I Am the Wild (The Night Firm #1)- Karpov Kinrade Page 0,28

not mine."

"Is it rude to ask what you are? I don't mean to be impolite. This is all just so new to me."

She smiles, and I see a shadow of the wild woodland creature she truly is.

"I'm a dryad," she says, simply. "A creature of the forest, the soul of a tree."

I’m not sure if I should be relieved or worried. Everything poses more questions than answers. "Am I safe here?"

She narrows her eyes. "The Nights won't let anything happen to you."

I scoff at that. "Liam just tried to kill me."

She rolls her eyes. "Liam can be a giant ass sometimes. He's hotheaded, impulsive and prone to reckless acts. But if he wanted to kill you, you'd be dead. That much is certain. No, what he did, it was a warning."

"Nothing like getting into a near deadly car accident on my way to my first day, then getting attacked and bitten by my boss." The snark is strong in my voice.

Lily sighs. "I know it doesn't make sense, and it's a crap way to start your work here, but I promise it will get better. Give them a chance."

I don't know how to respond, so I stay silent as she finishes helping me dress in a sapphire blue gown that matches my eyes and is cinched at my waist and flared at my hips, cascading down my legs in layers.

When she's done, she pulls back to admire her handiwork. "You look incredible. And you have such perfect porcelain skin. You could pass for a vampire if you smelled different," she says, wrinkling her nose.

"Uh, thanks?"

She laughs. "I'm so glad you finally know. It's been agony waiting for those dummies to tell you everything."

"I hardly think they've told me everything," I say, slipping my feet into a pair of heels that match my dress.

"It's a lot for some people to take," she says. "Sometimes it's easier to get it in pieces than all at once."

As Lily leads me out my room and through the labyrinth of halls and towards the library, I ask a question that's been prickling my mind since discovering the truth. "Why did they hire me?"

Lily shrugs. "Your resume impressed them, I guess?"

"I don't mean me specifically. Why did they hire a human? Why not stick with vampires or…whatever else. Keep it in the family so to speak. Why expose this world to an outsider for no reason?"

She stops and turns to frown at me. "I could tell the moment we met that you belong here. If I can feel it, they can definitely feel it. And besides, you wouldn't have even heard about the job if you weren't the right person."

With that she continues to walk, but once again I'm left with more questions. "What do you mean? I would have seen it in the paper like everyone else."

She laughs. "That's funny."

When she realizes I'm not laughing she stops again. "You're serious. Oh dear. There's just so much you don't know. Granny spelled the job advertisement so that only the perfect candidate for the job would find it. In fact, they're the only one who would even be able to see it. You had the job the moment you called the number. You were the only candidate."

We're walking again, and I try not to stumble over my dress as I work to keep pace with Lily's power walk. "She spelled it? Like with magic?"

"Yup. She's got all kinds of spells up her sleeves. She even showed me how to make a potion that changes my hair color, which is really fun for when I'm out clubbing."

I don't have time to unpack that statement as we have finally arrived at the library where the Night brothers and Matilda are waiting. Sebastian gives me a brief nod and a slight smile of encouragement. Liam doesn't make eye contact with me. Coward. Elijah's eyes hold mine for a long moment, and it's as if a cool breeze dances against my skin when he looks at me like that. I feel an uncomfortable stirring in my body as I consider the quietest of the four brothers. Elijah always seems more contemplative. I can practically see his mind working even as he locks eyes with me.

Derek heads to the bar, pours a drink and walks over to me. "For your nerves," he says, handing me the glass. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," I say, for the drink and the compliment. A glance at the bottle he poured from shows this is an expensive