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I burst out laughing, shaking my head at her, pretending to pay attention to my work.

“And what about you?” Shay says, poking my arm with one long finger. “How are things going with –”

“You shut your mouth,” I mutter, whipping a hand up to smack her gently on the forehead. Shayne laughs. “There isnothinggoing on there.”

But a figure comes to the tent’s entrance, blocking the light, and we both turn our eyes towards the broad-shouldered, dark-haired Prince.

And the way my stomach just flips over and plummets down like a professional cliff diver…

“You’re lyyinggg,” Shayne says, all giggly and delighted.

“Oh, be quiet,” I say, closing my book. “He’s coming over here.”

But even Shayne’s laughter fades as Cole comes closer – because his expression is…

“Come on,” Cole says, nodding towards the door, all business. “Briefing. We’ve got to move.”

“Did something happen?” Shay asks, sitting up.

“Yeah,” Cole says, nodding. “Come on, quickly, please. General Amir’s prepping to brief us all right now. The sooner we get there, the sooner we know.”

I exhale, suddenly anxious, standing up by Cole’s side.

My breath starts to come fast as Shayne and I walk with Cole out of the nursing tent. He’s slowing his pace to keep up with us – I’ve seen how fast he can go when it’s just him, or when he’s with one of his wolf boys. But honestly, I feel nothing but grateful for it now.

I mean, I know that there’s nothing that’s going to hurt meright now. Still…it’s nice having him around when I’m feeling anxious.

A bunch of other nurses and counselors join us as we move in a large group toward the mess tent, where we have our meals and where we met the first day – the only place large enough to house all of us at once. As we go, I glance back at the new nursing tent that was just built next to the one we’ve used since we got here.

It looks exactly the same as the first, except perhaps a little bit…newer? Or, I don’t know. Maybe I’m imagining that since the old one is full of memories now. Either way, its quick completion under my father’s watchful eye suggests that what the King told us before was right: things are ramping up.

We’re expecting more patients soon.

I glance up at Cole as we reach the tent and he holds the flap open for us. He’s already looking down into my face and I smirk a little, thinking that he’s got better things to do than look atme, all worried, when we’re all being called together like this. He smirks too, perhaps intuiting my thoughts.

He’s been…doing that lately.

It’s weird.

Shay loops her arm around mine as we step into the tent and look around for Grace. Grace waves to us from the front where she’s saved two seats, and Shay and I move quickly towards her, waving to Cole as he takes his spot by the door to stand guard.

He nods to us, all serious and uptight, which just makes me laugh.

Shay squeezes my arm and grins at me. I lift my chin and ignore her, heading for Grace, tucking my amusement away.

Shayne sits as we reach Grace, but I stop halfway down, my eyes catching on a flash of blonde hair across the tent. I go still, half crouched, my lips parting in surprise because…

What the hell is Rose doing back?

“I know,” Grace hisses, a bit awed, grabbing my arm and yanking me down into my chair. “Isn’t it nuts?”

It took a few days to put the pieces together, mostly because our schedules frequently put us at odds with the journalist, but about three days after I saw her run topless out of Cole’s tent, we cornered Cole and made him confirm it: Rose was gone.

He hadn’t been happy about discussing it, clearly just wanting it to goawayand assuming – stupidly – that I hadn’t told Grace and Shay what happened in the tent that night. But eventually, we got it out of him that he had requested that she be replaced because of her inappropriate behavior.

We had been told that a new journalist would be coming, but one never arrived. And now this?

“What the hell?” Shayne whispers, looking in the direction of my gaze, and finally getting on the same page as me and Grace. “What, is there likeonejournalist in the entire Capital?”