"He was both everything
I could ever want...
And nothing I could
Ever have..."

~~ Ranata Suzuki

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~Hatter~

Leaving Ashira behind was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. The house was lost already but she was determined to stay behind and fight a battle that she was destined to lose. After all she had done for me since I had transitioned, there was nothing I could do to help her. I was risking it already, staying behind with Nova to begin with, but there was no way I could have left him to burn.

I pulled him out of the house, his body sagging against mine as he struggled for air. The rain was still coming down hard, large ice cold drops quickly soaking through my clothes. The fabric stuck to my skin but I ignored it as I got him away from the flames. I could see the others nearing the woods ahead of us and I began to steer us in that direction until Nova stopped.

"Wait, where's my mom?" he asked, squinting his eyes against the onslaught of rain as he looked around.

I looked back at the group ahead, my enhanced vision obscured partially by sheet after sheet of rain. Nova was right, Edith wasn't with them. A flash of lightning suddenly lit up the sky and I spotted her moments before Nova. Much to my displeasure, he immediately moved to follow after her which was away from the group for some unknown reason. I couldn't let him go after her, not under the circumstances.

In the blink of an eye, I had his back against a nearby oak tree and my body pressed against his to hold him in place. Caging my arms on either side of his head, I bit back the satisfied smirk that threatened to break free at the look of surprise on his face.

His breath hitched when his eyes found mine, the cerulean briefly flaring with desire. It was masked quickly and he shoved at my chest but I easily held my place, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at him. Nova could have used his magick to force me away but he didn't.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Nova asked, attempting to scowl but it ended up being more of a pout. "Now is not the time for this, Robbie. Let me go, I have to go after her!"

Hearing my given name on his lips was intoxicating, the sound more of a turn on than my own name probably should have been. But there had always been something about Nova that pulled me to him, no matter how hard I tried to resist.

"No, you don't," I told him with a shake of my head. "We need to stick together and she has done nothing but cause you pain. Look what she has brought with her this time."

Nova looked over my shoulder, the fire reflected in his almond shaped eyes as clear as if they were a television screen. Pain and anger flickered across his face as his eyes filled with tears that he tried to hide but there was no mistaking them. Something cracked inside of me with this physical manifestation of his silent agony.

"Then, I definitely need to go after her," Nova replied, his voice breaking even though I knew he didn't want me to hear. "Someone needs to find out why she did this."

Nova was a strong and stubborn man, capable of handling anything that came his way if he truly wanted to. But in that moment, he seemed so vulnerable. Raising my hand, I let my fingers gently glide over his feverish skin, his cheeks blistered from the roaring heat I had dragged him away from.

"You don't have to do this alone," I whispered as my head tilted towards his.

I told myself not to do it, that it was a bad idea, but all such thoughts disappeared the moment my lips brushed his. The night had taken a terrible turn, chaos surrounding us as wolves howled and the smell of charred wood and flesh filled the stormy air. For a handful of seconds, it all stopped. But I knew it couldn't last and so I reluctantly pulled away, searching his eyes.

"You're not going to go through this alone, Nova. Not anymore."

Of all the things I expected him to do or say, slapping me was last on the list. Taking the hit unexpectedly, my head snapped to the side and when I looked back at him, I was greeted by nothing but anger.

"You're an asshole, Robbie Hatman," Nova growled and due to my shocked state he was able to free himself. Backing away he continued, "I don't have time for your head games right now."

I clamped my mouth shut so I didn't say anything to make the situation worse, although I was still confused as to how it had escalated so quickly. Letting Nova lead the way this time, mostly to make sure he didn't try and sneak away, we rushed to the others. The rain was slowly easing up but by that point we were all soaked through.

Looking back towards Ashira's cottage, the flames reaching at least two stories into the sky, figures were visible as they circled the house. Alana was sobbing as quietly as possible as we watched the scene, none of us knowing what to say. The snap of a twig had the six of us whipping around but it was only Edith as she finally joined us. I glanced at Nova but his expression remained impassive.

Another explosion rocked the ground and embers burst into the air as the roof collapsed. Whoops of triumph from the intruders rang out into the night but were cut short at the sound of a scream. Dominic hand his arms locked around Alana's waist as she screamed Ashira's name, begging the gods to give her back.

She kicked and clawed at him but he wouldn't relent. Nevada attempted to help calm her but there was nothing any of us could do to ease the grief. There was no doubt in my mind that all of us were feeling the same to some degree, but Ashira had been Alana's best friend for centuries. The problem was that her wails didn't go unnoticed.

"They're coming," August warned as he scooped Nevada into his arms again. "Time to go."

Dominic managed to convince Alana to run, and so the seven of us took off through the woods. Roots and branches snagged my clothes, the ground slick beneath my feet as I concentrated on not using my vamp speed. I tried not to think about Ashira's death or the conflicting emotions that seemed trapped between Nova and I. Letting my mind stray from the task at hand could get someone killed.

I noticed Edith gradually separating herself from the rest of us once more, as if she were trying to escape without notice. She wasn't being held captive but she definitely had a lot to answer to after what had just gone down. Within minutes she had slipped away, but I held my tongue because I honestly didn't want that woman anywhere near the rest of us.

Our group began to slow and August and I automatically began listening for anyone approaching. Nova frowned when he realized that his mother had once again disappeared.

"What the fuck?" he growled as he looked around.

"We can't stay here," August declared, his face grim as he looked in the direction behind us.

I nodded in agreement as the wind brought with it the scent of humans and fae. It was only a matter of time before they caught up with us. We still had no idea who they were but the wolves seemed to have taken a different route which didn't bode well with me. With the right alpha, shifters could be extremely cunning and resourceful. We could only hope this group was being led by an idiot at this point.

"We're sitting ducks, August." I told him as I scanned the darkness. "Where's your backup plan, old man?"

August hated it when I called him old but, compared to me, he was definitely old. Right on cue, he glared at me but shook his head.

"It's not safe to talk about it here. Follow me and you'll see."

As everyone started to do as August had instructed, I saw that Nova hadn't moved as he stared off into the darkness.

"I have to find my mom," he announced, his words determined and angry.

"Nova, just come with us," Nevada argued fearfully. "It's not safe and we've already lost enough tonight. I'm sure Edith is fine."

A hint of bitterness laced her words.

"I'll be fine, sis. You guys go on ahead and I'll find my way back to you, I promise." Nova attempted to reassure her but it was unconvincing. With a last sad smile, Nova jogged off into the woods without looking back.

I detected the sound of footfalls and looked at August's, his face hardening as he heard the same. "I'll keep him safe. We'll catch up when we can."

Catching up with Nova wasn't difficult but I hung back several paces to give him a semblance of space. He didn't look at me, or acknowledge my presence in any way, but the subtle increase in his heart rate let me know that he was definitely aware of me. Normally this bit of knowledge would be thrilling, but it did nothing to change things between us this time.

Keeping half of my focus on our surroundings for any signs of danger, I silently berated myself for kissing him. It was a stupid, selfish thing to do and it never should have happened. I shouldn't have done it the first time and I shouldn't have done it this time. Nova deserved someone that could give him their all, but that wasn't me and I didn't believe that it would ever be.

I was in no state of mind to be anything other than his protector, a task August had given me not long after I had become a hybrid. That alone was something I continued to struggle with, even with it being six years later. I hadn't wanted this and I wished that August had just let me die that night instead of turning me. If he had then I wouldn't be pushing Nova away only to keep trying to pull him back. Instead... I would still be with him.

"I don't know where your mind is going right now, but I wish you would think about something else," Nova complained ahead of me. "You're making me want to crawl in a hole and die."

"What?" I asked, completely confused.

Nova sighed in exasperation and stopped walking to turn around, an impatient look on his face.

"I'm an empath, Hatter, which is one of the many 'gifts' I have," he explained unenthusiastically with a roll of his eyes. "That means that, whatever emotions you or anyone else nearby are feeling, I feel them too. It comes in handy sometimes but mostly it's just annoying."

I could only look at him as I processed that information and then tried to imagine what that experience could possibly be like. Although I knew it wasn't the most appropriate time for such curiosity, that's where my mind went. If he could feel my emotions, did that mean he could read my thoughts too?

"No, I can't read your mind," he scowled before turning around and continuing to pick his way through the trees, "just how you're feeling. Mind reading is a warlock thing. Many fae can do it, the feelings part I mean, but not all of us. Just like not all humans can sing or draw and not all wolves are born with Alpha blood."

"Are you sure you can't read minds?" I couldn't help but ask since he had clearly known what I was thinking.

"Yes, I'm sure. But I can read your face and it looked stupid."

"Oh, don't lie, little Tink, we both know you think my face is handsome," I joked, trying to take my mind off the dark thoughts that still lingered.

Nova scoffed but I heard the smile in his voice as he said, "That doesn't mean it didn't look stupid."

I glared at the back of his head but I didn't know how to respond as I had walked into that. The playfulness quickly left me as a faint aroma filled my nose on the passing wind. Thankfully the rain had died down quite a bit and the thick canopy of trees overhead blocked the majority which allowed my heightened senses to be much more useful. I was instantly in front of Nova, my hands on his shoulders to halt his steps as my eyes scanned the trees around us.

"What is it?" he whispered, immediately realizing something was wrong.

"Wolves," I replied barely above a whisper.

After a minute longer of searching, I came up empty and reluctantly pressed a finger to my lips to signal for him to be as quiet as possible. As we slowly and cautiously returned to our search, neither of us spoke. I kept my guard up as we went, knowing that we weren't alone in these woods any longer.

A short time later, I picked up Edith's scent that was faint at first but grew gradually stronger as we went. Soon enough, I spotted her stumbling through the mud and trees about fifty yards ahead.

Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one that had found her I realized as multiple pairs of golden eyes flashed in the darkness.

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A/N: First Hatter POV... what do we think?

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~SM~