T H I R T Y - F O U R

NOVA

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"

The creature in front of us was something I've never seen before...and judging from the way both twins were gawking at it, I'm pretty sure they never saw something like this thing before.

It looked like a wolf, with its features and fur, but at the same time looked like a decaying humanoid corpse.

Part of its skull was and ribs were discernible from where I was standing, so noticeable in fact that I saw brain and organs protruding from their respectable cavities.

Blood was matted in his fur and while his crimson eyes were bouncing between the four of us, I couldn't help but notice that its eyes were focused solely on me.

Oh Shit...

That couldn't have been a good sign.

With a deafening shriek that had my ears ringing, the creature ran toward us at lightening speed, somehow dodging Atlas' attempt to block him.

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!" Atlas roared, transforming into his Wolf as dug his paws into the ground and sprinted towards the terrifying creature.

The twins, who were already yanking me out of the trajectory of the beast, gripped each of my arms andhauled me towards the direction of the Council building.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" I screamed when I heard Atlas' howl of pain, turning my head to find his shoulder locked in that things jaw.

The creature locked eyes with me as it bit down on Atlas' shoulder, tearing it even more aggressively as he jerked his head from side to side.

The sickening crunch of bone and shredding of muscles met my ears, making me want to cry and hurl at the same time.

"HELP HIM!" I screamed as I tried to yank my arms out of the twins grasp "FOR FUCKS SAKE! FORGET ME AND HELP HIM!"

They winced, as they dragged me away from Atlas and the creature, their eyes constantly shifting between me, the fight in behind us, and the open perimeter surrounding us.

"Those aren't our orders Heir Lupine" they said simultaneously "Alpha ordered us to get you to safety."

Another howl of pain that made me physically ill to the point when my heart was clawing out of my chest in panic.

"YOU CAN'T SERIOUSLY THINK I'LL LEAVE HIM BEHIND" I growled at them "YOU NEED TO HELP YOUR ALPHA! PLEASE NÍCOAS! PLEASE MÁTEO! HE NEEDS HELP BEFORE THAT THING KILLS HIM!!"

Máteo looked between me and his brother with anguish in his eyes.

Nícolas cursed before shoving me completely into his brother's arms "Get her to the Penta and send the Guards. Whatever this creature is...it's not normal or natural. It shouldn't be overpowering an Alpha, let alone an Heir, the way that it is."

~~~~~~~

The moment we burst into the Council's meeting, a meeting that happened to be ongoing might I add, a dozen set of scowls were sent my way.

"You're late-"

"Atlas needs help" I cut off Fowl with a scathing look "We were attacked on the way over here."

My two Heirs stiffened at the parent's sides.

"What?" Phoenix barked, stalking towards me with a ferocious look in his stormy eyes "Tell me what happened."

While Máteo quickly explained what happened to everyone else in the room, I gripped the front of Phoenix's shirt, drawing those unique eyes back to mine.

"You have to help him Nix" I whispered so low that I was surprised he even heard me from the uproar of everyone in the room "That thing...whatever the hell it was...injured Atlas. Before Máteo dragged me here, the last thing I heard was Atlas howls of pain."

His expression turned thunderous as he barked out orders to all the guards in the room.

"Kassian" he snapped at the other Heir, gripping my arm gentle but firm in his large hand as he walked me over to Kass "You know what to do."

With those final words, he and Máteo strode out of the room, shifting into their wolves as they exited the Penta building.

Kassian's gentle touch brought my attention to him and those around us.

Or therefore, the lack of people around us.

We were the only ones left in the room.

"Where'd everyone go?" I asked as Kassian gripped my hand in his, leading towards the Penta Council chairs.

"It doesn't happen often but if a threat manages to break through the wards protecting our world, we have special protocols in place" he explained softly, this thumb brushing small calming circles on the back of my hand "The older Heirs get whirled away by guards to their panic rooms hidden within the Penta council."

He stood behind his designated family throne and tapped on the Lykos family crest three times then paused before tapping it once more.

There was a small click and suddenly, the chair started shifting forward and to the left.

My eyes widened "There's a secret tunnel?"

He nodded.

"And all the Heirs disappeared underneath here?"

He shook his head.

"For safety reasons, all Heirs chose their own location of their Panic rooms" he explained "They typically only tell their Beta and two trusted guards where that location is. Even the children of Heirs don't actually know the location of their parent's panic room."

I cocked my head to the side "You don't even know the location of your parent's panic room?"

"Another safety protocol" He shook his head "If the kids knew the location of their panic rooms, and if somehow we were kidnapped by our enemies, they could potentially torture it out of us."

I frowned "What's so important about these rooms?"

"These rooms usually store duplicates of everything we keep at our Estate offices" he explained "And since those estates are crawling with guards and security, the next best thing is to try to get access to our Panic rooms."

"People really go through all that trouble?"

"You'd be surprise" he held out his hand to me "Watch your step, it gets pretty steep the lower we go."

"Is it even safe for me to be accompanying you to your panic room?" I paused "Do I have a panic room?"

"You do but since you just arrived, and with all the chaos going on, we haven't had time to outfit it properly" As he led me down stone steps, the little sliver of light that we did have was dwindling fast as the throne slid back into place "And Nix, Atlas, and I decided that if something like this happened, you'd accompany me down here."

When I almost tumbled down the stairs, he wrapped an arm tightly around his waist, guiding me the rest of the way down.

"Almost there, my panic room is just a few feet away."

"Just how many panic rooms are there?" I asked as we passed door after door of what I assumed were panic rooms of the past Heirs "And how far does this place go?"

"No one really knows" he said as we stopped in front of one door "But considering the original Penta chose this exact spot because of the fact that it used to belonged to an underground Pack of Nomads, I'd say this place goes back pretty far and has rooms that we probably still don't even know about."

A buzzing sound filled the room before another click was heard. The metal door that I knew was added within the last ten years, if the technology it housed was anything to go by, and I was surprised to see that it lead to a tiny, white hallway.

"This is the panic room?" My nose scrunched "It's...different than what I expected."

"No," he laughed, nudging me inside the room "My beta reinforced the room and included this little hallway as a buffer from the enemy. From the inside of my room, I could literally disintegrate enemies with laser beams."

"Laser beams?" My eyes widened "You don't seriously have those, do you?"

"Nah," he snickered "I'm just joking. You should see your face right now."

I choked out a laugh, punching his shoulder gently as he placed his palm onto another surface.

A small tablet popped up from behind the panel closest to the entrance just as the wall behind us slammed shut.

"Your name Alpha" The Robotic voice announced.

"Kassian Lykos."

"Your full name please" The voice repeated.

He looked over his shoulder at me and groaned.

"Any chance you could close your ears?"

I frowned "Close my ears?"

"The last time I was here, I forgot that my Beta upgraded our tech" he grumbled "One that requires voice and tone recognition. It asks questions only I'd be able to know, like what my full name is."

Understanding dawned on me as I felt my mood perk up slight.

"I'm finally going to get to know the infamous first name of the Lykos Heir?" I grinned at him.

He groaned and looked back towards the tablet, who apparently was waiting patiently for us.

"Your name please Alpha."

"δεκανός (Dekanos) Kassian Konstantinos Lykos" Kassian whispered, looking over his shoulder at me.

The white wall in front of us clicked and Kassian opened it wide enough for us to walk through.

I looked at him with a raised brow "Dekanos Kassian Konstantinos Lykos?"

I butchered the pronunciation as I tried to recreate his name, rolling the different cadence on my tongue.

"Dean" he muttered "It translates to Dean in English."

"Dean's a pretty normal name" I shot him a confused look "Why are you embarrassed to use it?"

"Because if you knew the backstory behind why my mother chose it, you'd be mortified, like I am."

He locked the door behind us, hitting buttons on the second tablet inside, and activating the panic room's alarm system.

"Okay then" I wandered farther into the room that looked more like a cozy open spaced loft than it did a panic room "What's the story behind your name?"

"It's not the worst name story out there" He sighed "Just embarrassing. Long story short is that Mom name me after one of her favorite characters on those human shows about two monster hunting brothers."

"What show are you..." My eyes widened when I realized the exact show he was talking about "I love that show!"

"Mom was obsessed with it too, which was ironic considering she was a Shifter" He winced "So obsessed in fact that she named her only son after one of the characters."

"Dean" I surmised with a grin "How fitting."

"How so?" He asked, curiosity lighting his tone.

"You've never seen the show?" My mouth dropped open "Why not?"

"Would you want to see the show that your mother fangirled over a character so hard that she name her first born after?" he scowled "It's weird."

"I think it's cute" I pinched his cheek "And technically, you're kind of named after two characters."

"What?"

"The character you're named after," My lips twitched "Has a best friend named Cas, and you know...your name is Kass too...so?"

He groaned "Are you messing with me?"

"Nope" I grinned "Look it up if you don't believe me."

He did and then cursed when he realized I was telling the truth.

"This is what you get when you make fictional men so damn attractive and alluring."

I smiled.

"Fictional men aside" I sat down on the soft sofa tucked against the wall "Can I ask you a question?"

He nodded.

"Why are you down here with me instead of up there helping Phoenix with Atlas?"

"The curse of being the Lone Heir" He gave me a wistful look "Since I have no siblings, or spares as the Elders like to call them, I'm forced to hide in here while my two best friends are out there fighting some horrible creature."

I was about to say something else when my eyes flicked up to the screen above the door unconsciously, the one that held four vantage point views from the differently placed cameras on the outside.

I jumped off the couch "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"