The smallest whisper of noise had both of them pulling apart to see Bel standing at the bottom of the stairs, wearing a comfortable pair of pale-blue pajama bottoms and a dark-blue T-shirt. He looked unsure and was even starting to turn toward the stairs.
“Are you ready for the movie?” River asked, letting his earlier joy flow into his voice. Tonight had been about making steps forward, and he wanted to celebrate that and not think about the past.
“If you’d rather…just you and Wyatt…” Bel said with a wave of his hand toward the couch.
“Nope!” River climbed off Wyatt’s lap and quickly crossed the room to grab Bel’s hand. He half dragged the vampire over to the couch while he instructed Wyatt to set up the movie on Bel’s giant TV.
When Bel moved toward the single chair, River pulled him over and forced him to take the seat in the center of the couch close enough to Wyatt that they were touching from hip to knee. Bel flashed Wyatt an awkward grin, and Wyatt warmly smiled while stretching his arm across the back of the sofa behind Bel’s head. River immediately snuggled in on the other side, resting his head on Bel’s shoulder.
River released a happy sigh. “Pizza should be here in about thirty minutes, but I figured we could at least start the movie. If it’s good, we can totally cram in the sequel tonight.”
“Okay,” Bel said softly. He was stiff under River as if he wasn’t sure about their arrangement. “Is this…is this what you meant by a puppy pile? Us sitting close?”
“Yeah.” River tilted his head up so he could see Bel’s eyes. “Is this okay? Are you comfortable?”
Bel’s gaze darted over to Wyatt and back to River. His smile returned, and River could feel him relax against him. He shifted for a second; then his arm wrapped around River’s shoulders, pulling him in closer while he leaned a little more on Wyatt. “This is perfect,” Bel said on a sigh.
The movie started, but River’s mind was only partially paying attention to the action on the screen. He was too aware of the warmth of Bel’s body, the mingling scents of Bel and Wyatt, the sense of peace that came from having a place where he finally felt safe. Maybe this could be home.
8
Wyatt looked up from the computer screen in front of him and at the vampire who was currently looking into a microscope while lightly clutching a pen in his left hand. He and River had been living with Bel for just over a month, and he couldn’t believe how happy he was. Never had he expected life to take this strange and wonderfully unexpected turn.
When he’d been young, he had dreams of becoming a doctor. He wanted to help people, not that he would have gotten a lot of work among his kind. Werewolves healed too quickly on their own and couldn’t catch the flu or even a cold. But he’d always been fascinated by the complexities of the human body.
And now he was working in an actual laboratory beside a man who had devoted his very long existence to science. In his study, one wall was lined with framed diplomas from an assortment of schools, where Bel had taken night classes and graduated. It might not be his dream exactly, but Wyatt was just giddy to enjoy even this small taste of it all.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that Bel was proving to be an incredibly patient teacher and companion. He showed no frustration at Wyatt’s seemingly endless supply of questions and even kept a running list of books and resources to acquire for Wyatt to help in his quest for more knowledge.
Lifting his face from where he’d been peering through the lenses of the microscope, Bel blinked a couple of times as if trying to get his eyes to readjust to his surroundings. “I can feel you smiling.”
Wyatt huffed a laugh. “Would you like me to stop?”
Bel grinned at him, turning his gaze on Wyatt. There was answering laughter in his bright blue eyes. “Of course not. It’s just interesting how clear the emotion comes through. It’s as if you and River have your own pathway through my brain. Definitely more similar now to how I can feel Rafe than to how I can feel the thoughts and emotions of the animals.” Bel paused and made a little sound in his throat as he pulled a small notebook out of his pocket.
Wyatt loved that notebook. Bel kept it with him at all times and wrote down thoughts that occurred to him throughout the day. Each morning before he turned in, Bel would transfer those thoughts into various journals and computer programs for him to pursue later. Wyatt was sure he and River filled those pages now.
“You’re saying your sense of us has changed?”
Bel nodded. “I’ve never had that happen.”
“Well, we have been staying with you for a month. Extended exposure to us could have affected you.”
Bel’s head cocked a little to the side, and his smile grew. “Has it really been a month already?”
“A month yesterday, actually.”
The vampire returned to his little notebook, made another note, and shoved it into his pocket. “Then I think this makes for the perfect occasion.” Bel pushed to his feet and walked over to one of the cabinets, where he pulled out what looked to be a dark-blue shirt box with a silver ribbon.
“What’s that?”
Bel returned to the table, placed the box in front of Wyatt, then moved to his own stool. “Just a small gift to make your working in my lab official.”
“Bel, you shouldn’t have. You’ve already given River and me so much.”
The vampire waved a dismissive hand at the comment. “Merely necessities of life, though I believe this also falls into that category. Go ahead, open it!”
Tamping down the strange swirl of nerves and excitement building in his chest, Wyatt slid off the slender ribbon and lifted the lid. His eyes fell on a white lab coat that looked identical to the one that Bel was wearing, and his breath caught in the back of his throat.
“I’m sorry it took so long to arrive,” Bel murmured softly. “I attempted to handle it myself, and that was a terrible mistake. I tried to order it from the tailor since they already had your measurements, but they hadn’t a clue as to what I was talking about when I said I needed a lab coat. I had to hand the whole mess over to Carl.”
Only about half of that registered in Wyatt’s brain. With trembling fingers, he carefully lifted the jacket from the box. It was simple but well made—he could tell the material was sturdy. And it was easily the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“Do you like it?” Bel asked, a slight waver in his voice.
Wyatt reverently returned the coat to its box, launched himself off his seat, and snatched up Bel in a tight hug, earning a surprised squeak from the vampire. “It’s perfect. Thank you. Thank you so much,” Wyatt said, burying his face in Bel’s silky hair as he tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. His eyes burned with unshed tears, but he didn’t care. He needed to hold Bel.
Strong arms wrapped around him, holding him so tight. “I’m glad to. You deserve this, Wyatt. Never question that. You deserve to be happy and to have the life you dreamed of.”
Wyatt’s heart expanded in his chest, and his breath caught again. No one had ever said such things to him. Only River had cared to ask what he wanted to do with his life, what his dreams were. But they hadn’t been in a position to pursue any of those dreams. Bel was actively attempting to remove barriers and put him on that path again.