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He didn’t think it was possible, but the vampire lit up even more. “Yes, I am. I’ve loved science my entire life. Even prior to becoming a vampire. It’s one of the true benefits of immortality—so much time to study all the things. Are you a scientist too?”
Nolan quickly held up both hands. “No, not at all. A writer. But that tends to mean that I’ve studied a lot of different things for my books, and I’m always looking for new inspiration.”
At the bonfire, Bel showed them where some long tables had been set up while they were gone, and they were covered in aluminum trays and plastic bowls. There were three coolers filled with ice and drinks. There had to be enough food for at least a hundred people.
Sky stopped and stared toward the woods for a second and then looked back at the food. “How many shifters are here?”
“I think twenty showed up to help Moon this month,” Bel replied as he moved down the tables, making sure that everything was still covered and tidy.
“And they’ll eat all of this?” Sky gaped.
“Most. There might be a few leftovers, but someone will take them home and the food will be gone before lunch.”
Nolan grabbed a plate and loaded up on some fried chicken, biscuits, salad, and a variety of other things. It might not have been the Italian food Sky had planned, but it was solid comfort food. He shared a grin with Sky, who loaded up his plate just as heavily. Who would dare to pass up a free meal?
With their plates, they settled into lawn chairs next to the vampire and lost themselves to at least an hour of conversation about the habits of vampires, the various magic styles of witches, and the unique quirks that came with living with a pair of shifters. Nolan might not have had much to contribute to the conversation, but he absorbed everything, tucking it away for a later date. He was most definitely writing something paranormal when his calendar allowed it.
All three of them were lost to their fun talk and completely oblivious to the arrival of the wolves until two men stood on either side of Bel’s chair and looked at him expectantly with grins on their faces, as if they were quite accustomed to Bel being lost in his own world.
One of them cleared his throat and Bel’s head snapped up. He immediately leaped from his chair and pulled them into his arms. Wyatt, Nolan recognized, which meant the one who was the same height as Bel with lighter hair had to be River. Bel kissed them both deeply and then proceeded to coo and mother them, asking if they needed him to fix them plates or get them a drink.
“No, no. Go back to your conversation. You’re having fun. We can get our food.” Wyatt laughed.
“We just wanted you to know we’d returned,” River added. He squeezed Bel one last time and jogged off to the table for food.
“Wow. Seriously,” Sky said on an exhale when they were alone again. “Two mates? And both of them wolves? Just…wow.”
Nolan swallowed a chuckle and poked Sky in the stomach. He turned wide eyes on Nolan, his mouth bobbing silently up and down. “Not-not that I’m looking for two wolves. Or any wolves for that matter. I already found this perfect, adorable, grumpy human that I want to keep.”
“Nice save,” he teased.
Bel huffed a quiet giggle. “No, I get it. I never expected to find myself with two mates. To be honest, I was so wrapped up in my work and my family for nearly all my life that I never expected to find a mate at all, and I was fine with that.” The vampire paused and stared over at the table where Wyatt and River were standing side by side chatting and loading up their plates with other half-dressed wolves. Bel let out a dreamy sigh. “But then I met them, and my whole life changed. I can’t imagine living without them now.”
“I always heard that vampires and shifters are enemies. I’m guessing that rumor is not true,” Sky stated.
“There’s usually a nugget of truth in each rumor.” Bel relaxed in his chair again, stretching his long, slender legs out in front of him and crossing them at the ankle. “Most shifters and vampires don’t get along, but every group experiences some friction. My relationship with Wyatt and River is incredibly rare, but we do know of at least one other vampire-shifter pairing.”
“Love and happiness don’t care about race or species or the laws of magic. It just is,” Sky murmured. “If we fight it, we’re merely wasting our chance at happiness.”
“So very true,” Bel whispered, his voice nearly lost to the crackling of the fire.
Is that what he had a shot at with Sky? Love?
Yeah, he’d never thought to find something like that with a witch, let alone a necromancer. And while Sky’s life was infinitely more complicated than his own, the man also came with so much joy and compassion. Nolan already felt he’d lived more in one month than he had in years.
It was scary. Sky also represented uncertainty, change, and the possibility of things going so horribly wrong that the life he built for himself could be utterly destroyed.
But if this turned into love, the new life he found with Sky could be better than anything he created on his own.
“That gives me an interesting thought!” Bel suddenly announced. He waved his hands in front of his face. “Not about love and finding love in unexpected ways, but that you—a witch—are dating a human. In particular, a human who hasn’t had contact with the magical races until very recently.” Bel tipped his head to the side so he could stare directly at Nolan. “Would you be willing to give me a bit of your blood?”
“I beg your pardon,” Nolan choked out.
“Not to drink, of course. I’d never ask that of you after what you’ve already suffered.” Bel paused, a frown pulling his lips down. “Well, I wouldn’t ask unless I was truly desperate, but I doubt that would ever occur. No, I wish to take a vial or two of your blood for study. For science. Then assuming that you and Sky continued dating, I would need a second sample, say in six months. Maybe another after a year or two. I would like to do a comparison to see if a normal, non-magical human can absorb or even be genetically affected by continuous exposure to a magical creature.”
“You want my blood…for science?”
“Yes, I think it would be very informative.”
