"Melanie is the daughter of another head of a department," Gabby said as their car started moving along the streets of Chicago.
"And?"
"I thought you would be interested," she mumbled, her eyes closed.
He shrugged, his gaze glued on the road. "The ones who took the stone were not werewolves," he said, his jaws clenched.
"What do you mean? You said—"
"I can't smell them inside the building. Probably because of the amount of silver that was in your lab."
"I don't have silvers…" Why would she keep a huge amount of silver in her laboratory? Besides… "Are you telling me that werewolves are really scared of silvers?" she asked. So, something about those fiction novels is actually true? She narrowed her eyes.
Gabby was always someone who never believed anything unless she saw it. She is currently working in science because of this.
"It could harm them. Not as much as Aetherium but better than your bullets," he pursed his lips and continued driving.
"Does it harm you too?" she asked. She recalled how his wound healed almost immediately once they took that bullet in his shoulder.
"No," he said.
"So, only Aetherium can hurt you? What about steel knives or swords?"
"No."
"Then… Does exposure to high levels of radiation, like X-rays or gamma rays, have any effect on you?" she asked.
He glanced at her. "Where is this going?" he asked.
"I am simply curious. It's in my nature."
"Curiosity kills the cat," he mumbled.
"But satisfaction brought it back," she smirked. Seeing how his gaze darkened, Gabby snorted. "It's not every day that you see someone heal like you. I mean, imagine all the things that we could do if we open you up and— " She stopped talking when she felt a rather sharp gaze towards her.
"Eh…" she cleared her throat. "You should focus on the road." Right. How could he stare at her while he was driving? Out of nowhere, the car stopped moving. The sudden stop jolted her forward. Luckily, she was wearing a seatbelt.
"What— " Before she could start cursing, he moved his head closer. She leaned back on instinct. "What are you doing?"
"Why don't you tell me more about these 'things' we could do if you opened me up?" he asked, his voice a low rumble.
The awareness of their close proximity in the car made her heart skip a beat. "Well," she stammered, trying to regain her composure. "We could learn about your unique physiology, understand how your accelerated healing works..."
She trailed off, her voice barely a whisper. The playful glint in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Or," he leaned in closer, his voice now a husky murmur, "We could conduct more… practical experiments."
The heat radiating from his body seemed to fill the car, making her breath hitch. His gaze dropped to her lips, then back to her eyes, a knowing smile playing on his lips.
Gabby felt her cheeks burn. "I-I meant purely scientific experiments, of course!" she blurted, her voice sounding far too high-pitched.
He chuckled, a low, throaty sound that sent another wave of shivers down her spine. "Of course, scientist," he said, his voice dripping with amusement.
She swallowed. Hard.
Seeing her flustered, he chuckled, and then he added, "It could be an inside job." The car started moving again.
"An inside job?"
"They purposely tried to ruin the scene to mask their actions and hide any possible clues, but the one who did it must be working in the company."
Again, surprise flashed in her eyes.
"Do you know anyone closely working with Frank?" he asked.
"Only I and he work together." Dr. Gomez liked to create codes and encrypt them. The only one who could usually decrypt those codes was Gabby. Because of this, the researcher chose her to become his lab assistant in the past. When he was promoted to a senior researcher, she became the junior researcher, and now that he was the department head, Gabby was waiting for them to promote her to the senior position.
Everything was supposed to go well. She was very excited to work with him too.
"Dr. Gomez's body will arrive in two days," she said. "They would probably not let anyone see his body."
"Or at least what's left of him."
Her expression turned even darker when she heard his words. Memories of the doctor who accompanied her in the lab while she was heartbroken filled her head. Dr. Gomez had been nothing but nice to her.
She closed her eyes, leaning back in silence.
"It would be best if you stay with me from now on," Sebastian said. "It's safer that way."
That caught Gabby's attention. She said nothing as she stared at his side profile.
"Or I will be staying with you," he added.
He doesn't seem to be joking around. Slowly, her eyebrows lifted, a flash of curiosity glinted in her eyes. This means they will be staying under one roof from now on.
"Stop staring at me like that," he uttered, his voice dangerously low.
Gabby remained unfazed, a smile suddenly appeared on her face. "Does that mean, I get to study you?" she asked. She was honestly curious about Lycans and werewolves.
A sly grin spread across Sebastian's face as he replied, "Only if you do it the old-fashioned way."
Gabby's eyes widened. What was he getting at? Her confusion deepened. "If you mean by hand. That is not possible. Most research needs equipment. I—" She stopped mid-sentence, a blush creeping up her cheeks as the realization dawned on her. His words had a different meaning than she initially thought.
Sebastian's laughter filled the car at her reaction. Embarrassed, Gabby spent the rest of the ride in silence.
After what felt like an agonizingly long ride, they reached her building. But instead of the usual quiet, flashing lights and police cars filled the scene. Gabby's heart lurched, a vision of her grandmother flashing through her mind. She nearly leaped out of her seat, but he suddenly held her wrist, his gaze sharp.
"What?" she turned towards him.
"Werewolves…" he said, his voice chilly. "They're here!"