Chapter 277

Grace

I got to my room and found Charles there, already dressed for bed. The rest of the house had retired. He beckoned me across the room. I climbed into bed.

"So?" I asked, gesturing vaguely towards the doorway. "The pendant, the tears?"

Charles offered me a gentle smile, a hint of amusement dancing in his emerald eyes. "After the ritual, Cecil and Richard have been communicating... Cecil's been having nightmares."

"I would have..."

Woken up usually. He pulled me close.

"She was nervous that you weren't waking up the way you usually did, but she took me as a consolation prize," Charles' lips twitched. "She told me that Devin never checked under her bed for monsters or stayed until she went to sleep."

He sighed, laying back and dragging me down with him.

"She said that she didn't ever feel like Devin would protect her.... And Richard all but promised to bite him."

"You're kidding."

"Richard is very protective of his elder sister."

"He can barely crawl!"

He laughed. "He's an alpha lycan, and Cecil is... likely going to be an omega."

I went still. "... like Amy?"

He nodded. "With any luck, she'll be sleeping easier. They both will. Anxiety that young is normal, especially given everything that's going on."

"... is it for sure she will be?"

"No. They both could change as they get older."

I sighed, cuddling up to him. "All this other stuff I have no idea how to navigate."

"You don't have to navigate it alone. That's what being mates, being committed, means."

I smiled and closed my eyes. "Could you sing to me? That song you were singing to Richard?"

"A lullaby?" Charles hummed and turned, drawing me closer.

I heard his voice, but the soothing rumble of his voice, pulled me into sleep long before I was able to make out the words. Our hearts beat in time, and I had never felt more at peace.

A week after the attack, the remnants of Wolfe Medical buzzed with a different kind of energy. My staff were scattered across the city. The labs were still going and it was time to announce the clinical trials and the opening of my labs for apprenticeship and coursework hours.

As soon as I put out the announcement that we were taking applications from students inside and outside of the States, applications flooded in.

We kept the selection process as public as possible without violating student privacy. Amira, Xavier, and I sat together, reviewing applications in my office at City Hall. The transparency was deliberate to tell Wolf's Bane I wasn't listening to their threats.

As we sifted through the applications, my hope grew. Each applicant felt like another ally. There were a few seasoned researchers, their resumes boasting years of experience, but most of them were bright-eyed students.

Once we got through the first round of interviews, we came up with a well-balanced list of Werewolf Academy students, apprentice healers and potioneers from the Clans and witch territories, and some pharmacy students from human territories.

"I'll make the calls to the Werewolf Academy students first," I said. "If you could... draft the contracts with legal and get the announcement underway?"

Xavier nodded. "I'll have it done by the time you're done with the calls."

Amira shuffled off to the legal floor.

My first call was a disaster I had no way of knowing that it would be.

"Hi, is this Daimon Keller?"

"Yes."

"His, this is Alpha Wolfe, I wanted to tell you that you've been selected to join the Moonlight Phoenix team."

"Really? That's awesome!"

I grinned. "Yes, I'd like you to come in and get your paperwork signed. You'll be signing a magical NDA--"

"A what?"

I blinked. "A magical NDA, to protect Wolfe Medical's--"

"I'm not signing a witch contract!" He hissed. "Are you crazy?"

I set my jaw. "It's a requirement to work on the project."

"Is that because you're letting witches work on the project, too?"

"No," I blinked. "It's because it's highly proprietary research, and magical NDAs are iron-clad."

He scoffed. "I'm not risking my life for a project. No thanks."

He hung up. I blinked at the receiver. Was he serious? I shook it off and hoped that it was a fluke, but it wasnt. If anything, the more Werewolf Academy students I spoke to, the more irritated I grew. If it wasn't the magical NDA and them thinking it was lethal, it was them thinking that they were too good to work alongside lycans, humans, or witches. Of the original 15 slots I had for the Werewolf Academy, two people had agreed to come sign the NDA and play nice.

I set my phone down and scoffed. When had my alma mater allowed so many idiots since I'd been an undergrad? Their loss. The lycans, humans, and witches had no problem.

Seraphina, Margaret and I met everyone who had signed on in the conference room at City Hall. The excitement was palpable as the new recruits filed in, a mix of nervous energy and eager anticipation. The two werewolves looked a little wary, but they didn't seem disgusted, so I'd take it.

"Thanks for coming," I said. "We have a long road ahead, filled with challenges and dangers. But together, we'll get Moonlight Phoenix on the market by the end of the year." I scanned the room. "We'll make sure you're all settled in Mooncrest before assigning you shifts and teams. For now, wander the city and have some fun."

I left the conference room and headed back to my office where Amira and Xavier were chatting, looking troubled.

"What now?" I asked.

Amira laughed. "You first. How'd it go?"

"No one sneered or flinched. I'm calling it a win. So, what's wrong?"

"Other than you being short thirteen people?" Xavier smiled. "When you really need at least fifty more for what you're trying to do."

"Budgetary concerns," I said. "And?"

"The imbalance in the hiring pool is going to piss some people off."

I groaned and plopped down. "I just can't win..."

But he was right. Moonlight Phoenix was for werewolves, I was running on a platform of cooperation, and I only had two werewolves on the project besides myself.

"We can call the runner-ups I guess?"

"You didn't like any of them enough."

"Fair."

Just as my shoulders slumped with a sigh, my phone buzzed in my pocket. An unfamiliar number flashed on the screen. With a shrug, I answered the call.

"Hello, this is Grace Wolfe speaking."

"Alpha Wolfe, or Doctor?"

I chuckled. "I'm not a doctor yet. Miss...."

"This is Principal Thompson from Westridge Academy."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Westridge was a prestigious high school in the States that specialized in putting kids on specific tracks.

I hadn't been able to get into Westridge either, though Eason had gone.

"The Westridge?"

She chuckled. "The one and the same."

"My brother graduated from Westridge. I remember stealing his robes because they were better than mine."

She laughed again. "Yes, Eason was a very bright student. I hope you aren't holding a grudge. Your rejection wasn't personal."

I rolled my eyes. "I've grown out of my resentment. How can I help?"

"Well, Eason reached out about the apprenticeship program at Wolfe Medical for Moonlight Phoenix," she began. "I understand that the deadline has passed and my students wouldn't exactly qualify, but I was wondering if you planned to open it again sometime in the future to high school students."

Fucking Eason... saving my ass again.

"Is it a matter of age?" I asked. "Are they unable to sign their own contracts?"

"Oh... there may be a few just under the age, but we have blanket rights to sign contracts for them on behalf of their parents in certain circumstances."

"What sort of experience in a lab do these students have?" I winced. "Honestly, when I didn't get in, I sort of erased my memory of Westridge's programs."

She chuckled. "Well, the students I had in mind come from our pharmaceutical program. They've all sat for their pharmacy exams and passed."

"How many students do you have that have passed and are available?"

"Thirty-seven."

My heart skipped a beat. It wasn't fifty, but it would cover my ass for PR. It was Westridge after all. I could play it off as if I just preferred the same type of students. I checked through my documents on the human students. They were all licensed pharmacists, fresh from the test.

This was exactly what we needed!

"Principal Thompson, they sound like a perfect fit. We'd be happy to review applications from your students."

"For this term?"

"Yes. All thirty seven of them."

"I'll get you their profiles within the hour."

"Excellent! Sent them directly to me."

I gave her my email address. After hanging up, I turned to Amira and Xavier.

"Westridge Academy!" I said. "Let's see them be pissed off about a bunch of Westridge grads, yeah?"

Amira's lips curled into a smile. "They'd have to swallow their tongues first."

"If only!"