F O U R T Y - E I G H T

Nova

I gritted my jaw, glaring at the three Alphas pains in my ass that were blocking the exit.

"Why can't I go with you?"

The biggest asshole of them all raised a brow at me.

"For one, that creature is hunting you down specifically" Nix said smoothly, folding his arms across his broad chest "And for another, you don't have a wolf."

I inwardly flinched at his harsh words, steeling my spine and sending my nastiest glare way.

"You're right, I don't have a wolf" I poked his chest hard enough to have him raising an eye at me "I have three or did you bozos forget your promises?"

Atlas whistled low "She got you there Nixy"

Nix locked eyes with me before reaching forward and guiding a stray piece of hair away from my face.

"I didn't say it to be mean little star" he murmured softly so that only my ears could hear "And while you do have us at your disposal, we can't worry about staying alive and keeping you safe at the same time."

My heart, the traitorous witch that she is, galloped faster at his soft movements and even sweeter words.

If we're being honest here, I really liked when he showed this side of himself to me...since he rarely let anyone in those titanium walls of his.

I knew that whatever caused him to be so closed had something to do with his past, given the haunting sad look in his eyes.

"You said we have about a week and a half more before the creature breaks in" I whispered just as softly "Why can't I just come to the borders with you three? Just this once?"

"Honestly?"

"I'd expect nothing less from you."

"I don't trust the Butcher's guesstimate" he said bluntly "They might be the best brutes at murdering and dismembering a body but that doesn't take a lot of intelligence in my book."

"We can hear you, you dick!" Nico growled from the other room "And from where we're sitting, it doesn't take a lot of brains to sit on an overpriced chair and give orders either!"

My lips twitched at his words and Teo's attempt to shush him.

"You just love pissing people off, don't you?"

"That's his favorite pastime" Atlas snorted "The motherfucker could win an Olympic medal if it was a sport."

Kassian nudged Nix away from me a little "Nova, you were the one who suggested to stay behind and try to learn more about your birth mother in the first place."

I squirmed at the knowing look in his eye "Can't a girl change her mind?"

"A regular girl yes" Atlas murmured "But you...not so much."

I narrowed my gaze at him "I thought you were a wolf Lobo, not a parrot."

Atlas gasped, throwing an arm over my shoulders "You wound me baby!"

"I'm about to wound you" Nix shoved him away from me with a hand to his face.

"NOVA!" Atlas howled "Did you see what he did to me?"

"You'll live" I deadpanned before turning back to Kassian "I want to come with you three."

His soft smile had me sighing.

"It feels like a waste of time for me to look for someone who went through all the trouble of hiding herself in the first place" I murmured "I feel helpless waiting here, looking for ghosts, when you three are out there trying to protect us from that creature."

Kass squeezed my hand "Your job is the most important one of all."

"How?"

"Finding out who your birth mother was could give us clarity on some things" He said "It could tell us why everyone's so adamant about hunting you down."

"Besides the obvious reason?" Atlas asked "Like being the last Lupine Heir?"

"It's more than that though" Kass shook his head "We've always had people gunning for our positions our entire life but they've never gone to such lengths like they have for Nova. There's a reason for that and I want to know why."

~~~~~~~

It was an hour later when I found myself sitting in the large leather chair behind a massive desk that took up nearly the entire square footage of Wolfe Lupine's office.

The way that the twins described it, if my father wasn't at the Pack House training his wolves, he was holed up in this office going over the stacks and stacks of paperwork that needed his stamp of approval.

From the way it currently looked, perfectly preserved, it seemed like I just stepped into time capsule.

A simple old model computer sat on the edge of the desk, dust spattering across the screen.

Papers were strewn across the desk, some tucked untouched and neatly in piles while others had notes slashed through them.

I picked up one and smiled at the messy handwriting, noting the small similarities between our penmanship.

Our vowels were identical.

Tears sprang to my eyes at such a mundane comparison, my heart mourning of all the things that could have been.

Don't get me wrong, my parents never treated me differently from the twins, spreading their love equally amongst the three of us.

It's just...a feeling I've had since I was old enough for me to understand what I was feeling in the first place.

A feeling you get when you're surrounded by a group of people who have everything in common, even down to the most minuscule thing, except you.

I've always felt like I never fit in completely with the rest of my family, physical characteristics aside.

While my brothers took after each parent, with their personality or looks, I've always wondered where I fit in.

I was never outgoing or loud like the rest of my family.

I was the first born daughter, the quiet one that would have rather sat in the corner reading a book or observing everyone around me.

I wiped away the tear quickly, taking a harsh breath and exhaling loudly before opening the first drawer of his desk.

I sucked in a sharp breath as I pulled the photo from the drawer, my fingers tracing the curled edges.

It was the same baby photo that was framed in the nursery, expect for the fact that this must be the original copy.

It was worn at the corners, the edges slightly torn and smudged with fingerprints.

I turned the small piece of paper around and gasped, my heart stopping for a full minute.

Because on the back of an ultrasound was my name.

My full name was there...written in Wolfe Lupine's handwriting, clear as day.

Nova Nyx Lupine

~~~~~

I don't know how long I sat there looking at the ultrasound, because one second I was trying to bide time until the boys came back, and the next I could hear their rowdiness from downstairs as they trampled back inside from their scouting.

Although I could hear everything they were saying, making jokes between themselves as usual, it felt like I was frozen in my body, unable to do anything except stared at the three words scribbled on the ultrasound.

"Where's Nova?" Atlas asked who I assumed were the twins.

"Upstairs," One of them answered "She's been upstairs all afternoon."

"And you didn't think to check on her?" Nix growled "Dumbasses. I knew we shouldn't have left her here with you two idiots."

"Fuck you Fenrir!" Nico yelled "We were giving her space and time to grieve!"

"Not even on your best day sweetheart!" Nix yelled back, his footsteps thundering up the stairs.

The door cracked open and his voice filled my ears "Nova?"

I looked up at him and when our gazes locked, his eyes darkened.

He was at my side in an instant "What's wrong?"

I handed him the ultrasound and I instantly knew the second when everything clicked for him.

"Someone didn't steal me from my parents" I asked, my voice trembling softly "They brought me to the human world, didn't they? My parents gave me away to someone willingly in order to keep me safe."

He said nothing as he continued to stare at the photo in his hands.

"It all makes sense now, doesn't it Nix" I said "The nursery, the fact that no one could find me for nineteen years, the freaking magically enhanced fortress he ensured I'd have if I managed to find my way back here? You don't do what Wolfe Lupine did for his daughter unless he'd suspect there was a chance that he wouldn't live to see the day she was born."

"There were exactly five people in that room that knew where Wolfe Lupine was going to be on the night of his murder" Nix said, his voice framed with anger as he finally lifted his blazing eyes to mine "And somehow I find it hard to believe that not one of those five people, five powerful shifters who had all kinds of access to different information at their disposal, didn't know a assassination was about to occur to the only Lupine Heir on such a simple mission"

His eyes locked with mine once more and I knew...just instinctively knew that we were thinking the same thing.

"The Penta allowed this to happen" he said, seething "Nineteen years ago, they allowed the brutal murder of your parents on that mission. Just like they're allowing that creature to hunt us down."

"But that was their first mistake," He said, a grin forming on his handsome face "Forgetting exactly who and what they raised us to be."