Chapter 2
1202 Words
NOVA PAEDYN
I became his assassin
“You want to judge me?” my voice cracked, still hoarse from the screams I hadn’t let out. “Judge yourself first.”
My uncle’s smile was cold. “I already did, little Paedyn. That’s why I’m the one standing and you’re the one in chains.”
He took a step closer, and I clenched my fists, ignoring the sting of metal biting into my wrists.
“You belong to me now,” he said. “And I’ve got a purpose for you, one that suits your fire and your blood.”
I laughed bitterly. “You mean like how you suited my parents with a blade?”
That wiped the smirk off his face. Only for a second, though. Then it was back… slippery, twisted.
“You talk too much. Just like your mother.”
He turned away, like I was already dismissed. “From now on, you will kill for me. Every name I give you, you erase. Clean. Fast. No mistakes. And you shall ask no questions.”
“You’re insane if you think I’ll do your dirty work,” I spat.
He turned back around slowly, his gaze dark and dangerous. “You’ll do it, Paedyn. Or I’ll put a knife through your throat myself and sleep like a baby after. Your death shall not be remembered, even by our enemies.”
He wasn't bluffing; he never did.
I stayed silent, jaw tight, as the guards dragged me back to my room, or cell, more like. Four stone walls. No windows. A bed so cold it might as well have been metal. This was where I lived now. This was who I was.
And the worst part? I couldn’t even run.
My fate had been sealed…
And all I could do was watch… and wait for death.
It didn’t take long before the training began.
They treated me like a tool. Something sharp and easy to point at.
Mornings bled into nights, and I stopped keeping track of time. My body hurt in places I didn’t know existed. But I kept going. Not for them. Never for them. For my parents. For what I saw the night they were murdered.
For the last words my father whispered to me.
“Don’t come back for me, Paedyn. If anything happens, avenge me.”
I had begged him not to speak like that. He only smiled. Like he already knew.
So every time I slit a throat, or broke a neck, or watched the light fade from a stranger’s eyes, I remembered. I wasn’t doing this because I wanted to. I was doing it to stay alive long enough to find the truth.
To find the one responsible.
And to show him what vengeance felt like.
Years passed. Maybe two. Maybe more. I couldn’t tell anymore.
I became the perfect weapon. Their precious Nova Paedyn. Feared in every pack I crossed. Some whispered my name like I was a curse. Some begged before they died. Some tried to fight.
None of them survived.
No one came close to escaping.
And still, I got no closer to finding the one who had murdered my parents.
Until one night.
My uncle called for me again. His guards led me into his study. He sat behind his desk like a king. I stood, hands behind my back, waiting for whatever order he would bark this time.
He looked up slowly, eyes gleaming.
“I have a name for you,” he said. “A big one.”
I didn’t flinch. “Who?”
“Cardan Montessori.”
The name landed like a thunderclap in my chest. My heartbeat stuttered, then sped up.
He leaned back in his chair, watching me closely. “You know it?”
“No,” I lied quickly.
He smirked. “You should. He’s the richest Alpha on the continent. Rogue turned king. Controls half the packs in the North.”
“And you want him dead?”
“I want his power. Killing him is the first step.” He stood and walked toward me. “Think you can handle him?”
I forced a smile. “I’ve killed worse.”
“That’s my girl.”
He handed me a small slip of paper. A location. A time. “You’ll find him there. Alone.”
It was always the same plan. Seduce. Distract. Eliminate. Easy.
And Cardan was just a man. Like the others. No different.
At least, that’s what I thought.
The night was colder than most. The woods that bordered the gathering house were thick and shadowy. I moved silently, wearing the kind of dress that hugged my body in ways that usually worked in my favor. My thigh holster was hidden, my blades secure.
Inside, Cardan was seated at the head of a long table. His men flanked him, but they were scattered, distracted. Drinking. Laughing.
He was the only one not smiling.
Black hair. Silvery eyes. He looked like a nightmare dressed in control. Calm. Calculating.
His eyes landed on me the moment I stepped in. It felt like he already knew.
I ignored the heat that crawled down my spine. This was the job. Nothing more.
“Alpha Cardan,” I purred, stepping into the light. “I heard the rumors, but gods… they didn’t do you justice.”
He didn’t even blink. “Who are you?”
“Nova,” I said softly. “Just Nova.”
I took a step closer. One more.
Then everything went to hell.
“Stop right there!” someone barked.
Guns raised. Wolves shifted halfway. Cardan never moved.
I reached for my blade.
But it was too late.
A shot rang out.
Pain tore through my side like fire. I stumbled back, falling against the wall as blood soaked through my dress. I tried to breathe but it came in sharp, ragged gasps.
“She’s armed!” one of them shouted. “She’s not here to flirt; she’s here to kill!”
I crawled behind a pillar, clutching my side, vision spinning.
Cardan stood now. Tall. Lethal. He didn’t look surprised. He looked… furious.
“Bring her to me.”
“No!” I hissed, forcing myself to stand. My knees buckled. I grabbed onto a beam.
I had to get out.
Now.
Someone lunged at me. I kicked him hard, sent him flying back. Another tried to grab me from behind, but I twisted, sliced his arm open with the small blade I kept hidden in my wrist cuff.
Blood sprayed. He screamed.
I ran.
Bullets chased me. So did footsteps.
I tore through the woods, heart pounding, side burning like hell, but I didn’t stop.
I wouldn’t let them catch me. Not yet.
Branches scratched at my face. Roots nearly tripped me. The moon lit my path in patches.
Behind me, wolves howled.
But ahead…
I saw it. A break in the trees. The riverbank.
If I could make it there…
One last burst of speed. One last scream of pain as I leapt into the icy current.
The cold swallowed me whole.
And I let it.
I had escaped…
But death had gone ahead of me…
- Writer
