“Ozzie was one of them?”
Bel nodded. “After he and his companions completed their task, I thanked them with a sandwich I’d purchased at a gas station. But he wasn’t interested in the sandwich. He seemed to be more curious that I could understand him. I think he was lonely.”
“You talked…to a bird?”
Bel’s smile turned a bit sheepish, and River couldn’t deny that there was something sort of adorable about the vampire’s embarrassment.
“Ravens are among the smartest animals on the planet. After I fed, he followed me as I walked home, flitting from tree branch to tree branch. It wasn’t much of a conversation at first, just showing me places he liked to hunt for food. Sadly, it took me another few nights to realize he was giving me advice on good hunting grounds.”
River leaned his hip against the nearest table and chuckled. “He was being a good neighbor. Helping out the newcomer.”
“Exactly.” Bel shrugged. “As time passed, he kept coming back to me. Our conversations became more complicated as our communications skills evolved.”
“He followed you from South Carolina to Connecticut?”
Bel blushed and looked away from River. “I will admit…that’s the one time I’ve put him in a cage. We discussed it thoroughly beforehand, and he agreed it was for his own safety. I flew from South Carolina and I brought him on the chartered jet with me. We were worried about his safety over such a long flight, and he was worried about my safety since we’d be separated for so long if he flew on his own. When I moved in here, I set up a large birdhouse near mine for him, but he knows he doesn’t have to use it if he doesn’t want to. He also knows that he can leave me at any time.”
“But he won’t,” River said softly, speaking mostly to himself. And he got it. Why would he leave? Bel was his friend. The vampire didn’t treat the raven like a pet, but as a respected friend, giving him both safe boundaries and kindness.
“Probably not. Ozzie has a well-developed sense of humor, and he finds my family very entertaining.”
River shook his head and grinned at the floor. Bel had the most interesting view of the world. And for the first time since he and Wyatt had been kicked out of their pack, River enjoyed a small taste of hope.
Bel wasn’t Brett. River wasn’t entirely sure who Bel was, but River knew he wasn’t like his past.
And it was all thanks to Ozzie.
“Have you always been interested in science?” River asked suddenly. He needed to know everything about this man. Was there some secret that would prove he was hiding a darker side? Or was he the protector they’d been looking for?
“Oh, yes! I love science. I think I’ve studied a little bit of everything over the years. I enjoy learning how things work and why things in nature are the way they are. What about you?”
“Science? Oh, God no.” River shuddered. “Never really cared for it. Wyatt enjoys biology. He had plans of becoming a doctor. Me? I guess I’ve always been afraid of being discovered by humans as a werewolf and getting dissected.”
Some vampires had the benefit of having the ability to fuck with human brains. They could wipe memories so they didn’t realize they’d just donated a pint of blood or saw a vampire do something freaky.
River had never heard of a single werewolf having that ability. If a human discovered someone was a werewolf, more often than not, the human had to be killed. It sucked, but it was dangerous if they were discovered. Humans vastly outnumbered werewolves. If people found out they were real, River was sure they’d all be rounded up and placed in cages or zoos so they could be studied.
“I won’t allow it.” Bel closed the short distance between them and wrapped his slender fingers around River’s bicep. “It’s never going to happen. No one is going to harm you or Wyatt. I won’t allow it.”
Every muscle in River’s body froze. He didn’t feel threatened by Bel’s touch and closeness. No, everything within him was longing to lean forward and bury his face in Bel’s throat, to cuddle close and let Bel wrap his warmth and vanilla scent around him. There was something so unexpectedly strong about Bel. Every little motion, smile, and blush left River thinking that the scientist was just a sweet, strange man.
There was also hidden steel within him. He was the man who’d killed another vampire to protect his brother. There was a deeper protective instinct within Bel that called to River.
Now that he let himself think about it, so much of Bel called to him and had since last night. If he’d thought the vampire meant him or Wyatt harm, would he have been able to sleep so soundly, even with Wyatt there to watch over him? No.