“Wow,” she said, looking around. “This place is amazing.” She walked from station to station, and everything appeared to be in working order. Even the computers beeped and chirped.
“I’m impressed that everything is still working,” Wyatt said. “Their solar panels and backup generators must be some serious shit.”
“Yeah, I’m sure they are,” Juno said. “The guys who ran this place were pretty extreme. They wanted to basically rule the world through science.”
“So what are you going to do?” Wyatt asked. “Magically turn all of this shit into some sort of cure for bear flu?”
Juno frowned. “Well, I’m hoping that they’ve already done some research on this. I need to find the room where it would be. Can you log me into this computer? It’s asking for a passcode.”
“Sure,” Wyatt said. He leaned over Juno and punched the numbers in. When he touched her, she felt another thrill run up and down her spine. She did her best to ignore how good Wyatt smelled. He breathed fire and still smelled fresh like the woods or something. Juno was impressed.
After a moment, Wyatt had logged Juno into the computer. She browsed through the files and pretty easily found a map of the premises She located what appeared to be a virus lab and tried to memorize the pathway there in her head.
“That’s where we want to go,” she said. “I’ll bet that’s where the research for this kind of thing would take place. It’s kind of complicated to get there, though. Looks like several different hallways we have to go down.”
Wyatt leaned over her shoulder again and looked at the map on the screen for a few moments. He blinked his eyes a few times, and then nodded.
“Alright,” he said. “Got it. Let’s go.” Then he started walking off.
“Wait,” Juno said. “Are you sure that’s the way?”
“Yup,” Wyatt said without turning around. “I’m good at memorizing directions. I can get us there easily.”
Juno followed after him, almost running to keep up with his pace. He walked confidently, never wavering or second-guessing where he was going. Sure enough, a few minutes later they were standing in front of a giant door that said “Virus and Contagious Disease Headquarters.” After plugging a few numbers into the keypad outside the door, they were in. Wyatt pushed the door open, and they were immediately greeted by an awful stench.
“What is that?” Juno asked, her stomach turning.
“Uh-oh,” Wyatt said. “I don’t think you want to see this.”
“See what?” Juno asked, trying to look around his shoulders. Wyatt tried to hold her back, but he was too slow. Juno immediately wished that she hadn’t been so curious. At the front of the lab were several cages full of rats and rabbits—test subjects, probably, but they were all dead due to being abandoned and unfed.
“Oh my god,” Juno said. “That’s awful. Those poor creatures.”
“Yeah,” Wyatt said, his voice quiet and angry. “I can’t believe they just left them here to die of starvation. Go on. Go look for whatever it is you need. I’m going to take care of cleaning these cages out.”
“No,” Juno said. “I don’t want to leave that to you. I’ll help.”
“It’s okay,” Wyatt said. “Go. It’s not going to be a fun job, and I’d rather you didn’t have to deal with it, okay?”
Juno couldn’t help but notice the tone of concern in his voice, and it melted her heart a little bit. Maybe he was obnoxious and a bit cocky, but he also seemed to genuinely care. If she wasn’t careful she was going to develop a little crush on him. She frowned as she nodded and walked away, heading towards the other side of the lab where more doors led to more parts of the virus and contagious disease department. The last thing she needed was to fall in love. She had too much other important stuff to worry about. Besides, even if she was a unique bear as a panda, what would a rare dragon like him ever see in a lowly bear shifter? He might be a nice guy, but that didn’t mean he was going to settle for a bear.
Juno jutted her chin out stubbornly and determined not to think about Wyatt.
Chapter Five
Wyatt somberly pulled his clothes back on as he surveyed the smoldering pile in front of him. He’d taken all of the dead animals from the lab and piled them in what he hoped he had hoped was a fire safe area. Then he shifted into a dragon and essentially cremated them. It hadn’t been pleasant, but hopefully this was some sort of a dignified ending for the animals. Now, back in human form, he could feel his ears burning with anger. Full humans were a funny breed. Sure, some of them were okay—he had to admit that Juno was right about that. But there were a lot of them that were so uncaring and so entitled. They wanted to rant and rave about how dangerous shifters were, and yet they were the dangerous ones. They were the ones who treated living things with a complete lack of respect.
Wyatt kicked the wall in anger and forced himself to take a couple deep breaths. There was no point in letting his rage get the best of him. After all, the human race was pretty much on its way out. Maybe it was the universe’s way of paying them back for their many transgressions. Wyatt admired Juno’s determination to find a way to save the humans. She was right, of course. The decent human beings didn’t deserve to die just because so many others had treated shifters with contempt. Still, it was pretty selfless of someone being hunted by humans to be so determined to find a way to save them. Wyatt walked back into the area of the lab where Juno was, and smiled. She was flitting excitedly from one spot to another. When she saw him she let out a little clap, which made her look adorably like an excited child who had just been told she would be getting ice cream.
“There’s so much stuff here,” Juno said. “Everything I need! There are all these notes about all this research that they did on the virus. They did a bunch of tests! There are even vials of the bear flu virus here. They tested some potential medicines on bats and bunnies, and they thought that the medicines were effective. But the problem is that animals don’t seem to actually be affected by the bear flu. Which is funny, since it’s called the bear flu.”
Juno laughed, and Wyatt couldn’t help but smile at the way her eyes sparkled when she was happy.
“So, essentially, all of their work on testing these medicines was for nothing,” Juno said. “But they have some good information about how the virus behaves, and where it attacks the body.
She continued to explain, but Wyatt lost her a little bit. She was spouting off a bunch of medical and scientific jargon that he didn’t quite understand, but the gist of it seemed to be that she had found a lot of information that she thought would help her develop a cure quickly.
“We just need shifter blood,” she said. “And luckily I have plenty of it running through my veins.”
Wyatt frowned. “Well, how much do you need? Even though you have some running through your veins, you can’t just constantly be giving blood.”
“Yeah, not that much,” Juno said. “I just need little bits to test stuff.”
She seemed to be barely listening to him as she pored over the computer screen in front of her.
“Well, let me know if you need help. You can use my blood, too,” he said. “And I have plenty of shifter acquaintances. I’m sure I can find people to help you.”
Juno nodded, but already seemed worlds away. Wyatt felt a little out of place, and it only got worse when she donned a white lab coat that she found hanging in a closet. She looked professional and in control, and he felt a little awkward standing in the middle of the lab. It wasn’t that he was a dumb person, but he was not comfortable in this environment. He felt like he was going to knock something over, or make something explode. That’s what he had done in chemistry class during high school. Although, to be fair, that’s because he had accidentally breathed fire onto the experiment, and, well, let’s just say that wasn’t a smart idea.
Wyatt felt awkward and he hated feeling awkward. It was an unusual feeling for him. Usually, he was in control, the noble dragon. He played that part well. The part o
f awkward sidekick to the scientist was a little outside of his comfort zone. Without a word, he inched toward the door. Juno didn’t seem to notice him go. She was already wrapped up in whatever it was she was doing. Wyatt made his way back to the main lobby, but he didn’t leave. He could have, sure. There was no reason for him to stay. Juno had wanted to get into the lab, and now she was in. There wasn’t much left for him to do. Still, he decided to stay. He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her behind. Something about her pulled at his heartstrings and made him ache in a way he never had before. Was this what people meant when they talked about love? He’d never been the kind to worry about love or seek it out. He liked his independence. As a dragon, he naturally tended to be a little bit on the cocky side, but here he was sitting in a lab and waiting for a woman for no reason.
There was nothing left for him to do here, but still he stayed. Maybe she would need more shifter blood. That was as good an excuse as any, so he plopped himself down on one of the desk chairs. The chair immediately warmed, and he smiled. It had been a while since he sat in a computerized chair that actually worked. Chairs like this had been pretty much standard in offices around the city before the bear flu. Everything had become so computerized that even the chairs you sat in would adjust their temperature to warm you or cool you, depending on the temperature. Even though he was a tough guy, Wyatt had to admit that he did enjoy the luxury of a nice, warm chair. He leaned back and closed his eyes, and before he knew it he was asleep.
Several hours later, he woke with a start. Someone was shaking him. He jumped up and looked around frantically, immediately on alert and ready for a fight. It had been a while since he’d been woken up by anyone, and it took him a few moments to remember where he was. As Juno came into focus and he rubbed away the sleep from his eyes and smiled despite himself. She was so goddamn beautiful. Her eyes were green like emeralds. Her skin was smooth, silky and glowing. Her hair was dark and shiny, and he wondered how long it was. Right now, it was pulled up into a tight bun on the top of her head—a no-nonsense hairstyle. She seemed like a no-nonsense kind of person, and he liked that. He didn’t like it when people played games.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Juno said. “It went okay. I think that there’s a lot of good information here. I hope I can do this quickly, but I really need to get something to eat, and I left my backpack out here. It’s got meal replacement bars in it. I thought since I was here I might check on you and see if you wanted one, too.”
Wyatt wrinkled his nose. “That’s what you’ve been eating? he asked taking the bar Juno was offering in her outstretched hands.
Juno shrugged. “Yeah, well, there don’t seem to be too many restaurant options around. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re all looking a little run down these days.”
Wyatt rolled his eyes. “Smart ass,” he said. “Anyway, you need a break. You’ve been working a long time.”
He looked at his watch and gasped. “A really long time! It’s past seven p.m. You call this lunch?”
Juno shrugged again. “Yeah, I guess it’s a little more like dinner. But I got really wrapped up in what I was doing. I feel like I’m making good progress. There’s just still so much to do.”
“Yeah, I totally get it. Testing shit and calculating shit and science-ing everything up,” Wyatt said, raising an eyebrow. “I have to admit, it’s not exactly my forte.”
Juno smiled. “That’s okay. Your forte seems to be sneaking into places, which I will say has been a tremendous contribution to this mission.”
Wyatt smiled. “Well I have another trick up my sleeve which involves eating something besides meal replacement bars. You interested?”
Juno smiled. “Yes. Very interested.”
“Good. Then take a break and come with me. I’ll show you my dragon’s lair.”
Wyatt hopped up and headed for the door, and Juno followed him with a grin. Wyatt grinned back. He was going to show her where he stayed. He wasn’t kidding when he said it was his lair. This was a big step for him, because he hadn’t showed anyone his secret hideout before. But he wanted to spend as much time with Juno as he could, and he had a feeling that what he was about to show her would impress her. For the first time in his life, he actually cared about impressing a girl.
Get it together, dragon, he said to himself as they made their way toward the hallway. She’s here to work, and you’re a loner, remember? There’s no sense in falling in love. It’ll only make you weak, and this is a survivor’s world right now.
Still, he told himself, there was no harm in having a little fun. As soon as he made it back out to the lobby, he winked at Juno. Then he shifted into dragon form without even bothering to change out of his clothes. He would sacrifice a pair of sweatpants for the dramatic effect, and he wasn’t disappointed. Juno fell backwards from the force of his shift, and then looked up at him with a grin, shaking her head.
“You rascal,” she said. He turned his dragon lips up with a smile, and then gestured with his head towards his back.
“You want me to hop on?” Juno asked, her eyes widening. He nodded yes, and she stood slowly and stepped toward him. She ran her fingers gingerly across his scales.
“They’re so hard,” she said. “Like armor. And so beautiful, too. The colors on them are just amazing.”
Wyatt waited as she traced her hand across his back and then across his wings, and finally down his long tail, stopping to observe the spikes at the end of it. It gave him a lot of satisfaction to see her so impressed by his dragon, and his chest puffed out a little bit with pride.
“Alright,” Juno said. “I’ll hop on, but don’t do any crazy dragon maneuvers or anything. I can’t fall off and die. The world is waiting for me to save them, remember?”
Wyatt smiled again, and let out a snort as Juno climbed onto his back. He took off running through the front door, then launched up into the sky, his powerful wings flapping as they rose high above the city of Chicago together. His heart pounded with joy as he heard the sound of Juno squealing in delight. He knew he was falling for her. He knew he wanted her. And he knew he shouldn’t be doing this. He was playing with fire, but he was a dragon, after all.
Playing with fire was his specialty.
Chapter Six
Wyatt knew that if there was one thing dragons were good at it, it was showing off. Humility had never been his strong point, nor the strong point of any other dragon he’d ever known. And nothing made you want to show off more than having a pretty girl on your back. He flew high, swooping up and down, and pushing the edge of what he thought Juno would be comfortable with—just so he could give her a thrill. She screeched, squealed, laughed, and held on tighter as he circled above Chicago. Even though he’d lived for months among the chaos, it still amazed him how desolate the city was. Buildings that had once been tall and mighty, lighting up brilliantly against the night sky, were merely ruins now. The lakefront, which used to always be full of people, even on cold winter nights like this, was perpetually empty. The air was filled with sadness and yet, somehow, in Wyatt’s opinion, there was a bit of beauty in the desolation. Silence had always appealed to him in some weird way. Maybe because he had dragon genes and was a loner. Whatever the case, he usually enjoyed being alone.
But Juno somehow seemed to improve the silence. It had been quite some time since he’d met someone who made him feel like he was better off spending time with them than being alone. He didn’t know what it was about Juno. He honestly had never believed in the concept of lifemates, thinking that if they did exist that was something for the more social shifters. But he couldn’t deny that something about Juno was drawing him in. He’d barely met her, and yet he already never wanted to leave her.
Wyatt breathed out a long stream of fire and snorted out a few puffs of smoke, then started circling down. He could fly for hours with Juno on his back, but he knew she was in human form and it was cold outside. He didn’
t want her to freeze. He headed straight for his secret lair, which he had never shown anyone until now. With a gentle thud, he landed on top of what used to be known as the Hancock Tower. Located near Chicago’s lakefront, the tower offered a spectacular view, especially on a night like tonight when the moon was full. In the bright moonlight, you could clearly see what was left of the skyline. And because there were no more city lights, you could see the stars. They were brilliant tonight, and Wyatt thanked his owns lucky stars for the cosmic show. Juno slid off of him and landed on the rooftop with a thud. She was shivering, but smiling.
Wyatt shifted back into human form, but even in his naked human skin he was still hot from being in dragon form moments before.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s a little chilly out tonight. I didn’t want to take you up for too long, but I did want to show you the city from a dragon’s point of view.”
Juno smiled despite her chattering teeth.
“Thank you,” she said. “It was magnificent, even though I’m freezing my ass off now. I didn’t want to stop.”
We can go again sometime if you want,” Wyatt said. “Maybe I’ll warn you a little better and you can dress a little warmer. Or maybe we could do it in the summer when it’s warmer. You know, if we still know each other then or if the world even still exists and all that.”
Wyatt felt a little foolish. Here he was making plans in his mind to be with Juno for a long time, when honestly who knew if anyone would be here next week. Things were crazy right now. But Juno smiled encouragingly at him.
“Yeah, well, if everything goes according to plan the world will still be here and humanity will still exist,” she said, her eyes still sparkling from the excitement of the ride through Chicago’s night sky.
Danger in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 4) Page 4