Chapter 03

One Last Job

"Are we really going to do this?" Nova asks, her voice low as we both stare at the monstrous house looming before us.

I grind my teeth. This was supposed to be in and out. That absolute fucker. Silas made it sound so simple, but the kind of people who lived in a place like this? They weren’t just anyone.

This job is bad. I know it in my gut.

But I don’t have a choice.

Tomorrow morning, we’re out of here. I’ll miss Deja Brew, miss the semi-normal life I managed to carve out, but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

I glance down at the video feed on Nova’s laptop. She had hacked into their security system with ease, her fingers flying over the keyboard like it was child’s play.

"Looks like there are guards at every entrance," she mutters. "And cameras in every hallway. Whoever lives here is paranoid as hell."

I exhale sharply.

Silas knew exactly what he was throwing me into.

And now, I have to figure out how to make it out alive.

“I can avoid the guards just fine. You got me with the cameras, right?”

"You betcha," Nova responds, her usual snark barely there. Damn. Even she feels just how dire this is.

Oh well. No time to lose.

I readjust the black beanie covering my flaming red hair and prepare to leave the van.

“Hey,” Nova calls softly. I turn to see her biting her lip. “We’ll be alright, right?”

“Of course, Nova,” I say, forcing confidence into my voice. “After this job, we’ll be free. We’ll start again somewhere new.”

I hope she doesn’t notice the way my fingers twitch slightly. Why does it feel like a lie?

I push the unease to the back of my mind and pull her in for a quick hug.

“Ughh, stop smouldering and get to it already,” she groans, pushing me away.

I laugh at her antics, my nerves settling just a bit, and I steel myself. Then, moving silently, I slip out of the van and into the shadows, heading straight for the dark, looming building.

I crouch low behind a line of hedges, my eyes fixed on the mansion before me. Calling it a house would be a joke—it’s a fortress. Three stories high, the building looms over the vast estate, its sharp, modern architecture giving it a cold, unwelcoming feel. Black steel gates stretch around the perimeter, the tips spiked like the teeth of a waiting predator.

Floodlights line the grounds, casting long shadows across the manicured lawn. The sheer size of it all makes me feel small, insignificant. Like a fly trying to break into a lion’s den.

What’s worse, the place is swarming with wolves.

Nova wasn’t exaggerating when she said security was tight. At least six guards patrol the outside alone, their movements precise and calculated. They aren’t just regular enforcers—they move with the discipline of trained killers.

“Damn,” I whisper, pressing my back against the hedge. “This isn’t some rich guy’s summer home, Nova. Who the hell did Silas send me to steal from?”

Her voice is tense in my earpiece. “I was about to ask you the same thing. I don’t like this, Raine.”

Neither do I.

But I don’t have a choice.

I take a steadying breath and slip out of the cover, moving like a shadow through the dark, I enter the house which is just as impressive as it was on the outside.

"Left corridor is clear," Nova's voice crackles softly in my earpiece.

I move swiftly, my steps silent against the polished floor. The dark clothing helps me melt into the shadows, and my senses stay sharp, listening for any sign of trouble.

"Guard by the staircase," Nova warns. "Wait for him to turn the corner… now. Go."

I slip past unnoticed, my pulse steady. The lack of activity inside the mansion is unsettling, but it confirms what we already suspected—the owners aren’t home. That makes things easier.

Reaching the office is almost laughably simple. No extra security, no locked doors, nothing.

Too easy.

I push the nagging thought aside and get to work, moving straight to the large oak desk in the center of the room. If the documents Silas wants are anywhere, they have to be here.

“Nova, keep an eye on the feeds. Something doesn’t feel right,” I murmur, pulling open the first drawer.

“You and me both, sis,” she replies. “Just hurry.”

I nod to myself and keep searching, rifling through papers, my unease growing with every second.

The moment my fingers close around the papers I want, something shifts in the air. A ripple, a sudden change—like the atmosphere itself just warped. My wolf, who had been unusually quiet, suddenly surges forward, pacing and growling restlessly in my mind.

Change. Shift.

Her urgency is deafening, but she won’t tell me why. No matter how many times I ask, she just pushes harder, trying to take control.

I grit my teeth and shove the papers into my backpack, wrestling my wolf back down.

Not now.

I press my earpiece. “Nova, I’ve got it. I’m heading out.”

“Raine, you need to get out,” Nova’s voice is sharp, urgent. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”

A chill runs down my spine. “Me too. I’m on my way—”

I stop mid-sentence as a new sound crackles through the earpiece—metal screeching, a door being ripped open violently.

Then, a struggle.

A grunt. A muffled scream.

“Nova?” I whisper.

Silence.

“Nova!”

No answer.

Panic explodes in my chest, and before I can think, I’m sprinting out of the office, stealth forgotten. I don’t care if someone sees me. I don’t care about the mission.

I just have to save my sister.

The moment I step out of the office, I slam straight into something solid.

No—someone.

Thick arms wrap around me like iron bars, locking me in place. My heart slams against my ribs as I realise how effortlessly he holds me still. Even with my wolf’s strength, I can’t budge.

This can’t be happening.

“Well, well,” a voice drawls from above me, smooth and laced with amusement. “What do we have here? A little thief?”

The hallway is dark, but I don’t need to see him to know he’s dangerous. Every instinct in me screams to run.

I don’t have time for this.

I do the first thing that comes to mind—I drive my knee straight into his groin.

A sharp intake of breath. His grip loosens.

I don’t hesitate. I slam the back of my head into his face, catching his shin in the same motion.

“Oof—fuck—”

His pain is satisfying, but I don’t stop to gloat. I twist out of his hold and bolt down the hallway, my pulse pounding in my ears.

“That little fucker—” I hear him snarl behind me, but I don’t look back.

I don’t have time.

Nova is in danger.

I keep running, forcing my feet to move faster, my breaths coming in sharp gasps. I rely on memory to guide me back to the back door I entered from, weaving through the halls without hesitation.

Almost there.

The eerie silence should have made me suspicious—no guards, no alarm, nothing to stop me—but I don’t have the luxury of second-guessing my luck. I burst through the exit and sprint towards the van.

Then I stop dead in my tracks.

The hinges on the van doors have been ripped off. The metal is twisted and mangled like someone pried them open with their bare hands.

No. No, no, no—

I rush forward, but one look inside confirms my worst fear.

Nova is gone.

A strangled curse leaves my lips. My mind races. What do I do? Where do I go? I can’t leave her. I won’t.

I spin back toward the mansion, ready to charge back in blind if I have to—

Whoosh.

The sound of wind shifting behind me is my only warning before something slams into the side of my head.

Pain explodes behind my eyes. The world tilts.

I hear a voice, low and mocking.

“This is the second one.”

Then everything fades.

As I hit the ground, my last thought was a bitter one.

At least I’ll be with Nova.

----------

"Raine. Raine!"

I groan as pain blooms on the side of my head, the dull throb pulling me out of the fog of unconsciousness.

I hear my name again, the voice laced with relief. My mind snaps into focus, the memories rushing back—Silas. The house. Nova.

"Nova?" My voice is raw as panic seizes me. "Nova, is that you?"

"Yes, yes, it's me!" she assures me quickly.

I suck in a sharp breath. "Are we dead?"

There’s a pause, then her dry, unimpressed voice fills the space.

"Oh yeah, totally. We’re dead. We're just in our astral projection form and I'm trying to drag you back from the light so we can haunt people forever."

A startled laugh bursts from my lips, sharp and unexpected. Only Nova could be this snarky in a situation like this.

But the humour doesn’t last.

I blink a few times, forcing my vision to clear. My surroundings come into focus, and my stomach sinks. A cell.

The room is small and dingy, the walls rough with age. It’s clean, at least—if two rusting buckets and a dusty cot with barely-there padding could be called clean.

My head swims as I try to sit up. The nausea hits me instantly, and I lunge for one of the buckets, emptying whatever’s left in my stomach. I heave until the dizziness passes, then wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, taking a shaky breath.

Across from me, in another cage, Nova stares back. Her green eyes—so much like mine—are filled with fear and concern.

"What’s gonna happen to us now?" she asks, her voice small and unsteady.