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B uttermilk biscuits, bacon, eggs, toast, French toast, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, crepes, and so much more covered the long wooden table before Jayden.

He rubbed his rumbling stomach, his mouth watering as he eyed the food—it all looked so good.

Jayden hesitated, before just grabbing things, and by the time he stopped, food was spilling over the sides of his plate. But as he stared down at the pile of food, he wasn’t sure where to start—part of him was skeptical that it would taste as good as it smelled.

Jayden picked up a biscuit, slathered it with butter, and took a bite. A moan slipped out as the flavors burst across his taste buds—oh, by the Gods, it was good. Soft with just the right amount of crunch. Jayden licked the butter off his lips and took a sip of milk.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten something so delicious. Actually, Jayden couldn’t remember the last time he’d even eaten breakfast .

Food was scarce on the streets. Most of the money he found, some of which was taken from his victims—it's not like they could use it after he was done with them anyway—went toward blood. He could survive longer without food than he could without blood. Not that he could live on it alone.

Jayden peeked at the man eating quietly across from him. Dressed casually, Stephan wore another loose, oversized sweater—though this one was striped black and pink. He also had on tight black cotton pants…and if his eyes hadn’t lied to him, fluffy watermelon-pink slippers.

Speaking of pink, Jayden was currently wearing pajama pants the color of a pink highlighter. Stephan had loaned them to him last night. They were comfortable, but holy hell, the color was awful.

The house he was currently in also belonged to the elf. No, not house, mansion—it was too big to be called a house. It smelled clean, and there was a scent of lavender in the air—so different from the musky, stale, and spoiled smells in the places he usually stayed.

Appearance-wise, the place was a mixture of blues and creams. The floor was white marble, though much of it was covered with a soft rug of some kind.

The furniture seemed old, but so far, all were pretty comfortable. But considering the lack of comfort he lived with daily, he wasn’t sure if his assessment was accurate. The artwork on the walls appeared expensive. Surprisingly, none of it was gaudy. It said ‘rich’ without screaming it.

As nice as the place was, when Jayden had first woken up, he had seriously questioned his recent life choices. For one, why the hell had he followed a stranger? Jayden was almost positive it wasn’t normal to sleep at the home of someone you just met—not that he was normal. He could only assume that it wasn’t. Stranger danger, or some shit like that.

But not only had Jayden slept over, he had slept well, and through the night. Usually, he just took naps—Jayden couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a full night’s sleep…if he ever had.

Though, his childhood, and the fact he now mostly stayed in empty or abandoned warehouses, could probably explain his sleeping habits. Getting robbed or attacked was always a risk. Not to mention, no matter how many years he’d been doing it, sleeping on cold, hard concrete was still pretty awful.

Last night, Jayden hadn’t worried about anything. With a lock on his door, to which Stephan gave him the master key, he’d felt safe.

Which was stupid, really. The door could have easily been broken down. Even so, Jayden had felt safe last night, not to mention comfortable.

His bed had been feathery soft—Jayden had fallen asleep moments after his head hit the pillow.

At this point, after a full night of sleep, and with the pile of food in front of him, Jayden couldn’t find it in himself to care why he had stayed.

Nibbling on a piece of bacon, his gaze shifted to the only other person at the table. Stephan had called the man ‘Liam’. He wasn’t sure who the man was to Stephan. Butler maybe? Whatever, Jayden couldn’t read him either, and of course, he hadn’t tried touching him.

At probably only an inch over six feet tall, Liam was willowy, with sharp facial features and short black hair. He appeared perfectly put together with his black button-down and black slacks. Not even a single hair was out of place.

When the man focused his jeans-blue eyes on him, with an eyebrow raised in question, Jayden grunted and looked back down at his plate.

For some reason, Jayden’s instincts were telling him Liam wasn’t someone he should fuck with. The hairs on the back of his neck rose every time the vampire looked at him too closely.

He just knew it wouldn’t be easy to hide things from the man. Not that Jayden intended to stay long enough to have to hide anything. In fact, he planned to leave the minute he knew Richard would be punished for what he did.

With his mind now focused on Richard, Jayden couldn’t help but think about what had happened the previous night. Last night had started off normal—well, normal for him—but had quickly devolved.

Stephan’s abilities had been shocking. Jayden still wasn’t sure what the man was, besides an elf, and Stephan had refused to tell him.

After the freaky floating blood and healing, Jayden had erased all the memories of him, Stephan, and the warehouse from Richard’s mind. Though, he had left behind what he’d done to the man—Jayden wanted him to suffer. Not to mention, it would have been a damn shame to waste perfectly good torture.

But, last night, Jayden had managed to do something he hadn’t even realized he could—he put Richard’s memories on repeat. It had been satisfying to see the man writhe in agony and fear.

It had, however, forced him to knock Richard out—the constant screaming would have drawn attention. Jayden had woken him up after they dropped him off, though. And they’d had help dropping him off, not to mention transporting him.

Stephan had made a call, and moments later, in walked Liam. Without a single question, the man picked Richard up and carried him to the questionable but expensive-looking black SUV parked outside.

They dropped Richard off a few streets away from one of the local Zaytari posts, with the man’s screams of pain and terror echoing behind them as they drove away.

After dropping the former murder bait off, Liam drove them to Stephan’s mansion—which was why Jayden now sat across from the two, eating breakfast. The past twenty-four hours had been completely insane.

W atching the young man through his lashes, Stephan absently cut into his waffle.

At this moment, he was sure most people would think he was crazy. And even Stephan would freely admit bringing home a young teen who’d confessed to multiple murders, and had been in the middle of one when they'd met, was not the sanest thing he’d ever done.

His knife and fork stilled. Am I crazy?

The thought was a bit worrying, but it wouldn’t be surprising after what happened. Stephan wrinkled his brow. He didn’t feel crazy. Then again, he doubted many insane people thought they were insane either …

But still, Stephan thought he was pretty normal. He rolled his eyes—as normal as anyone who’d bring home a murderer…

Catching sight of his own plate, Stephan grimaced at the mess. His waffle was lost—the poor thing was mangled, and most of the pieces were too small to even poke with a fork.

Out of the corner of his eye, Stephan saw Liam scrunch his brows in disapproval. His face heated as he pushed his destroyed breakfast aside and grabbed a new plate and another waffle.

Liam had had a few choice words to say to him last night—the vampire had been furious. As a close friend of his father, Liam had taken his duties as his godfather very seriously after Stephan’s parents died.

Which was why the man had been more than a bit upset last night. It hadn’t been a pleasant conversation, that’s for sure. But at least his godfather had given in—after about two hours of arguing, that is. Though the warning had been clear. Liam would intervene if the young man tried anything.

The teenager was powerful, sure, but Stephan wasn’t helpless. Besides, from what he’d seen, the teen couldn’t read or control Stephan’s mind the way he could others’. Not that Stephan hadn’t felt him try to break past his barriers. Stephan felt it, and easily pushed back.

He was positive it was only due to him being a Lydus blood elf. His mental barriers and magical abilities were naturally stronger than most—a direct result of his ancestors constantly being hunted. Their DNA had evolved to make it easier for them to hide.

Though, the fact that the young man had such strong abilities at his age was a bit disconcerting .

Regardless of his mental abilities, a physical attack was also unlikely. In terms of muscle, the teenager had about as much as he did—which wasn’t a lot at all. They were about the same size, both around five foot two. However, while Stephan was thin, the teen was unhealthily so. No doubt living on the streets had prevented the young man from getting the nutrients his body needed. Stephan planned to change that.

He peered at the teenager through his lashes once again. The kid was still wearing the pink cotton shirt and the matching pajama pants Stephan had given him last night. His other clothes had been sent off to be cleaned.

Though, Stephan would have rather just thrown them away. The teen's outfit consisted of a thin, short-sleeve top, jeans that had more holes than fabric, gloves that were just strips of cloth wound together, and boots worn down to the soles. None of it would protect him from the elements. While it wasn’t freezing outside yet, in a few weeks, there would no doubt be snow.

He couldn’t help but notice that the kid was beautiful, in the way only a child could be. Stephan, having been a pretty child himself, knew the kind of horrible people such looks could draw in.

The teenager had pale skin, and short, messy black hair that feathered around his face. His voice was deep, but his features were soft—they would most likely harden and become more defined as he grew. But his eyes—by the Gods, his eyes—they were completely black, not even a hint of color, and empty.

Those eyes, they were why Stephan couldn’t walk away. Why he’d trusted him—the reason he’d brought the young man home. The minute Stephan had looked into the emptiness, he had seen himself.

For a while, after everything that happened, after his parents had been murdered, after he had been raped—his eyes had been pure black. All the rage Stephan had felt—it had taken a year before he gained control of it. A year before his eyes turned back to lilac.

They didn’t stay away though. Stephan had seen them staring back at him in the mirror many times—appearing when his rage broke free. Appearing when he couldn’t hold it in anymore. Eyes void of joy, empty of love. Eyes that had given up on the world.

Stephan hadn’t seen a monster when looking into the teenager’s eyes. He’d seen a child who everyone had abandoned and given up on—a child who had been abused until he’d broken.

Well, Stephan refused to run away and abandon him as well—even if Stephan had to force him to accept help. First, though, he should really find out his name.

Stephan cleared his throat, and those empty eyes focused on him. “I just realized I never found out your name last night.” When the young man said nothing, he asked, “What is your name?”

“Jayden. My name is Jayden.”

“Just Jayden? No last name?”

When Jayden narrowed his eyes, Stephan fidgeted slightly. “Just Jayden. I probably had a last name at one point, but I don’t remember it… You never gave me yours.”

“Oh, how rude of me. It’s Everwood. How old are you?”

Jayden crossed his arms and snorted. “I’ll tell, if you will.”

Stephan nodded. “That’s fair. I’m twenty-years-old. ”

“Fifteen.”

“Young…” Pushing away thoughts of Jayden’s age, he perked up, smiling as he announced, “Well, today we’ll gather information and evidence on the man from last night. And then we’ll discuss your future.”

“You’re not much older…I…” Jayden stiffened. “What do you mean we’ll discuss my future?”