Season content notes include discussion of violence, explicit sex, and bondage.

Deryn reached out and gently patted Avery’s hair where the young man was collapsed on the table. The scent of espresso and chai was stronger now, and he could run his fingers through that silky hair all night. No. Help the kid first. “Will you let me help?”

Burnt pepper overwhelmed the espresso and chai. Avery was scared and angry, and for damn good reason, most likely. After a very long pause, he sighed. “Yeah.”

“Alright. You tell me what you want, and I’ll do my best to make it happen. Let’s start with breakfast, ayuh.” It wasn’t that Deryn couldn’t say no. It was that with certain people, he didn’t want to. It was why he lived here, far from where vampires tended to band together. Here, his… quirks made him less of an outsider, and he wasn’t an easy target for the other nightwalkers.

“Alright.” Avery frowned, and notes of uncertainty’s moldy pine shot through the burnt pepper. He swallowed heavily. “You have stuff for omelets?”

With a nod, Deryn went to the fridge. Omelets were easy, and his mind wandered back to Avery’s scent. He picked out notes of mint, salt, and bittersweet smoke.

Everyone had a base profile unique to them, like Avery’s espresso and chai, but there were also scents common between humans, vampires, and the rare half-blood. His offer surprised the kid, and if the minty impatience was any indication, the dhampir didn’t like that one bit. Seemed like the young man had been scared so long he should smell like scorched coffee. Somehow, he didn’t.

As Deryn cooked and poured orange juice, he started laying out a basic plan. “You’re more likely to attract attention running than staying put. So we’re going to get you an ID and paperwork,” Avery flinched, and that bittersweet note surged forward again. “So you can set up somewhere.” Deryn watched his new guest carefully.

Avery nodded, and the bittersweet faded to barely a trace. “You can use the name Avery for the paperwork. Morninglory for the surname. No, I have no idea what my birthday is.”

As the surety came back into Avery’s voice, Deryn had to stifle a smile at the smell reminiscent of sandalwood. The kid had some of his confidence back. “We’ll come up with something.”

With a nod, the young man rubbed his temples, thoughtful. As Deryn set out the finished omelets, Avery spoke again, “October 13, and make it a year when that falls on a Friday.” He grinned. “Just for kicks.”

“We can do that, kicks.” Kid must know about the bad luck superstitions. It was good to hear a small laugh from Avery as his hand drifted away from the pocket with the rope. Deryn grabbed a notebook and pen and started writing down the final decisions for name and birth date before his mind started drifting back to fantasies.

During breakfast and clean up, they set out a profile summary for a resume and a brief life history Avery could memorize for daily use. That took a bit, as it required a rundown of Avery’s skills and figuring out which jobs matched the skills.

When they finished, Deryn paused for a long moment, then said, “You know, I, ah, I could use some help around the bar some nights. Didn’t know if you wanted to have an actual job for the resume.”

Avery smirked. “Actually, getting paid to do chores for once would be nice.”

Deryn grinned. “Let me show you around the place.”

“Excellent. And I want to read your library while I’m here.”

“Whatever you want,” Deryn agreed easily as he led the way downstairs. He was being a fool. The kid wasn’t a dom, wasn’t in any place for a relationship, and was going to be relying on Deryn for the foreseeable future. Bad news all around. But as long as he kept his fantasies to himself, it wouldn’t hurt anyone. Right?

---

On the way down to the bar, the fourth step from the bottom creaked under Deryn’s whisper-quiet steps. Avery frowned as he realized that was the first sound he’d heard the vampire make. Yes, he was trained as a hunter, but the vampire was clearly a natural predator with unmatched grace in his body and movements. The way those muscles moved under Deryn’s deep brown skin left the dhampir frustrated and feeling deeply inadequate.

How had the Sun’s Chosen expected him to go after something like this?

Avery shook his head and cleared the growing scowl from his face. That part of his life was over, he needed to focus on here-and-now.

Deryn’s heartbeat had slowed down as they talked over breakfast. Now, it was steady, as was his breathing. He seemed completely at ease, showing off his little bar tucked away in the foreign woodlands of rural Maine. It was odd that Deryn didn’t seem to have any coven — unless some of the regulars were also vampires. He’d have to observe carefully when he started work.

The bar had seen better days, but the polish kept its gleam thanks to the obvious care given to it. Everything had a place. The beer steins and wine glasses were sturdy.

Avery had to blink back a glimpse of the kitchen shelves crashing down at the camp the night he’d escaped. Was that really almost six months ago? He didn’t know if Brother Trevor had survived. He wasn’t sure he cared. He’d bought a piece of crap car in a little town at the edge of the mountains and hadn’t looked back.

Deryn was talking again. Avery forced his attention to his new host. “It’s just about time for me to get ready for opening. Don’t worry about starting tonight.”

Avery nodded. “I can finish the paperwork. You probably need that anyway.” He turned to head upstairs and finished the paperwork without much trouble, then pulled a book off Deryn’s shelf. No point in starting the one on the werewolf clans. He wouldn’t be here long enough to finish it.

The sounds of night in the woods crept through the walls and made it impossible for Avery to settle down. Deep into predawn, he took a shower. Hopefully, Deryn wouldn’t mind him taking another one. As he toweled off his hair, the vampire came upstairs from closing the bar. “Evening,” Avery said.

“Evening,” Deryn replied. His green eyes flicked around but never settled anywhere near Avery. “You get the paperwork done okay?”

“Yeah. Look it over. Let me know if you need anything else.” Shit. He was so tense with all the foreign sounds flooding his hearing, and THAT voice slipped out on the first sentence. The voice he knew would have earned him a beating back in the Rockies.

Deryn shivered slightly. His heart rate stuttered and kicked up speed. Odd. “Ayuh,” the vampire bobbed his head and immediately went to the kitchen.

Avery raised an eyebrow at Deryn’s retreating back. Some of the lower ranks among the Sun’s Chosen jumped at that particular tone. He’d never heard of a vampire reacting the way. Maybe he was too tired to read things right.

Before Deryn came back, Avery managed to school his expression back to neutral.

“Looks good. I’ll scan it and send it out in the morning.”

Maybe he was seeing things. Maybe it wasn’t the tone. Just to make sure. “Good.” He slipped a bit of that rebellious arrogance in again and nodded sharply.

Deryn bit his lip and nodded. “I’ll… see you in the morning, then?”

“Yeah. Night.” Holy shit. It was that voice. Avery made a note to avoid using it so he didn’t piss Deryn off.

Over the next week, Avery’s host helped him acquire clothing that hadn’t seen several knife fights. The dhampir also memorized the bar’s menu. His shiny new ID came in the mail yesterday. This would be the night he officially started work. He would mainly be bussing tables, taking orders, and cleaning.

Pulling down the chairs to get ready for Wednesday’s crowd, Avery noted how smooth working with Deryn was. Telepathy wasn’t a known vampiric power, so that was odd.

With the last table set, Deryn stretched his back. “Midweek, it’ll be quiet. Probably won’t see anyone for an hour or so.”

“Any regulars that usually come in tonight?”

“A handful. Some of the men from the lumber mill who don’t like to cook.” Avery nodded. He double-checked the tie on the end of his braid to make sure it would hold for the night. “For now,” Deryn continued, “Stick with bussing tables and cleaning dishes.” He paused. “And don’t mind if folks are standoffish. It’s not personal.”

Avery snorted. “I can handle standoffish.”

---

Resisting the urge to tug on Avery’s braid, Deryn headed to the bar to double-check inventory for the night. George usually came in first, then Andre. After those two, it varied depending on how things went at the mill that day.

Andre showed up first. Deryn introduced him to Avery and poured him a stout. Avery nodded a stiff greeting and turned back to check the temperature of the dishwater. The young man apparently had his own brand of standoffish, born of insecurity if the faint smell of old fish was anything to go by.

When Matty and Brian showed up, they settled at the bar. Matty elbowed Brian “Told ya he’s found another stray.”

Deryn scowled at both of them. Sure, he liked to help folks from time to time, but there was no reason for their mockery.

Brian chuckled. “Bit more going on than usual, if you ask me.”

“No one did,” Deryn glared as he set their drinks down.

Brian laughed heartily. Fates and moons, he hoped they’d get drunk enough to stop pestering him.