Page 11 of Back in the Hunt

“Oh. Well…” Bryn cleared his throat and scrubbed the back of his neck. “There are a lot of boxes and they’re pretty easy tocheck 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… Ilovelove 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 elsewould 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 hefinallyhad 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’sreal. It doesn’t matter what you were or what you are at this very moment, I can see how good youwantto 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.

---