19

VIENNA

I’m buzzing with nervous energy as I pull open the drawer of Nessa’s dresser- the second drawer down, the one she cleared out for me to keep my things. I didn’t come with much, so it all fits neatly inside, but every time I open this drawer, the white rectangular box sitting inside taunts me. It’s the phone Chase bought; the one that was left carelessly on the counter of the bar the day he jumped that customer at the lodge for touching me. I took it home with every intention of returning it to him, but he hasn’t been at the lodge in a few days and I haven’t had a good excuse to run into him anywhere else. Until today.

Today’s the first Thursday of the month, and since I’m still a member of the reserve squad, I need to report to the complex for our monthly brush-up on skills training. While Chase doesn’t devote much of his time to the squad, he’s still technically a squad leader- the other alphas brought him on board shortly before the war with the shadow pack. So, there’s a goo