Alpha Wolf's Fated Mate

JULIA

I’ve been on edge all morning. I’ve finished my rounds and head back to the nurses’ station, where I see Haylee sitting in front of the computer.

My patient charts are filed away now, so I make my way over to see my new friend.

“What are you working on?” I sit in the chair next to Haylee and see she is playing electronic solitaire.

“Hi, Julia. Um, nothing. Have you had lunch yet?” she quickly shuts down her card game and smiles.

“I was going to head to the cafeteria to get a snack. Do you have time to take a walk with me?”

She logs out of the computer and tells Matt we are going to take our break.

“Take your time, ladies. It’s pretty quiet right now.”

“Don’t say that!” Haylee whisper yells. “You’ll jinx our day.”

Matt rolls his eyes. “Yeah, okay. Whatever. Just go take your break. I’ll see you in a few.” He takes over Haylee’s chair and rolls over to answer the phone.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here before all hell breaks loose.” She giggles and pulls me into the hallway.

After getting some juice and a granola bar, we sit down next to the windows overlooking the parking lot of the hospital.

“So, did you pick a design out yesterday?” She peels back the skin of her banana.

“I did.” I rub my thigh through my scrubs. “It’s a little itchy today, but I think it’s going to turn out great.”

“Oh! I can’t wait to see it. Did Nate help you figure out the design? What did you get?”

“His brother Jake did it. It’s a phoenix. I think it represents what I’ve been going through. A new start, you know? Rising from the ashes.”

Learning about Adam’s indiscretions and filing for divorce took everything I had in me to keep moving forward with my life. I feel like I’ve walked into the fire and back. I really am a phoenix.

Haylee is quiet, and I look up to see her staring at me.

“Did you say Jake did it?”

“Yeah, why? He works there too. Is there something wrong with Jake?” I look at my watch. It’s not too late to cancel coffee. I could text him and let him know.

“Well, Jake rarely does the art side of things anymore. He’s moving into a different, um, job soon.”

“He was going to tell me something about that yesterday. In fact, he asked me out to dinner so he could tell me about it.” I feel the heat in my cheeks.

“Jake Howler asked you out? Like on a date?” She raises her voice.

“Haylee, what is the problem? I told him no to a date, but I agreed to have coffee with him. Why, do you like him or something?”

She spits a sip of water out of her mouth. “NO! I don’t like him. Jake and Nate are like brothers to me. It’s just…” She stops and stares at me.

“It’s just what?”

“It’s just. Jake doesn’t date. And the fact he asked you out means he must really like you.” She leans in and inhales.

“What is wrong with you, Haylee?” I pull away from her and sniff myself, thinking I must smell.

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry. I thought I caught a whiff of your perfume.”

“I’m not wearing any perfume.”

“Right. Sorry. It must have been that woman who just passed by. I think you should try to go out with him. He’s a great guy, Julia. I’ve been friends with him for as long as I can remember. In fact, we were pups—”

“Pups? That’s what he said, too. That’s kind of weird, right? It isn’t a term I would use when talking about kids.” It’s sort of weird to hear her say the same thing.

“Hah, sorry. It’s just a thing our parents used to say. We acted like a pack of wolves, so they started calling us pups.” Haylee looks down at her watch. “Okay, we should get back. Matt is probably wondering where we are right now.”

“Right.” I pick my wrapper and juice bottle up and walk it to the trash.

“Go out with him. Seriously. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t think you guys would be good together.”

We make our way back to the nurses’ station. “I agreed to have coffee with him after work today. He seems like a good guy, but I just finalized my divorce with Adam. I’m not looking for anything, not even dating. I want to focus on me for a while.”

Matt stands up from behind the desk and hands the phone to Haylee. “This guy has called three times in the last twenty minutes.” He rolls his eyes and hands her the phone.

“Hello?”

I watch my new friend’s eyes widen.

“Um. Yes. This isn’t a good time. Can I call you back?”

Haylee turns her back to me as she waits for a reply from her caller.

“Yes. I understand… No, I figured that out on my own… I’ll call you back.” She clicks the phone back into the cradle and pastes a smile on her face. “Sorry about that.”

“Is everything alright?” I ask.

“Yes. Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because you’re acting weird. Who was that?”

“Oh, um. It was Jake. He needed a favor, and I told him I would have to call him back later. No big deal.” She picks up a couple of patient charts and moves away from me. “I’ll be back after I check on Mr. Robles.”

“Okay.” I sit in the chair next to Matt. “It looks like it’s just you and me until she gets back,” I say to him.

He stands and pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Hey, do you mind holding down the fort for a few minutes? I’ll take my break now since you two are back.”

Matt doesn’t wait for me to reply and walks away in the cafeteria’s direction. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be here.” But he doesn’t hear me because he’s already down the hall and through the double doors.

The floor has been quiet all day. I don’t know if it’s the calm before the storm. But now that I have some time to myself, I think about Jake.

As much as I don’t want to date anyone, I am glad we are having coffee later. But I see nothing coming from it.

I have no intention of putting myself in a position to be hurt again. Adam changed me. I’ll never let a man do that to me again.