Page 72 of Mated By the Alphas
Wyatt walks around to my side and opens my door. He offers a hand and I take it, letting him help me out of the SUV. I wait while he retrieves a backpack from the backseat and slings it over his shoulder.
“Ready?” he asks, gesturing to the museum.
I look around the parking lot, then at the museum, noticing there aren’t many cars and the lights are off. “Um, I think they’re closed.”
“I know the boss,” Wyatt chuckles. “I sent him a text before we left. The guard will let us in.”
“Oh, wow! We have the entire museum to ourselves?” I ask, surprise in my voice.
“Mm-hmm,” Wyatt confirms, offering me the crook of his arm again. “I don’t like listening to a bunch of gawkers getting every fact wrong. I just want to spend a little time with you.”
A smile teases the edge of my lips. Wyatt is more reserved than his brothers, but he might be more charming. He’s definitely more tender and attentive to thingsotherthan what is between my legs, even if that’s what his instincts demand. Even now, I can feel his arm trembling and can tell he’s struggling to restrain himself.
Wyatt takes me up the steps, then taps on the door. The night watchman hurries over and unlocks the door. Wyatt hands him some money, tells him to take a break for the rest of the evening, and the guard seems more than happy to honor Wyatt’s request.
“Enjoy the museum, sir!” the guard says, counting his money as he steps outside.
“Remind me to lock up when we leave,” Wyatt chuckles, walking over to a desk with electronics on it and flipping off the security cameras. “Now, if you don’t mind… I’m going to shift into my true Human Form. Don’t worry, I brought a change of clothes.”
“Okay,” I say, curious to see what his true Human Form looks like.
Wyatt checks the security cameras again, then walks around the corner. I can hear him groan as bones crack and his muscles expand. Then I hear the shuffling of clothes before he steps back around the corner, wearing clothes that aren’t much different from what he previously had on. Just big enough to accommodate his larger frame.
He’s still smaller than Hayden and Remy, but he’s close to Remy’s size. In his true Human Form, he’s almost seven feet tall. Big, broad, and he’s got amber eyes that seem to have more kindness in them than his brothers. His hair is still sandy, streaked with darker highlights, but it’s shaggier now, and hangs past his shoulders.
“Much better,” Wyatt rumbles, rolling his shoulders. His scent changes slightly, too. More wild forest and earthy. “I usually have no trouble maintaining my Third Form, but it’s difficult around you.”
“Hayden and Remy mentioned that,” I say, looking up at him. “I think I like you better like this. I can tell it’s actually you, instead of just a disguise.”
“Sometimes I’m not sure which one is the disguise,” Wyatt chuckles. “Come on, let’s have a look at the museum. I know they’ve got a lot of fossils.”
Wyatt leads me through the first row of exhibits, his large hand warm against the small of my back as he guides me through the museum’s quiet halls. The lighting is dim, and casts everything in a soft, beige glow that makes the fossils stand out.
“If you went to a museum to see fossils, I bet you ran into this guy or one of his family members,” Wyatt chuckles, stopping in front of a massive skeleton. “Tyrannosaurs Rex. Sixty-six million years old, give or take.”
I shudder a little as I look up at the gargantuan dinosaur. “Yeah, I remember seeing one of these. I used to have nightmares about it after that trip to the museum. Maybe that’s why my grandparents never took me back.”
“There’s more to him than teeth,” Wyatt says, stepping closer to the exhibit. “Everything tells a story, but do we even know the real one? His arms, for example. Tiny, almost useless, right? Evolutionary biologists still debate their purpose. Holding prey? A way to stand up after laying down? Or possibly just there to make it easier to mate.”
“Huh,” I say, studying the small arms. “Never thought about it like that.”
“That’s what I love about history,” he says, guiding me towards another exhibit. “Everyone sees the obvious. Big dinosaur, huge teeth, obviously an apex predator. But the truth is always in the details. You’re a lot like that.”
“I am?” I ask, my breath catching in my throat. “I don’t think I’m anything like a T-Rex.”
“No, but there’s more to you than what people see,” he says, turning to face me. “Everyone sees a beautiful, bright woman, which you definitely are. We see you as someone to claim and protect, especially Hayden. I feel that need, too, that instinct, but there’s more to you than that.”
“Like what?” I ask, tilting my head slightly.
“Everything that makes you…you,” he says, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, making my skin erupt with goosebumps when his finger brushes my earlobe. “A girl who loved fossils. A woman who worked hard because of her grandfather’s expectations. Someone who would risk their own life to save their best friend. Those things matter too. They make you more than just beautiful; they make you fascinating.”
“Clearly Hayden and Remy didn’t tell you what I’m really like,” I say, some redness creeping up my neck. “Hayden had to spankme because I lied to him. Then Hayden and Remy both punished me because I was a little disobedient… ok, very disobedient.”
“I’m the historian but my brothers tend to favor the old ways more than I do. I just like to read about them,” he rumbles, leaning a little closer with a big grin growing on his handsome face. “I would only spank you if you wanted me to.”
“Even if I lie or disobey you?” I question, nibbling my bottom lip.
“You would do neither of those things unless you had a good reason. I can already tell that about you,” he says, turning away. “Come. There’s more to see.”
