1. Kieran

“One ham and cheese omelet and one werebear breakfast special,” Kieran said as he set the two hot plates on the table. “Can I get you anything else?”

“Just some more coffee,” the sizeable, muscular man said. The woman across from him was petite and shook her head at Kieran. Both of them had the scaled wings and tails of Dragonkin. Sapphire blue that glittered in the dim, smokey light.

Kieran nodded and left to retrieve the coffee. The Dancing Pig was a dimly lit dive bar in the downtown dregs of Exagora. The city had been the heart of Nefarian and Absalom’s realm two thousand years ago. Until the Mercy of Heaven rose to power, the Sgiach Quartet became the Sgiach Six. Then the sanguinai fell, Lunaria, Solaria, and Angelus all rose into the sky to become moons, and the secret of dhampirs was revealed.

Now, the only sanguinai in the world were either sired by the Wrath of Heaven or were once dhampirs that died and came back. Most of them were under the control of Malum Sanguinem. A sect of necromancers that were determined never to allow the sanguinai to rise to power again.

The scent of stale alcohol and tobacco smoke mixed with the smell of breakfast and coffee. Kieran yawned as he set down his tray, picked up the coffee pot, and headed back to the pair of Dragonkin, refilling the man’s mug before returning the coffee pot and finding a spot to sit where he could keep an eye on the table.

Towards the end of his shift, about an hour before dawn, Kieran was ready to return to his tiny apartment. The couple was his only table, but when all the other bars had closed for the night, the drunks came to The Dancing Pig to either sober up with breakfast or keep drinking.

“Shouldn’t you be waiting tables?” Rand asked as he leaned on the kitchen window. This late, the twenty-year-old werebear was the only cook in the kitchen. With golden blond hair, blue eyes, and bronzed skin, Rand was almost a foot taller than Kieran and twice his size.

At about 6’1”, Kieran looked nothing like him. Fair skin that tanned to a peach color when he spent time in the sun, his eyes were a golden amber, and his hair was obsidian black with streaks of blood red. Two years older, Kieran always felt like a shrimp beside his brother.

“I have one table,” Kieran pointed out.

“What about cleaning?” Rand asked with a grin.

“Already done. Once they pay and Ashley arrives, I’m a free dhampir,” Kieran said as he leaned back against the wall.

“Well, find something to do. Mom and Dad always come an hour early.”

Right on cue, their mother entered the bar with their father. Auron and Erin Ursine. Auron was the Grizzly for the local werebear Sleuth, and Erin was his petite wife, who ran the kitchen of The Dancing Pig like a dictatorship. She was a fantastic chef, but no matter how hard she tried, all Kieran could cook was frozen meals in a microwave: that and a mean cup of coffee.

“Why are you sitting?” Erin asked as she came up to Kieran. Her pale brown eyes sparkled with amusement, and her chocolate brown hair was tied back in a tight braid.

“Waiting on my table and Ashley,” Kieran said tiredly.

“Is your prep work done?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll see about that,” she said with a smile and reviewed Kieran’s work.

His table was almost done with their meal, and Kieran got up to check on them. They requested the check, and he handed it to them later as he cleared away their dishes. They tipped well, and Kieran found a note on the bill he showed Auron.

“Hmmm…” the Grizzly mused. “You up for some overtime?”

Kieran smiled. “Who wouldn’t say yes to extra money?”

Ashley was late for her shift, and the sun had risen when Kieran left work.

As Kieran entered the elevator of his apartment complex this early in the morning, only the girl who lived across from him was in the elevator with him. In the flickering light, she looked like a complete mess. Stringy blond hair was in a messy bun, and she scratched absently at her arm as she glanced at Kieran, leaning against the wall.

She wore a tank top underneath her fishnet shirt and a denim mini skirt with stockings and sneakers. She smelled of dust and s*x with at least four men, and Kieran felt a small kernel of pity for the girl. Her name was Echo, and her boyfriend was a piece of s**t gangbanger for the local pack of wereraccoons.

They exited the elevator, and her boyfriend was already waiting at the open door of their apartment, waiting for her. Kieran noticed the flinch in her shoulders as she saw the human male. Dirty jeans and stained shirt that didn’t entirely cover his bloated beer gut. Bloodshot beady eyes glared at Echo, and Kieran resisted pulling her behind him. She was human. There wasn’t much a dhampir could do for her. Even with the guy's police record, the humans never looked favorably on a dhampir when they picked fights.

“You’re late,” the male said as he grabbed her arm.

“My last trick stiffed me!” she cried out.

Kieran’s growl drew the attention of the male. “What are you looking at?” he snarled.

Kieran’s fangs ached as they extended, and he bared them. “Dinner,” he said. His voice more snarl.

The blood drained from both humans' faces as the male pulled Echo into the apartment before slamming the door. Kieran sighed and entered his own. His fangs still extended past his lips.

The apartment was small, and the door opened up to the small kitchen. A breakfast bar separated the kitchen from the living room, and a small hall led to the bathroom and two bedrooms.

Lacey was at the kitchen counter as she filled her travel mug with peppermint tea. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she filled her work uniform with all the right curves. Kieran walked up behind her, slid his hands along her hips, and pulled her into his arms.

“Wanna help me relax before bed?” he whispered softly into her ear, trailing kisses along her neck and shoulder.

She giggled and turned in his arms to face him. “I have to get to work,” she said, reaching up to poke at one of his fangs.

He pouted out his lower lip as he reached up to hold her hand and kissed her palm. “This early?” he asked.

“We need the overtime. Rent is going up next month,” she said, tapping his fang again. “You know we get overcharged because of these.”

“Don’t remind me,” Kieran sighed. “I’ll have overtime from the bar soon. Dad offered me some.” He moved in to kiss her, but she pressed her fingers to his lips to stop him.

“Oh, goody! But I do need to get going,” Lacey said as she untangled herself from Kieran’s arms.

He watched her leave with a frown before he opened the fridge and pulled out a blood beer. He had finished the beer by the time he had stripped and crawled into bed. He pulled Lacey’s pillow to him and breathed deeply of her scent as he fell into a tired, frustrated sleep.