Hell Hath No Fury (Nova Falls #1): A Patreon Exclusive Novel ✓

CHAPTER ONE

The second he crossed the boundary that separated Nova Falls from the rest of the world, Nathan Grimes parked his car on the side of the road so he could dry heave into the bushes.

A concerned hiss sounded from the passenger seat. His familiar lifted her head high enough that she could peek out at him from through the rolled down window, her red beady eyes watching him with as much concern as a snake could show, which – it probably went without saying – wasn't a lot.

Nathan waved a hand to get rid of the taste in his mouth, wincing when the spell came out more powerful than he was used to, leaving his mouth stinging and tasting sharply like mint.

He glanced at Mjolnir, his features twisted into a grimace, hands balanced on slightly bent knees. "I'm fine."

Mjolnir's expression didn't change, but Nathan could feel the disbelieving eyebrow raise.

He laughed despite himself, though the sound was dry and lacked any true mirth. "Yeah, yeah."

He straightened and glanced down the long road that would lead him to the heart of the small town. Village. City. Whatever.

Home.

He swallowed. It hurt, thick and heavy like he'd swallowed a fist-sized rock. Except the rock remained lodged in his throat, even as he swallowed again and again.

Mjolnir hissed again. Nathan. Her voice sounded in his head, sweet and warm like his grandmother's. When Nathan had finally bonded with his familiar – though he'd take that moment to his grave – he'd cried the second he'd heard her voice. He couldn't really remember his grandmother anymore, but he remembered how much he'd loved her, and she him. So when Mjolnir had first spoken, it had felt like a piece of him returning home.

"I hear ya." Nathan huffed out a breath, walked around the mini cooper and got into the driver's seat. He gave a cursory glance to his things piled in the back seat, the rest hidden within the boot. Eight years away from home and everything in this car was all he had to show for it.

Mjolnir hissed in disagreement, ever so attuned to his thoughts.

"Yeah, all right. I accomplished a lot. Blah, blah, blah."

His familiar bobbed her head slowly, as if to say, yeah, that's right, you fucking did. Nathan started the car, and eased back onto the road. On both sides of him was nothing but forest, thick trees framing the road in an almost picturesque shot.

As the trees began to thin and the first few buildings began to appear, Nathan's grip on the steering wheel tightened, turning the deep brown skin of his knuckles paler. He'd made his trip north painfully early because he wasn't ready to face anyone on his first day back, which meant almost all the businesses of Nova Falls were yet to open, the sun itself barely peeking in the horizon.

Cooper's mechanic shop was the first place he passed by of course – or Cooper's and Daughter's, as the sign now read, the two extra words slapped onto the overhead signboard in fading glittery pink paint. He was so emotional he didn't need to touch the sign to see its history: there was Miranda Cooper in oil-stained jean overalls and a plain black t-shirt. Her dark skin glowed underneath a bright sun, her thick black braids made into a short bob around her head, hidden underneath a hairnet so thin it was practically invisible. She stood perfectly balanced on a ladder with a bucket of glittery pink paint in one hand, paint brush in the other.

"Miranda?" her father yelled, running out of his office after one of the bootlicking shop boys had snitched to him about what was going on. "What the hell do you think you're doing up there, young woman? You get down here before I whoop your ass!"