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I scoff and pull my hand away, rolling my eyes as I turn towards my supplies, wanting fresh clothes after my shower.

“Here Cole!” Shayne calls, holding her hand up, grinning at him. “I need some chivalry! Helpmeout of bed!”

Cole laughs and steps towards her, getting into a fake argument with Tommy about who should do the honors.

Grace grins as she leans over her bed towards me. “He’s beingsweet, Na-na.”

“I know,” I say, scowling and blushing. “I can’t stand it.”

“Let him be nice to you,” she whispers, petting a hand over my head.

I sigh, turning towards her. “But onlyyouget to do that, Gracie.”

She grins at me and wrinkles her nose. “Maybe time to let someone else in?”

I sigh, glancing over at the two wolf boys, Shayne now up in Tommy’s arms and laughing hysterically while Cole makes a big show of pretending to want to rip her away, demanding that he alone has the right to carry Shayne around.

And I smile at them, wondering, just passingly…

If Grace is right.

Chapter 43 – Briefing

Nadia

Things fall into a pattern in the days following. Breakfast is cheerful with our little group of human nurses and wolf guards. It’s not always consistent – we each have rotating schedules – but somehow, almosttooconveniently, I find that Cole’s day matches up with mine. But I ignore that, instead allowing myself to just…enjoy the friendship that I feel building between us all.

Cole and Tommy continue to sleep in the nursing barracks with us, even though the military reinforcements have arrived. The rigor of Cole’s supervision has eased up elsewhere – we can go to the bathroom alone – but they’ve even got beds now,squeezing them into the corridor at our little corner of the tent, which makes thingsverytight.

But the rest of the nurses refuse to complain, especially as our new wolf guards frequently walk around with their shirts off. Which causes…a very annoying sort of frenzy amongst my peers. Justonce,I breeched the topic of kicking Tommy and Cole out and was met with a resounding shout of “no!”

But honestly, I don’t hate it. As much as it pains me to admit it, Cole and Tommy are good company.

In between sleeping and eating, work keeps us busy, though we see fewer and fewer patients every day. Still, we focus on the ones we have, and we prep, and Dr. Arbroth gives us a great deal of reading to fill the time. I find myself deeply engaged by the lessons on field medicine, how to work quickly in a crisis, and how to engage with a people and a species who are averse to your existence.

And while the work is interesting, I find my stupid, irritating brain always turning back to…

“Boys,” Shayne says, flopping herself down on the patient bed on which I’m sitting, studying my book. “Ugh, what am I going to do with all of myboys.”

“Shayne,” I say on a sigh, looking down at her and lifting my elbow as her bright red head presses against it, trying to settle in my lap. “How can you complain? This is your dream.”

“I know,” she says, terribly dramatic, flopping one arm out to the side and using the other to cover her eyes. “But they say you should never live your dreams.”

“I think it’s that you should never meet your idols…”

“Whatever,” she sighs. But then she slips her arm down and grins at me, clearly faking it all. “I think I’m in love with Greg.”

“Greg?” I scoff at her, kind of appalled because –

Well! Because I’m rooting for Tommy! Tommy is so sweet!

But it’s true – in the past week and a half, Shayne has spent the entirety of her off time getting to knoweveryeligible boy in camp. And again and again, I see her gravitating back toward the charming blonde.

“Yes!” Shay says, laughing, grinning at me. “He’s so hot. And he’s going to give me a pony.”

“Oh, no he’s not,” I mutter, turning back to my books.

“Yes, he is! He’s going to catch it with his teeth –”