All Chapters of Reject Me, Alpha Tate: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

Nicole's POVI walked through the library doors, my shoes making almost no sound on the heavy carpet. I passed two tall rows of bookshelves until I reached the back corner table.Marlon sat there alone. A stack of papers rested in front of him, untouched. He was leaning back slightly, favoring his right side to keep pressure off his ribs. His lip was split and swollen, and a dark purple bruise stretched along his jawline.He looked up as I stepped into the light of his table. The exhaustion behind his eyes was deep, built up from a sleepless night."Morning, Nic," he said softly, his voice a little thick around his swollen lip.I sat down in the wooden chair across from him, placing my warm coffee mug between us. I looked at his bruised face, my chest tightening."You didn't have to hold back," I said softly, tracing the rim of my cup."I know," Marlon said, keeping his voice steady."And you shouldn't have angered him," I added, looking straight into his tired eyes. "You pushed his b

Tate's POVThe walk up the corridor felt longer than the drive from South River.I stopped outside her door, running through every version of what I meant to say, before finally knocking.When Nicole opened the door, her eyes ran over the bruise on my jaw and the cut on my cheekbone. She didn't scold me. She just stood there, guarded."I tried to figure out the right words," I said, stepping forward. "I rewrote this conversation a hundred times, but none of it sounds right. So I’m just going to say it badly."Nicole crossed her arms. "Say it, then.""I came to say I'm sorry for hitting Marlon the other day," I said.Her jaw tightened. "I know you are. You took long enough to say it.""I'm sorry," I said. "I'm sure that's why you haven't picked up my calls.""I didn't pick up because I was tired. Imagine two grown men fighting in a research lab," she said, her voice turning cold. "He protected me and the twins for years while you were sitting in the South River. You had no right to lay

Nicole's POVI was leaning over my light table, checking three different brain scans against the raw trial log. The hum of the lab's air filter filled the quiet room. My pen was halfway across a note line when a pair of black boots stopped beside my desk.The directorship courier dropped a thick manila folder onto my paperwork. He kept his chin tucked down, staring strictly at the wall clock behind me."Dr. N. Carter?" he asked."Yes," I said, setting my pen down. "Is this the morning data report from the lab?""No, Dr. Carter," the courier said, stepping back toward the open door immediately. "Directorship protocol. You have to sign the log for it.""Right." I picked up my pen, scribbled my signature on his clipboard, and watched him turn on his heel and speed down the hallway.I flipped open the cover sheet. Sharp, slanted letters filled the top line. I stood there in my heavy winter coat, reading the header aloud under my breath.FORMAL COMPLAINT: CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND PROFESSIO

Tate's POVThe gravel crunched under my boots as I stopped three paces from the stone bottom step of building four. Damp fog clung to the coat hooks near the entryway.The door latch clicked as Nicole stepped out onto the porch, her green wool scarf wrapped twice around her neck. She held Maple by his left hand. Rosy carried a faded blue cloth dog under her arm, her yellow boots stomping onto the top step.Nicole stopped. Her fingers tightened slightly on Maple’s coat sleeve."You're here," Nicole said. Her voice was flat, holding no shock."I am." I crouched down on the gravel, the damp cold soaking through the knee of my trousers. Rosy immediately broke away from Nicole’s side, her short legs moving fast as she trotted straight over to me. She pushed two small, cool fingers into my open palm. "I thought I'd walk with you. If that's alright."Maple pulled his hand out of Nicole's grip and stepped closer to the edge of the stone step. He narrowed his brown eyes, tilting his head to on

Nicole's POVThe email came in at 5:47 in the morning, and I almost didn't open it right away. I'd learned, over years of trial data, that dawn emails were either miracles or ruin. I brewed coffee, set the hot ceramic mug on the kitchen table, and sat down in my sleep-shirt to open the independent review team's statistical report.My hand shook as my eyes scanned the screen:Subject A (Ashford, D.): Near-complete reversal of mate-bond severance damage.Subject C (Parkville, A.): Near-complete reversal exceeding projected outcomes.Subject B (Caesar, T.): Degradation fully arrested as of week thirty-one, reversal proceeding.I pressed my palm over my mouth, tears blurring the pale blue light of the laptop. Down the hall, a floorboard creaked. The drag of a heavy blanket along the floor drew my attention to the kitchen doorway.Maple dragged his yellow blanket into the kitchen, his dark hair sticking up on one side. He squinted his sleep-clouded eyes at me."Why are you leaking?" he as