Chapter 8

Cole

I could tell Brianna was nervous. Something about her scent was different — her emotions were running high.

I leaned in closer. A second later, she snapped her phone shut and walked out.

All I'd caught was a glimpse — an email. The sender's header looked familiar, but I couldn't place it.

She was gone before I could ask.

I stood there staring at the empty doorway, not quite sure what to make of it, and reached up to touch the wound on my face.

It really was a deep cut.

Damn Peter.

Why had he been talking to Brianna? He was the one who'd fought hardest to keep her off the team — and now he was standing there laughing with her like they were old friends. If he hadn't distracted me, I never would have taken that hit.

I was starting to think seriously about firing him.

"Cole. Your jealousy is suffocating. Literally."

Holden.

I hadn't heard him come in. Hadn't sensed him at all. He was standing right behind me, wearing that smile he could never quite hide.

I had no idea what he found so amusing.

"Jealous?" I turned around. "You're talking about me? Who exactly am I jealous of?"

Holden laughed — a short, resigned sound — and let the subject drop. He held out a folder instead.

"Congratulations on advancing."

Obviously. That was never in question.

I pushed the folder back toward him without opening it.

"Handle it."

Then I turned back to the mirror and touched the wound again.

Whatever else I thought about the situation, I had to admit — Brianna was good. She'd worked fast, and despite how deep the cut was, I'd barely felt a thing. Precise and somehow gentle at the same time. I know that sounds contradictory. It's just what it was.

Holden watched me in the mirror and sighed.

"Cole. I think you owe Peter a thank-you."

I stared at him.

"A thank-you? For what? He's the reason I got hit in the first place."

The corner of Holden's mouth curled up in that way I could never quite read.

"If it weren't for Peter, Brianna wouldn't have stitched you up herself. And she certainly wouldn't have been so..." He paused. "Worried about you."

"She's my team physician. Worrying about me is literally her job."

Holden shook his head slowly.

"No. That's not what I mean. What I saw wasn't professional concern."

He looked at me steadily.

"I know you caught her scent."

I opened my mouth to argue. He cut me off.

"I caught it too."

Something snapped. Before I knew what I was doing, I had him by the collar and his back against the wall.

I didn't fully understand my own reaction — but something deep and instinctive told me I didn't want anyone else catching her scent. No one. The thought of it made my blood run hot in a way I couldn't explain. Her scent was something else entirely.

Holden didn't flinch. He just hung there in my grip, still wearing that polished, unreadable smile.

"Easy, Cole. What I picked up and what you picked up are not the same thing. Put me down."

He waited until I let go, then straightened his collar.

"I really need to have a conversation with your father about your werewolf education. Did you skip the chapter on mates entirely? What about basic biology?"

My face went hot.

I hadn't paid much attention to that part of my education, because it had never seemed relevant. Women, as a category, were something I'd spent years avoiding. Most of them were drawn to my status, my money, or my face — never to me. The idea of a mate had always felt like a problem for some future version of myself, one I hadn't planned on becoming.

But if that person were Brianna—

Wait.

What was I thinking?

Holden was watching me with open sympathy now.

"Cole. I've been saying it for years — the coursework matters. And now here you are, standing in front of your mate, and you can't even recognize what you're feeling."

Mate.

Brianna.

No. That couldn't be right. My mate is a human?

No. I wasn't even going to entertain that. I wasn't supposed to have a mate at all.

Women were calculating. Every one I'd encountered had wanted something — my name, my money, my body. Not one of them had ever wanted me.

Right. Yes. That was the truth of it.

Whatever I'd been feeling around Brianna was just the effect of her scent messing with my head. That's all it was. She worried about me because I was her employer — it was professional obligation dressed up as something else. She was human, she needed the paycheck, and that was the only reason she was anywhere near me.

That's all this was.

I turned and walked out, my thoughts running in circles, none of them landing anywhere solid. I needed space. I crossed the campus at a run and pushed into the woods behind the quad.

Here, finally, my breathing slowed. I leaned against a tree and let the wind move across my face.

Then I heard a voice.

"Join my team. I'll double whatever he's paying you."

Eamon.

He was still here? The game was over. What was he doing on our side of the campus, and who was he—

I stepped around the tree.

Brianna.

She was standing with her back to me. I couldn't read her face. Eamon's voice carried clearly through the still air.

"Cole's people see you as a team physician. Nothing more. Come to my team — I'll give you resources. The best lab facilities you've ever worked in. Whatever you want, I can make it happen."

Brianna said nothing.

Of course.

There it was. A better offer on the table, and she was weighing it. That's what this was.

I couldn't even say I was surprised. Greed was the first lesson human society had taught me. And now it all made sense — her performance today, fighting for my players, proving herself in front of everyone. She'd been auditioning. Getting the highest bid she could.

So why did it feel like something was caving in behind my ribs?

My mind had already accepted it. She could go. Fine. It made logical sense.

My body had other ideas. It was already moving, already pulling me to my feet before I'd made any decision at all, driven by something I didn't have a name for yet.

Then Brianna spoke.

"I'm sorry, Eamon. I'm happy where I am. I'm not leaving."

She paused.

"Cole treats me well."

The pressure in my chest released all at once.

I stayed still. The impulse that had been pulling me forward went quiet. My head cleared.

Eamon laughed — a low, measured sound. He looked at her for a long moment.

"You're a loyal one. So I'll give you a piece of advice, as a courtesy."

"Don't fall for Cole. The consequences are beyond anything you'd want to deal with."

He finished speaking, and his eyes moved — past Brianna, cutting straight through the trees to exactly where I was standing.