Page 30

“You’ll like Seth and Riley, I think,” he told Syrus. “I mean, everybody likes Seth, and Riley’s…quiet.”

Odd was more the word, probably. Odd in a way Luke thought Syrus might appreciate, but he didn’t know how to say that with any sort of delicacy. There was a similar intensity there, he’d realized as he’d said it. The way Riley watched Seth reminded Luke a little of the way Syrus watched Luke. Of course, Seth was Riley’s boyfriend, so it made more sense in their situation. Syrus was just…

Well, Luke didn’t know exactly what Syrus was, or why he looked at Luke the way he did. Protective instincts, he supposed, given their latest conversation.

Luke eyed the merman as they walked into the bakery. Syrus was striding straight-backed and tall, staring around them with fierce eyes, as if looking for threats. There was no sign of a limp, although his steps must have been painful. No sign that he wasn’t used to walking on land either.

Had he been practicing, maybe?

Seth grinned cheerily at them all as they entered, though his gaze darted between Luke and Syrus, clearly intrigued by Luke bringing a stranger in with him this early in the morning. Seth’s headband had pine trees on it this morning, as if in a nod to their town’s namesake. “Luke! You brought a friend! And don’t you look handsome, with your beard all⁠—”

Seth suddenly broke off coughing.

Luke allowed Colby to let go of his hand and toddle toward the pastry case. “You all right, Seth?”

“Sure,” Seth said when he’d caught his breath. His round cheeks were red. “Just—” He inhaled, then cocked his head, staring at Syrus. “I’m not⁠—”

He was interrupted by the door to the kitchen opening. Riley came out, walking backward with his back to them as he carried a tray of some kind of filled croissants. His gaze went straight to his boyfriend, as usual, and he immediately stiffened as he caught sight of Seth’s face.

Riley set the tray down on the counter hard enough to bounce the croissants. “What’s wrong?”

Seth tapped his nose, and Riley breathed in slowly. He turned, his dark gaze homing in on Syrus.

And then everything was a blur of confusion.

Before Luke could figure out why his friends were acting so strangely, Syrus darted forward and grabbed Colby before he could reach the counter. At the same time, Riley shoved Seth back and behind him, letting out what could only be described as a fearsome growl.

Luke stood frozen in shock as a wall of muscle suddenly blocked his friends from sight. Syrus was vibrating, letting out a low noise that had the hair on the back of Luke’s neck standing up. It wasn’t the animalistic growl Riley had just let out, but it was clearly a warning.

But for whom? For what?

“Luke,” Seth called softly, his kind voice somehow penetrating the odd noises coming from the other two men. “Can you—I need you to take Colby and come over here.”

Syrus was already handing Colby to Luke, which made Luke feel marginally better. But Syrus also wasn’t moving aside, only turning back immediately to face the others, that dark, feral noise still escaping his throat.

“Um, can I ask why?” Luke called back over Syrus’s shoulder.

It was Riley who answered. “Because that creature isn’t human.”

Well, that was…true, of course, but how in the hell did Riley know that?

“Neither are you,” Syrus said calmly, that odd vibration running through his deep voice. “You smell like stale blood and rot.”

“He does not!” Seth cried indignantly. “He smells like the forest!”

Luke tried to make sense of it all, but there was no sense to be found. On top of all that, Colby had now started crying, frustrated at being denied the donut Luke had promised. Or maybe just sensitive to the tension around him, as toddlers could sometimes be.

That was it, then. Luke lost his patience. He shoved at Syrus with his shoulder, managing to at least get forward enough to be side by side rather than blocked by Syrus’s bulk. He glared around him. “Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?”

But the wind was taken out of Luke’s sails before anyone could even answer. Because Riley looked…different. His eyes—usually a deep, dark brown—were now completely black, like his pupils had taken over and cleared out even the whites around the edges. And his teeth were bared at Syrus, revealing two long, pointed fangs where Luke had never seen fangs before.

So unless Riley had undergone some major body modification in the past thirty seconds, something wasn’t right there.

Luke stared, trying to think through the panic coursing through his body. He held Colby tighter to him, grateful his son had tucked his head into Luke’s neck and wouldn’t be frightened by the sight.

Two strong arms wrapped around Luke, pulling him and Colby both against Syrus’s broad chest.

“There are vampires in your town, dear Luke,” Syrus explained in a low rumble.