside me, I let my eyes close for a moment, knowing my night wasn't over yet. I still needed to talk to Conrad’s contact.
The silence in the limo didn’t bother me; it felt… safe. Three sets of eyes still lingered, but instead of pressure, they brought a strange sense of calm.
Wait. Three?
I blinked and looked up. Conrad, Zeth,andNick were watching me.
“Where are you going?” I asked Nick.
“With you guys,” he said simply. “Benson met a girl and took the car.”
I exhaled hard through my nose. The last thing I needed was another body tangled up in this mess, but at least he was already in the Syndicate ranks, which meant I owned him. I’d just count him as free labor.
“Fine,” I said. “You can help, but you follow my lead with no questions asked.”
He nodded, and I sat up, taking a breath before reminding everyone, “Nothing that is said leaves this car. Is that understood?”
A round of nods went all around, and I turned to Conrad. Those forest-green eyes had a way of cutting through my chaos, so I took a breath. “We need to make a plan for how we’re going to find your lead and get him somewhere to talk.”
Despite the layers of tension between us, the three of them easily fell into their roles as they started to talk strategy. I tried to focus, but my mind kept drifting back to him.
Deslen.
I didn’t dare look down at my wrist again, didn’t want to feel that warmth spreading, that pull tightening in my chest. I shoved the thought away, choosing to cling to the question that popped into my brain. How was he dealing with the sudden fame?
Under all the noise, one word whispered through my mind again and again—steady, insistent, undeniable.
Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.
22
DESLEN
“Deslen, is what Miss Rossey said true?”
Looking at the human woman in front of me with a mic, the man next to her holding up a camera, I nodded, keeping my voice steady even though my pulse was racing. Lying wasn’t an option, not when my mate’s scent still clung to my skin, reminding me of what kind of a mate I wanted to be for her.
Also, I didn’t want to give her another reason to be mad at me, still feeling the pinpricks of her claws on my throat, the warmth of her palm pressed against my airway. I didn't hate that exchange, but I didn't like the anger in her eyes, not when it was pointed at me. Not when I’d only just found her.
Another person shoved a mic in my face. “Are you excited to be signing on with Miss Rossey?”
“Yes,” I said quickly, nodding so hard it probably looked rehearsed. “It’s… something of a lifelong dream.”
That much was true. Since I started this journey, I’d wanted to find my place, a tribe beyond blood, a home beyond the one I left behind. In one of her prophetic dazes, my grandmother, the oldseer of the Tacnon jaguar clan, had told me,“You will find your heart beyond the veil.”I didn't believe it at first, not wanting to leave my home, but now, I carried those words with me like a promise carved into bone.
Years had passed since I crossed over, and I’d spent too many lonely nights dreaming about what my life could be. Each season spent searching had stripped away more and more hope until even my reflection had started to look like a stranger.
Then I met Antonio.
He was loud, fast-talking, full of wild ideas. He’d seen me fight for some cash, he said, and promised the world if I made him my manager—fame, fights, fortune. None of it had mattered to me, not really, but when he promised to take me around the world, I took the chance, hoping I could find her along our travels. My mate.
He’d spent his last coin to fly us here on a whim. No fights lined up, no guarantee of anything. We were running on faith and desperation, just as I’d spent every day on the human plane. Then, by some divine twist of fate, I’d found her.
A deep rumble built in my chest before I could stop it, a pleased purr that came from somewhere ancient. The human reporters flinched and stepped back, while the supes leaned closer, eyes wide with curiosity.
