Page 7

“Oh, you can help meanytime!” Shayne says, beaming as she steps forward and slips her hand into his.

“My pleasure,” Cole murmurs, his voice dropping low and…well, sexy. Fine – yes – it’s sexy. I can admit that. It’s justfacts, after all. Shay blushes gorgeously and lets out a tinkling littlelaugh that makes me roll my eyes as she leans on Cole a little too much, allowing him to help her into the transport.

He turns to me, his grin turning a bit wicked, holding out his hand to help me next. “Miss Amir?”

“I’m good,” I snap, narrowing my eyes at him and grabbing the bar next to the high step into the transport van. I don’t look at him again as I swing myself up inside, moving to sit on a bench seat next to Shayne, who is now my ex-friend and utterly dead to me.

“Seriously, Nadi,” Shayne says, laughing and peeking around me to get another look at Cole. “If you don’t want him, sign me thefuckup –“

“Enough, Shay,” I snarl, teeth clenched, shutting my eyes to block out the sight of that Alpha prick.

“He can claim meanytime he wants – he can call me up at 2 am for a claiming and I’lljumpout of my bed – I won’t even change out of myjammiesbefore I -“

“Shayne!” I gasp, pissed off and turning to glare at her. But she’s ready for me, grinning her wild grin, and I stop in my proverbial tracks when I realize that she’s just teasing. We both burst out laughing as Shay wraps her arms around me, hugging me close and rocking me a little, trying to get me to laugh it off too. And I give in – because Shay is irresistible and always knows how to break me out of my moods. I lean against my friend as Grace comes to sit next to us, joining in as we all laugh at the horrible irony of this.

That I came south to try to do something good – and to get further away from Cole Kincaid.

And of course – ofcourse– it’s just my rotten luck that he was already here.

Waiting for me.

Chapter 6 – Debrief

Nadia

I bounce back and forth between Shayne and Grace, scowling the whole time as we rumble over unpaved roads into the wilderness of the southern desert. It’s so uncomfortable that I barely have time to mull over my continued fury at Cole Kincaid.

Unfortunately, my friends aren’t nearly so interested in silent rage.

“Nadia,” Shayne whispers, tucking her long red hair back behind her ear and glancing over at the Alpha seated at the end of our row. It’s not Cole, but it may as well be – they’re all built the same. Gigantic, muscled, brutal, stone-faced.

Okay, fine. Cole is taller and…better looking than the others. But my point stands – all Alphas are cast from the same crappy mold.

“Nadi!” Shayne bites out, using my oldest nickname. I snap my head to her with a frown, realizing I missed whatever she just said. Shay looks at me like I’m a little nuts and then glances towards the back of the transport where Cole is seated. Grace leans in, wanting to be in on this. “Seriously, why didn’t youtellus that it washim?”

I sigh, slumping down on the bench seat, looking angrily between them – my two best friends, Shayne who I’ve known since childhood and Grace who’s been our roommate since freshman year in college. “I didn’ttellyou because I knew it would make you change youropinionabout the story!”

“Unfair,” Grace says, raising her eyebrows at me. “You deliberately withheld facts to manipulate our response!”

“Well,yeah,“ I say, rolling my eyes, making Shayne grin. “Because the other party is a celebrity and the nation’s most famously eligible bachelor! I wanted your attention onmypain and I knew that if Itoldyou it was him that you’d do precisely this! Take his side!”

“I mean, that is fair,” Shayne says, looking at Grace now. “I am on his side. If she wanted my pity, she was right to hold back facts –”

“No way,” Grace says with a frown, leaning towards Shay. “That’s such a crap way to treat your friends – we have to be able to trust each other!”

I ignore Grace, focusing entirely on what Shayne said. I whip out a hand, smacking her on the arm. “You’re on his side?”

She turns a big smile on me. “I’malwayson the side of the hot guy, Nadia. Come on, you know this about me.”

I huff, more angry than I was before, but Shayne just laughs, tossing her arms around me and giving me a big hug. I quella bit, realizing that she’s kidding. Shay – she’s a double-edged kind of friend because while she is a source of endless love and devotion, she also knows me well enough to intuitpreciselywhat to say to make me swell up like a big, offended puffer fish.

“Of course I’m on your side, Nadi,” Shay murmurs, pressing a kiss to my hair and letting me go. “But honestly! Like,noneof the reality of who heischanges your opinion on this?“ She glances back again towards Cole and I grab her arm, pulling her attention back.

“Would you stoplookingat him? It’s bad enough that all the Alphas in this van can probably hear everything you’re saying –”

Shay just grins at me like she doesn’t give a damn. Which she probably doesn’t.

“Andno,“ I continue, sighing again, looking between my friends. “Itdoesn’tchange anything. Why should it? It was…a shit thing to happen to me! Just because he’sprettyand in power doesn’t change that.”