“I got it from here,” I laugh, tucking my hand around Wyatt’s arm.
He’s so tense that his muscles are tight and his arm trembles when I touch him. Hayden and Remy said it was hard to maintain their Third Form around me. Wyatt seems to be having the same struggle. I’ll alleviate it for him, once we’re alone. There’s no need for disguises around me.
Wyatt leads me down the hallway and he grabs a set of keys before we step into the garage. He goes to the passenger side of the SUV and opens my door. He seems more gentlemanly than his brothers, but it could just be for my temporary benefit. There’s still a hungry wolf in there somewhere, even if he’s contained at the moment.
“Thank you,” I say getting into the car. He makes sure I’m situated before gently pushing the door closed until it latches. Once he’s seated beside me, I turn to him. “We don’t really have to go anywhere. I can tell your struggling and would rather be in your true Human Form right now.”
“It’s difficult, but I promised you a date, and I keep my promises,” he says gently. “How do you feel about museums?”
“I can’t say I’ve been to many,” I admit. “My grandparents took me to one in the city with fossils when I was a little girl, but that was only because I was obsessed with them at that age.”
“Fossils? Really?” Wyatt murmurs. “A part of history, almost perfectly preserved.”
“Yeah, I always thought they were interesting,” I say, looking out the window as the SUV pulls out of the garage. “But eventually I got too old to care about all of that.”
“I don’t think anyone ever gets too old to appreciate history,” Wyatt chuckles.
“Depends on your priorities. My grandfather sat me down one day and told me it was time to focus on school. Getting good grades. Making something of myself,” I explain. “It was a pretty serious lecture, one of the earliest ones I can still remember, but I took it to heart.”
“Were you raised by your grandparents?” Wyatt questions.
“I was, yes. My mom got sick and died when I was little. I barely remember her. I just remember how sad I was after she was gone,” I admit, then I start to tear up. “I never knew my father. I asked my grandparents about him once, but they claimed they didn’t know who he was either. He’s not on my birth certificate.”
“That had to be tough,” Wyatt replies, his voice still gentle and calm. He reaches over and squeezes my hand. “But you had people who loved and took care of you.”
“Yeah, and then I had Daisy,” I say, blinking away the tears. “Her mom pretty much adopted me, too. Once I got older, I spent more time at Daisy’s house than mine. I still took my grandfather’s advice to heart, though. I focused on school, got good grades, and went to college on a scholarship. Then I got a job at York Financial.”
“York Financial? Good company, from what I’ve heard. Storm used to work there, before he started managing our finances full-time,” Wyatt says. “Is that… lady still around? The Ice Queen?”
“Storm… your brother? He used to work for Ms. Frost?” My eyes widen. “She’s my boss! Well, not my direct boss. She’s the CEO.”
“Storm handles our finances,” he says. “I don’t understand it as well as I probably should, but he seems to know what he’s doing.”
“Considering how many safehouses you have, he must be pretty good at it,” I admit.
“Hayden’s doing. He always prepares for worst-case scenarios. We already lived through one, and he sees it as his responsibility to ensure we’re ready if something like that ever happens again,” his voice holds a sadness I hope to understand better someday.
“And what do you do?” I ask, a little curious about my date.
“I help out where I’m needed. Sometimes Remy likes me to go with him when he does reconnaissance missions because I can pick up scents better than my brothers. Sometimes I help Storm with surveillance. And I take care of Jaxton,” he says. “He’s had it rough and tends to keep to himself unless the pack needs him for something.”
“It sounds like you do a lot for your brothers… for the pack,” I say. “But that can’t take up all of your time.”
“No, my brothers always say I’m a scholar. I don’t know if that’s true,” he says. “But I enjoy preserving our history. Translating old texts and scrolls. There’s so much we don’t know about ourselves, much less other Scions. You’re certainly a mystery, for example.”
“Even to myself,” I laugh. “All this took me by complete surprise.”
“You never felt like you were different? Before you started having visions?” Wyatt asks, turning the SUV into the parking lot for the Chicago Museum of Natural History.
“Not really,” I say, shrugging a shoulder. “I mean, Daisy used to always say everyone liked me. I guess that’s true, but it’s hardly the same as having a vision or premonition about where my best friend was being held captive by vampires.”
“Maybe it’s your natural charisma,” Wyatt jokes, pulling the SUV into a parking space. “You’re certainly driving my brothers crazy.”
“And you?” I ask, glancing over at him, feeling a slight flutter in my stomach.
“I’m not crazy yet,” he chuckles, meeting my gaze. “But I’m getting there.”
We stare for a moment that lasts for so long, I’m almost certain he’s going to kiss me. Certain that I want him to. But then he turns away and opens his door. I squirm in my seat, feeling the familiar tingles of arousal.
