Page 10

Cole

Nadia stays tense and still for a long moment before she slowly stands, pressing her hands to her thighs and rising like a damned goddess from the mist. My heart starts to pound, my wolf making all kinds of unintelligible howls and yips as I watch every movement of every muscle, taking it all in.

She tilts her chin up, proud, and holds my gaze. “No, Cole,” she whispers, dangerous. “I’m not jealous.”

I smirk, unable to help it. “I mean, you look a little jealous.”

She bares her teeth at me, just a flash – such a wolfish gesture, even for a human. “You think I’d be jealous ,” she hisses, “of some slutty little journalist who comes running in here like she owns the place –“

I laugh lightly, delighted.

“I mean I’d have more decency than that, ” Nadia snaps, throwing out a hand to the center of the camp where Rose and the rest of her group have disappeared. “What a prideless –“

“Oh, come on,” I say, shrugging, casual. “Rose just has a very particular verve for life. She’s fun.”

“She’s certainly got a verve for something,” Nadia growls, flicking her eyes deliberately up and down my body. “And I’m not sure it’s life , unless life is a six-five jackass with -”

I burst out laughing, not hearing the rest, tilting my head back to the sky as my shoulders and my chest shake with it.

God, please don’t let her be funny , I think to myself, burying a hand deep in my wolf’s fur as he lets out another one of those long howls.

If she’s funny too, I’ll never be able to survive this –

I clench my hand in my pocket, pulling myself together and returning my gaze to Nadia’s face.

She’s taken up her favorite hobby again - glaring at me like she hopes I drop dead.

I shake my head at her because that’s not happening anytime soon.

Not while she’s in the world to keep things interesting.

“Do you want me to stay away from her, Nadia?” I lower my voice as I ask, my eyes moving over each of her features. Her vivid eyes, her pert nose, her mouth which I think is naturally red, like a berry.

She leans closer, rage radiating off her in a wave. “You can do whatever you want with her, Cole Kincaid,” she snaps, eyes flashing. “Pick her up and carry her around with her ass perched on your arm like some kind of deranged blonde parrot all day, for all I care.”

I grin.

“Aw come on, Nadia,” I murmur, leaning closer like it’s a secret. “I thought getting picked up and carried around was our thing.”

She flashes her teeth at me for a moment, staring at me like she wishes all the horrible things imaginable would happen to me all at once. And then she turns, sharp, and storms away.

I sigh, watching her go, well aware that my wolf has collapsed into a puddle of fur in my soul, his tongue lolling, panting like he’s just run a race. She’s so great. She’s so pretty. She’s so ferocious. Let’s go chase her down and mark her right now -

But I just sigh, watching as Nadia wraps her hand around her brown-haired friend’s elbow, tugging on it and clearly begging her to go back to the tent with her.

No , I say with a sigh, nudging my wolf with a foot. We upset her. We went too far. We…have to be better .

My wolf howls, sullen. But she’s so pretty when she’s all pissed off .

She’s our mate , I snarl, giving him another nudge, guilt pulsing through my veins as my heartbeat begins to slow. Doesn’t matter what we like. She comes first and we acted poorly tonight. Selfish .

My wolf sighs and picks himself up, admitting that I’m right and willing himself to behave better in the future.

I watch as Nadia and her friend start through the woods, that nice Shayne girl turning and then following after them.

A little peace settles in my soul at the sight, because even if she hates me right now – and perhaps rightfully so – it does my heart good to know that Nadia’s at least got some good friends by her side.

Nadia

I frown as I wake, confused, because the light on my eyelids – and the noise –

My eyes blink open and I sit up, disoriented for a second. But then I realize that I’m not at home, or in my dorm room at school. That I’m in this stupid tent with twenty other nurses, which means I may never sleep properly again…

“Morning, Nadi,” Grace says. I turn to see her smiling softly, rubbing one eye, peering at me with the other. “Did you sleep okay?”

I sigh, wrapping my arms around my legs and resting my head down on my knees. “Not really.”

She purses her mouth together in pity, perfectly aware of why I didn’t.

Shayne groans, pulling her pillow over her head. “Would you two please shut up !”

We both turn to her and I can’t help but smile as I pull my pillow from behind my back, throwing it at her. She gives a shriek of outrage but does not emerge.

“Your fault, Shay,” Grace calls, grinning over at our friend. “We told you not to go back out last night.”

“But they’re so cuttte,” she groans. I laugh a little, remembering the moment last night when my friend stumbled in quite late, most of her tequila stash gone.

“Are they all in love with you, Shaney?” I ask, genuinely curious.

“Of course they are,” she sighs. “But they won’t be if I arrive at breakfast all haggard –“

“Mmm, breakfast,” Grace says, stretching her arms over her head. “Let’s go!”

But I just return my head to my knees, wondering.

Grace gets up from her bed and joins me on mine, putting an arm around my shoulders, giving me a squeeze. “Tell Auntie Gracie,” she coos, funny and sweet, playing my therapist as she always does.

“I just…should I even be here, Grace?” I whisper. “I was so excited about this. But that stupid Prince – he’s ruining everything .”

“He’s not ruining anything, Nadia,” Grace whispers. “Honestly, he hasn’t done anything except his job, and be nice to you, and tease you when…well, when you deserved a bit to be teased. You came for him hard when you called his friend a deranged parrot.”

I smirk, unable to help it. But then I narrow my eyes and glare at her, not liking that she’s taking Cole’s side. Grace just raises her eyebrows, letting me know that she said what she said and she’s not backing down from it.

“No one has the power to ruin this experience except you, Nadi,” she whispers, reaching out to tap a finger at my temple. “You’re letting your inner demons get the better of you. You know that.”

I shut my eyes, knowing that she’s right but also…completely unsure if I’m strong enough to handle this. Maybe it would be easier, better, to just…go home.

“Come on,” Grace says, standing and tugging on my arm, taking me with her. “Let’s leave Shayne here to rot in a puddle of tequila-scented misery and go get breakfast. I’m hungry.”

“No, I’m coming,” Shay says, whipping the pillow off her head and turning over with a sigh. “I need sustenance. I need…bread.”

Shayne sighs and hauls herself up, trooping away with us to the bathroom to quickly wash and brush our teeth.

It doesn’t take long to get ready, our bathing facilities and outfit choices being as basic as they are.

It’s not fifteen minutes later that we’re stepping into the mess tent in our scrubs, accepting the little trays of hot food from the table by the door.

“Yay!” Shayne says, beaming, apparently over her hangover with alarming ease. “My boyfriend’s here!”

She starts to stride off and my eyes widen as I see that she’s walking right for a table with three wolves sitting at it.

One of which – of fucking course – is Cole Kincaid.

“You have got to be kidding me!” I growl, dashing forward and putting myself bodily in front of Shayne. “We are not sitting there!”

“But!” she says, her mouth falling open in dismay as Grace catches up. Shayne peers around me at the table. “My boyfriend is there!”

“Which one is your boyfriend?” Grace asks, peering between the blonde and the brown-haired wolves who chat idly with their Prince and commander.

“ Both of them!” Shayne whines, her posture slumping like it will be a cruel and devastating punishment if we don’t let her sit with them. “The blonde one is Greg and he’s obsessed with me, but the brunette is Tommy, and he’s playing hard to get –“

Grace tilts her head to the side, intrigued.

“Guys!” I groan, glancing around, aware that we’re making kind of a scene by standing here arguing instead of just picking a table and sitting down. “This is –“

“Nah, I’m with Shay,” Grace says, looking at her and nodding. Shayne gives a squeak of delight. “I didn’t get to talk to the guards about wolf culture last night because someone had too many emotions.” She glares at me. “I still have questions.”

My friends both look at me pointedly for a second, clearly letting me know that I’m not the only one whose needs and interests matter. Leaving me standing alone, they start towards the table with the wolves, Shayne cheerfully asking if they mind if we join them.

For a moment, I debate sitting alone. But when I realize that would open the risk of having a stranger sit down – even that horrible Rose girl – I decide against it.

I feel quite grim as I arrive at the wolf table, not saying hello as I plunk my tray down, letting my distaste for the situation be blatantly known.

“Good morning, Nadia,” Cole says, looking up at me, his face kind - even apologetic.

I narrow my eyes at him on instinct – unable to help it – and then sink into my chair.

“So,” Grace says, leaning forward and looking between the three gigantic Alphas with whom we’re having breakfast. “Do you guys really have fated mates and you can tell by smelling them? And you like…bite them? Or is that all rumors that humans made up?”

My mouth drops open, appalled, as I stare at my friend.