The Ghost Lioness of Phantom Moon

Chapter 9 - Heat

A year had passed since Nova was accepted by Sylas and everyone else at Phantom Moon. Caelan’s aunt, Amelia, had come for a visit a few times over the last couple months with her butler, Greg. He was a bumbling fool who couldn’t even brew a decent cup of tea. Nova learned that on her first day shadowing Sylas. She would often test Caelan’s sense of taste by making his tea instead of Sylas and he would guess who made it. He was alway right when he guessed. Sylas had several years of practice brewing the perfect cup of tea. Angela was a beautiful woman who always wore red. She was a doctor at the local hospital. Greg was always making a mess of anything he touched. Nova and Barty were watching as he tried to help Sylas with chopping food for lunch. Several times he nearly cut his fingers or would chop so fast that the knife practically flew out of his hands.

“Master thought we were bad at our jobs.” Barty said under his breath. Nova chuckled and shook her head as the horror show played out. Eventually, she had enough and took the knife from Greg.

“Go see if Fallon needs any help in the garden, okay? I’ll help here.” she said. Greg hung his head and sullenly walked out the door that led outside.

“Thank you, Nova. I was about to wring his neck.” Barty said. He started chopping vegetables as Nova started chopping herbs. Not long after, they heard Fallon screaming from the garden. Nova dropped what she was doing and bolted out the door on high alert. She grew her claws out and was ready to fight when she saw Fallon yelling at Greg, who had a sprayer full of weed killer in his hands. Nova looked around and saw many dead flowers. She got angry and stormed over to where Fallon and Greg were.

“What the hell were you doing out here? I said to help Fallon, not to murder the flowers!” she shouted.

“There were weeds growing all around them. I was just trying to kill them.” Greg said in a small voice. Nova clenched and unclenched her fists a few times, not realizing her claws were tearing into her hands. Sylas took her hands and wrapped them in a towel gently.

“Calm, Nova. You’re hurting yourself.” he said in a soft voice. His scent being so close made Nova take a few deep breaths and she calmed down. Greg saw the blood on the towels and got queasy. Nova rolled her eyes.

“What, you can’t even handle a little bit of blood?” she scoffed. She usually had a very high tolerance for annoyances, but something about Greg made her want to rip his head off. She could tell that he wasn’t quite human, but he was something she had never encountered before. She realized that Fallon, Barty, Molly, and Cobra were all human, just with unique skills that made them stronger in different ways.

Molly had incredible eyesight when she wasn’t wearing her glasses. She put top tier snipers to shame. She used to be an assassin, but she was treated like s**t from the man who gave her the assignments. Fallon was thin, but he had more strength than a professional bodybuilder. He said he was a failed experiment with a type of super serum. The others who were successful had muscles on muscles. The hat he wore hid a serial number tattooed onto the back of his neck. Barty had a sixth sense for traps in the field. He was a soldier in the army and he felt there was a trap in his troop’s path. He saw a way to get around it and remain unseen by the enemy, but his commanding officer didn’t want to hear it. They went on their path and were killed by landmines. Barty was hit with shrapnel, but was only minorly injured. He went on his path and was hidden while the enemy was inspecting the bodies of his troop. Cobra was born with a scale-like texture over parts of his body. He could also talk to snakes. He was once a part of a traveling circus until they shut down due to some illegal activity. Caelan and Sylas were in the area and stumbled across Cobra.

Sylas brought Nova back to her senses when he asked if her hands were healed yet. She shook her head and looked up at him. A slight blush spread across her face when he got close and asked again.

“Are your hands healed yet, Nova? Will you be able to finish helping with lunch?” he asked.

“Yes, they’re healed. Sorry. I can help.” she replied. Sylas nodded and unwrapped the towel and took it inside to get the blood out of it. Barty looked over at her.

“You alright? Looked like you wanted to climb him for a minute there.” he snickered. Nova’s face turned red and she slapped his arm with the back of her hand. Barty could tell she was falling hard for Sylas. Nova kept telling herself that she wasn’t ready to open her heart yet. She felt like she was betraying Adam when she felt the mate bond with Sylas growing stronger. She would have to let Caelan know that she would need to spend some time in the woods again in a few months. She had been going away for a few days every six months when she lived in the human village. Caelan asked her why the first time she requested it.

“For my heat.” she replied. Caelan looked confused.

“I become extremely fertile for a few days and my scent gets much stronger. Any unmated supernatural male would be drawn to me and the drive to have s*x is out of control. My body gets extremely hot to the touch and I usually need ice baths to cool off.” she explained. Caelan nodded and agreed on the condition that she tell Ellie and Molly where she would be. Nova had her heat once since she had lived in the Phantom Moon manor.

She was in her room getting dressed after her morning shower when there was a knock at her door. She called for them to enter.

“Master Caelan wants you to meet him in the foyer, Nova.” Molly said as she poked her head in. Nova pulled her hair up in a ponytail and followed Molly downstairs. Caelan was dressed to go into town and Sylas was in a long black trench coat.

“I’ve been summoned to speak with the Queen. I’ll need you and Sylas to accompany me. It sounds like a job for the Queen’s Watchdog.” Caelan said. Nova steeled her expression and followed him and Sylas to a carriage. Sylas opened the door and waved Caelan and Nova inside. He shut the door and got into the driver’s seat. Caelan knocked on the roof and they took off toward the city. When they arrived, Caelan went inside of a large ornate building with guards surrounding it.

“I’ll only be a moment. Stay on guard.” Caelan said as he left the carriage. Nova left and stood guard beside it. She felt a small pang in her stomach and brushed it off as hunger pain. She didn’t eat before they left the manor. A while later, there was a slightly stronger pain. She rubbed her stomach to try and soothe it. A stronger pain made her hiss and Sylas looked over.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Just hungry, I think. I can wait til we get back home.” she replied. Not long after, Caelan returned. Nove opened the door for Caelan and she got in after he was seated. He knocked on the roof and they left to return to the manor.

“I was right. It’s official Watchdog business. There have been a few ladies of the night who have been viciously butchered in the alleys at night. Four so far, but I was told to expect more. Her Majesty wants me to investigate as Scotland Yard has no leads at all. We are to start in five days. The most recent death was last night. The timeline shows one death every six to seven nights. Are you ready for your first official job as Guardian?” Caelan asked. Nova nodded, but winced as another twinge of pain hit her.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine.” she replied. Suddenly, a wave of pain hit her and made her double over on her seat. Caelan went to touch her arm and pulled his hand back.

“Nova, you’re not fine. You’re burning up. Sylas, take us to the hospital.” he ordered. Nova shook her head.

“It’s not something the hospital can help with. It’s my heat. I thought I still had a few months before it hit me again. I just need to hide out in the woods for a few days. I’ll be fine.” she strained. The carriage picked up speed and they were back at the manor in record time. Caelan jumped out and held his hand out to help Nova. She took one step outside of the carriage and collapsed. Her breathing was labored and she was curled up in a ball. Fallon was outside and rushed inside to get Ellie and Molly. They all ran outside and knelt down beside Nova.

“Nova, this is much worse than last time. What can we do so you can make it to your spot in the woods?” Ellie asked.

“Short term, ice bath. Only will help an hour. Body too hot.”

“What about long term?” Molly asked. Nova opened her eyes briefly and looked directly at Sylas. A heated look crossed her face but was replaced by a grimace as another wave of pain hit her. Sylas approached her and placed his hand on her arm. She visibly relaxed a bit and was able to breathe a bit easier.

“Where do you need to go, Nova? I’ll carry you.” he offered. Nova pulled his face to hers and kissed him. She wrapped her fingers in his hair and pulled it a bit. Sylas was stunned. He was frozen as Nova was attacking his lips. She growled and released him. I can’t keep lying to myself, Sylas. You’re my mate. I want you. I need you. I love you.” she breathed. She kissed him again and he stood and took her inside to her room. His face was emotionless the entire time he carried her. Nova was worried that he might not want her. He opened her door and set her down on the bed.

“Is this you talking, or your heat?” he asked.

“My heat is telling me to climb you like a tree. My heart is telling me to let you in and to stop lying to myself.” she said with tears in her eyes. Sylas looked into her eyes and saw love and passion. He leaned down and kissed her tears away. He brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her deeply. She surrendered to the pull of the mate bond, and was completely and totally his. Her heart only belonged to him from that moment on.