Page 12

Chapter 12

Nova

N ova studied her notes and sighed.

Seattle wasn’t as cut and dry as she’d thought it would be.

There were the normal paranormals who grouped up together. Seattle’s Pacific Coven was sanctioned by the Council with the normal high-society witches and those who had the power or money to get a membership.

Then she’d found the smaller, unsanctioned covens of witches who were often overlooked.

Nova always felt bad for them. If she didn’t have her father’s family, she would have ended up just like them, begging for scraps of knowledge where she could, just to keep her magic from killing her.

Her mother had received extensive training, thankfully, and had gotten a scholarship to the University of Morgana young and was able to teach Nova before things got out of control. The only reason she was alive at all was because of a Seer and her warning.

Nova tapped her knife on the table and considered the other paranormals in the city.

For such a large metropolis, it wasn’t part of an official pack or pride which was strange. Usually a city was shared by one of those and a coven. All the other paranormals answered to those two, paying membership fees to keep the area safe for the humans and the weakest of them.

But there wasn’t an official shifter pack in this city.

The Cascade Mountain Pack was too far east and the Blue Mountain Pack too far south. There was a fox pack no one was supposed to know about, but their territory didn’t extend to Seattle. They came into the city when they needed supplies and that was it.

From her father’s contacts, there was an assassins’ keep somewhere close, but it was hidden from reality, thanks to their deals with the old goddesses. The raven shifters didn’t claim territory in the same way the land shifters did, so she wasn’t really worried about them.

Most in the paranormal world were terrified of the ravens and their glowing red eyes, thanks to all the rumors and fear surrounding their profession. They said the only time you would ever see a raven was if they were there to kill you.

Her dad knew too many ravens for Nova to actually be afraid of them. Wary? For sure. But not afraid.

There was only one thing she was really afraid of.

Nova knew how to kill a demon, but they were from the hell realm and far more powerful than anything on earth.

She would never forget the fear she’d felt as he’d tried to take her, scratching her face with unnatural claws, her sister doing everything in her power to keep him from teleporting with Nova in his arms.

Whatever had happened when the demon damaged her eye, her magic had lashed out to protect her. The demon had died for what he’d done, but it had also changed her in a way that wasn’t natural.

Nova tossed her knife on the table and considered the vampires again, but there was no issue with drained bodies being dumped. They’d been following the rules, thanks to their strict queen.

She picked up the intel the Council had received, resulting in her mission.

“I haven’t seen any out-of-control magic,” Nova muttered, setting down her tablet. She tapped her fingers on the table and considered what her next step would be.

If she was hunting a feral wolf, what would she be looking for?

A mess.

Missing humans, strange occurrences, dead bodies, territory fights, and strange animal attacks.

So far, the only dead bodies she knew about were the wolves she and Dex had killed. They weren’t part of any pack she knew of since they were in the city. There were a few clubs she’d noticed a lot of paranormals at, and she’d checked out all the shops with the logo in the windows or on their websites.

It was easy to pass as a human, or a witch when she needed to. As a hunter, it was best to remain incognito until she made her necessary arrests or kills.

Hunters made everyone nervous.

At this point, the only thing she could do was to start putting herself in places that would give her access to information, and access to the paranormal community outside the coven.

She stared at her list of paranormal hotspots.

Most of them were bars and clubs and restaurants. The rest were normal daytime shit like construction companies, accounting, and law firms. Nova had no intention of being outside during the day if she didn’t have to, but if it was absolutely necessary, she would.

Growing up in a family with generations of top-notch hunters meant that she’d been trained and trained hard. There were nights Nova lay awake and wondered how the hunters at Morgana were going to survive their first year.

One summer, her father had dropped her into a grey zone where no particular pack or pride lived. It was where most of the loners and feral shifters tended to group up.

He’d armed her with a single knife and a water bottle. Then told her to find her way back home.

That wasn’t even the worst thing she’d had to endure, but it had taught her how to function during the brightest part of the day.

Nova stared at the bar with the arcade and decided she wouldn’t go there tonight. She didn’t want to risk seeing Dex again.

It had been a week since she’d first met him, and there wasn’t a fucking moment that went by she wasn’t thinking about him.

Honestly, it was fucking annoying.

All Nova wanted was the peace and assurance she’d had the day of her graduation.

Cleaning up the table, she encrypted everything, locked the devices, and tucked them inside the mattress. Then she pulled her second suitcase out from under her bed and flipped the top open.

Every gun, knife, bow, and magical weapon she possessed was in there – ready to go when she was. She picked up the mask everyone in her family wore when they went hunting and traced the outline of the jawbone that would lay over hers when she wore it.

Hunters from her family weren’t well known, but the monstrous teeth that would cover her own mouth was a warning they’d given for centuries.

Sometimes it took monsters to hunt monsters.

Nova tossed it on top of her gear. Tonight, she wouldn’t be hunting as a monster.

Instead, she picked up the delicate chain her father had made for her when she was sixteen. It was shiny titanium and enchanted, versatile and gorgeous. Nova liked to wear it as body jewelry, knowing it could behead even a bear shifter.

Wrapped around a witch’s wrists, it would bind their power, and it was long enough she could use it as a whip.

Nova tied it in an intricate pattern around her right forearm, a contrast to the dark runic lines on her left forearm.

Tonight, she would be nothing more than a pretty distraction.

Grabbing the rest of her jewelry, she put the charms in her ears and slipped her mother’s necklace over her head. Nova grabbed two boot knives and sheathed them before sliding the trunk back under the bed.

Her leather pants were tight enough to be sexy, but stretchy enough she could still fight if she had to. Her wedge, knee-high boots made her even taller and were comfortable enough to run in.

She considered her tops and grabbed the slinky black metal. It was a risqué halter top that stopped right above her belly button.

The V-neck was so low she wouldn’t be able to wear a bra. It would be annoying if she had to make a run for it, but the last thing she wanted to do tonight was get into a fight. Nova had to let them all think she was nothing more than a witch for as long as possible.

Thick black eyeliner with wings sharp enough to cut and deep purple lipstick completed her look. Nova grinned at her own reflection, eyeing the runes on her chest. At least she would fit right in.

Maybe she’d even have time to dance.

Nova grabbed her helmet and leather jacket, ready for some fun.

Buckling her jacket as she walked, she ignored the looks she got. She threw her leg over her bike and kickstarted it in one smooth motion. Despite the cold, it wasn’t raining, and she fully planned to take advantage of it.

Securing her helmet, she considered what she had on her.

Phone and knives in her boot, magic on her rings and ears – Nova wasn’t worried about anyone recognizing her as a witch. It would actually help her get more information since witches were supposed to be neutral.

She snorted and kicked the stand up and out of the way. If that wasn’t the biggest lie in the paranormal world, she didn’t know what was.

Carefully, she eased out of the parking lot and headed toward the club.

It wasn’t really her style, but she preferred it over a strip club or a bar where she’d have to make small talk. The gambling dens would be hard to infiltrate so she needed to find the right people to make friends with.

Nova rode in silence, enjoying the night as she made her way toward the busier streets. She could have walked, but she’d been careful to ride after what had happened with Dex. Cleaning and stripping bodies wasn’t something she wanted to do without her gear on.

And she definitely didn’t want an excuse to call him.

Plus, if she asked to use his incinerator again, he’d probably want to know what the fuck was going on.

Nova found a parking spot and took off her helmet, whispering a simple spell under her breath to smooth the curls out until they fell just right. She locked the helmet to the bike and did the same with her jacket.

Ignoring the line, she went right up to the bouncer and smiled at him. The bear shifter grinned and unhooked the barricade so she could pass.

Sometimes it was good to be a woman.

No one asked for the ID she didn’t have on her. Nova didn’t want anyone to see her full human name. A bit of magic and she could turn a simple business card into whatever they wanted to see.

Her magic was limited, but there were a few things her father had forced her to learn for her own survival.

The music slammed into her as she crossed the threshold and Nova weaved through the crowd, heading to the bar to get her favorite drink.

Again, neon lights lit everything but kept it dark enough she didn’t feel the need to pull the shadows around her. The beat pulsed and she let her hips sway as she catalogued everything she could sense.

Shifters, a few vampires, and witches.

She’d decided against the vamp clubs because she really wasn’t worried about them. They were extremely careful not to get noticed.

But this club was new, and she was curious why so many paranormals seemed to be interested in it. Maybe they had a secret menu of enchanted drinks, or maybe it was just a good place to make business deals. After all, witches needed the physical protection of shifters, and shifters needed the witches’ magic.

Nova took the drink and paid in cash, thanking the bartender. Then she turned to inspect the crowd.

Humans danced among them, obvious with their imperfections. They danced just like the paranormals though, as if they had nothing to lose. Nova grinned and downed her drink.

At the very least she could take some time to dance, and ease some of her stress while making her way around the dance floor to see what might be hiding in the shadows.

The music was eerie and yet still pulsed with a dance beat that made her shake her hips. The songs mixed with it made her grin and she tipped her head back, dancing by herself and not giving a shit about anyone else.

After a week of recon, she needed some time to get out of her head and just enjoy burning off her extra energy.

“Did you hear? They’re looking to hire more security.”

Her senses zeroed in on that voice, sifting through the thousands of other scents to recognize the two paranormals as bear shifters.

“I’m not interested in grunt work, dude.”

“They pay well though, and they’re specifically looking for shifters.”

Nova drifted toward them, wondering who ‘they’ were and what kind of security they were interested in.

“The guy they say interviews them all is supposed to be here tonight.”

“Is that why you dragged my ass out here? Man, we could be watching the game.”

“Stop being a little bitch.”

Nova reached out and wrapped her arms around the nearest person, adjusting her moves to theirs as she tried to figure out where this interviewer might be. No doubt there would be areas that might be difficult for her to get into.

“He’s over there.”

Her purple eye zeroed in, and she could see through her hair at the second floor, where the shifter was pointing.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” she told her partner, grinning at their disappointed look.

Nova took a different route than the bears, using the second staircase to come around from the opposite direction.

Waitresses with tubes of drinks tried to offer her tasty treats but she declined, eyes on the tables set into the darkness and all the different paranormals.

Holy shit, this was where they all were.

It wasn’t just shifters, but witches doing shots of enchanted drinks, vampires kissing necks and Nova even sensed what she thought might be a banshee, but it was gone before she could locate it.

The two shifters went to a table in the farthest corner, on the opposite side of the restroom.

She leaned against the railing and stared down at the pulsing crowd. Anyone at the interviewer’s booth could see her and if they had any brains, they’d know what her tattoos meant.

Nova smiled when she sensed a bear making his way toward her.

Finally, she’d get some action.

“I haven’t seen you here before,” the bear told her.

“This is my first time,” she said, grinning up at him. “It’s a little overwhelming.” Then she dropped her eyes, playing with her necklace like she was nervous.

The bear leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You haven’t slipped me a love potion, have you? Because I feel like I’m falling for you.”

It was so cheesy and stupid, she almost rolled her eyes, but Nova forced herself to laugh instead. “No, but if you want, that could be arranged.”

He stood up straight and grinned down at her like he’d just won a prize. “I’m sitting over there. Would you like to join me and my friends?”

Nova’s heart leapt at the offer. “That sounds like fun.”

The bear slipped his arm around her waist and led her toward the table. She took note of who watched them and who avoided looking.

Something was going on here, but she wasn’t sure what.

The bear tightened his grip on her, and she knew he was wondering if she was his mate, but thanks to her scent charm he’d never find out.

“Who did you find?” a wolf asked, laughing when the bear gently helped her into the booth.

The other two shifters were starting to make their way to the table, and Nova tucked her hair behind her ear, letting herself look at the people in the booth.

“I didn’t catch your name, sweetie.”

She laughed. “I didn’t give it.”

“Hey, I heard there might be interviews today?” Ah, there was the brave shifter and his reluctant friend.

“Yeah, but the boss isn’t here yet,” her bear friend told them, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Oh, wait, he’s right over there.”

Nova looked at the same time everyone else did.

When she saw him, the breath in her lungs disappeared.