situation resolved itself in the form of Damien, who literally jumped into it by taking the last few steps of the staircase with a leap. He landed with a thud that was nothing like the almost-silent entry of his alien lover moments before, and he bobbled a moment before straightening with a look on his face that telegraphed his obvious glee.
“Man, I love my new superpowers.”
Willem walked over and gave him the kind of passionate kiss that always called up some unnamed longing in Alun. “Easy, baby. You aren’t invincible. I don’t want you breaking a leg during your transformation.”
“You worry too much.” Damien rolled his eyes in a form of disrespect that made Alun cringe. He still expected such an act to end in a severe blow.
Craig gave Alun’s arm a gentle squeeze before releasing it. “Don’t worry. It’s just banter between lovers.”
Surprised that the man had read him so well, Alun gave him a grateful smile before stepping away. The proximity was becoming uncomfortable now, especially as others were joining them.
“Hey, Alun, thanks for the prep.” Damien sauntered into the kitchen area with the confidence of someone who knew he belonged there. “And you made buns… Awesome.”
The gratitude made him even more uneasy. “They still need icing.”
Damien nodded. “Sounds good… And while you’re doing that, I’ll fix you an omelet.”
Alun widened his eyes with alarm. “Oh, no, I had some toast already. There are warriors who need feeding first. And Mackie’s coming,” he added as the pregnant changeling lumbered down the stairs with his hand on his lower back. Alun winced inside with sympathy. He knew how hard it was to carry a baby inside a body that had not been readily designed for it. Unlike the alien who’d impregnated Alun, however, Val strode to help the human who was pregnant with his son.
Damien shook his head, commanding Alun’s attention once more. “It takes no time at all to make one with all this prep done. No one will wait for long. So, what do you like in yours?”
Alun was at a loss, considering that what he ate had never been a choice and he hadn’t gotten used to the idea of making such decisions. He instinctively looked to Craig, who was watching over the rim of his mug. He felt stupid needing help with such a simple question.
“How about a little of everything?” Craig suggested. Alun found himself nodding before turning his attention to his buns, which was where it belonged.
“Everything it is,” Damien replied.
The simple problem having been resolved sent a wave of relief through him. He concentrated on finishing his buns and valiantly tried to ignore the focus of the man standing behind him.
“I’ll get out of your way,” Craig said.
The sound of the man’s footsteps leaving both relieved and disappointed Alun. The conflicting emotions were too hard to unpack, so he fell back on old habits and turned numb to it all.
I am such a jackass, Craig chastised himself, even as he took a position on the other side of the dining counter. He hadn’t moved far away from the focus of his interest, yet hopefully he’d stopped making the guy uncomfortable.
After sleeping like the dead on his kitchen floor, of all places, he’d moved to his bed only to lie there the rest of the night with his gaze fixed on the ceiling, trying to make sense of his new, weird reality. Was he really involved with ancient aliens who were the origin of the vampire legend? And were they truly locked into a thousand-year battle over controlling Earth? This is some serious sci-fi shit. It would be easy to dismiss it all if not for the mountain of bodies that had been carted out of Club Lux, along with the freaky shit that he’d witnessed that couldn’t have been the work of a human.
Those memories kept haunting him—one man using the strength of many, along with a cartoonish speed, to carry a wounded comrade up the stairs, his fangs gleaming white before sinking into the blood vessels of another’s wrist to suck blood for an instant transfusion. Then there was the deal-sealer—a man he’d once loved and totally trusted telling him that this was all real. Yeah, Trey had broken his heart—and rightly so, given his own infidelity—but the man was rock-solid in the head department. If he said these were alien vampires, one could take that information to the bank.
Nothing, however, that he’d seen or heard had the same impact as