Naia

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Ugh, what is that infernal noise? Is that my alarm clock? Have I slept in again?

Wait, that doesn’t sound like my alarm. What’s going on?

I need to wake up.

Pinpricks of light accost me as my eyes flutter open. I can’t really tell what’s going on as my vision is blurry, but it looks like I’m in some type of white room.

The hell?

Closing my eyes again, I focus on my senses. That stupid beeping won’t stop, but the sharp smell of antiseptic burns my nose. I hear a sigh and there’s a rapid tapping noise, indicating that someone is sending a message on their phone.

I blink a few times, my eyesight sharpening enough that I can make out a small white board hanging on a wall next to a sink across from me. Looking down, I see and feel a thin white blanket over my body, my hands placed on top of the sheet.

There’s an IV in my hand and a blood pressure device over my finger, which is connected to the vital signs monitor. That is the cause of that awful beeping.

Oh, I’m in a hospital. That makes sense.

I close my eyes again, wanting to succumb again to sleep’s warm embrace.

Suddenly, my sluggish mind finally catches up and my eyes pop open again.

A hospital room?

As I try to sit up, I’m overcome with pain as my body protests the movement and my head screams with pain.

Fuck. It feels like I was just run over by a truck. What the fuck happened?

“Naia!”

A chair violently scrapes against the floor as the person sitting in it rushes to me and grabs my hand. “Naia! Stop! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

I stop struggling for a moment to see who is hindering my escape plans.

It’s Cole.

Suddenly, memories come rushing back to me—the phone call with my parents, running in the park, seeing Cole assault someone, the human-sized wolves fighting. . .

Wolves fighting?

Did that actually happen or are they part of a fucked up dream I had?

“C-Cole?” I rasp, my tongue thick in my mouth. “W-what happened?”

He looks relieved. “I found you in Hazel Park,” he says gently. “You were unconscious and I rushed you to the hospital.”

That doesn’t make any sense.

“I was on a run,” I say weakly. “Then I came upon you and some other guy fighting. I saw you transform into. . . wolves.”

The minute the words exit my lips, I want to take them back. I sound foolish. No one can transform into wolves.

“They really did a number on you,” Cole says sympathetically as he squeezes my hand, his thumb rubbing circles along my knuckles.

“There’s been some violent muggings in Reece Park recently,” he continues, seeing the confusion cross my face. “You must have been attacked by them.” He shakes his head, looking at me sternly. “You shouldn’t be out after dark by yourself.”

His explanation sounds plausible, and it’s enough for me to believe him. Shelly’s warning about the wild wolf pack clearly fucked with my imagination.

“I-I don’t remember anyone trying to mug me,” I say slowly, trying to think back. All it does is give me a headache.

“The muggers are known to hit someone from behind and wait until their victim is unconscious before robbing them,” Cole says patiently.

Oh. Well, that makes sense. I think.

Besides, if Cole really was a wolf-beast, would he have rescued me and taken me to the hospital?

Unlikely.

“I thought this town was supposed to be safe,” I mutter, plucking at the blanket’s rough fabric.

Cole’s hand covers my own again, his rough calluses scraping against my knuckles. I feel a thrill course through me as he does so.

“It is safe,” he insists. “I’m sure the police will catch the muggers soon. However, what you need to do is get as much rest as possible so you can be in tip top shape. After all, who else is supposed to serve me my daily coffee?”

I groan, smiling at him. “That sounded super misogynistic.”

He grimaces. “I didn’t mean for it to.”

Cole reaches out to touch my face and my breath hitches slightly. Part of me is screaming for me to back down now as I just met him not even twenty-four hours ago, but the other part of me wants to see where this goes.

“You got some dirt on your cheek,” he whispers huskily. The pad of his thumb swipes against the curve of my jawline, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.

I’ve never noticed how blue his eyes are. . .

Knock knock.

The moment between us is ruined as Cole jerks away and settles himself back in his seat.

Suddenly, I feel empty without his comforting presence.

The door opens and a doctor walks in. “Ah, Naia! You’re awake. Excellent.”

“Have her test results come back?” Cole asks.

Test results? When did that happen?

“When you were unconscious, we were able to get an MRI,” the doctor explains. “You have a concussion, Naia. It’s mild, but you still need to take it easy, especially coupled with your other injuries. You’re lucky it wasn’t worse.”

“What other injuries?” I ask urgently. “Nothing broken, right?”

“No,” the doctor reassures me. “Just some pretty severe bruising on your torso. You’ll be sore for a few days. I’ll prescribe you some painkillers, but other than that, I’m comfortable discharging you.”

I fight back a grimace, thinking about my thin sleeping bag. It’ll be an uncomfortable night.

“I’ll take you home,” Cole offers the moment the doctor leaves.

“You don’t have to do that,” I protest, although secretly I’m touched.

“I insist. I need to make sure you get back okay. Besides, you heard the doctor. You’re concussed and you’re new here. How would you get back?”

Okay, that’s a fair point.

Once my discharge paperwork comes through, Cole gallantly helps me off the bed. I clutch his arm as the room spins and I lean against him.

“You’ll be okay,” Cole says soothingly, tenderly wrapping an arm around my waist and guiding me out of the hospital. He looks at the paperwork, and sees my address. “We’re only a few blocks from your apartment. Can you walk?”

“Yeah,” I mumble. Fuck, my head is throbbing.

The cool air helps a little bit as we slowly walk down the street. Reece Point is so small there’s only one street light in the downtown area. It casts an eerie glow on its surroundings.

My heart pounds as I imagine the muggers prowling in the shadows, waiting for me to pass by so they can attack me again.

“You okay?” Cole asks, looking down at me in concern, his blue eyes narrowing.

From this close angle, I can see the stubble on his chin and smell his minty breath.

“Y-yeah,” I stumble over my words. “Just worried the muggers are somewhere around here.”

Cole stops me in my tracks and puts his hands on my shoulders, looking at me seriously.

“I will never allow anyone to harm you when you’re with me,” Cole says firmly. “Is that understood?”

My toes curl in my sneakers at his commanding tone.

“Yes,” I whisper, licking my dry lips.

Cole’s eyes track my tongue’s every movement.

This may just be my concussion talking, but do I hear a faint growl coming from him?

Is he interested in me? There’s no way this is just friendly behavior. We seem to be dancing on the precipice of something.

Is this moving too fast? We barely know each other, but I can’t deny my attraction to him.

Maybe it’s just me, but it appears Cole seems to feel the same way.

Part of me wonders if me getting mugged in the park was somehow fate pushing us together.

Ugh. That’s almost as stupid as thinking I saw wolves fighting in the park.

I clear my throat, hating to break whatever moment we are having, but my head is really starting to hurt. “We should keep going,” I say weakly. “My head—”

“Say no more,” Cole says and we continue on. I lean heavily against him, my legs feeling more like lead the longer we walk.

Exhaustion settles heavily over me. It’s been a whirlwind twenty-four hours and all I want to do is sleep.

We finally make it back to my apartment and I groan at the thought of climbing three sets of stairs. I suddenly miss my old apartment building in New York with its sleek elevator.

“Thanks for walking me home,” I tell Cole and turn to leave him but he tightens his arm around my waist, pulling me back to his hard, taut body.

“Do you really think I was going to dump you at your building without making sure you were settled in?” He asks dubiously. “What floor are you on?”

I start to protest, but he fixes me with a glare so sharp I instantly feel myself obeying.

“Third,” I say weakly. “But really, you don’t have to—eep!”

Cole scoops me up in his arms, carrying me bridal style up the stairs. He’s gentle in how he handles me, making sure to stabilize my head so it doesn’t move around too much.

He’s also in excellent shape because he hasn’t even broken a sweat climbing up all those steps, especially while carrying me.

We finally get to my door and he carefully puts me down, stepping back to give me some space.

I fish out my key from my leggings and hesitate. I should wish him goodnight and leave it at that, but, on the other hand. . .

“Would you like to come inside?”