CHAPTER FOUR

" H ow's it looking?" Sage asked over her shoulder.

"Unstable." Brooklyn shook her head. "It's not acting normal."

Sage moved to the side and leaned her hip against the cabinet. "That's because it isn't normal compared to treating a human."

Brooklyn glanced up.

"I know, I know. While we look the same, and we have all the same bits, the engine is more powerful. Think of it like a Toyota versus a Ferrari." Sage held up her hands.

Brooklyn smirked at her boss.

"You think you're a Ferrari now?"

Sage chuckled. "No. But I'm not unhappy with my new metabolism. I can eat anything now. But, yes, I do think my mate is a Ferrari."

Ari Moretti was a very handsome man, so she couldn't argue with that. He was powerful and intimidating, too, but had been nice to her since moving to Maine and working with Sage.

Nicer than Logan.

Which wasn't a high standard to meet.

"They're all pretty good looking. It's weird," Brooklyn said, sliding another sample under the microscope.

Sage turned and open a cupboard above them, pulling out a box of gloves. "How are you settling in?"

"Good," she replied. "My room is great. Everyone seems to be accepting of me. Well, except—"

"Logan," Sage said as Dr. Abbot walked into the room.

"Has that vampire been causing trouble again?" the doctor asked. Everyone had noticed Logan's unacceptable behavior and how rattled Brooklyn had been.

"No. He's just trying to get a bite out of me. I'm not biting." Brooklyn shook her head.

"Well, that's more of a vampire thing to do." Dr. Abbot chuckled.

She smiled at her slipup.

What she hated more than anything was that Logan thought she was attracted to him. Of course, she noticed he was gorgeous. She couldn't lie about that. And yes, her body reacted to him.

But she didn't like him.

I don't fuck humans.

Asshole. What a cocky thing to say to someone who he clearly didn't like and was trying to intimidate.

She was still studying the vampire race and how they worked. What they could and couldn't do. They were, despite outward appearances, quite different on the inside. Biologically speaking.

"Sage, I know you and Ari are now a mated couple, but is it normal for humans and vampires to copulate? Can they? Given the power difference."

She hoped her question had come across as a curiosity as opposed to an interest in Logan.

The only time she'd be interested in touching his body was if she was tasked with doing an autopsy on him.

Liar. You'd love to run your fingers over his ripped torso and feel all that power you can sense running through his veins.

"Yes. The vampire needs to be careful, but many do," Sage replied.

Her brows raised in surprise. Brooklyn had been expecting her fellow scientist to say it wasn't possible.

"Do humans know what they are in the moment? As in not human?"

Sage shrugged. "I didn't."

"Did you—"

"Actually, that's probably a topic for another day." Sage rushed out her words as she shot the doctor a look.

Right.

There was obviously a story there.

"Sage is correct, but remember, you're surrounded by the most powerful of the race here." Dr. Abbot laughed. "Not all of us are built the same way."

Brooklyn bit her bottom lip to stop from smiling as he swept a hand over his own body. He definitely didn't have a dad bod, but the muscular frame and six-pack were missing compared to the males who had filled the room earlier.

His hair was full and healthy. His body toned like an early-thirties runner, and his skin clear and flush like he'd just returned from a month's long vacation in Hawaii. But he did not look as...virile as the warriors.

Hawaii. Now that was appealing. Given she was working strange hours and there was no sunlight in the castle—for obvious reasons—Brooklyn was starting to crave some more vitamin D.

She yawned.

"You look great to me. Just don't tell me how old you are again. It freaks me out." She laughed, and Sage shot her a grin.

It helped that Sage had been a human, so they could share the shock and wonder of what they both now knew. They didn't have a lot of time to chat, but she had told her a little about what it was like being changed.

"There is so much I want to study and understand about the race," Sage said. "The more we can do here, and share with humans when the time comes, the less likely they will try to cause any harm to us."

Callan, she meant.

The vampire had been kept in a BioZen Pharmaceutical facility in Seattle for months until he finally escaped.

Right under her nose.

As far as she understood, Callan had been experimented on. As a result of some DNA manipulation, he'd turned into a hybrid vampire-wolf soon after leaving the lab. Then had infected a number of others, including Mack.

The royal army had rounded them all up and taken them to an undisclosed location to give them space to shift and learn about their new sub-species.

The king acknowledged them as Moretti vampires still, but they had not shared their existence with the broader vampire race.

Callan and Mack were currently residing in the castle, training to be part of the royal army.

Brooklyn had met them. Mack was a huge hybrid and cheeky. Not to mention extremely gorgeous. Yet, her heart didn't turn into a jackhammer when he was near. Unlike that other guy who shall not be named.

He might have accused her of being sexually interested in him, but she was almost certain she'd seen lust in his eyes.

A woman knew.

Plus, she was a nurse, so Brooklyn knew she hadn't been mistaken.

Sleeping with any of the vampires here, now that she knew it was possible, was not on her list of things to do. She was here to here to make a difference, scientifically, not fall into a dangerous vampire's arms and get bitten.

They could easily kill her.

And Logan had made it blatantly clear he hated humans and her. Even if the two of them had chemistry.

Her story wouldn't be the same as Sage's. There was no love story waiting here for her. And no damn way was she giving up her humanity like her boss.