Chapter 38 Big city adventure
Mercifully, Olivia and Oliver mostly slept in the car. When Oliver was awake, he was draw quietly. When Olivia was awake, she would hum to herself and kick her legs back and forth. Logan was quiet too, letting Serena sit alone with her thoughts. At the beginning of the ride, he had asked several questions about the human world, but eventually, even he had run out of questions to ask. She hadn’t minded answering. Not that she was an expert in the human world by any means. She’d spent some time among them, but she hadn’t fully integrated herself into the human culture or society.
She answered what questions she could, but the truth was, she only knew how to pass as human. She didn’t know all about humans and their world.
“We’re almost there,” Logan said, pulling her from her thoughts. “Thanks,” Serena said, smiling at him. He nodded. She looked in the back seat, seeing both the twins completely passed out. Serena, dipping into her knowledge banks, had gotten them a two-bedroom suite at a hotel where they could sleep. They were getting into the city pretty late, and Serena wasn’t going to be seeing her professor until the next day. When they got to the hotel, she carried Olivia and Logan got Oliver. The day of driving had been long, and neither of them had much to say anymore. They got the kids tucked into the bed they’d be sharing with Serena, and then Logan went back down to get the car to get their bags. “Are you hungry?” Logan asked when he returned. “I can whip something up in the kitchenette.”
“Oh no,” Serena said, wagging her finger back and forth. “I’m going to show you a great perk of the human world.” Logan smirked. “Alright, that sounds interesting,” he said. Serena pulled her phone out and dialed a number to takeout restaurant she was familiar with. She placed a quick order for dinner, including something for the kids if they woke up. “Now, we just wait for the next twenty minutes, and then food will show up at the. door,” she said. Logan smirked. “That sounds…incredibly convenient,” he said. She nodded.
“Convenience is a major staple in the human world,” she said, taking a seat on the couch. Logan put his travel bag in the room he’d be staying in, and joined Serena in the suite living room. “Is it strange, being back?” he asked. “It was strange coming back to pack life,” she told him. “This…this is still more familiar.” “Transitioning back has been that complicated?” Logan asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs. Serena didn’t want to talk about herself anymore. “I’m surprised you don’t have as much experience with the human world,” she admitted. “Being Alpha, don’t you trade with them?” “Yes,” Logan said with a nod. “Trading isn’t the same as being among them or passing as them. You don’t have to convince your trading partners that you’re human. As long as they get their goods, they don’t care.” Serena giggled, tucking her legs up on the couch and hugging her knees to her chest. There was a knock on their hotel room door, and Logan answered it, getting the food and paying the delivery person. He was good at the money, but he didn’t exchange any pleasantries with delivery boy. When he closed the door again, Serena laughed. “You could have been nice to him,” she said. Logan cocked his head to the side. “It is common in human culture to be nice and exchange small talk with the people who bring you your food.” Logan shrugged, handing Serena her takeout bag before digging into his own.
Serena was scheduled to meet with her professor in the afternoon. She spent the morning dressing like a respectable doctor, doing her hair and makeup so that she could feel good about seeing her old professor. She made up a hospital name for when her professor asked where she was working, and got her binder with notebooks and pens. “How do I look?” she asked, turning to her daughter. “So pretty!” Olivia said. Oliver smiled. “Very pretty, mommy,” he said. Serena smiled, pulling her hair up in a
ponytail. “Good,” she said. “You’re taking Logan to the park today, right?” “Yes,” Olivia and Oliver agreed. She grabbed her twins’ hands and brought them out to where Logan was waiting for them. He was well dressed, probably a little more so than how he should have been to take two kids to the park, but Serena didn’t say anything. “The kids have a park they want to show you while I’m with my professor,” she said. “That sounds like fun,” Logan said. “Okay, ground rules about the human world,” Serena said. “Don’t refer to yourself as an Alpha, don’t growl around other humans, and don’t challenge anyone, even if you think they are challenging you.” “That’s a lot to ask,“ Logan said. Serena raised an eyebrow. “Alright, I’ll behave.” “Good,” she said. “Oh, and if anyone asks, you are the twins’ uncle.” “Why uncle?” Logan asked. Serena sighed. “Kids in the human world sometimes get taken by strangers,” she said. “They are considered perverts and freaks, and are usually arrested.” “I don’t understand,” Logan said, creasing his brow. Serena sighed again. “Just because everyone around here lives near each other doesn’t mean they are part of the same supportive community,” she explained. “Some of them do bad things to each other and hurt each other, even to kids.” Logan sighed. “That’s horrible,” he said. Serena nodded. “So, if anyone asks, you’re their uncle,” she said. Logan nodded. “Good call,” he said. “Now, I’ve got to go,” she said. “Olivia, Oliver, be good for Logan.” “We will,” they both said dismissively. Serena collected her binder and headed out of the suite. She remembered where to walk in order to get to the medical school campus. It had been a long time since she’d set foot there, and she was feeling nostalgic. Not much had changed since she left, and she knew exactly where Dr. Lynn’s office was. Walking through the academic corridors, she felt cozy, like she was at home. She knocked on the door and Dr. Lynn invited her in. “Serena,” she said, motioning for her to come inside. Serena entered the
familiar office, sitting down in the chair she had occupied several times when they were working together.
“It is good to see you, Dr. Lynn,” she said.
“Good to see you too,” she said. She pulled out a folder and handed it over to Serena. “This has all the information you’ll need to update the hospital you are working at.” “Thank you,” Serena said, tucking the folder into her binder. “I’m surprised that they asked you to handle such a large job,” Dr. Lynn said. Serena shrugged. “I’m a new set of eyes, fresh out of school,” she said. “They assumed I had knowledge of the newest equipment on the market.” Dr. Lynn chuckled. “Well, then perhaps they do know what they are doing,” she said. “I hope their budget is large, because this stuff does not come cheap,” Dr. Lynn said. She was typing at her computer while also talking to Serena. A professor and a doctor, her life was always busy. “That shouldn’t be a problem” she said. “Thank you, Dr. Lynn. I appreciate all your help.”
“Please, I love hearing from my old students,” she said. “Please, keep in touch. If you have any other questions, let me know.” Serena nodded and let herself out. Rather than heading back to the hotel; she went to the park, hoping to catch up with her kids and with Logan. Olivia was hanging from the monkey bars and Oliver was ‘whooshing’ down a slide. Logan was at the bottom of the slide, catching Oliver. She smiled to herself, entering the park and setting her binder and folders down on the nearest bench. “I see the park is still fun,” she said, getting their attention. “Did you get what you needed already?” Logan asked. Serena nodded. “Absolutely,” she said. “So, what are we going to do with the rest of our afternoon in the big city?” “I want to go see the fish,” Oliver said, referring to an aquarium. “Yea, and the tigers,” Olivia said. “We could go to the zoo,” Serena said. “Animals in captivity?” Logan asked. “Yea,” Serena said. “Think you can hold it together?”
He scoffed and nodded. “I’ll keep myself under control” he said. “Good, because there are some disgusting fried foods that I think you’ll enjoy at the 200,” she teased. Logan shrugged. “Sounds good,” he said. Being back in the city, Serena felt a flood of new energy. She hadn’t felt so invigorated since leaving the human world. It was surprising to her, to feel so happy and excited. Olivia and Oliver chattered all the way to the zoo, and Logan paid all his attention to them. She didn’t want to keep looking at them like a family, but it was the first time she’d been able to share her experience in the human world with someone from her pack. The fact that it was Logan didn’t take away from the swell of joy inside her. He wouldn’t understand it all from just a few days, but he’d see what she saw. That was something she’d lacked in the pack. Now, she wouldn’t.