LOGINNicole's POVI was working at my computer when the heavy lab door clicked open.Amber walked in holding two bags of ice. She had a mischievous spark in her eyes that told me she was holding onto some major gossip."I bring ice and news," she announced, setting the ice on my desk."What kind of news needs ice?" I asked, without looking up from my screen."The kind where two grown men have a fistfight in a lab."My fingers froze on the keys. I set my pen down and turned my chair to face her, a knot forming in my stomach. "Are they both standing?""Technically," Amber said."Is Marlon okay?""Yes," Amber said, her tone softening. "A split lip, bruised ribs, and exhaustion. He'll be sore, but he's fine."I let out a breath. "And Tate?"Amber hesitated for a second. "Also fine. A cut on his cheek and a bruised jaw. Jonathan took him to get cleaned up.""Good," I said, turning back to my monitor to pretend I was done talking.Amber didn't leave. She hopped onto the corner of my desk, pulled
Nicole pov "We designed," I corrected gently. "I couldn't have calculated the synthesis models alone, Marlon.""Maybe," he said, picking up his glass. "But it's your work saving her mind."I leaned back, taking in a slow, steadying breath as the weight of the day settled over us. "Let's just finish the lab work today. One step at a time.""One step at a time," Marlon agreed, finally picking up his fork.Tate’s POVDays later My boots clicked against the cold linoleum. The light from the west corridor lab spilled onto the floor, casting long shadows against the wall. Inside, Marlon stood by a steel table. He picked up a small glass bottle, looked at the label, and set it down. Then he picked up a metal tray, moved it two inches to the left, and set it down again. His fingers were stiff.I stopped at the open door frame. I leaned my shoulder against the wood, crossing my arms over my chest. I watched him move the tray back to where it had started."You're not doing any real work," I
Nicole's POVThe noise of the cafeteria faded into a dull buzz as I stared at the fork in my hand. It was Tuesday, two days after Tate had come back from the pack house after confronting his council. The tension in the institute hadn't broken; it had only stretched thinner.Marlon found me at lunch, sliding into the vinyl seat across from me. He moved with a heavy body, the kind he got when he was trying to decide how much to tell me before I'd already guessed it from his face. He set his tray down, but he didn't touch the food."He cornered me again last night," Marlon said without any preamble.I set down my fork, the metal clinking against the plate. "What happened? Did he start another fight?""Not physically," Marlon said, rubbing a hand over his jaw. The bruises from his earlier hallway fight with Tate were still faintly visible along his cheekbone, yellowing at the edges. "Documents this time."My stomach tightened. I leaned forward, lowering my voice so the researchers at the
Nicole pov "I know it doesn't," Tate said softly. He took a half-step closer, his expression suddenly breaking, the terrifying Alpha alpha mask dropping away to reveal the raw, bleeding guilt underneath. "I told them I intend to bring you home the exact moment you agree to it. Not a second before. But until that day comes, I need every wolf in our territory to know exactly who you are to me. I won't have you hiding in the dark anymore, Nicole. I won't have Lily or anyone else treating you like a secret mistake from my past."I closed my eyes, the memory of Lily's venomous words from breakfast echoing in my ears. A convenient pregnancy. A tactical career move."Lily told me today that I was just an omega from the slums," I whispered, opening my eyes to look at him. "She said you would never let me use pack laws against her because of what my father did."Tate's chest heaved. He reached across the desk, his large, calloused hand hovering just an inch above mine, waiting for permission.
Nicole's POVThe heavy black plastic of the desk phone felt cold against my palm as I slid it back into its cradle. My knuckles were still white, a lingering reaction to the rhythmic, click-clack sound of Tate’s heavy boots slowing down just outside my threshold. I did not look up immediately. Instead, I forced my eyes to stay fixed on the blue medical chart spread out under the desk lamp, tracing the printed gridlines until the lines stopped blurring.Tate’s shadow stretched across the floorboards, wide and completely blocking out the ambient light from the hallway. He didn't step across the threshold yet. He just stood there.The clean scent of rain, crushed pine needles, and raw cedar cut through the sharp, sterile smell of the rubbing alcohol and old parchment that usually defined my office."Tate," I said, finally lifting my chin to look him dead in the eye. I didn't let my voice shake. I kept it perfectly flat, the way I always did when the world outside my lab started to spli
Tate's POVThe car hummed as it chewed up the miles on the highway back toward the institute. Jonathan sat in the passenger seat, his eyes fixed on the passing trees, his shoulders rigid. The phone on the dashboard buzzed, the screen lighting up with the name of the lead guard I had left at the research campus.I tapped the screen, putting it on speaker. "Report.""Alpha," the guard’s voice crackled through the car speakers, tight and hurried. "We have a situation in the central dining hall. Beta Hayes’s mate just caused a massive scene."My fingers dug into the leather of the steering wheel. "What did she do?""She insulted Dr. Carter in front of the alliance staff, sir," the guard said. "She was loud. She called the pregnancy tactical and questioned the bloodline legitimacy right in front of the researchers."Beside me, Jonathan stiffened, his head snapping toward the dashboard as his face went completely white."Did she touch Nicole?" I growled, Storm instantly clawing at the surfa
Nicole's POV I stared at the test with two lines. I had read enough books to know what they meant, I was pregnant. I was carrying Tate’s child. At first I felt shocked, I couldn’t think straight. I just stared at the test, lost. Then I calmed down as small hope grew inside me, he had always said h
Nicole's POVThe next morning, I was cleaning Tate office study, gathering papers from the edge of the desk into a neat stack without reading them, because reading Tate's documents was one of the few transgressions he had made explicitly clear he would not forgive. But the highlighted text caught
Nicole's POV The banquet hall was full by the time I took my seat beside Tate, candlelight running the length of the table and every chair occupied by someone who mattered politically. I had worn the dark green dress Tracy had approved two seasons ago conservative, appropriate, nothing that invited
Nichole pov "Shit, shit, shit." I was already ten minutes behind and the parliament office was a fifteen minute walk, Tate's suit still in the garment bag over my arm and my shoes not properly fastened because I hadn't had time to sit down and do them right. I had overslept, which never happen







