Chapter 3

Three

B ryn was still there when Everly opened his eyes the next morning. Except that Bryn had moved the armchair around and was holding Everly's hand as he read something on his phone. The room was still dark and Everly could hear wind and rain pelting the window behind him.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Everly whispered, not wanting to disturb Bryn or give up his hand. It was warm and strong as it curled around his, keeping Everly's fear of storms at bay for the moment.

There was a soft chuckle and Bryn gave it a gentle squeeze. "It started to rain just before sunrise and you got a little restless so I moved over here to keep a closer eye on you. But I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about hurting me."

Everly tightened his hand around Bryn's, testing the connection and watching him closely. "You won't lose control or hurt yourself?" he asked, but he could see how clear Bryn's gaze was and he felt calm as his other hand brushed the hair away from Everly's eyes.

"You are beautiful to me and I can see that you're special and you smell a little better than most humans, but that's it. I won't lose my mind or waste away without you."

"Then why are you still here? Why are you always here?" Everly asked, wrinkling his nose sheepishly. "I like it," he admitted in a secret whisper, glancing at the door to make sure they were still alone. "I don't want to hurt you but I like it when you're close to me."

Bryn answered with a blushing chuckle. "I like it too and you'd have a problem if you didn't want me hovering. I'm like a dog with a bone when I've found something I like," he said with a teasing wink. "Or when I've found someone who needs my help and protection."

"Is that the only reason?" Everly asked shyly, unable to lift his gaze to Bryn's. "We can have sex now if you want to. I wouldn't mind," he said, then flinched when Bryn jerked and jumped to his feet.

"Easy!" He held a hand out as if Everly might leap from the bed, his laugh high and cracking. "I'm a little old fashioned when it comes to that. Let me buy you a drink first and pretend I'm gonna call you back," he said with a self-deprecating grimace. "Even that's stretching it because I have been a complete dog in the past but you deserve more."

"You don't want to have sex with me?" Everly asked, confused. Everyone wanted Everly like that if they got close to him. It was why he never sat next to anyone on the bus or got into elevators.

There was another strained laugh as Bryn paced to the window. "Look, Ev… I'm a man in every way that matters and a man with the heightened primal instincts of a beast. And you are very beautiful and you happen to check off some other boxes for me. But?—"

"What boxes?" Everly interrupted, very keen to know what those boxes were so he knew what to do or be more of.

"Oh. Well…" Bryn cleared his throat and scrubbed the back of his neck. "There are a lot of boxes and they're pretty easy to check because: man," he said as he pointed at himself. "But…um…" A red rash crept up his neck as he stuttered and stalled. "You're male presenting and that's a big one, and I have a thing for men who are more…petite," he added apologetically.

"I am a smaller man," Everly confirmed and smiled because his past partners had simply gushed and proclaimed his perfection, sometimes until they were literally blue in the face. It was extremely pleasing to know that he could legitimately be Bryn's "type."

"You're cute and sweet and you do look like an angel when you sleep. But when you're awake and you smile— And your laugh is…so good," Bryn babbled, before covering his face to muffle a whimper, muttering, "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Nothing!" Everly insisted. "I think you are wonderful and we can have sex now if you want to."

Bryn jumped again, shaking his head. "No! I mean—" he froze for a moment, staring, then shook his head. "Not yet. Maybe later. After we've gotten to know each other better."

"Why?" Everly countered. "If you like me and I like you… I love love and sex but I had to stay away from people so I wouldn't hurt them. But they said that I can't hurt you and you said I check off a lot of boxes."

"More boxes by the minute," Bryn said under his breath and appeared to brace himself, before pacing back to the bed and lowering next to Everly. He raised Everly's hand and kissed his knuckles, shushing softly. "This is the fae in you. You crave love and affection and you've gone a really long time without it, haven't you?" he asked, causing Everly to nod and sniffle as the lonely emptiness of the last four years haunted him.

He had tried and tried to make friends and lovers without harming them, but had given up after his last partner killed himself. No one believed that Everly had been responsible, but he had begged the police to lock him in a cell so no one else would have to suffer. Instead, he had been flirted with and followed home and Everly had been forced to sneak out of a window and hide until the cops gave up and went away. Again.

That was the pattern whenever Everly asked for help or tried to protect others. He was like a walking virus, infecting everyone who looked upon him for more than a few moments with lustful obsession. He covered his face and avoided going out until most people were sleeping, a beautiful leper hiding in the shadows.

All of that was over, if Nox and Merlin were to be believed. And Everly did believe them. He would have made himself if he didn't because he finally had friends he couldn't hurt, who saw him for exactly who he was. Whether the truth hurt or not.

But it did hurt, being reminded that he wasn't a real person and that he'd been made for a terrible purpose. "I do miss love," he admitted and couldn't hide the tremor that passed through him as he yearned for the joy and the rush of energy he received from the adoration of another being. "But I understand if you require more," he said quietly but Bryn shushed even louder, shaking his head.

"You deserve more."

"I don't! I'm just a—" Everly objected, only to earn a fiercely scolding look from Bryn.

"I see through you. I see through everyone, Ev, and I can see what your soul is made of. I promise you, it's beautiful and it's real . It doesn't matter what you were or what you are at this very moment, I can see how good you want to be and that's the only box that really matters to me."

"I'm real," Everly whispered as tears puddled his vision. For the first time in his miserably beautiful life, he felt like a real person as Bryn ignored his looks and their mutual desire. "Thank you."

The pads of Bryn's thumbs swiped away the tears on Everly's cheeks before his forehead received a quick peck. "No problem." It was too quick and Everly was disappointed when Bryn stood and headed for the door. "Gonna need an extra hard run, though, so Merlin or Nox will be up with your breakfast."

Everly turned to the window when the wind howled and reared back at a flash of lightning. "A run?" he cried, as thunder shook the ground. "You can't run in this!"

"You kidding?" Bryn asked as he pulled back his hair, winding a hot pink elastic band around the small topknot. "This is the best weather to run in. I promise, nothing out there is going to hurt me and I'll be back in half an hour."

"Okay," Everly croaked, still concerned as the storm outside grew louder.

Nox arrived shortly after with Everly's breakfast on a tray. "Bryn said you were a little unsettled from the storm so I added something special to give this an extra cozy kick," he told Everly as he passed him the teacup in its saucer.

"I hate storms," he confessed but suspected his wobbly lip had already given him away. "Is it an herb?" he asked and sniffed, making Nox smirk.

"The very best of herbs: Irish whiskey."

Everly sipped and hummed appreciatively at the spicy warmth as it spread down his throat and through his chest, chasing away the storm's chill. "That's nice," he said with a happy hum and took another long drink.

"I had a feeling you'd enjoy that. How are you feeling aside from the storm? Any leftover sluggishness from that curse?"

"No." Everly shook his head. "I already feel better than I did before the…" He shook his head harder, not wanting to think about, let alone talk about that night. "I wasn't in a good place and I was hoping something would happen to me. I didn't care if it was bad or the end, I just wanted something to change," he whispered.

Nox made a sad sound. "I had some low, reckless moments myself before I met Nelson and my fate caught up with me."

"You did?" Everly couldn't picture Nox as anything but the bright, generous, laughing man before him.

He nodded, solemn for just a moment before smiling. "I didn't think I had a choice or that there would be any other outcome for me but failure. Thankfully, I was wrong and I believe we may have bypassed whatever fate had planned for you," he added with a lift of his brows.

"It does feel like I have a second chance, or a chance to start over," Everly said and Nox smiled.

"That's exactly what we want to hear. We're all rooting for you, buddy," he said as he took the cup from Everly and placed it back on the tray. "I'd like to give you a different kind of checkup, now that you're more alert and Bryn's not here to snap at me." He moved the tray out of the way and scooted closer.

"Is this going to hurt?" Everly asked, allowing Nox to gather his face in his hands and lean in closer. He wasn't afraid, just curious to know if it should hurt and if it actually would.

"Not at all. I just want to listen and feel," Nox said quietly, closing his eyes. Everly held very still and breathed as softly as he could. Nox remained silent for several moments before sitting back and forcing out a thoughtful hum.

"What?" Everly asked nervously, but Nox waved it off.

"Nothing to worry about. You're very…neutral," he decided with a wide grin. "Practically a blank canvas."

Everly chewed on his lip as Nox returned the tray to his lap and set the teacup back in his hands. "And that's good?"

"It's great!" Nox replied a touch too quickly, then shrugged. "It can't hurt. Imagine you adopted a puppy and it had learned a bunch of bad habits."

"I am kind of like a puppy, aren't I," Everly said, deflating slightly.

"Nope. Sorry. Really bad choice of metaphor," Nox stated briskly as he slashed at the air. "Our puppy is currently out running in the rain and probably chasing cars," he said with another wink. "I want you to forget everything you used to believe about yourself and start fresh. You're still a changeling in that you're adapting and learning as you grow, but you're not the harmful kind of changeling anymore. Not since you almost died and Merlin and I patched you up."

"I'm not?"

"I'm afraid not," Nox said, pretending to be serious. "I had to put some of my light into you and Merlin bled you so he could see just how much curse was left and he says you're just as pure as fresh snow now."

Everly had a feeling Nox was exaggerating in order to cheer him up. But it was working. "Can you and Merlin help me be more like a real man? I want Bryn to like me but he says that I'm still too fae to know what I want."

A loud hiss slipped from Nox as he leaned back, hugging his chest. "In this case, I think you should rely on Bryn's judgment. You are in a very malleable state, spiritually, and fae magick is flighty and capricious by nature. I don't sense much in the way of puckishness in your aura, but we might have trouble if Bryn gave into his more…canine qualities right now."

"Why? What could happen?" Everly's eyes grew wider and drier as he leaned in.

Nox coughed softly. His cheeks were pink as he checked the door. "For the love of all the gods, you cannot listen to Merlin if his advice is even remotely horny."

"Okay. Why?"

"Do you know what an incubus is?" He waited until Everly nodded. "Your hungry fae soul is waiting for a spiritual signal so it knows what kind of sí you're supposed to be. If you had woken up on the other side of the veil and had been gathered up with the sluagh, you could have become one of them. Or, you could have been lost out there, tortured and twisted by the void until you found your way back as a banshee?—"

Everly recoiled and gasped because he knew what those were and that they were terrible. "That's why Bryn wouldn't let me go," he said shakily and Nox nodded.

"If there's one thing a spectral hound is gonna do, it's gonna take that soul exactly where it's supposed to go, and Bryn knew you didn't belong out there and that you weren't meant to die that night. He seems to know himself even better," Nox said with a nod at the window and the storm outside. "Trust his instincts. He won't let any harm come to you."

"Because he doesn't want me to become an incubus," Everly guessed, earning a snort from Nox.

"I'm sure part of Bryn does and he could probably make that work since he's nearly indestructible. But we all want more for you than that, even Merlin. He's still a touch peeved with Bryn's behavior so he's willing to vex him back, by stirring things up between the two of you. He just forgets that too much sex can be a bad thing."

"Why?" Everly squinted over Nox's shoulder, trying to think of any other consequence aside from his own dehydration.

"We haven't figured out what's trying to kill you yet. I think we should before you and Bryn start breeding and have a litter of hellhounds."

Everly's jaw fell and he let out a shocked gasp. "Can I do that? Is that how they're made?"

"No!" Nox laughed as he got up. "You can't—" He paused and Nox's head cocked before he shook it. "I am ninety-nine point nine nine percent certain you can't have a baby, but beings like myself, Merlin, and the twins reincarnate, usually along family lines. It's a little different with Bryn and Arawn, but they can't reproduce and their bodies last as long as both of their souls last."

"Both of their souls?"

Nox's cheeks puffed out as he nodded. "They're not just physical twins, their souls are braided so that they repeat together. If one of them dies on the other side, the other will begin to age on this side so their souls can be reunited."

"Oh, no!" Everly gulped as he thought about Arawn and what might have happened if Bryn hadn't survived the monster that night in the Nothing.

"It would take so much more, someone like me, to kill a spectral hound," Nox said. "I'm sure he told you what I am. And who Nelson and Merlin are, in addition to being a smoking hot FBI agent and a twisted old pervert," he added with an eye roll for Merlin. "You are part of our weird little family now, along with Bixby and the twins. Whether Bryn likes it or not."

"Do you know why he doesn't like it?"

The moment stretched before Nox eventually nodded. "I do and I'll fix that soon. Don't worry. The storm will pass and tomorrow will be a lovely day," he predicted, then turned when they heard footsteps in the hallway.

A drenched Bryn leaned into the room, his nose and chin dripping as his chest heaved. "Everything alright?" he asked Everly, giving Nox a curt nod.

Everly couldn't remember ever feeling better. "Everything's really good. Go dry off," he said, but Bryn hesitated, lingering in the doorway as his gaze darted between Nox and Everly.

"You're not overwhelming him, are you?" he asked Nox gruffly.

"Hush! No!" Everly said and gestured for Bryn to stop. "Please be nice and get out of those wet clothes," he repeated.

"Okay. Sorry," Bryn told Everly before hurrying off, leaving a puddle of water in the doorway.

"Well done," Nox whispered to Everly, looking impressed.

Everly didn't hide how surprised and tickled he was. "Thanks!"

"Looks like you can teach an old dog new tricks. I'll make myself scarce before he gets back. Need anything from the kitchen?"

"No. I really am feeling better and I'll try to remember what you said," Everly promised and thanked Nox again before he left. "I wonder if I could be a witch like Nox and Merlin," he murmured to himself as he tucked into a bowl of cozy, comforting blueberry oatmeal. It was exactly what he needed on such a gloomy morning, making Everly even more certain that his new friends were truly blessings.