Page 40

I smile a little, liking this girl and sensing that even if she is dedicated to Nadia, Shay’s becoming a friend to me as well.

My wolf gives a happy little growl like he does when he’s content and curls up in a circle in my soul, his nose tucked beneath the end of his tail. I smile, glad he’s at ease now, which he hasn’t been…in days.

“So, if you’re not in love with her,” Shayne says, more musing than interrogative now, “how do you feel about our darling Nadí?” She says the nickname strangely this time, emphasizing the second syllable to make it exotic – some kind of old inside joke that I don’t understand and desperately want to be in on.

I take a moment to consider. “I like her. I admire her. I want to know more.”

“You like her butt,” Shay whispers, laughing a little and making me grin.

I give the fire another vicious poke as I growl. “Yes, fine,” I mutter. “She has a great ass.”

Shayne bursts out laughing and, to my surprise, throws her arms around me in a hug – or, at least, as far as they go. Shayne is a very small person. She gives me a squeeze and I smile, leaning into her a little.

“Donottell her I said that.”

“Secret’s safe with me, Prince Kincaid,” she says, giving me a squeeze. “I’m rooting for you, not least because you are rich, and if Nadia ends up with you, I’m going to get to go on somegreatvacations.”

I laugh, shaking my head up her as she stands.

But she smiles at me – a true smile, full of emotion. “Just kidding. I think you’re nice. And she’s worth it, under the prickles so…keep going.”

I nod to Shayne, grateful all of a sudden that she’s here. And not just for Nadia’s sake. For mine too.

“Work to do!” she calls – or sings, really, waving to me as she skips off. “See you soon! Keep us safe! Shoot anyone nasty who comes too close!”

I grin and watch Shayne go, pleased to have made a friend.

Nadia

Grace and I bustle around the nursing tent, resetting everything even though it doesn’t need to be reset. Just…getting everything ship-shape and mostly keeping my mind on work rather than…personal stuff. But – fortunately or unfortunately – it doesn’t take long until we’re busy with actual things.

The patients start to come, appearing from the woods like wraiths, at first in a trickle and then in a steady flow that makes my eyes go wide. Before I know it, we have…fifty patients here and nearly every bed is full.

Luckily, we’ve been trained for this, and our systems hold up under the strain. Also luckily, the vast majority of the cases I see are dirty and scared people as opposed to patients who are truly injured or sick.

“Oh, that’s not so bad,” I say, bending over to look at a cut on the back of a young woman’s hand. “We can patch that right up.”

She looks down at her hand and then at me, sniffing, not saying anything.

I smile at her, doing my best to be encouraging and not pushy as I get my materials together, quickly cleaning and then bandaging her hand as she quietly sips at her water and eats an entire sandwich in four bites. As I finish up, she looks anxiously at the second sandwich that Shayne brought for her.

“You can have that if you’re still hungry,” I murmur, trying not to spook her as I put the finishing touches on her wrap.

She looks back at me with wide eyes. “It’s far too much…”

“It’s not,” I assure her, firm, nodding. “We have plenty, okay? Please eat, if you want it.”

A trembling smile takes the young woman’s lips as she reaches out and takes the sandwich, claiming it but keeping it in her lap for a moment.

I wonder at that for a second and then realize that she’s considering saving it for later. I fight a sigh, not wanting her to feel pitied and instead wanting her to do what’s right for her. “You enjoy that,” I say, trying to be cheerful and encouraging. “And someone will come and talk to you about the next steps, okay?”

She looks up at me with worried eyes.

“But don’t worry,” I say, smiling at her. “There’s nothing to worry about. You’re safe here.”

She just shakes her head at me. “But you’re…not wolf…”

I tilt my head. “Can you really tell that?” She lifts her nose in my direction, and I smile when I realize that she’s smelling me. “All right, yeah. I’m human. Does that matter?”