Page 7 of Chosen Beta

So, I move back, leaving the bathroom, closing the door over only partially, and darting back to the door that leads back out to the corridor.

Nurse Levinson is standing there, wide-eyed and awaiting instruction.

“You can come in and get the cart,” I tell her quietly.

She nods, moving toward me.

I open the door wider, allowing her access to the room.

She steps inside and rushes over to the trolley.

“Leave the meds meant for this patient on her nightstand,” I instruct. “And before you go back to your rounds, I need you to go and ask Ms. Cole to contact a psychologist.”

“Ms. Cole?” she asks, as if she’s not sure who I’m talking about.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to me by now that not everyone working this ward knows who’s in charge of the academy. A lot of the medical staff were brought in via the Alpha Alliance or by a personal connection to someone already working here. They only deal with their direct supervisors, and I doubt anyone else has had the head of administration on their mind anywhere close to as often as I have.

“Lana Cole is the head of Goldcrest. She was in the staff break room a few minutes ago, but she should be back in her office if she’s not still there. It’s to the left when you enter the building through the main entrance.”

“Oh,” she murmurs, nodding. “Sure.”

I move over to stand in front of the partially open bathroom door while Levinson follows my instructions and starts putting the patient’s medication on her nightstand.

Jane Doe will be looking at my back right now, while she tries to decide on her next move.

It’s a little worrying that she has a weapon, but I don’t think she’ll attack me.

Even if she does, I would be more worried about her breaking a bone than I would about the kind of shallow wound that sharpened piece of plastic could open in my skin.

Once Nurse Levinson has left the room and closed the door behind her, I turn around to find out Jane Doe has been watching me from her spot by the side of the shower, weapon still in her hand, still held firmly and ready to be used.

This woman sees me as the enemy right now.

Considering what she’s been through, I don’t blame her one little bit.

Chapter Three

Lana

Cleaning up the mess I’ve made on the floor only takes a few seconds, but I double check to make sure the floor is completely dry before I rinse out the towel and put it into the laundry bin by the side of the refrigerator.

That done, I take my time washing my hands. It’s a weirdly relaxing activity that I’m usually in too much of a rush to enjoy. Bumping into Ezra Clarke has put me in the mood to daydream. I’m thinking about him as I’m rinsing the suds off my fingers, thoughts drifting back to the way he was looking at me before he had to leave.

Making believe he’s into me gives me flutters in my stomach.

Unfortunately, the reality is devastating, and it always invades my little fantasies.

Ezra is an Alpha, and he’s much too attractive not to already have a mate, or a hook-up, or whatever he wants to call the person or people he’s intimate with.

I don’t know why I keep crushing on people who are so far out of my league.

I’m already seriously into an Omega who found her pack before we could get together.

Brooke still flirts by text and tries to get me to agree to a coffee date, but I know that’s just out of sympathy, and I don’t think I’m strong enough to just be friends with someone I’m so hot for.

It makes me sad to keep saying no to her advances, but I know she’ll only break my heart.

I turn off the faucet and grab a fresh towel from the drawer.