Nadia
I watch Cole closely as he grins at me for a long moment before he exhales his breath, glancing away for a second, clearly resisting the bait that would lure him into a fight with me on the point of monarchical rule.
Instead, he takes a moment to collect his thoughts before he turns back to Grace and me, his equanimity restored. “That was cleverly done, bringing in Jeanie.”
“Wait,” Grace says, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the Prince. “Did you like…hear all that? From the door?”
Cole nods to her, totally casual, as if his Alpha hearing is just no big deal. She gapes at him and he grins before he turns his attention back to me.
“Did you know she had a past that would help her connect with the patients?”
“Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for that insight,” I murmur, looking back towards the door. “Jeanie just has good vibes. I’m glad she’s here.”
“Me too,” Grace says, noddi
Nadia“Nadia!” Cole calls after me, following behind.“What is wrong with you?!” I growl, storming towards Rose, who crouches low taking pictures of Ivy and Jade around the fire. I glance at the pair, relieved that they haven’t yet noticed even though Jeanie gives me a worried glance over their heads and gives me a worried frown before turning back to her patients.Rose gasps, turning to stare up at me, completely shocked.“You! With me! Now!” I whisper-hiss, pointing to her, and then to me, and then decidedly away from the therapists’ tents.Rose gapes at me and starts to protest until Cole comes to my side, his face stern. Then she sighs and stands, putting her hands up and letting the camera hang around her neck. The three of us move quickly across camp.“You know, it’s really hard to get candid imagery when –““No pictures!” I hiss, spinning and lunging for her camera once
Nadia“Fine,” Rose snarls, grabbing her camera and pushing some buttons on the back. After a few moments, she turns the camera so Cole can see it, clearly displaying that the pictures are gone. “Happy now?”“Not completely,” I say, still pissed but doing my best to stay calm. God, this woman – she says she’s a professional journalist, but does that seriously entail having absolutely no empathy for the people she’s reporting on?Rose scoffs and turns to me. Cole does too.“I don’t want you taking any more pictures of my patients.”“Your patients,” she spits out, her face going red.“Yes,” I snap, stepping forward aggressively toward her. “My patients.”Cole clears his throat and I look to him. He shakes his head subtly as a growl rumbles in Rose’s ches
NadiaHe turns to me, a curious smile playing at his mouth. “Why gives you the impression that I like her?”“Cole,” I say, snapping my eyes shut. “Don’t even make me roll my eyes at that – they’ll go so far back they’ll never come forward again –“He laughs and I open my eyes to renew my glare.He sighs and shakes his head. “I’ve known her for a long time, Nadia. Our relationship is complicated. She wasn’t like that at the start – or at least, I wasn’t aware of it. And she’s not always like that. Rose has many…layers.”“Yeah, but you know she’s horrible now,” I say, shaking my head, not getting it. “So why do you like her? Why don’t you just kick her out?”“Is that what you want?” he asks, glancing at me a
Cole Don’t look at her ass, don’t look at her ass, I growl to myself inwardly, willing myself to resist as Nadia walks away from the fire, her water bottle clutched tight in her hand.Come on, Cole, I say to myself. Don’t be a complete creep.Do it, my wolf urges – a soft, reverent whisper.I clench my jaw, shoving him away. Nadia has made it very clear that she is not, at all, interested in my advances – which would probably include me checking her out from afar.Shayne moves to sit next to me on the log, her footsteps crunching on branches, and in that very tiny moment of distraction…my eyes drop.As fasten precisely on Nadia’s…fairly perfect ass.My jaw tightens – god damn it – how is it possible that – even in scrubs –I force my eyes shut.“Oh my god,&
I shake my head. “Not like that at all. It’s like…some kind of instinct in you, something you just know is true the moment you see it or smell it. Like…how you know your favorite color is green. You just look at it and even though you know the other colors are all very nice…green’s it. That’s the best one. Except with a mate, it’s…very specific and intense.”I shrug, thinking that’s not a very good description. But words were never truly my gift.“Green’s my favorite color too,” Shayne says softly, musing.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
NadiaThe young woman turns back to me. “Eyes on you?” she asks, tilting her head to the side. “Why?”“Um!” I say, panicking a little. “Quick…visual exam!” My hand darts to the pocket of my scrubs and quickly pulls out a light pen, which I use to give the girl a lightning-fast eye exam that she certainly doesn’t need.She still looks at me strangely for a moment as I confirm that her vision is just fine, but I stand straight, making eye contact with Jeanie, who’s set up a table at the front of the room. When I nod, she waves back and bends to speak with one of her counselors, letting her know that this young lady is ready for her chat.I give the young wolf a smile and confirm that her counselor will be there in a moment before heading for the nursing desk, ready for my next task.Grace catches up with me as I walk, falling into step. “Crazy, isn’t it?” she whispers, looking around, worried.“I know,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself – not cold just…worried. So anxious for all of
I open my eyes, smiling a little as I watch the military transport pull into camp. Nodding, eager to get my patients loaded onto it, I start to turn –And nearly bang right into Jeanie.She laughs at me, reaching out her hands to steady me as I start to stumble back. “Easy, Nadia,” she says, grinning at me. “You all right?”“Yeah, yeah,” I say, only scowling a little in my embarrassment. “We just need to –““Nad, I’ll handle the transport,” she says, nodding to me, smirking. “You’ve been working all night –““Well, so have you!”“No, I haven’t,” she says, raising her eyebrows at me. “I got five solid hours between midnight and now. You didn’t notice?”I sigh, raising a hand to cover my eyes, wondering if it’s exhaustion or idiocy that made me miss that. “I am very dedicated to my work, Jeanie,” I say, pretending to be stuck up and too cool to care. “I cannot be bothered to notice everyone’s breaks –“She laughs at me and gives my shoulders a fond squeeze before dropping her hands. “Se
NadiaWhen I raise my head again I groan, feeling like my head is full of cotton. I work my tongue in my sticky mouth – desperate for some water –Like a wish granted, my eyes fall on the bottle of it resting on the pillow next to me. I frown for a second before I grab it, twisting off the top and taking a long sip as I read the note next to it.Gone to dinner with the Prince because we are fancy. Love you Na-na, you dehydrated psychopath workaholic! Come join us when you wake up!I smirk, looking at the line of scrawled hearts and stars that follow the words, knowing immediately who wrote it even if it’s unsigned.I sigh and sit up, looking around at my familiar little bed, wondering…how the hell I got here. And then a desperate little frown takes my lips as I realize that there’s only one realistic answer to that question. One I don’t like at all.It takes a minute to gather some of my stuff, but then I head into the bathroom for a quick, much-needed shower and tooth brushing. But w
Nadia“Hey,” Cole snaps, his hands tightening on my waist. I blink and look up at him, focusing on his face as he frowns down at me. And then I look around, realizing that we’re in the nurse’s bunk tent.When the hell did we get here?“Are you all right?” he asks, all stern.I frown at him again. “I’m fine.”Cole narrows his eyes. “You’re not fine. But you will be. Okay? I need you to trust me on that.”I blink up at him, hope and clarity coming to me as I realize that…dad was right. I do have a royal connection. Cole took that phone for a reason. He’s – he’s going to make some phone calls – he’s going to fix this –I straighten my shoulders, nodding to him. Cole’s eyes move over me and he nods too, buying it. “Go and wash up, okay?” he says, lifting his
Nadia“Dad wants a meeting,” I say, gesturing to my father with my thumb.“That’s unnecessary,” dad says, pitching his voice higher so Cole can hear. “My meeting is with you, Nadia.”I slowly turn to him with a frown, narrowing my eyes. What on earth is going on here?Cole murmurs to Tommy and another of his guards for a moment, clearly ordering them to take the same command with the boy pups that Shayne and Grace just took with the girls. He moves quickly towards us.“What’s going on?” Cole asks, slipping his hands into his pockets.“It’s not your concern, Captain Kincaid,” dad snaps, glaring at Cole.Cole just looks evenly at dad, his expression turning cold, clearly implying that if dad’s meeting has to do with me then it damn well does concern him too.Dad glares between us. &ld
NadiaCole laughs, quite pleased with himself, and I straighten up, my hand clasped in my towel over my chest. “If you please, sir,” I snap, eyes still closed. “I’d like my privacy while I dress.”“Back into your dirty clothes?” My eyes snap open in time to see Cole raise an eyebrow at me. I realize that he’s right – all my clean stuff is at my bunk.“Oh, shut up,” I mutter, stooping to gather up my dirty outfit.“Come on,” he says, reaching for me, aiming to put his arm over my shoulders again.I squeak, darting past him so he can’t touch and fucking ensorcel me with his stupid body – which is probably all warm -“Get back here!” Cole calls, laughing as I dash past him out of the shower room.“No!”“Do it!” he shouts after me, laughing
NadiaI scowl as I blush, which feels appropriate when one is stripping down in a little cubicle with Cole Kincaid naked on the other side of a very thin wall. There are four little showers here, all in a row, and each not only has a curtained shower stall but also this little dry cell next to it with its own curtain to block out the rest of the room. But luckily, we have the shower room all to ourselves for now, which is rarely the case.“You good over there?” Cole calls.I stop with my shirt pulled halfway over my head. “Why would I not be good?” I snap.He laughs, low and pleased. “I can just hear you seething.”“Oh, shut up.” I finish pulling my shirt and bra off in one go, throwing them on the floor.“Was that your shirt?”“Cole!”“Wait, so, are you topless?”
Nadia“All right,” Cole says, nodding to the pups. “I want everyone to remain in wolf form, and young ladies, I’d like you in two even lines on either side of the boys, please.”Janine looks up at me. “What’s a young lady?” she whispers.I laugh, tapping her on the nose and whispering that she is, quickly giving her an explanation that makes her smile.When all the kids have lined up Cole holds his hand out to me. I take it and together we move to the front. “You ready for this?” he murmurs, glancing down at me.I shrug, looking up at him. “I was born for this.”Cole smiles, exhausted but terribly pleased with me, and together we walk into the camp with one little wolf girl in my arms and twenty-five pups following neatly behind. Tommy’s mouth falls open as he sees us approach. He quickly radios for backup,
NadiaCole frowns down at the boys. “No, I’m not going to kill you,” he says, steady and strong. “I don’t come from a world where we kill children. We raise them and educate them in warm and happy homes. If you obey, you will be given food and warm clothing, you’ll be sent to school. You’ll be safe and protected – and you won’t have to work until you’re much older and can decide what jobs you’d like.”A confused little hum starts in the children, the girls looking at me, clearly wondering if this promise extends to them as well. I slowly nod, dedicating myself inwardly to ensuring that that promise is kept.“But it all starts with you all falling into my command,” Cole says, steady and unyielding. “Can you do that?”Most of the little boys immediately nod, great smiles breaking out on their faces. Only the
Nadia“Fine,” I say, turning my hand over and nodding towards the backpack which I can’t reach anymore. “You handle that, I need to bandage this,” I say, nodding down to the little girl’s cut arm. It’s not deep, thank god.Cole nods and quickly grabs the backpack, passing it to the closest girl, who hands it to me. I concentrate on being a nurse as Cole turns back to the boys.“Who sent you?” Cole asks, voice rough and displeased. He crosses his arms, glaring down at the little ragged crew, some of whom sniff and look miserable. Others just stare at Cole, fully awed.“No one sent us,” the head boy says, his head hanging. I note for the first time that he’s a handsome little boy, larger than the rest, with brown hair and freckles over his cheeks and nose. “Or, well, we’re scouts, so our Superior sent us. But we attacked you because
Nadia“Wake up!” A voice snarls. “You are our captives now!”I lurch out of sleep, my eyes flashing open. They widen at the sight in front of me.But I barely have time to process the sight of the little boy baring his teeth at us, a sharp knife clutched in his hand, a whole pack of other little boys gathered behind him before a vicious snarl erupts from Cole, whose arms tighten around me.I gasp – but then the whole world goes to shit.Chaos reigns as all of our little girls seem to leap to their little puppy feet at once, yelping and barking and snarling, some lunging at the boys who shout and wave knives, or shift and attack. Other girls dash behind behind rocks or tuck themselves into the shadows. Janine cries out, pressing herself closer to me as Cole launches to his feet, pushing me behind him as he shifts into his wolfI shout, clutching Janine to me
NadiaWe run for about thirty minutes, I think – but even after that relatively short time, I can see that the pups are flagging – weak, exhausted, starving. Cole barks twice and slows, allowing the pups to catch up as he moves into the shadows of a cliffside, well protected from sight. When we’re all tucked in he lowers himself to the ground. I help Janine climb down and then follow after her, looking curiously up at Cole as he shifts back.“Think we’re far enough away?” I whisper.“As far as we’re going to get,” he murmurs. “They’re flagging. They need food and water.” He looks carefully around, sniffing the air. “I think we’re okay for now. I haven’t sensed anyone near all night.”I nod, trusting him to know far better than me.“Let’s get the sandwiches out,” he murmurs, lifting his head towards the ba