Chapter Thirteen

Landyn was getting restless, although that wasn't Hephaestus's fault. Two weeks into his mating and Landyn had never felt so rested, well fed, or cared for. Hephaestus looked for opportunities every day to make him feel special, and Landyn did his best to help his mate feel the same way.

And that was part of the problem. There were times when Hephaestus would worry out loud that Landyn would get bored being with him. Landyn, being his normal caring self, would reassure his mate that wasn't the case, and after lots of kisses and very occasionally some sexy rubbing times, Hephaestus's mood usually improved.

Hephaestus had said many times he didn't consider himself a victim, even though there were some stories he shared that Landyn felt definitely edged into the abusive side of things. Frankly, Landyn wasn't sure how else anyone could categorize being thrown off a mountain by his own father.

So Hephaestus's dips in moods were understandable, at least in Landyn's opinion. Despite that, for most of the time the burly looking god was the genuinely caring mate anyone could hope for. Landyn was absolutely spoiled – a bath was run for him every morning, breakfast was ready for him the moment he'd dried himself.

Gifts were still arriving almost every day, although Landyn said he didn't need anything. But if he said anything like that at all, then Hephaestus would look sad. Not in any sad-eyed puppy way designed to make Landyn feel bad, but a bleak look would flash across Hephaestus's face all the same.

"I have more money than I know what to do with," he explained more than once, and Landyn, who couldn't imagine how much that might be, would kiss his mate and thank him for the latest gifts, because he could feel through their bond that Hephaestus really wanted to do those things for him.

Although Hephaestus's comment about money did make for one interesting afternoon for Landyn, sitting in Hephaestus's office with a piece of paper and a pencil, trying to work out how much money would be too much if a person lived forever. In the end, Landyn gave up. He struggled with any number that got bigger than four digits.

Landyn had a lot of time to puzzle things out like that. Since their first visit to the studio, Hephaestus started taking him to work every day, which was fun for about three days, and then not so much. After long hours pounding metal, Hephaestus was usually tired, and his leg ached so badly that he would wince on the drive home, something Landyn hated to see.

Then there was the little matter of the cyclops didn't talk to him at all, just sending pointed snarls in his direction, which Landyn did his best to ignore.

There had been one instance Landyn really struggled to ignore, where Bronte, Steropes, and Arges had gotten far too snuggly with Hephaestus for Landyn's comfort. Surprised by the sheer amount of anger Landyn felt at seeing their behavior, especially when he knew it was deliberately aimed at upsetting him, Landyn quickly got up and went to sit outside.

He'd been staying out of his mate's way while Hephaestus and the cyclops were working, just sitting in a corner reading a book. Landyn couldn't think why the giants would do something so blatantly wrong like that.

But as the cold air helped cool his anger, Landyn tried to reason that the giants still weren't comfortable with change. Maybe they had always been overly touchy-feely with his mate and hadn't believed they were doing anything wrong at all. Yeah, Landyn didn't believe that either. He hadn't seen them making any effort to accept his place in his mate's life, something Hephaestus had clearly noticed too from all the yelling going on as soon as Landyn had left the space.

So... Thinking… Landyn was doing a lot of it. There wasn't much else he had to do. He truly appreciated his mate's skills in the workshop. Hephaestus could turn a piece of ugly metal into the most beautiful pieces of art. The flames of the forge seemed to dance at his command, and Landyn could admit, too, that his mate and the cyclops all worked together seamlessly when they were crafting bigger pieces. It was amazing to watch, but there was a limit to how much flame dancing he wanted to see.

I should get a job. Landyn was sitting outside again. He'd spent two years of his life being outside, and Landyn enjoyed the wintery sun and the chill of the air. There was nothing artificial about it. His toes were toasty in his new boots and he had his coat.

Knocking his boots together, Landyn admired the shine. There were no scuffs or holes in the soles or on the toes. I haven't been walking anywhere to get them grubby, he chuckled quietly to himself. That was something he missed – hearing laughter and general conversations from people just going about their business. Looking out at the bleak parking lot, Landyn couldn't see another person anywhere.

There were a few times when Hephaestus would laugh along with him, usually at breakfast if he'd had a good sleep, and Landyn loved those times. But Landyn knew that being quiet was his mate's nature. He also knew that Hephaestus wasn't ignoring him when he was working. It was just like any artist, when Hephaestus got into the flow of what he was doing he didn't notice how late it was most evenings before he stopped.

And it wasn't as though Hephaestus knew Landyn missed being out among other people. Landyn had never said. Admittedly, he'd always been careful when he was rough sleeping, especially at night. But during the day, especially if the weather was nice, Landyn used to sit in a shopping area, just watching people going about their day. Laughter, conversations, random snatches of private lives that were always interesting.

Is it weird we don't have friends, Landyn mused? In his head, the cyclops didn't count. Yes, they'd been in his Hephaestus's life forever, but they never came to the house now, and if they invited Hephaestus to go out and drink with them if work had finished earlier than normal, the invite never included Landyn.

Their loss, Landyn reminded himself. Before the vampire incident, Landyn would go out every Friday night with people he was friends with. Drinking, dancing, playing darts or pool… I was good at pool, Landyn sighed.

Technically, there's nothing stopping me from going out now. Landyn tapped his jean's pocket. Hephaestus had arranged a new ID for him through his godly connections, a driver's license even though Landyn didn't know how to drive and even a birth certificate. Hephaestus had also given him a credit card so he could buy anything he wanted… which would be handy if we ever went out to the shops.

It was getting dark. Landyn had no wish to walk into town, and he knew Hephaestus would hate the idea. But, he reasoned, there was nothing stopping him taking an Uber. Peering over his shoulder at the big window, the darkness outside made the inside easy to see. All four of the big men had shirts off, pounding metal with hammers, the fires dancing wildly.

Probably best not to bother him at the moment. But then Landyn had a light bulb idea. Jumping up and hurrying back into the building, he scuttled through to the office and called the Uber number that was on the office noticeboard. Apparently, there was a car only two minutes away. Must be fate. Then Landyn ran over to the automaton cupboard, opening it and tapping one of them on the chest.

"Wake up, Charlie."

The magnificent machine opened his eyes. "Hello, mate of Hephaestus."

"Nice to see you, Charlie." Landyn beamed – Charlie was the closest thing he had to a friend. "Hephaestus is really busy, and I don't want to disturb him. His work is very dangerous with all that fire and hot metal, so it's important not to interrupt him while he's doing it. I don't want him to get hurt. However, I'm hungry. I'm going out for a little while. I have called for a car to come and collect me. When Hephaestus has finished working, will you tell him I will be back in an hour from now? I am just off to get some food."

"I will tell him, mate of Hephaestus."

"Thank you. Come out of the cupboard, so you can see when he has finished working."

The big machine lumbered out and turned to face where the men were working.

"Good job." Patting Charlie's back, Landyn heard the toot of a car horn. "I'll be back in an hour."