Page 5 of Definitely Dead (Happily Ever Afterlife #1)

Chapter five

T here had not been ingredients for cinnamon rolls.

To his credit, Sunne had taken the news in stride with only minor disappointment. Or so he’d claimed.

The apartment had tried to help. They had returned from the river to find a package of cinnamon rolls waiting in the pantry. Not the warm, soft, gooey kind from a bakery, but certainly passable. Sunne had disagreed.

And the apartment had…reacted.

The bright jewel and metallic tones that filled the unit had dulled to a pale, depressing gray. The water pressure in the shower had reduced to a trickle. The titles and covers had been erased from all of his beloved books, and various things started going missing around the place.

Probably the biggest fuck you , however, was when the ambient temperature had dropped to match the numbing cold outside.

The petty assault had gone on for three whole days before Sunne had finally given in and eaten one of the prepackaged pastries. After that, things had returned to normal, and his mate had been careful not to offend his temperamental home again.

Tyr had told Sunne that most units in the building didn’t behave like his, and he’d meant that. They provided the basics like food and running water, but very few changed to reflect their owner’s personality. They damn sure didn’t provide curated desserts, then throw a tantrum when those offerings were snubbed.

He took it as proof of what he already knew. Sunne was special. Maybe not on a cosmic scale. He probably wouldn’t change the course of history or rewrite the future. But he had a spark, something about him that made him different.

And clearly, Tyr wasn’t the only one who had noticed.

“You know, if you don’t think about it too hard, it’s kind of pretty.” Stretched out on his stomach in the sand, his chin resting in his palms, Sunne stared out over the River Acheron. “How many souls do you think are in there?”

“Millions.”

Just below the dark surface, orbs of blue light drifted lazily with the current, a collection of disembodied souls awaiting reincarnation. He didn’t know what the selection process entailed, or what made them worthy of being reborn. That information was apparently above his paygrade.

He would occasionally, however, see a Reaper approach the river with a small gold locket and pluck one of the flickering lights from the water. Then they would disappear as silently and mysteriously as they had arrived.

“What happens if someone falls out of the ferry?”

Snorting, he rolled onto his side and levered up on his elbow so he could see his mate. “You worry too much, lelien .”

“Maybe,” Sunne allowed. “But what happens?”

“They won’t fall out of the ferry.”

“But what if they did?”

“Then they would be erased.” He shrugged one shoulder. “No coming back. They would just cease to exist forever.” They’d already had this conversation, so he had to assume there was more to the question. “What are you getting at?”

“I don’t know. It seems kind of unfair.” Rolling over, he pushed into a sitting position and pulled his knees to his chest. “You die, which already sucks. Then you’re just trying to step onto the ferry, but your foot slips, and…poof. You’re gone forever.”

He wouldn’t lie. It did happen. Not that exact scenario, but plenty of souls had ended up in the river either by accident or because they hadn’t known better. Those incidents had been greatly reduced since he and the other Guardians had started patrolling the shore, though.

Hence why he found himself at the river in the middle of the night while the rest of the village slept. No matter how much he hated being away from Sunne, having a mate didn’t excuse him from his duties. Still, he hadn’t asked the guy to accompany him. In fact, he’d been pretty adamant that Sunne remain in the warmth and safety of their apartment.

Sunne always insisted on coming with him, though, and Tyr was just selfish enough to let him.

Sitting up, he held his hand out in invitation. “Come here, lelien .”

Without a flicker of hesitation, Sunne reached out, taking his hand as he scrambled across the sand to him. Once he was close enough, Tyr caught him around the waist and pulled him into his lap so that he straddled his thighs.

Their eyes met, and they both stilled, the implication of such an intimate position hanging over them.

Although Tyr had nothing to compare their relationship with, he liked to think things had been progressing well. Maybe a little slower than he would have liked, especially the physical parts, but definitely headed in the right direction.

He still slept on the sofa at night, and apart from that almost-kiss in the corridor, they hadn’t done anything more than hold hands or cuddle. While he loved any excuse to be close to his mate, and he would wait until the end of time for Sunne to be ready, he couldn’t deny that he wanted the male.

As the mating bond strengthened, instincts clawed at him, reawakening desires he had buried beneath duty and loyalty long ago. Not only a carnal appetite, but a deep, innate need to protect, provide, and to claim what belonged to him. Not in ownership, but as a warning to anyone who would try to take what was his.

“ Lelien , I need you to hear this.” With one hand on Sunne’s waist, he cupped the side of his face with the other. “You can’t save them all. That doesn’t make you a bad person. It doesn’t mean you stop caring. Bad shit happens, but it’s not your fault.”

“I know,” Sunne whispered back. “I just—”

“No.” Adjusting his hand, he pressed his thumb to his mate’s lips and rubbed gently to quiet him. “I love that you have such a big heart, but if you let it, that kind of empathy will eat you alive here.”

“Interesting choice of words.”

Tyr rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, fair, but hear me out. Maybe we could post a sign, yeah? Or form a welcoming committee?” Slowly, shyly, he wrapped his arms around Tyr’s neck and leaned into him. “If you hadn’t found me when I arrived, I would have been so lost. I wouldn’t have known how to get Lizzie across the river. What would have happened if we had touched the water to get a drink or clean our hands?”

Tyr growled, a storm of emotion building inside him at the thought of something happening to his mate. “What do you think we’re doing here?”

“But you can’t always be here. I’m proof of that. And that Reaper douche wasn’t helpful at all.”

“Poor baby,” he teased. “Do you want me to punch him in the face if I see him again?”

Sunne pretended to consider his offer before giving him a resolute nod. “Yes.”

“Done.” Gods, he loved that laugh, and he would do anything to keep the smile on Sunne’s face. Even form a fucking welcome committee. “Look, I get what you’re saying, and you’re not wrong, but this is how things have always been.”

He and his fellow Guardians filled some of the gaps, but they couldn’t hold back the flood on their own.

“And people used to piss in the streets. Just because a system exists doesn’t make it a good one.”

Tyr barked out a surprised laugh. His mate really did have a way with words that never failed to both impress and amuse him.

“Fine. You want change? Make it happen.”

“Me?”

He arched an eyebrow. “Who else?”

“But…” Trailing off, Sunne dropped his gaze and chewed his bottom lip. “Do you really think I can do it?”

“ Lelien .” He slid his hand along Sunne’s jaw to grip his chin and waited for him to meet his gaze again. “If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

Gratitude and something deeper flickered in Sunne’s eyes, and he leaned forward, capturing Tyr’s lips in a kiss that was both spontaneous and fleeting.

“Oh, my god,” he gasped, jerking away abruptly, his gaze wide and filled with panic. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

But Tyr was having none of it. With a possessive growl that echoed his need, he tangled his fingers in Sunne’s hair, pulling him close.

“Well, that’s a shame. Because I did.”

What came next was anything but brief.

Tyr slanted their mouths together, melding their lips in a fervent, insistent dance, each touch igniting a fire that had lain dormant for far too long. There was no hesitation, no room for doubt. Instead, he kissed his mate with a fierceness born of hunger and need, a declaration of everything he felt but hadn’t yet spoken.

Tyr traced the outline of Sunne’s lips with his tongue, eliciting a sharp, needy gasp, before delving deeper, exploring the sweet contours of his mouth. Sunne’s breath hitched, and his fingers clutched at Tyr’s arms as he melted against him in quiet surrender.

Time stilled, and the world faded, leaving only the two of them clinging to one another beside the water.

Tyr’s heart crashed against his ribs, and his cock swelled inside his leathers, but he kept his touch gentle, coaxing rather than forceful. Fuck, he wanted him, craved him, but his ray of sunshine deserved so much better than desperate rutting on a cold stretch of river.

Yet every brush of Sunne’s tongue, every hushed moan, made it harder to remember why taking him right there was a bad idea.

When they finally pulled apart, breathless and flushed, the world came rushing back into focus, but nothing felt familiar anymore. Staring into the depths of Sunne’s gaze, everything shifted. Priorities realigned. Promises took on new meanings.

In the measure of a single heartbeat, everything had changed.

Before the realization could settle, a rush of energy swept over him, a disturbance he had become all too familiar with over the centuries.

“Up you go,” he said, patting his mate’s hip. Then, because he wanted to—and he could—he brushed another kiss over his lips. “We have company.”

He had expected more panic. Maybe a tinge of pink as embarrassment crept in, but neither of those things happened. Sunne took his time getting to his feet, a funny little smile on his mouth.

“You look very satisfied with yourself,” Tyr observed as he joined him.

“Oh, I am. I’ve wanted to do that since I met you.”

They’d wasted days dancing around boundaries that didn’t exist, but it had been well worth the wait. “Why didn’t you?”

Sunne shrugged, a small, casual movement of his shoulders. “Nerves, maybe? I don’t know. It didn’t feel right yet.”

He wouldn’t have been able to put it into such simple terms, but he understood exactly what Sunne meant. It had never been about a lack of attraction, and all about the desire for it to mean something.

“Oh.” A gasp fell from his mate’s lips as they started walking toward the pier. “He’s…different.”

That was one way to describe the new arrival.

A couple inches shorter but just as broad in the chest, the male had the kind of body developed from hard labor rather than hours spent in a gym. Tight denim encased thighs the size of tree trunks, and a plain white tee begged for mercy as it stretched tight across his chest.

Not really Tyr’s type, but he supposed the guy was objectively handsome. If one were into that sort of thing.

“Stop looking at him.”

Sunne snorted. “How am I supposed to talk to him if I can’t look at him?”

“Good point. Don’t talk to him either.”

His laughter was soft and indulgent, and he slipped his hand into Tyr’s with a comforting squeeze. “I meant that I’ve never seen an actual cowboy before.”

Tyr stared at the newcomer. He just looked like a guy in a hat to him. “I guess, but to be fair, I’ve never met a cowboy vampire before.”

“You’re serious?” He blinked a couple of times, his brow creased. “He’s really a vampire?”

“Yep.” He could feel the energy pouring off the male, even at a distance. Not immense, but a little wild. A little restless. “Probably not very old.”

“Huh,” Sunne mused. Then he waved his free hand over his head in greeting. “Hey, there!” he called. “You look a little lost.”

The cowboy turned away from the river and removed his wide-brimmed hat like a true gentleman. Approaching them, he wore a charming smile—broad, ingratiating, with just a hint of humility.

Tyr hated him already.

“Not lost,” he answered, his voice low, smooth, and tinged with the kind of accent that melted panties. “I’m dead, ain’t I?”

“More than once.” Tyr grunted when his mate elbowed him in the ribs.

“I’m Sunne.” Stepping forward, he offered his hand and a kind smile. “What’s your name?”

“Fenton Truitt, but you can call me Finn.” His gaze flickered to Tyr before accepting the handshake, and he kept the contact brief while maintaining a respectful distance.

Their eyes met again, and Tyr nodded his approval as understanding passed between them. Sunne was off-limits.

“You’re a vampire, right?” Sunne asked.

Finn shook his head. “Naw. Bloodsucker killed me, but I’m not one of them.”

Well…shit.

Fenton Truitt was absolutely a vampire, and the fact that he didn’t know it painted a pretty bleak picture.

The process of becoming a bloodsucker was pretty straightforward. Step one—die after ingesting vampire blood. And that was it. That was the entire list.

“Um, can you give us a minute?” Grabbing Tyr by the hand, Sunne spun him around and marched a few yards away down the riverbank. “Don’t move,” he called. “And don’t touch the water.”

“This isn’t good.”

“No shit,” Sunne hissed. “Are you sure he’s a vampire?”

“I’m sure.”

“Does he need to feed? Is that a thing here?”

Tyr bobbed his head. “Yeah, it’s a thing.”

Like humans, Otherling souls functioned pretty much as normal in the Underworld. Shifters and weres still transformed into beasts. Witches maintained a degree of their magic, though it did have its limitations. Vampires still needed blood, especially a newly raised fledgling.

“What do we do?”

For that, he didn’t have an answer. Left to him, he’d send the cowboy across the river and let the powers that be sort him out. Somehow, he didn’t think his mate would be agreeable to that solution.

“It’s up to him if he wants to take the ferry or not.”

“But he doesn’t even know what he is.”

“Not our problem.”

“Well, I’m making it our problem.”

Tyr sighed. Yeah, he had a feeling Sunne would say that. Might as well get it over with.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” he said as he strode back toward Finn. “You’re a vampire.” He held his hand up to cut him off when the guy started to argue. “You can come with us to the village.” For emphasis, he gestured toward the top of the hill. “Or you can take the ferry across the river. Up to you.”

“Oh, my god.” Clapping a hand over his face, Sunne groaned. “What is wrong with you?”

“I’m really a bloodsucker?” Finn looked a little confused, a little curious, but he seemed to be taking the news well.

“Yes,” Sunne answered, shooting a glare at Tyr. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? You’re not the one who killed me.” Spinning his hat between his hands, he looked over at the dock. “If I stay, can I change my mind later?”

“Yes. You can leave whenever you want.”

“But there’s no coming back,” Tyr added. “Once you cross, that’s it.”

“In that case, if it’s alright with you, I think I’ll stay awhile.”

Sunne smiled, the tension bleeding from his shoulders. “How about a cup of coffee?”

Settling his hat back on his head, Finn cocked his head and smirked. “Got anything stronger?”

Resigned, Tyr started trudging back up the hill toward the village. Only his mate could adopt a dead, Southern-grown fledgling in the middle of the Underworld and make it seem like a regular Tuesday.

But after twelve hundred years of the same shit, at least things were finally starting to get interesting.