noun ~ a werewolf's counterpart or other half

NOVA

I was so close to getting that drink in his hand, so close that the touch of our skins sent an intense electric shock throughout my entire being. It ignited a fire in my chest and mind that cause me to convulse.

'MATE!'

I shrieked in alarm at the intruding voice in my head and in the heat of the moment my fingers had unclenched. I watched in slow motion as the glass tumbled from my grip, his hand not secure enough around the handle for it to not fall.

With a clatter, the warm coffee splattered all over the floor and up the legs of the alpha. My eyes darted up in alarm, my mind working ahead of my body's actions. I was dead, so dead.

"S-s-sorry-

I came face to face with angry eyes. My mind fuzzed over as the vibrance of the green and gold colours swirled and encompassed my brain.

'Mine.' A low purr vibrated through my head.

I jumped at that voice again. Who was that voice? I didn't have a mind-link!

A chorus of voices shouted at once, all asking for the alpha's attention. My eyes glanced around worriedly as the three men with him stood and surrounded me, but the beta remained sitting. Arms clasped at my biceps and shoulders and I found myself trapped by the grasp of two of his men; the other stood behind me.

The fog clouded my senses as my eyes met those hazel-honied beauties once again. I watched as his pupils dilated and he cocked his head, studying me. He seemed... as confused as I was.

"Alpha!" A voice made me jump. "I am assuming you would like this young lady escorted to the yard-

Steven interrupted. "Please don't-

Damien tried. "She didn't mean-

However, it was the Alpha who stood out.

His voice kept me mesmerised as I maintained eye contact, and I felt a shiver of delight run down my spine.

"No."

"No... Sir?" the man holding me wondered.

"No." His voice was enchanting, words like silk as they caressed my ears.

I could listen to that voice all day.

'Mine.' The intruder purred.

That voice, however, was freaking me out. How was someone in my head when I hadn't shifted? Was this a dream? Am I dying? Oh god, I'm dying. I hit my head last night and I'm imagining this all whilst in a coma. Or better yet, the alpha has already killed me on the spot.

I'm dead. Oh, Mum! Dad! I'm sorry!

My heart darted to Damien suddenly as he spoke with authority. "Alpha Titan, I am so sorry. I do not know what happened there. Nova is a great hostess-

"Nova..." He mused.

I shuddered at my name, my eyes closing as a moment of pleasure wracked my bones and goosebumps graced my skin. Steven glanced at me worriedly from the corner of my eye and stood to his feet like his father.

"Please do not harm her." Steven spoke.

"Nova...?" The alpha ignored him.

The man behind me nudged me, causing a whimper to escape my throat. I watched as the alpha's gaze hardened, his eyes not leaving mine. I swallowed harshly, my throat feeling hoarse, like I had slept all day. This man was terrifying. His hands could crush my neck in one grip, his body could suffocate me easily.

He was large. The voice inside my head purred in delight.

"Y-y-yes, Al-Alpha Titan?" I stammered.

His eyes closed briefly, and his head tilted back by a few degrees. When they reopened, they were pitch black, and I immediately knew his wolf had surfaced. Most wolf's eyes were close to their human colour, but his were pure black; wild as can be. It was different to just angry wolves where just the pupils dilated; even then there was colour at the rim. I only knew this from the many torturous moments I had with the other pack wolves when they were angry.

I had dropped my gaze in respect when I spoke, trying to make myself none-threatening, as always. I was walking on thin ice now since his wolf had surfaced.

Dead.

RIP; rest in pieces, to me.

He hummed, and I saw him stand and approach me. This was it. This was where I died for real. I wasn't to be imprisoned like that other Omega. He would kill me. I had shown myself and my pack up by disrespecting a king's alpha. I knew it.

I lifted my head to face his chest as he stood before me. The smell of him was dizzying now. He was so close. He radiated warmth. The earthy scent of his skin mixed with his cologne was drool-worthy. At least if I was to die, it was at the hands of a god-like creature, right?

His arm raised to my face, and I flinched away, closing my eyes with a whimper. However, he didn't hit me or break my neck as I expected. Instead, his fingers traced my temple and down my cheek. My body froze at the gentle contact. Unsure of how to react, I kept my eyes closed. I felt his finger trace my lip and shooting electric dived to my core.

I heard him inhale deeply before sighing, his hand falling from my face. "She may go."

My eyes darted open in surprise, relief and shock flooding my veins. His pitch-black eyes stayed hard when I looked at him, his lips in a firm line. He was a rock, just as expressionless and cool.

"B-but Alpha, she-

"Let her go." He growled, his head snapping at the one man that held me.

Without a second thought, they released me. I immediately crossed my arms against my body and shrugged into myself. A small whimper left my throat in the fear of a trick, but when nothing happened, I stepped away from the exhilarating man and his henchmen.

"Thank you, Alpha Titan." Steven sighed.

I noticed how the alpha's men all fell back into position as the alpha turned to sit back down. I also noticed that Julie and Katie were long gone. The beta had stayed sitting the whole time and when I met his gaze; he gave me a wide smile. He was a strange one; I just nearly died, and he was grinning at me!

Steven followed suit and sat down, his worried eyes assessing me. I rubbed at my arms and shook my head to reassure him. Other than my heart flying out of my chest, I was fine.

"Another coffee, Alpha Titan?" Damien asked.

He mutely nodded his head. I took that as my queue and bolted out there as fast as I could. Tears brimmed in my eyes and broke free when I finally set my eyes on the kitchen.

Embarrassment clouded my emotions, the fear of death choking me.

No one approached to comfort me, and they all scampered from the room as I sagged into the counter. Glancing up from my position a moment later, I found I wasn't alone. Sophie stood there, arms on her hips as she glared at me.

"How dare you disrespect us like that!" She shrieked.

I did not know how she knew so quickly.

She was burning with anger.

I flinched as her hand came to land a smack on my cheek. I was sure tired of slaps. However, this time I had clawed nails scratching at my face. Her eyes widened in surprised before she hid them behind a harsh glare. My hand cradled the burning of my cheek as I tried to control my tears.

Too much has happened today.

"Who do you think you are? You are so lucky they did not kill you for that! Learn your place, mutt." She snapped before stomping out of the kitchen. "Useless!"

I wasted no extra time dwindling on yet another event and got on with making another coffee, making it a large one this time. I placed it onto a tray, collected some cloths and soap and made my way back to the office.

When I got there, I quickly untied my hair and let it cascade down my face. I hoped it could cover whatever dignity I had left whilst hiding the three red scratches I could see in the reflection of the mirrored tray.

I glanced down at my crinkled clothes, unhappy. I wiped away tears to find the foundation coating my fingers. I'd have to fix that after this. My clothes got stained while cleaning smudged makeup, but luckily it was just an apron.

I hoped I didn't look too exposed. But I knew I was when the alpha's guards gave me wary glances upon arrival.

The door opened for me and I kept my head down as I made my way silently over to the coffee table where the alpha still sat. I gently placed his coffee on the table and then dabbed up the coffee from the hardwood floor. The conversation never stopped around me, but I drowned it out, keeping my attention on not messing it up this time. Once the coffee was gone, I sprayed and cleaned the floor to stop any stickiness.

I glanced at the drying blotches on the alpha's shoes. It tempted me to offer to clean them, but I didn't want to speak out of place. When he moved his boots away from me, I took the hint.

Chewing my lip, I collected the dirtied cloths and the coffee tray. Keeping my head down, I turned to my alphas and bowed gently. I let my hair cast past my cheek; I did not need to show up the pack yet again.

"Thank you, Nova." Steven spoke, not even glancing up from the paperwork on his desk.

I nodded mutely and as turned I saw the alpha leaning to grab his coffee. Once he grabbed it, he looked up at me, his eyes back to their normal colours. However, they hardened when he saw my face, and I felt the warmth of heat flood my cheeks with embarrassment as his gaze met mine.

I hadn't realised I so happily stared at him. He didn't seem to like me all too much. Dipping my head, I dashed out of the room.

I wanted nothing more than to go to my bedroom and cry to sleep, but I had to help with lunch. Entering a bathroom, I washed my face and applied some cream to my cheek, cursing my slow healing. I was lucky it didn't bleed anymore. Busying myself in the bathroom for a while was all I needed to stop the nerves and tears from flooding my face.

Brave face time.

"Nova dear..." Nevaeh's voice crashed into the bathroom.

I was expecting her to ask if I was okay, but her expression was harsh, just like everyone else's. I sighed and met her gaze, knowing I would not get a chance to put on more make-up. She glanced at my cheek and grimaced slightly.

"They require you to assist in the tour. Meet them in the foyer now, please."

"W-w-what!" I glanced at the clock that read ten-thirty.

"Now! Please do not mess this up again. Go!" she growled.

I nodded and dried my hands on a towel. I practically ran my way to the foyer where the men were just approaching. Julie was here again and glared at me as I stood beside her. So much for being kind to me this morning. One slip up and everyone hated you.

"Take off your apron." She grumbled.

I frantically nodded and pulled at the strings on my back, but they were stuck. The knot had tightened itself in all my mishaps today, and I was too sweaty and jittery to undo it.

My neck curved in respect when the dominance flooded the hallway. An automatic response, especially since Steven seemed to be so angry right now.

Steven's eyes flooded with questions when they saw me. I knew they had requested me but he obviously didn't realise the mistake in that. The mistake being my inability to function correctly and the fact my face is now imperfect from lack of make-up.

I saw his brief disapproval as he scanned me and dropped my hand from the knot at my back in defeat. This pack was out to get me, I swear. Setting me up for failures and giving me no time to get anywhere or look decent and fix my make-up. And giving me aprons that damn well wouldn't untie!

I let out a small huff of annoyance.

"Right. Shall we start with the tour?" He smiled.

The men all grunted in agreement. Alpha Titan's men followed him like a herd, a well-rehearsed dance of sorts that wherever he moved, they were the backup. The beta was just wandering around with a guard behind him; almost childlike as he smiled and poked at the house decor.

I was about to follow Julie when a pair of hands graced my back and pulled on my apron strings. I jumped when their touch ignited an excitement that alerted the voice in my head again.

'Mine.'

I glanced up behind me to see Alpha Titan pulling off my apron strings with no expression. Swallowing loudly, I felt a warmth rush to my cheeks.

"T-t-thank you, A-Alpha-

He interrupted. "Phoenix."

My eyebrows furrowed in question. "Alph-

"No. It's Phoenix."

I chewed on my lip as his hard eyes studied my cheek, his hand twitching near me as though he wanted to touch me. No point hiding it now, everyone had seen.

"Th-thanks, Phoenix."

The voice I keep hearing was whispering to me, but I couldn't understand it. I could've sworn Phoenix grumbled, but I brushed it off as nothing. My whole body was warm and flushed with embarrassment. He made me delusional. His hand met the small of my back as he gently pushed me to keep up with the others. I jogged until I was beside Steven, who gave me a tight smile.

We walked around the entire grounds. The visitors occasionally asked us questions, but Julie answered most of them since I took my time to form words.

I don't know whether it was my anxiety, but when we stopped at the training facility, I felt weird. I was getting hot and nauseous, my stomach cramping had my arms grasping at themselves as I tried to hide the pain. My nails dug into my shirt, somehow tearing the fabric.

My eyes tried to focus on the wolves that were training in front of me, but things blurred. I was aware of Steven's icy hand coming onto my shoulder and so I turned my head to frown at him.

"Are you okay, Nova?" His words slurred.

"I-I don't feel good." I mumbled, squeezing my eyes shut as an intense pressure invaded my skull.

"What's happening?" A demanding voice shouted.

I opened my eyes to find myself kneeling on the floor. Through the tears of pain, I saw Phoenix at my height, hands hovering before me. Everything was spasming under my skin. My bones felt like they were creaking with every breath.

"I-I don't know. It's almost as though she's..." someone muttered.

"What?" Phoenix snapped, his voice loud and clear compared.

"Shifting."

The cramping in my legs caused me to groan and fall to the side. Something caught my head before I fell. It radiated warmth and as I turned my nose into it; I found it smelt amazing, too.

"Well, is that possible? How old is she?" Another voice piped up.

"Uh, about twenty. She-she's never shifted before."

"Never shifted?" One wondered; the beta.

"How strange." Another added.

I went to push myself up as nausea hit me, but in my weak state, I collapsed. As if by fate, the comforting hands flipped me over, holding my hair and stomach as I vomited onto the ground. When I went to support myself again, I felt my arm give way underneath me. I screamed as it cracked and a searing hot pain shot up my arm and left it in tingles. Soon following were my other arm and my ankles. My skin felt like it was tearing under the strain. An intense throbbing overtook my brain, and I heard screaming.

My screaming. I knew I was going to die today. I should've bet on it.

Flames of pain consumed me as my body contorted upon its own will; my screams filled the otherwise quiet air. I could feel tears streaming down my face as my ribs broke one by one, my lungs constricting as I struggled for breath. My vision unfocused completely and dots blacked out the light as I succumbed to the pain.

***********

Thank you for reading the story so far! I hope you enjoyed.

Also,
You can find my Wattpad original story, Lost Luna, on YONDER, the next-generation reading app from the Wattpad family! Free with daily unlocks!

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