As her face approaches mine, my heart thunders. When she has her makeup done, she’s unquestionably pretty. But with a bare face, she’shot. It brings out the square edge of her jaw, the firm set of her brow, the electric glow of those eyes. How had I not noticed before?
Her lips are so close…
She plucks the prescription bottle from my hand and stands.
I scramble up to my feet. “Hey, give me that!” I grip her wrist, trying to pull it down—but she lifts my whole weight as she raises the bottle further out of reach.
Christine’s brow furrows as she reads the label, and her glare falls to me.
I shrink back instinctively, dropping to the ground.
She shakes the bottle. “Not only are you still taking these, you’re takingextra doses, aren’t you?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“You have, in fact, made itdirectlymy business.”
“Give it back.” I make a futile jump for the pill bottle.
“I don’t know if I should. The longer you keep taking these, the worse it’s going to be.”
I whirl my glare from the pill bottle to her face. “Oh, so first you know all about heats, and now you know about suppressants? Wait…” I give a bitter, incredulous laugh as I fold my arms. “Have you been talking to your doctor friend about me? You know that’s illegal, right? You have no shame…”
Christine’s look of hurt and confusion is so convincing, I hesitate.
“I wouldn’t do that,” she says quietly. “It’s… you saw my friend Morgan. She had a… a bad reaction to taking suppressants for too long. I just… I wouldn’t want you to go through that, too.” She lowers her hand and offers me the pill bottle. “It’s up to you, obviously. Just… if the doc says to stop taking them, maybe take it seriously.”
I take the bottle, kind of feeling like an ass. “Thanks, I guess. Sorry about your friend. I’m fine, though.” To prove my point, I tap a pill into my palm, then knock it back. “Let’s get to work?—”
A violent wave of nausea and pain surges through my body, and I double over.
“Mylo—” Christine gently reaches down and straightens me, pulling me against her chest.
Her scent soothes my frayed nerves, and I let her wrap her arms around me, reluctant to admit how comforting that pressure is.
When I can breathe normally again, Christine loosens her grip.
“Mylo, it’s obviously hurting you…”
“How the fuck else am I going to make it through the end of filming?” I hiss. “If you have anygeniusideas, I’m all ears.”
Christine takes a breath to say something, then sighs.
“If I need to be fine, then I’m fine,” I say, bitterness edging into my voice. “Don’t overthink it. Some of us are used to not getting what we want.”
She scoffs. “Youreallythink I get everything I want?”
I gesture at the new motorcycle. “Uh, yeah! Kinda looks like it!”
“If you hadanyidea of the morning I’ve had?—”
“Then I’d haveyet anotherreason to wish I’d been born an alpha. So don’t mind me if I’m totally disinterested in your Freaky Friday proposal.”
Christine goes cold. “You have a chip on your shoulder the size of a mountain.”
Fury boils under my skin. “Do you know of asingleom—” I catch myself and drop my volume. “A single personlike mein this industry?!”
She’s quiet for a moment. “No.”
