Page 16

Chapter 16

Nova

N ova checked the time. She was supposed to meet Dex in a few hours, but she needed to get some work done and there were only so many hours in the night.

She’d done some digging into the paranormal businesses around Seattle and had found some interesting info.

Most of them were owned by an organization that went by the name Grim Corp.

There was a list of others, but after marking them on the map, she’d noticed a pattern. A lot like a pack, there’d been distinct borders. She’d noticed there was only a bit of the docks claimed, but the majority were in the club district. Bars, clubs, and restaurants.

Some of them were in the business district, but it was the others that marked the territory.

Nova checked her gear one last time. Underneath it all, she wore moisture-wicking leggings and a shirt with her tits strapped down as tight as possible so they wouldn’t get in the way. Over that was her body armor that could stop armor-piercing rounds.

Unfortunately, as hunters they’d had to make it with flexibility and speed in mind. It only covered her most vital areas, including her thighs and chest. Over the armor were her black pants loose enough to hide the lines of the plates, and the sheaths on her ankles and shins.

The black tactical boots were androgynous and comfortable as fuck. They were the best money could buy and enchanted to keep her steps silent. Nova’s family altered them to include silver alloy knives in the heel.

Over her chest plate, she had a long-sleeve turtleneck with a hood that cast her face in shadow. The harness was the last thing she put on and held enough weapons she could kill anything that tried to fuck with her.

Nova grabbed the face mask. She slid it over her head and made sure her bun was tight. Pulling it over her mouth, she felt the moment that switch flipped.

Every time she went hunting, she turned herself into this monster and always felt the exact moment she changed.

All extraneous thoughts ceased, and Nova only cared about the hunt. She cared about becoming the monster that monsters were afraid of.

She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, loosening the tightness in her neck. Flexing her fingers, then turning her hands into fists, she stretched the armored fingerless gloves across her knuckles.

The weight of the gear settled into her, familiar and welcome.

Nova studied her reflection and pulled up the hood. A single thought and the shadows settled over her eyes, hiding any distinguishing features, including her scarred eye. With her height and the gear, Nova knew she didn’t look like a woman.

That was the whole point.

Becoming this monster who hunted monsters allowed her to live a normal life. The two sides were separate, and no one came after her or her family for revenge.

Her mission was sanctioned. There was nothing in this city she couldn’t do.

She left through the window, using the gutter to climb to the roof as quickly as possible. Nova ran and jumped from roof to roof, using the hunter speed and strength she’d been born with.

It wasn’t easy to keep it hidden. Acting like a witch all the time was harder than she’d thought it would be. Nova didn’t have to hide who she was growing up. She’d never had to pretend. She’d only ever hunted as this creature.

No one cared what she looked like under these clothes and it was the most freeing experience.

People didn’t want to protect her. They didn’t think she needed someone else to keep her safe. No one came hunting her. Not like those wolves had.

Nova made her way across the city. It would have been easier to use her bike, but Dex had seen her ride it so that was no longer an option. She’d need to get a backup. Something a dude might ride.

Crouching on the edge of a roof, she wrapped the darkness around her and took a minute to listen. No one was screaming, and there was energy pulsing in time to her heartbeat.

Everything seemed normal for a Saturday night.

There was no doubt shit was happening behind closed doors she couldn’t pick out among everything else, but Nova had no intention of walking by if someone needed help. There were too many disgusting predators walking the streets, and a lot of them were human.

Nova went for the accounting firm first. That would tell her where the money was going.

Her orders hadn’t changed, but she was tired of waiting around to see what would happen. Reports of out-of-control magic were difficult to track unless it was happening all the time, and there was the chance someone was making false reports to be an asshole.

But Nova refused to leave Seattle without making sure it was safe and no one was going to expose them to the humans. The Council didn’t care about the first as much as they cared about the second and, not for the first time, she wondered why she’d insisted on getting a Council contract.

Sliding down the wall, she kept to the natural shadows, darkening them to make sure no one and nothing could see her, not even the best security cameras.

She had to be careful about that too, since Dex knew she could do it. It was easier to stick to places with as little light as possible.

Nova was careful not to use her magic as a hunter unless she had to, but now she had to be doubly careful since she was walking around as a witch.

It took no time at all to disable the alarm and pick the lock. The Council gave them all a set of lock picks, but Nova didn’t want them tracking what she did with it, so she used her personal one. Coming from a large family of hunters, she had access to a lot of toys and weapons most didn’t have.

Something about that made her sad for the other hunters, but it had been difficult connecting to them. Nova had been raised differently and with the death of her sister hanging over her, she’d had something to prove to her family.

And herself.

Gianna’s death had to be worth something, or what was the point? If Nova wasn’t the best hunter out there, her sister died for nothing.

Silently, she closed the door behind her and locked it. Then she kept to the walls, eyeing the security guard in the front of the building. Taking the stairs was the best option, but there was no way to go about this without letting the cameras catch her.

Not if she didn’t want to use her gift.

Creeping up behind him, she kept her ears perked for sounds of the other guards she knew were somewhere.

Nova wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, covering his mouth with her hand. It only took a few seconds to put the wolf shifter out. Then she arranged his body, so it looked like he was napping, not unconscious.

Checking the cameras, she located the other guards and then made a run for the stairs.

The less time she spent trapped in a building, the better. Getting into a fight could make her late.

She couldn’t believe Dex watched anime.

Actually, she could. He definitely gave off that kind of vibe for some reason. Maybe it was the way he dressed.

Her footsteps were silent as she went up and up and up. The various different escape routes were in the forefront of her mind while she catalogued scents and sounds without even thinking about it. Twenty years of training and most of what she did was automatic.

That was what kept her alive.

Nova went for the IT department and headed straight for the director’s office. If she wanted intel, she had to get it from the most protected source.

Two seconds and she had the door unlocked. Nova slipped her flash drive in the port and ran the password program. Once she was in, she set up the download. Now all she had to do was wait. She slid to the darkest corner of the room while it ran the programs.

If a guard came in, she’d be behind the door and it would be too easy to take him down.

Being a hunter had its advantages, but it was also one of those things.

Witches didn’t have the physical strength and speed of hunters. They didn’t have the innate sight and hearing. Hunters were immune to enchantments and illusions, but a fireball to the face still burned.

Somehow over the generations, hunters became a tool to be used. The witches used them to keep shifters in line. The Council used them to arrest powerful witches, and honestly, it was all a fucking mess.

But Nova liked to think that she did good work. If there was a paranormal out there hurting others, hurting humans – she and the others like her were called in. She made sure the power in the universe wasn’t twisted and violated.

No shifter would go on a murdering spree and get away with it. No vampire would drain bodies left and right anymore. Witches had agreed to be neutral – as much as possible. That was all thanks to the Council.

There was a wary peace among all the various species because of the Council of Paranormals. Any rivalry was kept quiet and the damage minimal because no one wanted a hunter on their doorstep.

That was why she’d ultimately decided to work for the Council instead of freelance.

Her father still wasn’t sure he liked it though. Going to the university had been against his wishes, and Nova finally understood the gravity of why. It wasn’t because he wanted to keep her isolated and touch starved.

It was because her name was now in their system. She’d caught the attention of the Council and her professors. Nova had graduated at the top of her class.

For a family who preferred to work on their own terms – who preferred not to be used by witches or shifters – they’d been slightly disappointed at her path.

Her name was in the system, and Nova had stupidly given Dex her real name. If he felt like looking her up, he could probably find her. Her first name wasn’t that common.

There were so many problems when it came to him. Nova hadn’t expected to be in Seattle long enough for it to matter, but she also hadn’t expected to fall on her ass the moment she saw his face.

Who was she kidding? Even when all she’d seen were his boots and hands, she’d been drooling over him.

A small sound indicated the download was done.

Nova grabbed the flash drive and headed for the stairs.

Looked like she would have time to change before heading over to the address Dex had given her. How he’d gotten a Saturday night off, she didn’t know, but she supposed as the owner, he could kind of do whatever he wanted.

She heard footsteps and grabbed the railing of the stairs, launched herself over, and dropped three stories. Her knees bent and she rolled soundlessly under the stairwell just as the door opened.

Silence.

Nova kept her breathing even as she waited.

The door closed and she heard the footsteps move up instead of down, thank fuck.

She remained completely still until the guard opened the door again. The moment it closed, she sprinted to the back exit. No more dawdling. Eventually the security guard at the desk would wake up, and she had no intention of being here when that happened.

Nova locked the back door behind her and fixed the alarm. Then she sprinted to the next patch of shadow. She jumped and caught the fire escape, hauling herself up. In moments she was back on the roof, taking a roundabout way home.

Even if there was no one following her, she refused to let anyone figure out where she was staying.

Nova considered Dex and wondered if she would be able to keep him out of her apartment or if she should get a second one.

This was starting to get complicated.

She needed to call her dad.