Sybil tapped her crimson-painted nails on the table. “Riley may be young, but Daphne and I are anything but. Did you know Daphne was turned first?”
Seth shook his head. Riley hadn’t told him anything about how his moms had met.
“Daphne had been turned by someone very old and very cruel, and she was making her way by pretending to fit in. Hiding all that inner sweetness, that softness deep inside her she displays so perfectly now. And she found me on the streets, selling myself to survive.”
Sybil waved a hand, like she was dispersing Seth’s sympathy before he could give it to her. “Mine was a pathetic, common tale. But Daphne saw something in me, and she made me as she was, and instantly, we were everything to each other. And we still are.” Sybil leaned across the table, freezing Seth in her gaze like some vampire Medusa. “I don’t care about your modern concerns about what’s right or healthy. I want to give our son what he wants. I want him to have what we have.”
“Jesus.” Seth lowered his head into his hands, peeking out at her from between his fingers. “Each of you is somehow the most intense person I’ve ever met.”
Sybil gave him a slow smile. “And you’re fascinated by it. Aren’t you?”
Seth let his eyes fall closed, even as he failed to deny it. “Anyone would be.”
“But could anyone dance with it the way you do? Draw out the sweetness in Riley, the simple need for joy hiding under all that hunger? Tame the monster within while providing a haven for the lost boy?”
“You’re putting a lot on my shoulders.”
A graceful hand gripped Seth’s wrist. “We didn’t know if Riley would have a mate—too much is unknown about those who are turned so young. And then you appeared, so much sooner than we ever dared to hope. You’re our miracle, and we’ll cherish you accordingly.” Amusement laced her tone. “Being what we are, our affections sometimes come with a bit of a bite.”
With that, she released her hold and rose from her seat,pressing a kiss to Seth’s hair before gliding out the door. Seth gave in to temptation and let his forehead fall to the table.
Holy. Fucking. Shit. How was he supposed to ever catch his breath with people like this?
It wasn’t like the lawyer thing had been any great wound—the guy had clearly been a douche—but it was hard not to have one’s expectations shaped by little things like that. Seth had adjusted his accordingly, and finding out he’d been interacting with paranormals for literal years without realizing seemed to confirm that he was the opposite of anything special.
And now these three were throwing wrenches into all of it, confusing the worldview Seth had built. Acting like he was extraordinary just as he was. Acting like they weregladto have Riley shackled to him by the hands of fate.
Seth stood in a rush and began searching the kitchen cabinets.
He needed to bake about his feelings or he was going to combust.
By the timeSeth had laid out all his ingredients, Riley had returned.
Seth smelled him before he saw him. It was like the rich, earthy scents of the forest had come to invade his kitchen.
Nothiskitchen, of course. The moms’ kitchen. Which happened to be suspiciously well stocked with everything a human baker might want or need.
Sneaky, tricky, high-handed vampires.
“I know you’re there,” Seth said when the scent had permeated but Riley had yet to show his face. It was kind of impressive, actually, because Seth hadn’t heard the front door open or any footsteps in the hall.
Maybe he’d find out he was talking to himself after all. Olfactory hallucinations or something.
But then Riley stepped into the doorway, the picture of hangdog regret.
“You shouldn’t lurk,” Seth told him archly. He immediately regretted it. Whatever secrets Riley might have kept, Seth couldn’t bear for Riley to look so horribly wounded again.
But the hangdog expression must have been mostly for show because Riley shamelessly stepped into the kitchen, like Seth had invited him in warmly rather than scolded him on sight. “What are you making?” Riley asked. “Cake?”
He sounded hopeful, and Seth raised his brows at the audacity. “No. You haven’t earned any cake.” He cleared his throat, waving at his ingredients. “I’m making orange rolls.”
Riley perked up in an instant, like Seth using his favorite flavor meant the beginnings of forgiveness. Oh God. Maybe it did.
Ugh. Seth was so weak for this sneaky boy.
“Can I help?” Riley asked.
Seth shrugged, turning away before his face could betray him. He wanted to look crushing, but he probably looked more like hewascrushing. “If you like.”
