adjective ~ beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience

NOVA

Almost too suddenly, I felt myself drift into a vision. Phoenix's recognition that I was falling replaced the last fleeting moments of joy. His arms encased me, offering a fleeting sense of safety, just before my world shattered and my vision blurred.

I woke almost instantly, finding myself in the forest alone. There was a soft haze to the hedgerows and trees, and my hands fell into mud that felt too cold and dry. It was pouring down as I revived Calida, and I knew immediately that the vision was determined to play out.

Sighing, I shakily rose to my feet. My nose wrinkled as I glanced down at myself; I was still nude and covered in blood. The gash that once burned my side was still there, and the blood that poured from it made me feel nauseous.

The sudden fear of my mortality washed over me, and I instantly worried about the twins. Locked inside a vision I had no escape from, I could only hope that Phoenix kept them safe. Passing out from both blood and energy loss posed a dangerous threat, especially considering the severity of my wounds.

But she's alive.

I saw her breathe.

I saw her eyes open.

But they were pitch black, and through the cloud of the rain, I had wondered why.

My blood may have saved her, but even that can only go so far. Turning her was my only option. It was like an urge washed me and I knew I had to give in. With Celimene by my side, we accomplished something I never thought we'd do.

"There you are!"

I span, suddenly startled by the oncoming voice, but once my eyes locked onto her, I felt my entire body tense. Tendrils of soft blonde hair fell from the bun she must've haphazardly put together, a smear of concern on her face as she rushed over to me.

"You must be cold. Here." She murmured, pushing clothing into my hands. "Get yourself covered."

I exhaled, stunned to silence as I pulled the nightie-style dress over my head. The wound on my side screamed in protest and soon cool hands were brushing against my skin as they aided my task. Once my head was free of fabric, I eyed the elder wolf before me.

Except this time, she wasn't old.

She was younger, like many times I have seen her before in my visions. Celimene's green eyes crinkled as we made eye contact, a soft smile lifting her cheeks.

"There, much better." She nodded. "That wound will heal up in no time."

"How..."

"Oh, I know a lot more than I let on." She chortled, taking my hand. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

I winced at the coldness of her hands, but found mine were not exactly the warmest. We strolled in tandem, my side protesting with every harsh step or fumbling of my footing. At least it wasn't raining here.

"What are you doing here?"

"That is a brilliant question." Celimene hummed. "Are you sure it's the right one?"

I frowned, staring across at my grandmother with confusion. Of course, it was the one I wanted to ask; why was she in my vision? Why was I speaking to her in my vision? How were we holding hands?

"Great questions." She chirped. "You know how old I am, Nova?"

The soft relief of hearing my chosen name washed down my spine, glad that she didn't push the Cassie thing like many others did when meeting me.

"You barely look older than thirty." I muttered.

Grandmother chuckled. "That's just because it's how I prefer to look in here."

"Here?" I wondered, looking around.

Here was just a forest. Here were trees, dirt, and cawing birds.

"When I feel something that reaches out to me, I come here." She nodded, eyeing me. "Time is relative. It does not truly exist, Nova. Man invented time as much as they invented the wheel."

"What do you mean?"

"As I am sure you are aware, my gift is one of sight, so when something reaches to me so suddenly, I have no other option than to listen."

"I brought you here?"

"I meet all my summons here." She nods, smiling. "Often, they are meek and cannot travel to other realms, but you... Why are you here?"

Blinking, utterly confused, my lips parted. "I don't understand."

"You come to me. Your soul called to me. Why? Who are you, Nova?" she wondered, eyeing me. "You look a lot like someone I know."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, a sudden sadness churning in my stomach. "I am Nova Hope."

"And who is that?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"That... is something I feel like I am forever figuring out." I mumbled.

Celimene snorted, guiding me around a river to where a fallen log acted as a bridge. She easily climbed it, staring down at the gentle stream before sitting down on the bark. Patting the space beside her, I bit my lip as I hobbled my way toward her. My side screamed as I sat, and I hissed lowly.

"Pretty nasty wolf bite." Celimene quirked an eyebrow. "It is healing rather quickly."

"It is?" I wondered.

"It no longer bleeds." She cocked her head, glancing at my side.

I peeled back the collar of the nightie, finding that she was right. It was slowly knitting itself back together, the blood clotting and skin tugging together.

"Do things in the real world affect me here?" I asked.

"Looks like it." She snorted. "I'm guessing a mate?"

"Yeah." I murmured.

"Strong blood." She commented.

"Royal blood." I answered, shrugging.

"Titan?" Her eyes widened.

"Yeah..."

"Not Edward..."

My nose crinkled. "Goddess, no, he's long dead."

Her eyes flickered with surprise, and I momentarily wondered if I said something wrong. But then she burst into laughter, scaring away the birds in the trees.

"Well, that's great news."

"It is?"

"Honey, do you know where we are?"

"A forest?"

"I think we are before your time." She smiled. "King Edward has reigned for one-hundred and twenty-nine years."

"He was?" My eyes bugged. "That means..."

I was in the past. Edward reigned for nearly two hundred years! My mother wasn't even alive right now! Neither was Phoenix, or me, or...

I exhaled loudly, gobsmacked at myself.

"That means what, dear?"

The soft nickname had my eyes snapping to hers. She was still alive. This was her, living, breathing, and so alive. So many things I could tell her, so many things I could do to save her life. But I hesitated, because I knew messing with the past was fickle, and if I was to save my grandmother, would I even be here? My life would be completely different. But wasn't that awfully selfish?

"What is it?" She wondered, poking my forehead. "You will get wrinkles before you know it."

I laughed softly, brushing off her comment. "I just realised I time travelled."

"How far back?"

"Sixty years, give or take." I murmured.

Celimene was in her fourth century, no doubt at her most powerful.

Her eyes widened. "That's some distance with a wound that size."

I nodded, swallowing the sudden nerves. "I don't... I can't control it."

"Nonsense, otherwise, why would you call for me? We are perfect strangers, yet you know who I am. You are transcendent."

My eyes softened as I looked across at her. Such similar features. How did she not know who I was? Did her soul not shout at her like mine was? Did her wolf not understand my soul? I was wolf-less here, and as I gazed at her, I wondered if she knew.

"So, if not Edward then..."

"His grandson."

Her head cocked. "Which child of Mora?"

"Anna." I mumbled. "Phoenix's mum was Anna."

"Was?"

"Yeah..." I whispered, not knowing how much to tell her.

"I understand." She frowned. "That's a shame. She is a lovely young girl, considering her lineage."

My lips quirked. "I never met her. She died when I was a child, just like my..."

My jaw hardened again, and I dropped my eyes from her sympathetic ones.

"The concept of time is odd, isn't it?" Celimene sighed. "It brings life, death, change, constants... The loss of a parent isn't the end, because they live on through you."

"You do not know the truth in your words." I laughed sadly.

"Who did you say you were again?" Celimene wondered.

"Nova, Nova Hope."

"Cannot say I've heard of that one."

I smiled. "It is not my birth name."

"Your parents are that bad?" she joked.

"On the contrary, they were the best parents to exist." I shook my head. "They were murdered, and their killers burnt their house to the ground. But my mother... She saved me and my brother. She took us to safety before she sacrificed herself for us."

"People wanted them dead?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Nervously, I glanced briefly at her. "For what they possess."

Celimene was quiet, scanning the side of my face. "You are being discreet."

"I do not know what to say without upsetting time." I frowned, staring down at the trickling water.

One jump, one clumsy movement and I would be wet. Teetering on the edge of safety, it would be so easy to just jump into the current and give up.

"I understand." Celimene hummed. "But I have never met you before, so I must say I am intrigued by who you are to call me so vividly. I cannot sense your wolf."

I smiled timidly. "I have one. She sometimes doesn't come through with me."

"That's peculiar." She cocks her head. "Is she not strong enough?"

"Far from." I shook my head. "She has hundreds of years to back her up."

"No offense, but you do not feel like somebody who is even over thirty." Celimene chuckled.

"My wolf was a gift." I shrugged. "She was bestowed to me as a pup."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"By who?"

"My mother as she lay dying."

Celimene was silent as I continued to gaze down at the stream. When she spoke, her voice was soft, but there was a slight crack to it, as though she needed to clear it.

"A parent always puts their child first." She whispered, her hand falling to her stomach, revealing a soft bump.

My eyes widened, rapidly trying to do the math in my head. Was that... Was my mother...

"A good parent is one who will sacrifice themselves for their children." Celimene continued. "Gifting you a wolf is uncommon, but it is often whispered about. Nobody has done it before. She must've been strong."

I laughed lightly, lifting my chin to gaze into similar green eyes. "She had a mother who was just as strong as she."

Celimene seemed to latch onto me then, as if seeing me for the first time. Her lips parted as her eyes greedily scanned my features, from the mate mark on my neck to my hair, and then the glittering green of my eyes. When she stopped her fretting, she audibly swallowed and held my gaze.

"Avani?" she whispered.

I smiled sadly, holding her gaze as I shook my head. "Nova."

"I apologise." She muttered. "You look... I mean..."

"It's okay, Celimene, sometimes even being the strongest out there can make you slow." I joked.

Her eyes widened, eyes flickering with the image of her wolf. I felt it preen, felt it stare at me through blown pupils.

"You know my name?"

"Of course, I do." I nodded. "I called you here, didn't I?"

"Did you?"

I think so.

I mean, not directly...

"Yes?"

"That sounds like a question." She cocked her head.

"My gift fails me sometimes. I am struggling lately."

"A lot of things affect your gifts. Stress, exhaustion..." she trailed off, eyeing me. "Why are you here, Nova?"

That previous question thrown my way stunned me. Why was I here? I don't know. One minute I was reviving my best friend, the next I was naked in a forest.

Hesitantly, I explained. "I turned someone for the first time."

Her eyes widened, but she smothered it by clearing her throat. "You what?"

"Don't act coy around me." I smirked. "I know who you are, and what you are, and I think you know who I am."

Her gaze remained shocked, but she smiled, almost proudly. "So you turned someone?"

"She was my best friend." I nodded, staring back down at the stream. "A rogue got her, and... she was dead. I didn't know what to do, but then my wolf... It came all so quickly and naturally, like I barely had to lift a finger."

"Did it work?" She whispered. "Or is she..."

"It worked. I think." I frowned.

"So, she will be a wolf by the next full moon," Celimene stated. "Is she awake now?"

So soon?

I exhaled. "I don't know. I passed out after she started to breathe."

"Typical." Celimene snorted. "The gift gives and takes what it pleases, although I suspect that wound on your side was a large reason. Your mate must be worried sick."

"No doubt." I laughed softly. "He will be mad that I used all my energy, and then he will treat me like a China doll. But I know he will be right by my side the entire time."

"That's sweet." She smiled. "For a Mora, but I suppose being Anna's brood makes sense."

I shook my head. "He wasn't always. Pheonix is...learning."

"Learning?"

"To open up to himself. His father was not a kind man and Phoenix grew up believing that he was nothing but an alpha who ruled with an iron fist." I sighed.

"I see." She murmured. "And now?"

"Both his parents are dead. All he has is me and the twins."

"You have twins?" Her eyes widened.

"I am also a twin." I laughed.

"You are?"

"Yes."

"Impressive someone your stature could harvest two babies." She joked.

"Tell me about it." I rolled my eyes.

"But... This Phoenix, he is good?" She wondered.

"More than good. He has come so far from such a dark place." I sighed. "He has done so well."

"And so have you, Nova."

"Me?"

"The words you speak are heavy with empathy, and I must say you carry your burdens well."

"Thanks." I muttered. "I wish I did not have any."

"I suppose we all do." She shrugged. "But those burdens make you who you are. Without them, you would never learn."

"I guess so." I frowned. "But fear of the future... it is choking me every damn day."

"Why? It is just tomorrow?"

"People are... jealous." I glanced at her. "They envy what I can do, what power Phoenix and I possess."

"He is not to be the king. Anna is the second child, correct?"

"Alexandar is king now, and he... he is not a strong man. Wise and smart, sure, but he is nothing compared to Phoenix. And I don't mean it because he is my mate, but Phoenix is... his past made him dark, made him a warrior. He is strong and with me by his side..."

"Lycan blood."

"Exactly." I sighed. "And the twins...I don't know how I am going to get through it. I can't even handle my gift, let alone protect those around me!"

"Nova..." she breathed. "You will be fine."

I shook my head, exasperated. "How do you know?"

Her eyes twinkled, her hand curling around my cheek. "Have hope, Nova."