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“Fine,” Rose snarls, grabbing her camera and pushing some buttons on the back. After a few moments, she turns the camera so Cole can see it, clearly displaying that the pictures are gone. “Happy now?”

“Not completely,” I say, still pissed but doing my best to stay calm. God, this woman – she says she’s a professional journalist, but does that seriously entail having absolutelynoempathy for the people she’s reporting on?

Rose scoffs and turns to me. Cole does too.

“I don’t want you taking any more pictures of my patients.”

“Yourpatients,” she spits out, her face going red.

“Yes,” I snap, stepping forward aggressively. “Mypatients.”

Cole clears his throat, and I look to him. He shakes his head subtly as a growl rumbles in Rose’s chest, letting me know that my step was…not a great idea. I step back, believing him but not backing off completely.

Still, I realize that in this moment he’s letting me fight my own battle.

And I…likethattoo.

Damn it, I wish he’d stop doing things I like.

“Yes,” I say, raising my chin at Rose but not moving into her space anymore. “Mypatients. I’m the head of the nursing staff. Until they go elsewhere, these patients aremine.”

Rose looks to Cole. “You’re going to let her pull rank like this?”

“I’m not letting her do anything,” he says, his voice humming with even calm. “Shehasthe rank. It’s her command.”

“I have a job!” Rose says, shaking her head at him, ignoring me. “I wassenthere to document this! I can’t just take pictures of thelandscape! If I can’t take pictures of the people, then there’snothingfor me to do here!”

I tilt my head to the side, considering that it’s a fine justification for her to fuck right the hell off.

But Cole sighs and turns back to me, seeking reconciliation. I narrow my eyes at him, thinking that he’s far too comfortable with being the peacekeeper. Stupid diplomatic Prince.

“It would be good to have documentation of this,” Cole says. “She’s a talented photojournalist, Nadia – she’s got the awards to prove it. And the nation does deserve to know what’s going on down here from someone outside the military. We can’t be as unbiased as someone trained in the arts.”

This response surprises me. As does the logic behind it.

As does the fact that these two wolves are just…looking at me, waiting for me to decide what should happen next.

Which is not something I thought I would ever experience. The shock of it makes me softer than I assumed I’d be.

“Two days,” I say, raising my chin and again leveling a glare at Rose. “You give my patients two days to settle in before you take pictures of them –“

“But they’re leaving in the morning!” she says, casting out a hand toward the fire. “There’s no time to –“

“Not all of them will,” I say, shaking my head. “Some we can treat here. You can take pictures of them after two days, andonlyafter you get their consent. If they say no, you walk away, no pushing. Deal?”

She scowls and looks at Cole.

My hand flies up, my fingers snapping between us. “You look at me,” I hear myself say. “This deal? It’s with me.”

Rose’s eyes flash with a very dangerous level of hatred, and she bares her teeth at me again. “Fine.”

“Good,” I say, lowering my hand and looking her up and down. “Try not to fuck anything else up.” I turn on my heel and walk away.

It’s only ten or fifteen steps later when I realize that I’m not heading in the direction of the nurses’ tent and that I don’t have anywhere to go in this direction. I curse under my breath, not wanting to turn sharply and change direction because then I’ll ruin my exit.

So, I just move over to the dying fire where the group gathered earlier and sit on a log, staring into the embers. When I get cold thirty seconds later, I get up, grab some wood, and toss it on to burn. Then I sit down and glare at it, my own emotions still simmering.

God damn Rose, so selfish.