F O U R T Y - S I X

Nix

I flinched as another muffled sob wracked Nova's small body, the hands holding the frame trembling as she continued to look down at the beaming giant posing with an ultrasound photo.

I've only met Wolfe Lupine once in my life, a very brief exchange during a meeting I attended with my Dad when I was six and a half.

It was the only meeting where Alpha Lupine personally requested that all the heirs convene together, without a moments notice in order to discuss something important.

That something important was an announcement of this beautiful creature in front of me.

I can recall that day vividly, even if I was a little on the young side, because my father had been particularly nasty that morning after he got off of the phone from the Lupine Heir.

"Who does he think he is?" Tÿr snarled, snapping his phone in two as he ranted and raved at the head of our dining room table "That entitled fuck couldn't even call me himself. Had to have his lapdog call me instead."

The servants cowered and trembled at his tone, cowering and scrambling out of his way.

My mother, ever the saint, shot them a sorrowful look as she gently cradled her growing stomach.

"Whatever he must have to discuss with you all must be important" she said softly, her blonde curls piled perfectly on top of her head "And it must be taking up all of his time if he didn't call you personally. You know Wolfe likes to make his calls to his fellow heirs personally."

"Of course you come to his defense" Tÿr sneered at my mom "Apparently things never change."

Mom glance at me sitting quietly in my seat, and with a strain smile sent my way, she asked me to go play with my nanny.

And I did...only after listening to their entire conversation.

"I might have been his friend first Tÿr" she said, frustration coloring her tone "But I married you. You're my husband Tÿr and I...love you."

A scoff so loud permeated the air, letting goosebumps erupt on my arms at the cruel sound.

"You loved what I could offer you."

The scraping of a chair had my body tense.

"Let us not forget who took whose name in this marriage" My mother hissed, surprising me since this was the first time I've ever heard her stand up for herself "We both know that my name offers a lot more than yours ever could. I am the true Fenrir Heir that graciously stepped aside to relinquished my title onto you. I'm the one who convinced the Elders of my Pack as well as the other Heirs, that the son of my father's Beta, the man I fell in love with, would be a much better Heir and Alpha than I ever would be"

Her voice dropped to a whisper "And despite my friends telling me that I was making a mistake, giving up my birthright by marrying you, I still chose you. And for what? Just a facade of the man I thought you were."

A moment of silence before the bomb went off.

"How dare you! I worked hard for this position" He snarled "I earned this position with my actions, proving so much more than those pretty words of yours could ever spin."

"Keep telling yourself that Tÿr" Mom said, her voice sounding exhausted "Because you and I both know that no matter how much an Leif tried to prove their worth with their actions, they could never accomplish a fraction of what I did with those pretty little words of mine..."

I was brought out of my memories by a soft hand touching my face.

"Nix, you okay?" she asked with a watery smile "You look even more troubled than I do."

I sent my beautiful mate a strained smile "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"You know, I met your dad once" I said softly, redirecting the conversation and watching as her eyes widened "It was brief but he made a lasting impression on me to this day."

She scooted closer to me until her thighs were pressed against mine.

"Really?" she asked hesitantly.

I nodded.

"How old were you?"

"About five and a half" I chuckled when she made a face "What's that face for?"

"If I can't remember anything from when I was five years old," she said "I find it hard to believe that you can."

I smirked at her "I'm a special breed."

She snorted and my heart eased as the tears started to disappear from her eyes.

"It was actually the day he announced that he was having an Heir" I said softly, my hands fidgeting with her nursery carpet "Of course, I didn't know what that meant until later on but I could never forget the faces of everyone in the room. The most memorable one being the one that belonging to your father."

"Really?" she asked sceptically "What did his face look like?"

"He looked so damn proud" I said "He never revealed your gender but I honestly don't think he would have cared if you were born a potato because he would have loved you regardless."

A hint of bitterness escaped my voice no matter how hard I tried to keep it out.

Because while Nova's father beamed at a piece of paper with love swelling in his eyes, my own flesh and blood looked at me like I was a piece of used gum at the bottom of his expensive shoes.

The only reason he brought me to that meeting was to show off the fact that he had the oldest heir out of the Alpha Heirs.

I wasn't jealous of my Mate...I loved the fact that her family, especially her dad and a renown Alpha, was proud of who she was.

With that being said, I just hated the fact that the only thing my sister or I were good for, according to our father, was the ability to carry on the Fenrir last name.

A legacy he was proud to say he molded with his bare hands, despite the hundreds of thousands of actual Fenrir's that came before him that did so much more in their lifetime than he would in his.

Nova's eyes shifted towards the floor, anguish crossing those icy depths.

"Can I be honest for a second?" She whispered "Truly honest with no smartass remarks or replies?"

"You can try" I nudged her shoulder "But as you stated before, I kind of have no filter so I can't make any promises."

Her lips tilted up in a half smile before they wobbled again "Does it make me a bad person to not want to hear stories about Alpha Lupine?"

I looked at her in surprise, waiting for her to continue.

Because out of all the things she could have said, those were not the words I was expecting.

"Don't get me wrong" She said quickly "I want to hear stories about him...eventually. It's just that...whenever someone mentions my father, my mind always goes back to my dad...er, Matthew St.James"

She rambled on as she pulled at her dark strands so hard, I nearly winced at the phantom pressure it was causing me.

"I just feel like I'm living a life that's not mine" she whispered "On one hand I'm me but at the same time, I'm not, if that makes sense. I'm Nova St.James...and I don't think I'll ever live up to the name of Nova Lupine."

"Nova..." My eyes soften as I reached for her "It's okay to be both people you know. You were born a Lupine but raised as a St.James and there's nothing to be ashamed of. I understand...the guys understand and we would never ask you to be something you're not."

"You guys understand that but the rest of your world doesn't" she said, stress at the corners of her eyes "They don't understand why I'm not like my father. They don't get why I'm so concerned with humans. They can't understand why I don't radiate the same power as the rest of you...Why I can't shift like the rest of you."

"I hear their whispers Phoenix," she sniffled "I might not care about everything they say, because most of it is bullshit anyways, but I can't ignore the truth in some of their words. I don't belong here and I don't think I ever will."

"Nova..."

"Being in this house just solidifies what I've known all this time" She gripped the frame tighter in her hand "The incident with Atlas just proves how much I don't belong here" She said "Look at what I've done to your lives with the short amount of time I've been here. Atlas almost died...you've been attacked...Kassian was hunted down...Look at how much chaos I've brought to you all."

I opened my mouth to say something when her next words had me pausing.

"And do you want to know the worst part?" she didn't wait for my answer before continuing "The worst part is that I have this ominous feeling in the pit of my stomach that things are about to get so much worse."

"Why do you say that Princess?"

She thrusted the picture at me before looking around the entire room.

"Because after all these hours of snooping, I have yet to find a picture or inkling of the woman that birthed me" she said "Which leads me to believe that I either was some kind of miracle immaculate conception or that whoever she was, my biological parents tried real hard to keep the rest of the world from finding out who she really was."