Chapter 3: Tenth Time's Different
1568 Words
(Drake POV)
"Tenth bride's the charm," Jesse says from the backseat as the driver pulls up to the Caldwell Estate.
"Shut it," Evan snaps.
"Both of you — not another word. I mean it."
He never learns, Axel mutters somewhere in the back of my head.
I hold up a hand before the driver can open the door. "Give me a second." The door stays shut and neither of them pushes it. Smart, for once. "She isn't like the others. You don't speak to her, you don't stare at her. And Jesse — hands to yourself. I'm not saying it again. Brother or not, I will end you."
Jesse drags two fingers across his lips. Zipped. Sure.
I meant every word. Nova was different from the moment I saw her sliding down that office door like the floor was the
only safe place left in the world. Axel had noticed it too — had gone quieter than usual when she was in the room, more focused. That alone told me enough. Axel didn't pay attention to women he didn't care about.
The three of us climb out and stand in front of the estate. It was run-down in the way that said nobody here spent money on anything that didn't benefit themselves. Travis had been an unknown to me until a month ago, and everything I'd since learned confirmed the same thing: he was a small man with a big title and a mean streak he aimed at the wrong people.
I knock. The door barely cracks open before I push through, sending Cole stumbling back a step.
Nova is already tucked behind a corner, half-hidden like she'd learned a long time ago that being invisible was safer. My eyes find her immediately.
"Are you ready?" I call out — not to Cole, not to Travis. To her.
Cole starts talking. "If you just want to—"
"I wasn't speaking to you."
The look on his face was worth the drive up. Jaw loose, eyes wide. A Beta who had never once been spoken over in his own house. He had no idea what to do with it.
Nova steps out slowly, clutching a grocery bag to her chest with both hands. She bites her lower lip and gives me a
small nod.
I look at the bag. Then at her. "Where's the rest?"
"That's all she has." Travis appears at the top of the entry hall, voice loaded with amusement.
I stare at him. "That's everything? She's in her twenties and that's all she owns?"
"What more does she need?" Cole sneers.
Let me handle this, Axel rumbles. Five seconds.
"What are you waiting for?"
The voice came from the staircase — sharp and shrill, the kind that seemed to vibrate up through the floorboards. A
blonde woman was posed at the bottom of the stairs, one hand resting on a decorative statue of — I looked twice — herself. Green eyes, practiced smile, hips moving like she expected applause.
Luna Celeste. I'd heard things. Watching Nova's body go rigid confirmed all of them.
"Take her, Alpha Drake." Celeste's smile didn't reach her eyes. "I'm sure she'll make just as useful a little servant for
you as she's been for us." She laughed then, sharp and mean. "Look at her — she's going to pass out."
"You don't get to talk about her like that." I kept my voice even. "She's not your property. She's not your entertainment."
I shifted my gaze to Travis. "And I'd suggest you get your Luna under control before I do it for you."
"Disobedience?" Celeste's voice went up an octave.
Right on cue, Nova's knees buckled and she hit the floor.
I didn't look at Celeste. "I'd suggest you read the contract before you say another word. It seems your mate left out some details."
I signaled Evan, who pulled a thick document from the folder under his arm and handed it across. Celeste's eyes went
wide at the size of it.
"All that just for the alliance?"
"I don't do thin contracts." I pressed the stack against Travis's chest. "Office. Now."
* * * * * * * *
Travis led the way with Celeste on his arm and Cole right behind them. Evan and Jesse followed. I hung back.
Nova was still on the floor, trying to push herself up. I crouched down to her level.
"You can come sit in the meeting," I said quietly. "Or my car's out front — you can wait there. Your call."
She glanced up at me, then immediately back down. "Those are my only options?"
"For now." I paused. "Personally, I think you should come in. It'll be satisfying to watch Celeste's face when she
realizes what's actually in that contract."
A beat of silence. Her eyes moved from the front door to the hallway and back.
"The office," she said finally. "I guess."
"Good call." I offered her my hand. She didn't take it — just pushed herself up on her own, wavering slightly before she
steadied. I let it go. She'd earned the right to do things her own way.
Walking behind her into the office, I watched the three of them cut their eyes at her the moment she entered. Travis
looked away fast. Cole's jaw went tight. Celeste's expression could have curdled milk.
"Sit down," I said as I moved past Nova, my hand brushing her lower back out of instinct. She went rigid immediately.
She didn't sit. Just stood there, eyes scanning the room like she was calculating exits.
"Sit," I said again, louder.
"She doesn't have that privilege in this house." Celeste's voice was practically gleeful.
"Sitting is not a privilege." I looked at her directly. "And if you say one more word, I'll remove you from this meeting
entirely." I turned to Travis. "Keep her quiet, or I will."
Celeste's mouth closed. Slowly.
I pointed Nova to the empty chair between Jesse and Evan. She sat.
"Let's move," Travis snapped. "The sooner this is done, the better."
"Read it first," I said.
He didn't. Neither did Cole or Celeste. They skimmed the first page, scrawled their signatures, and shoved it back at
me like it was something dirty. Travis's hands were shaking slightly. Anger, or nerves — hard to tell.
"Done," he muttered. "Now get her out of my house."
I stood, crossed the room, and held out my hand to Nova. "Come on. We're leaving."
This time, her fingers slipped into mine. Warm and light as paper. She stood, tucked that bag back against her chest,
and walked with me to the front door without a single glance back at any of them. No goodbye. No hesitation. She was
done with this place before we even hit the threshold.
Then she stopped.
The limo was parked at the end of the drive. She stared at it like it was a wall she didn't know how to get past.
"Nova." I stepped in front of her. Her eyes were unfocused, looking straight through me. "It's time to go."
"Okay," she whispered. Her lips barely moved.
She reached for the door frame. Her knuckles went white. Her heartbeat jumped — I could hear it, fast and unsteady
— and then her hand dropped and her eyes rolled back.
I caught her before she hit the ground.
She was so light it stopped my breath. I carried her to the car, sliding in with her settled against me. Jesse raised an
eyebrow from across the seat and I shot him a look that ended the thought before it started.
She came back to herself slowly, then all at once — sitting straight up, pressing herself as far from me as the seat
allowed, making herself small again out of pure reflex.
I let her. Turned to Evan and Jesse and kept the conversation on pack business, only glancing her way every few
minutes to make sure her color was coming back.
It was.
* * * * * * * *
The Harmon Estate sat on forty acres outside Black Ridge, backed up against a tree line that ran for miles. Nova
stepped out of the car and looked up at it without saying a word. Then she made a small sound — not quite a gasp,
just a quiet intake of breath.
It was easily three times the size of what she'd left behind.
I took her through the main rooms — dining hall, kitchen, the common spaces. Pointed out the request board in the
kitchen where staff could log anything that needed ordering.
She stared at it like I was speaking another language.
I picked up the pen. "Tell me what you need. Clothes, toiletries — whatever. You're not living under my roof out of a
grocery bag."
Her eyes moved around the kitchen slowly. "I don't need anything."
I didn't argue. I just started writing. Jeans, shirts, workout gear, dresses, shoes — anything I could think of that would
cover the basics for a week. When the list was long enough, I set the pen down and turned to her.
Something made me reach out and span my hands around her waist. Just for a second. My thumbs met above her
navel. My fingers nearly touched her spine.
She was so thin I couldn't figure out how she was still standing.
- Writer
