Konstantin: The Heartless Beta novel Chapter 25

Konstantin

Kai instructed me to take Nova to Nikolai’s penthouse. He still couldn’t bring himself to empty it out, so he just had a cleaner come in twice a week to keep it dust-free. Now on top of everything else, we have this to worry about. Nikolai might still be alive, and he probably got taken the night he died.

The only type of person who can fool an Alpha is a witch - Kai’s least favourite supernatural being.

We step into Nikolai’s penthouse, and Nova stops walking. I’m about to ask her if something is wrong when I see her shoulders shaking, and she lets out a sniff.

“This is his scent,” she murmurs, then turns to look at me. “This is Nikolai!”

I can’t help but smile at her pure reaction and her wide-eyed innocence. She may not be Nikolai’s type of girl, but I can tell she’s being genuine.

Before Kai allowed Nova anywhere close to the building Cat is in, he ran a background check on her. Nothing suspicious came up, and nothing seemed out of place. It yielded nothing really; she’s an orphan who grew up at a pup orphanage in New Orleans after her pack members were all killed by hunters. Now she lives in Seattle and works as a, and I guessed it, librarian.

But we’re still keeping a close eye on her; by we, I meant me.

“Something to drink?” I ask, walking over to Nikolai’s fridge, which I know will yield beer and grab myself one.

“Beer, if you have, thank you,” she says.

I open both and walk over to where she sat on the couch. “So, Nova, tell me about yourself,” I say and hand her the bottle.

She shrugs. “You already know everything about me now.”

“We know the basics. I want to know why you came all the way from Seattle to New York on a fucking bus to see if a man you haven’t even met before is okay.” I say, trying to size up this short, chubby girl.

She juts out her chin as she levels me with a gaze. “I already told you; his wolf went silent after speaking to me on a daily basis. I had to come to see if he was okay or not, and then I would have left-”

“You would have left your mate?” I ask incredulously.

Nova’s eyes widen, then she sighs and looks down at the beer bottle in her lap. “No, but one look at me, and I know he would have rejected the Mate Bond. I’ve seen how Nikolai looks, Konstantin, and I’m definitely not the type he would go for.” She says, then takes a swig of her bottle.

Great, now I feel like shit for thinking the exact same thing. True, Nikolai is a fucking womaniser, but I don’t think my brother is shallow enough to reject his mate.

“You don’t know if he would have done that,” I say.

Nova scoffs. “Don’t patronise me; I saw the look you gave me when you first laid your eyes on me.”

Shit, was I being that obvious? The last thing I want is for a Rogue to feel even more unwanted. “I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”

She gives me a small smile and shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it; I’m used to it, really. I’m only staying to find out if Nikolai is okay or not. After that, you don’t have to worry about seeing me again.”

God, I need to stop being such a heartless asshole. This girl has probably had it tough on her own with no one to rely on but herself. I’d say that makes her a Volkova already. I watch as she pushes up her glasses, and something occurs to me.

“Why are you wearing glasses if you have perfect vision? You’re a werewolf, aren’t you?” I ask.

Nova blinks, then pushes her glasses again. “I suppose so, but I’ve always had bad eyesight. Apparently, I caught a virus when I was a pup, and it affected my eyes,” she says.

“Can you see perfectly when you shift?”

The smile drops from her face, and she pales. “I’ve… I’ve never shifted before… my wolf is lying dormant; she’s been that way since my pack got slaughtered. My father never had the opportunity to show me how to shift either.”

“Wait,” I say, dumbfounded, “then how do you know Nikolai is your mate if your wolves haven’t met?”

“They’ve met; according to Nikolai’s wolf, she still slumbers within me,” Nova says with a shrug.