Page 8

Nadia

“I’m not going out there, Shay,” I say, narrowing my eyes and crossing my arms.

“Oh, yes you are,” she murmurs, waving a hand at me, dismissive.

“There won’t even be anyone to hang out with! They’ll be guarding us!”

“Only two at night,” Shayne says, pointing at my packet with a wide grin. “Which leaves four for…free time. Me time! It’s Shay o’clock, baby! We’re going to go find some boys !”

She whoops, excited, but I just glare at her, tightening my arms over my chest, refusing to go.

“Fine,” Shayne says, shrugging and unscrewing the tequila’s cap, taking a long swig that makes her shudder, grimace, and then laugh. My mouth drops open at her gall. “I’ll go alone then – to hang out with a bunch of ravenous wolves who haven’t seen a girl in months –“

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Shayne,” I snarl, standing up and snatching the bottle out of her hand. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yes,” she says, beaming at me, accepting the frankly accurate description with ease. “Come be ridiculous with me! Because if you don’t go and flirt with Cole Kincaid, then I will.”

My mouth drops open at my friend.

She grins at me and I snap my jaw shut, glaring at her even as my mind whirs, torn about what to say or do.

“Actually,” Grace says, surprising us both by striding forward and snagging the bottle out of my hand. “I’m in.”

“What?” I shriek.

She shrugs, taking a swig. Shayne squeals, clapping her hands and jumping up and down, thrilled. “General Amir said we have to have empathy for these people,” Grace says, shrugging and wiping at her mouth. “And how can I do that if I’ve never really even met a wolf, let alone an Alpha?”

My mouth drops open. How…how can she be betraying me? My most docile friend!

“This is very wise, Grace,” Shayne says, nodding sagely to her. “I really appreciate your empathy at this moment. Your true professionalism.”

“How can she be professional!” I bite out. “She’s drinking tequila!” I gesture vehemently at the bottle as Grace takes another sip.

“It’s liquid courage, Nadi,” Grace says, grinning at me. “Wolves are scary.”

“Wolves are –“

But my words are drowned out as Shayne laughs, putting her arm around Grace and turning her away from me, asking her what she’s going to wear.

“What to wear?” I blurt out. “What’s – what’s wrong with what you’re wearing?”

But both of them ignore me, starting to sort through their backpacks – the only luggage we were allowed to bring – for something cute, of all damn things.

I scowl, crossing my arms, hating both of them because we’re all aware that I’m not going to let them leave me here all alone.

“Oh, I hate you,” I snarl, storming forward and grabbing the tequila from Grace, taking a long slug from the bottle.

“We have converted her,” Shayne whispers, her voice mock-awed and reverent. “She is one of us now.”

“A wicked, willful woman,” Grace intones, playing along. “A rule breaker. Independent. Free.”

I scowl at both of them, wiping at my mouth even as I glare. “If you two get me kicked out on the first day, I’m never forgiving you.”

Shayne laughs, reaching for me and tugging me closer.

“Don’t worry, Nadi-baby,” she says, “I’m very sneaky.

Come on, let’s pick you out something cute!

” I sigh, shaking my head and turning my attention to our outfit choices as Shayne and Grace start to pool their clothing together, picking something out.

I shake my head at Shayne as she bounds ahead through the woods, a little canvas bag full of tequila bottles banging against her hip. “I can’t believe she wore that.”

Grace laughs at me, throwing out a hand towards the tank top and booty shorts that hug Shay’s generous curves. “She looks cute!”

“She’ll freeze!” I bite out, glaring at Grace now that Shayne’s too far ahead to bear my wrath.

“Nah, she won’t,” Grace says, bumping her shoulder against mine. “She’ll find a nice furry wolf to cuddle up with.”

“Not looking like a snack, she won’t,” I grumble. “She’ll get gobbled up. I’ve read like a dozen fairy tales about this exact situation.”

Grace just laughs and we move forward through the dark shadows of the canyon.

We’re not going far, of course – a little map at the back of our instruction packet showed that the Guard’s tent is just across the clearing from us.

But considering that we don’t want to get caught walking right through the middle of the camp, we’re taking the long, secret way round, staying close to the cavern walls.

I sigh as we pick our way carefully through the dark, a little shiver running through me in the cold night. Passively, I do worry about Shayne, who always privileges fashion over practicality. I cross my arms over my chest, grateful for my hoodie and jeans.

“Come on, Nadia,” Grace says softly. I look up to see her studying me as we walk. “What’s really wrong?”

“I just – I don’t get the point of this – going to flirt with the wolf boys,“ I say, gesturing a hand out towards the fire I can see burning in the distance with a few figures gathered around it. Probably the guards and whichever of the other nursing students snuck out before us – we certainly weren’t the only ones.

“I mean, it’s not like a relationship between a human and a wolf can ever actually work . ”

“I mean, I’m not sure Shay cares about a relationship,” Grace murmurs, smiling a little as we walk. “But also, why not?”

I roll my eyes at my friend. “ Thousands of years of prejudice, Gracie! The wolves have always been in control – they just stopped enslaving humans like, two hundred years ago! And we only got equal rights completely fifty years back! We outnumber them six to one but -”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Nadi,” Grace murmurs, frowning down at her feet. “I know my history lessons, all right? But we’re in a different era – this administration has done a lot to ensure wolf and human equality. Wolves and humans date in the capital all the time!”

“That doesn’t wipe away the fact that wolves spent thousands of years consolidating resources and power!

It’s not like Ethan Kincaid took the throne a poor man.

He’s a billionaire! And he got that way by exploiting capitalist systems that privileged his secret knowledge about wolves and his physical strength. ”

Grace looks at me like she’s worried, her mouth flattening into a straight line. “You know I’m always down for a critique of capitalism, Nad,” she says. “But these boys are not their fathers.”

I blink at her, shocked that she doesn’t agree with me.

“Come on,” Grace says, nodding to the fire as we arrive at the edge of the guards’ camp. “Just…talk to them. See what they’re actually all about. If they suck, we’ll go.”

“You forget,” I snap, glaring a little. “I grew up with these wolves. I know exactly who they are.”

I turn away from her, storming into the little circle of firelight and taking a seat at the far side, pointedly as far away from the four wolves and their band of new friends as I can get. Cole Kincaid turns towards me as I sit, his brows raised in surprise.

But I just stare into the fire, scowling and ignoring him.

Or at least, pretending to.

Gracie sits down next to me and, secretly, I’m grateful that she didn’t abandon me. “Sorry,” I murmur, meaning it but not happy to admit it.

“We’re good, Nadi,” Grace says, smiling and giving me a nudge. “Look, Shayne’s having a good time.”

I raise my eyes to the group again, immediately seeing Shayne laughing, seated on a log next to a very tall, broad-shouldered blonde guard, sharing the bottle of tequila with him. She flicks her long hair over her shoulder, looking lovely, thrilled, and perfectly at ease.

Even as I try to find something to hate about the moment…I can’t. Shayne. She’s just so…happy. I’m not going to begrudge her that.

I do narrow my eyes at the blonde though, thinking that he’d damn well better behave himself.

As Grace and I sit, quietly enjoying the warmth of the fire, I let my eyes move over the rest of the group.

Daniel and Amari are here, but there’s no surprise in that – they’re very social.

I recognize a couple of other girls from our year at school mingling with them and two other guards.

Some sit, some stand – but it’s easy to see that everyone is being very friendly, eager to get to know one another.

I try to concentrate on my fellow nursing students, trying to remember all of their names and match them to faces. But my eyes move, of course, fucking inevitably, to Cole.

I huff out a sigh through my nose as I watch him, trying to figure out what the hell everyone else sees in this guy.

He sits a little apart from the group, graciously greeting everyone who comes to say hello and being quite friendly. But every time, he evades getting sucked into a conversation and instead returns to his seat on his log by the fire.

What. Too good to talk to us humans? I narrow my eyes to a glare.

He has a wide stick in his hand and is whittling at it passively with a knife, passing time and keeping occupied. But I realize as I watch him that he’s not paying very much attention to it.

Instead, every few seconds he looks up, scanning the darkness around us and casting his eyes over his men to ensure that they’re behaving. Shay moves over to Cole to introduce herself, abandoning her blonde to offer the Prince some tequila. Cole smiles warmly at her –

I roll my eyes when Shayne basically melts at that –

And then Cole takes the bottle. He raises it to his lips and lifts it. But I narrow my eyes because…his throat doesn’t move before he lowers the bottle and hands it back to Shayne.

My jaw drops.

Did…did Cole just fake taking a drink?

Anger sweeps through me from head to toe. What, is Shayne’s tequila not good enough for this fancy-ass Prince?

Next to me, Grace laughs. “He’s on guard , Nadia,” she whispers. “He faked the drink because he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He’s being really nice.”

I scowl, realizing that she’s right.

But who the hell does he think he is, anyway? What, he’s more stoic and responsible and dutiful than the rest of us? I roll my eyes and huff out a breath, hating him as he sits back on his log, turning his eyes back to his stupid stick.

“Come on,” Grace says, standing and tugging at my arm. “Let’s go say hello –“

“No way –“ I gasp, leaning back as she tries to pull me up.

But just as she tugs harder at my arm, headlights sweep through the camp.

The whole group around the fire goes still for a second before the nursing volunteers panic, cursing lightly and ducking down to not be seen in the sudden light.

Shayne squeaks, dropping to the ground at her blonde wolf’s side.

Grace and I slip off our log, not really able to hide behind it but sitting still and watching as another military transport pulls into the clearing.

“Must be the psych volunteers,” Grace murmurs to me. I nod, agreeing. Didn’t dad say they were coming soon?

As I watch, the door to the transport opens and an absolutely stunning girl swings herself down. I blink a bit, taking in her willowy form, her long mane of white-blonde hair, the camera that hangs around her neck on a leather chord. I frown at that. Why on earth does a therapist need a camera?

She steps away from the transport so the next person can climb out and looks around the camp with interest, sniffing the air. Then her head snaps towards us. “No way,” she says, her words ringing out through the camp. “No way! ”

She bursts out laughing and runs in our direction.

My head snaps back towards the fire when I hear Cole’s delighted voice. “Are you kidding me?” His face bursts into a wide smile.

“Cole!” the girl cries, dashing into the circle and leaping into the air, throwing herself at him.

Cole roars with laughter, catching the girl in the air and spinning her in a circle. “Rose! What are you doing here? It’s so good to see you!”

My lips flatten into a thin line, my eyes focusing on the beautiful girl in Cole Kincaid’s arms, laughing prettily and gazing down into his face. Her cheeks dimple prettily as her hair floats down around her shoulders, looking like spun gold.

Cole grins up at her, holding her up in his arms, her perky butt supported by his forearm. I clench my teeth when she strokes a hand over his hair , asking how he is and how his family is doing.

“Wow,” Grace whispers. “Who…who the hell is that?”

I don’t answer. I have no idea, after all.

But I do know one thing.

Whoever this girl is? I…fucking hate her.