LOGINNicole'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 POVOn a normal day, I rarely liked coming down to the dining hall. It was too loud, too crowded, and full of too many eyes. But I had skipped breakfast this morning because my stomach was in knots, and the long hours in the lab were already making my head spin. I had to eat something. I walked through the double doors, grabbed a small plate of toast and a cup of black coffee, and looked for a quiet corner. The dining hall smelled like coffee and toasted bread, the ordinary morning smell that usually meant I had another hour before the day demanded anything hard of me.I spotted Amber sitting near the large window and walked over, slipping into the chair opposite her."You look pale," Amber said, sliding her basket of fruit toward me. "Please tell me you're actually going to eat that toast.""I am," I said, taking a small bite. "I just needed a minute to sit down.""Good," Amber said, opening her notebook. "Because the morning lab schedule is packed, and we need to check th
Tate's POVThe drive back to South River took four hours. I spent every minute staring at the asphalt, watching the yellow lines get swallowed under the hood. The last time I made this trip, I was driving in the opposite direction. I was furious, driving toward the institute to force a woman named Dr. Carter to explain herself. I hadn't known then that I was driving toward my entire life. Now, I was driving away from it, if only for a day. Some things couldn't be settled on neutral ground. Some things needed to happen on pack soil, in front of pack eyes, so there could be no pretending afterward that anyone hadn't heard me clearly.Jonathan sat beside me in the passenger seat, staring straight out the windshield. His hands were clasped tightly in his lap, his shoulders stiff. He was quiet, still healing from things that had nothing to do with his body."Are you going to be able to look at them?" I asked, my voice cutting through the hum of the engine.Jonathan didn't turn his head.
Nicole's POVI don't sleep. I sit at the kitchen table for a long time after I get home, still in my work clothes, my hands wrapped around a mug of tea that goes cold before I drink any of it. The apartment is quiet after the twins go down. Usually, that silence settles me. Tonight, it just gives
Nicole pov He nods slowly. He doesn’t try to fix it for me. He just stands there, holding the weight of both versions of himself without flinching. The man I left wouldn’t have known how to do that."The rejection papers," I say."Nicole""I’m not asking you to sign them tonight. I just need you t
Nicole's POV I am halfway down the east corridor when I hear him behind me. "Lea." I stop as my breath hitches, then I turn around.Tate is coming from the direction of Tracy's wing. He stops a few feet away and looks at me."I need an hour of your time," he says. "This afternoon, you and Marlon,
TATE'S POV Nicole had been unusually quiet for days. I noticed. I notice everything — Caesar made sure of that from the time I was old enough to stand. That morning she handed me the wrong tie. Her fingers moved too fast and her eyes didn't meet mine. Storm flagged her scent immediately, somethin







