The one where they meet Alpha Marcus

~ Nikolai ~

"So where do we begin?" I asked Bella. We needed to discuss the case and come up with a line of action.

Bella shrugged. "I don't know," she said.

I frowned. She'd been acting quite cold since I came in for reasons I didn't know.

"You're the lawyer. Where would you usually start in a case like this," I pressed.

"You're the one who wanted to take the case. You should know where you planned to start," she said frostily.

"So are you saying you didn't want to take the case?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Of course, I wanted to take the case. Her case was so pitiful. I wanted to help."

"Then why are you being this way?" I asked, moving closer to her. "Where is this coming from, Bells?" I asked.

She turned red at my use of my nickname for her.

I couldn't tell if she liked it or hated the nickname from her reaction but it rolled off my tongue so easily and I enjoyed saying it.

"What's the problem?" I asked again.

She folded her arms. "Nothing is the problem!"

I knew enough about