Page 26

Nadia

“Hey!” I snap, spinning to glare at Grace as I stumble forward.

“Oh, just get out of the tent,” she hisses, continuing to shove me. “You’re riling the wolves –“

“Am I…going somewhere?” Shayne calls, worried.

“Straight to hell, you filthy piece of –“

But Cole snaps his head and snarls viciously at the patient who spoke, his command for silence loud and clear. The man shrinks back, clearly not happy about it, but obeying. The patient glares at Shayne as she skitters away, meeting us at the front of the tent.

Cole nods sharply to the right, ordering us out into the darkness to stand with Rose.

“Hi, I’m Grace,” my friend says, holding her hand out to the journalist in a friendly fashion. I smack her wrist, making her drop her arm with a yelp. Grace glares at me in turn, but I ignore it.

“What’s happening?” Shayne asks, glancing wide-eyed back into the tent and then over at the rest of us, baffled.

“They are not coming, Cole,” Rose snarls, stepping closer to him – very close.

Girlfriend close.

“Yes, we are!” I snap, determined.

“All right!” Cole barks out, spreading his hands wide, glaring around at all of us at once. “Give me…give me eight seconds of silence to think my way through this! Okay?”

We all slowly close our mouths, giving him the space to think.

But I fix my eyes on Rose, who glares back at me, each of us determined to have our way.

Twenty minutes later, there’s a smug smile on my face as I swing myself into the back of the open-air jeep, Shayne on my right, squeezed in the middle with Tommy on her other side.

“I still don’t know why I’m joining in on this road trip,” Shay murmurs, sending me an anxious side-glance as she struggles to buckle her belt.

“Here,” Tommy murmurs, helping her find the buckle.

Shay flashes him a grin but turns her eyes back to me. “Seriously, Nadi, is this like…important? Part of our jobs?”

“Yup,” I say, stubborn, buttoning my belt as Cole climbs into the driver’s seat and Rose takes the passenger seat next to him.

“Oh, it so is not,” Rose mutters.

“We could learn valuable medical information,” I snap, “that could seriously help us aid our patients –“

“Hey!” Cole snaps, his temper fraying as he glares around at us. “I am – I am so not doing this anymore, all right? Ladies? Tommy? We are done with this fight! Everyone in this car is coming, no debate. Okay?”

Everyone else grumbles their agreement as I just sigh happily, excitement fluttering in my chest.

Cole looks at me last and huffs a frustrated sigh briefly through his nose, shaking his head and turning his attention forward to start the car.

We’re both very well aware that I don’t need to be on this trip and that I pulled my “you make the rules, Nadia” card.

Cole only gave in to appease me and probably would prefer that I stay here, safe and sound.

But I want to go. And he included Tommy on the trip roster for double protection, so how dangerous can it be?

“Seriously, Nadi,” Shayne whispers, bringing her mouth close to my ear. “Why are we doing this?”

“Because there might be people who need our help,” I whisper back.

“The town has been empty for days!” Rose calls over her shoulder, her wolf hearing letting her eavesdrop on our private conversation. “They assured that before they allowed me to go!”

I glare, of course, but it’s wasted. Rose doesn’t look back at me.

Cole starts to drive, pulling the jeep out of the camp and heading into the darkness of the woods. I can see the tenseness in the back of his neck, the set of his shoulders, and I grin.

It’s fun, getting Cole Kincaid all worked up.

Shayne just sighs and leans against me, worried.

“It’ll be fun, Shay,” I say, quite cheerful. “Don’t you want answers about what’s going on with these people?”

She looks at me, worried. “Honestly, Nadi, I kind of don’t. I volunteered for this job because I wanted to do good things and be with you and Grace and meet the wolf boys. I don’t care as much about the mysterious politics behind this war as you do.”

“Well, you’ve got two of those things,” Tommy says, peering over at us from Shayne’s other side, his face sympathetic.

I look around Shay at the tall, broad-shouldered wolf, taking in his dark brown eyes and the chestnut hair that falls into his face. He smiles kindly at her, not looking at me at all.

“What?” Shay asks, turning to him.

“What if it’s a date?” he asks, holding out his hand to her. “I mean, it’s pretty clear that Nadia just made you tag along for leverage –“

I huff, appalled, pressing an offended hand to my heart. I don’t let the fact that he’s right ruffle my offended little feathers.

“So?” He continues, smiling softly at her. “What if we leave the mysterious politics behind? Make it what we want it to be?”

“What we want it to be?” Shay asks, slipping her hand into Tommy’s, beaming at the tall, handsome wolf boy, clearly delighted by this turn of events.

“Sure,” he says, grinning at her, not taking his eyes from her face. “We. I’d have asked you out long before now, Shayne – except there’s nowhere to go. Who knew a former war zone would present itself so conveniently?”

She laughs, turning to him completely, obviously charmed. I bite my lip, happy for her, pleased that this is working out. It was a little selfish to make her come – I just didn’t want to be alone with Cole and Stupid Rose. I need numbers on my side.

But if Shayne gets something out of this too? Then it’s a win all around.

Shayne and Tommy chat happily as we move through the woods, the car shaking a little more than is comfortable over the rough dirt paths that stretch between our camp and the Children of Solace. Any attempt to call them roads would be a stretch.

I take the next thirty or so minutes to admire the beauty of the desert, the stars that spread above us almost horizon to horizon, enjoying the feel of the breeze on my face.

But my breath hitches in surprise when we arrive at the Children of Solace town quite suddenly, driving around the edge of a huge shadowy rock structure into a clearing that presents itself out of nowhere – a town spreading itself out before us.

I look around wide-eyed as Cole slows the car, pulling it to a stop beside a narrow stream.

This place – it’s…bigger than I expected it to be.

And much more elaborate, even if it is run-down.

“Wow,” I whisper, unbuckling my belt and standing in the jeep to get a better look. A full moon above quietly lights about forty buildings of several sizes and in varying states of repair. Between the buildings stretch well-worn dirt paths that make it clear that lots of people were living here.

Lots . Hundreds.

I had…no idea it was so big.

But…where are they all now?

“Oh, this is amazing,” Rose murmurs, standing in the front seat and lifting her camera, already taking snap after snap. “I’m so glad we got a clear night. This is fantastic, Cole.”

“Glad you’re pleased,” he murmurs, unbuckling his belt and stepping out of the car, turning to me. His face is stern and unhappy as he opens my door and lifts his hand, offering to help me down.

“Why so grim?” I ask, quite cheerful myself as I take his hand, hopping down and looking up into his face.

“Because,” he says, voice low. “You know I’d have preferred it if you’d stayed behind, Nadia. It could be dangerous here.”

“I thought you said it had been cleared several times over?” I ask, pulling my hand away. Cole tightens his fingers momentarily, like he doesn’t want to let go, but then loosens them. I slip my hands into the front pocket of my hoodie as Shayne and Tommy get out of the car.

“I wouldn’t have brought any of you if I thought it was unsafe,” Cole murmurs, glancing around, clearly using his superior senses to attempt to detect any threats. “It’s just…out here, all alone like this? More opportunities to be surprised.”

“I’m going in!” Rose calls, waving over her shoulder and striding forward.

Cole sighs and hesitates, looking after her, clearly feeling the need to protect her and also stay by my side. “Would you please?” he asks, looking down at me. “Just…come along? Make my job a little easier tonight?”

It’s the pleading on his face that makes me nod once, agreeing to it quite simply.

He has been very willing with me tonight, bending to my whims, so I don’t mind.

Cole nods and starts after Rose. I follow along at his side, glancing back over my shoulder at Tommy and Shayne, who walk behind at a much more casual pace, letting ten or twenty feet come between us on their special date.

“That’s so cute,” I whisper, mostly to myself.

“Didn’t know you found abandoned villages so adorable,” Cole murmurs, glancing down at me. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Don’t bother,” I toss back, my words dry. But something very light flutters in my stomach anyway.

Hmm. I must be hungry. I push the feeling aside.

Rose walks quickly to the center of the little town, towards a large and well-kept building. Cole and I come to her side as she takes picture after picture.

As much as I’m aware that I insisted on coming on this trip mostly out of stubbornness, now that I’m here? I have to admit – I’m fascinated.

“What is this place?” I murmur, gesturing to the big house. I turn, looking out at the rest of the buildings, which appear to be in worse and worse repair the further away they get from this one.

God, the people who lived here…what were their lives like?