Land of Wolves

Chapter 48

If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that I look absolutely feral right about now.

The hospital hallways are empty, and I rush down them like a bat out of hell. Caleb's party has me all out of sorts, and I can't fucking believe I let myself get this far behind at work.

All this talk about how important my independence is and how much I need this job, yet here I am, slacking only a few weeks in. I doubt Greg would punish me for getting behind every once in a while, but I want to make a good impression.

I want him to be actively happy he hired me and not just tolerate me because he pities me.

I fly around the corner and smash into a rigid body, and the linens fly out of my hands as my feet slip out from underneath me. A small part of me half expects the person I ran into to catch me, but instead, I land straight on my tailbone with a hard thump.

Fuck.

Pain radiates up it, and I'm surprised the poor bone hasn't shattered by now. I have faint memories of being clumsy as a child, but my life in the HPAW facility was so coordinated and routined that I hardly had the opportunity to slip up or trip.

I didn't realize my clumsiness was a condition that remained into adulthood.

I'm not a fan.

Jan peers down at me through her lashes, her lips curled in a poorly concealed smirk. She's enjoying seeing me sprawled out by her feet, and I'm sure her choice not to righten me when I started to fall was a very purposeful decision.

I work my jaw side to side as I turn and grab all the linens I dropped. Thank the heavens I deep-cleaned these floors yesterday, because I don't know what I'd do if I spilled fresh linens on dirty, dirt-covered floors.

I'd have to rewash them, and it would set me impossibly behind.

"What're you doing here?" Jan asks.

My lips purse as I debate whether or not to answer. Most of the hospital staff has left already, and I imagine everybody is at home getting ready for the party tonight. I'm surprised Jan isn't among them.

"Well?" she prompts.

"I need to finish making the beds, then I'm leaving."

She crosses her arms over her chest, her frosty glare only deepening.

"So, you're going to the party tonight?" Her voice is laced with anger, and I resist the urge to flinch.

I feel safe around most wolves, but Jan is a wildcard. She hasn't spoken to me since I addressed Caleb without his title in the waiting area, but I can tell she's still furious about it. I embarrassed her, and even worse, I did it in front of Caleb.

She wasn't nearly this obsessed with him before his search for a wife went public, but I have a feeling that when the announcement went out and the idea got into her head, she began to fantasize. Caleb's title alone is enough to make him one of the most sought-after male wolves, but being a genuinely kind and friendly person on top of it only adds icing to the cake.

To her, I'm the lowly human who took that opportunity to her.

And we both know I'd be real easy to kill.

Especially tonight, when nobody is around.

"Did you know Alpha Caleb made a special request for me to work tonight's shift?" she asks.

I gulp.

Greg is here, too, not that he cares much about going to parties, and the nurses have been gossiping for weeks about who the unlucky nurse he'll pick to stay on tonight will be. I had no idea Caleb requested it to be Jan, and I force my face to remain flat as I absorb that information.