Page 127 of Inhuman Nature

“My grave.” Shaun took in Rake and DJ’s carefully blank expressions.

After a few beats of silence, Rake asked, “Your grave?”

“My grave,” Shaun confirmed.

“Right. Like that’s a normal thing to do,” DJ said, then winced as Rake flicked his ear.

“I’ll admit it’s a weird thing to do, but I want to,” Shaun said.

Rake nodded. “We’ll be there for all of it, sweetheart.”

They drove up to Shrewsbury a couple of nights later. Shaun and DJ’s shares of Lawrence’s estate were due imminently from Boris, so they planned to check out a couple of different cities on the way back, intending to choose an appropriate place to make their new home.

Shaun appreciated having something to look forward to that wasn’t his past.

The drive took around four hours, and Shaun was antsy the entire time. DJ drove, but Rake wouldn’t let Shaun sit in the front to distract him with his nervous energy, even though Shaun argued that all of them would survive a crash.

Which wasn’t the point, of course. Shaun was just being bratty. But he felt like he was allowed to be, given the circumstances. Rake didn’t agree. He promised Shaun that if he continued to act out, then DJ would pull over at the side of the motorway so that Rake could give Shaun a grounding spank.

Oddly, that did manage to calm Shaun down for a while.

But he was soon back to bouncing up and down in the middle seat, his nerves hitting as they made it into Shrewsbury. Shaun shuffled over and pressed his face against the window. Even in the darkness, it didn’t appear like much had changed.

Small towns tended to stay small towns.

Letting themselves into the converted barn they’d rented was easy enough, and after making sure that every curtain and blind in the house would block out any light, they clambered into bed together. Shaun was right where he wanted to be; in the middle, with Rake and DJ on either side of him.

Other than some light kissing, they just wrapped themselves around each other, not allowing for any personalspace. It was comfortable despite the tight squeeze. Their mutual lack of requirement for breathing and natural cool body temperatures meant they could pile in on one another to their hearts’ content.

Shaun fell into sleep more easily these days. The only thing that woke him was DJ’s occasional stirrings. He’d inherited Lawrence’s propensity for waking before the sun fully set, and so they would sit together on the sofa—Shaun reading and DJ gaming—whilst Rake slept on.

Rake acted like he’d been a vampire for decades, not a matter of weeks, with how easily he’d taken to the change in shifts. Not only that, but he liked not eating physical food, because he appreciated not having to deal with the different textures.

DJ had been handling that aspect less well. His appetite fluctuated, and he missed the choices and cuisines he used to take for granted. He was also convinced he could get drunk if he fed from someone who’d imbibed enough. His theory hadn’t yet yielded positive results, but not for lack of trying.

As DJ slipped from the bed that evening, Shaun woke, too. He padded after DJ, settling himself in his lap on a big armchair in the living room as they waited for the sun to dip below the horizon.

“You going to be up for seeing your parents tonight?” DJ asked between slow kisses.

“I doubt I’ll ever be ready. I want to do it anyway, though.”

DJ danced his fingers up and down Shaun’s back. “It’ll be okay.”

Deep down, Shaun knew his parents’ love for him wasn’t something that would ever disappear, but it was still a dauntingprospect all this time.

They went to see his mum first, parking near her new house to try to catch a glimpse of her. The three of them waited in the backseat until the hour grew late. No luck.

The second night yielded different results, however. The driveway had been empty when they’d arrived, but an hour or so later a car drove up and pulled in.

Shaun sat stock still as he caught sight of his mum. Her hair was now grey, and she wore it shorter than she had before. Her style hadn’t changed; she still preferred comfort over anything else, dressing in leggings and a jumper dress.

His mum looked happy. She clasped her husband’s hand as they walked to the door, and he laughed at something she said. She’d always made Shaun laugh as a kid, performing as characters in the stories they acted out and putting on funny voices when she read to him at night.

His throat felt tight, and his eyes stung. His mum didn’t close the curtains right away, so Shaun watched as she situated herself in the living room and turned the TV on.

“Shaun? Sweetheart?” Rake’s touch startled him when he reached up and brushed a strand of Shaun’s hair away from his face. “Are you okay?”

Shaun only nodded.