Konstantin: The Heartless Beta

Nikolai

I know I shouldn't be here again, I know I should head home and resume the mission Kai has sent me on, but I can't help it. The pull is too strong; HER pull is too strong. I should probably just reject her for real this time and get on with my life, but staring at temptation for so long only makes me want it more.

It's been nearly four years since I spoke with Nova, four years since I caught her scent and promised to win her over again... and four years since I've done jack shit about it. But it's not because I don't want to, fuck no.

We're at war with two other packs, and there is so much death surrounding us now. I don't want to drag Nova into the middle of this; I don’t want her to be caught in the crossfire. So I've resigned myself to coming to this seedy bar the Rogue Alpha owns, the bar she works in so that I can watch her from afar.

I never approach her, never stare too long to catch anyone's attention, and I do not release my scent in here no matter how pissed off I get at how friendly she is with other men

Oh, and it's not because I don't want to, what with the short skirts and low cut corsets she wears now. She's lost a lot of weight, and I don't fucking like it. I want to rip their throats out for trying to scent her, I want to run right over and tear them to shreds for even looking her way, but I can't. She definitely doesn't make it any fucking easier for me, getting their attention by flaunting her curves like this, and it pisses me off to the point that I dig my claws into the wooden table in front of me. She's mine; she’s my mate, but there isn't a fucking thing I can do about it.

As much as it fucking sucks, I can't bring her into my world, well, not now at least. She deserves a normal life in an average pack without this shit to deal with. I don't want anyone knowing she's mine and using her as a ploy, and fuck knows they would.

My exploits have rivalled Konstantin's lately. I know I'm the youngest, but I am so fucking pissed off at the world that I don't give a shit. It is part of the reason I asked Kai to make me head Enforcer - I wanted to kill and maim without repercussions just to let out my frustrations.

In the beginning, it helped a fuck load. But not anymore; now I just want to come home and know my mate is there waiting for me with open arms. I want Nova to look at me the way Caterina looks at Kai and Lily looks at Kon. I want her to say she needs me, too; I want her to fall apart under me as I claim her over and over again.

But I can't be selfish about this. As much as I want that, I want Nova to be safe as well. No one can know she’s mine, and no one can know she’s my weakness.

I lean forward and drink my beer, my eyes skimming the bar again. She's so fucking beautiful; my heart aches just watching her leaning over the counter with her glasses slipping from her face as her eyes seem like she’s a million miles away. This is how she looks most nights, and I always wonder what she’s thinking about.

Is she thinking about me as much as I'm thinking about her? Do I even fucking cross her mind? “Back alley, right fucking now," I hear a gruff, angry voice and look up just in time to see Nova following another man out the back door.

Anger bubbles in my chest as I finish my beer, knowing that this asshole is her boyfriend, the one she fucks and gives herself to now. Jealousy coils so deep in my stomach that I jump up and storm out the back door leading to the alley.

My eyes fall on her, and I see red, but before I can even think about it, Knight takes over. He's yearned for her, and seeing her pressed up against the wall with a bloody nose pushed him much more over the edge.

This asshole dared to put his hands on our mate, so I ripped out his heart and tore him in two. Nikolai and Dimitri: Rejecting Fate will be out in May 2022.