Hello, everyone! I’m here as Holly today 😊 A few days ago Easy, Kitten was released, so I thought I’d tell you a little about it.
We’ll spend most of the autumn in Myrfolk and the community within the walls. The first story in the Within the Walls series is Vampire Food, and I strongly suggest you read it first. Then Easy, Kitten follows, and in October The Jaguar’s Knife will be out, and a story that is yet to be named in the November.
We’re only breaking for some squirrels next month, then we’ll do Myrfolk all the way up until it’s time for Christmas stories LOL.
So Easy, Kitten is about Chaton and Asher. We met both in Vampire Food, but now we’re digging a little deeper. The day we’re celebrating is Can-It-Forward Day, and Chaton is trying. He picks fruits and veggies and preserves as much as he can to save for winter.
Asher, our chatty, hard-to-be-still vampire is bored. Bored, bored, bored, and there is only one thing he wants to do – hang out with Chaton. He knows he shouldn’t, that Chaton wants to be left alone and so on, but Asher offers his help and company anyway.
Survival is a big part of the story, but we have some slow-burn romance taking place in the garden and the kitchen.
Below you can read the first chapter!
Easy, Kitten
Sequel to Vampire Food
A former blood slave. A talkative vampire. Dreams about canned goods.
Chaton Roux was rescued from a blood bar and taken to a gated community of supernaturals. For two years, he’s kept his head down and done his best to avoid people. The only time he finds peace is when he’s in the garden he shares with his best friend. They’re doing their best to grow as many vegetables as possible since the community is on the verge of starving.
Asher Blackmore knows he should keep his distance, but there is something about Chaton that always makes him want to push for more. Things would’ve been easier if he’d been a mayfly shifter, then he wouldn’t have a mouth and wouldn’t say stupid things all the time.
When the community’s business goes up in flames, the threat of starvation becomes all the more real, and Chaton does his best to come up with ways to preserve food to last them through winter. It’s hard labor, but what better way to deal with a chatty vampire than to drag him into the kitchen and put him to work?
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Paranormal Gay Romance: 58,413 words
Chapter 1
The morning sun was painting the sky pink as Chaton Roux walked along his garden beds. The world was quiet. Life inside the walls hadn’t started yet for the day, which was why Chaton was in the front of the house.
Later he’d move to the back where no one could see him. Soon there would be too much to do to get away with hiding, but so far so good. There were more garden beds in the backyard than in the front, so it wasn’t as if he avoided work if he hid there.
Two years ago, he and three others had been brought to the community. He didn’t know exactly how long he’d been a blood slave. A long time. Then one day, the human police raided the nightclub where Rue, Namir, Zeeve, and he had lived. There had been others too, but they’d all been humans, and Chaton hadn’t seen any of them since. Unless he counted Madeline’s body parts hidden in a few different places around the community. He wished he hadn’t seen them.
Madeline had been in charge of the blood slaves at The Virgin Drop, the nightclub where they’d been held. She’d been killed and butchered, and a group of mostly wolves who’d tried to frame Gertrude for Madeline’s murder had spread her remains around.
He shuddered.
When he’d come here, there had been one hundred and two inhabitants. All supernatural. Humans didn’t live in communities. After the coup, or whatever they were calling it, where one of the vampires had tried to get Gertrude, the community leader, thrown in jail, there were ninety-two left. Zella, the vampire who’d tried to take over as leader, had been killed, and as a result, nine wolves had left the community.
Chaton stayed away from everything to do with politics. He stayed away from everything. Period. But it was strange how one vampire had managed to get a group of wolves to follow her.
It didn’t matter. Zella had scared the crap out of him, so he was glad she was gone, and he didn’t know any wolves. Zeeve didn’t count. He was a blood slave first, and a wolf second. At least in Chaton’s mind. And it wasn’t as if they talked.
He’d only seen Zeeve a handful of times since they’d come here, but then again, he’d hardly seen anyone.
Rue and he had the garden together, so he saw Rue. Since Rue had gone and gotten himself a vampire boyfriend—he did his best to ignore the cold seeping into him—it happened he saw Noah too since he tagged along when Rue was there. Noah was all right. He was a vampire, but he kept his distance and didn’t try to engage in conversation unless he needed to ask Chaton something specific.
Asher, on the other hand… Asher was Noah’s friend, also a vampire, and he was not good at reading cues. Noah made sure there was always a gap between them, he never cornered Chaton, and most often opted for walking on different sides of the garden bed when he came to the garden. As far as vampires went, Noah was okay.
Asher stood too close and talked too much.
What annoyed Chaton the most was that Asher looked harmless. He and Rue had a lot of similarities when it came to looks, not personality. Both were short and fine-limbed, both had dark hair, and they were… cute, for lack of a better word. But Rue was like him. Or not like him, no one was like him, but Rue had human strength. He too hid at the backside of the house, jumped at his own shadow, and screamed if someone moved too fast.
He’d gotten better. Part of Chaton liked it, part of him didn’t. It had been nice to have someone as fucked up as he was, but Noah made Rue feel safe, and it had made him relax a little. He was still Rue, still covered in scars inside-out, still suspicious of the world, but he looked healthier. Maybe he managed a few more hours of sleep since his big bad boyfriend chased away the monsters. Despite being one of the monsters.
Chaton snorted to himself.
“Good morning.”
Chaton hissed. He’d been so stuck in his head; he’d missed someone walking up close to the house.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
It was a woman, or female, he guessed he should say. He made an effort to drop his shoulders. He knew her. Or he didn’t know her, but he’d met her. “Orsa.” He dipped his head. She was one of the bears, and when the whole thing with body parts hidden around the community had gone down, she’d been the one to sniff them out.
“I… eh…” She looked nervous or maybe it was embarrassment. “I know it’s early in the season, but do you have anything edible?”
Last year, Rue and he grew veggies and gave them to the people around the community. It had started with Chaton trying to grow catnip to soothe Namir—blood slave first, leopard second—whom he’d shared a house with. Namir didn’t do well with people in his space, not even a latent ocelot like him. When the catnip hadn’t grown, he’d asked Rue for help, since Rue was a magic user with an affinity for plants.
He’d told Rue he’d ordered seeds online, and then the frenzy had set in. Rue went on a shopping spree and planted every single seed he’d bought. His magic allowed them to grow, but he knew nothing about gardening, so they worked together. The surplus they’d given to the people within the walls.
Gertrude had sanctioned their little experiment, and both Rue and Chaton were excused from guard duty, something every community member had to do, in exchange for the food they grew. Then winter had come, and they didn’t have anything to give.
Chaton looked around the garden. They’d started sowing, but April was cold in Myrfolk, and while a few things had sprouted, it wasn’t nearly enough to feed anyone. They should get a greenhouse. If they had a greenhouse, then maybe they could’ve grown kale and hardy lettuce through the winter. Cabbage survived freezing temperatures too. He’d have to look into what else was winter-hardy and make a plan, greenhouse or not.
“I’m sorry I asked.” Orsa wrung her hands, and he noted she looked thinner than he remembered.
“No, it’s okay.” Shit, what should he say?
“I know you give as soon as you can, but…” She grimaced and something inside of Chaton ached. He didn’t know Orsa, but the last time he’d seen her, she’d been full of life. Now she looked beaten.
“Frankly, I don’t know how to feed the cubs this week.” Her short laugh sounded too much like a sob for him to even try a smile in return. “Gertrude does her best, but the prices have gone up so much, my pay doesn’t cover my grocery bill.”
Orsa didn’t have a mate. He didn’t know the story there, but he believed bears mated for life, so her mate must’ve died. Or maybe they could break a mating, and he’d left her. He didn’t have a clue, and he wouldn’t ask.
She was alone with two children, and the climate had hardened during the two years he’d lived within the walls. All supernatural beings had to be registered, and while they were still allowed to live outside communities, it wasn’t safe to do so. But by living in a community, you broadcasted what you were, and no one would hire you.
Now and then, someone proposed supernatural beings shouldn’t be allowed to work service occupations, since humans should be able to live their lives without risking running into a werewolf on their lunch break. If it ever went through, they were screwed. The community owned a few nightclubs and restaurants in town, and they shared the shifts best they could, so everyone would have an income.
Chaton didn’t work other than in the garden, but he’d heard there were way fewer customers now than there had been a year ago. As a cherry on top, the politicians allowed businesses to add fees on everything going to the community. The cost for grocery deliveries had gone through the roof, the electricity company had added an extra grid fee, and there were other things too, but those were the things he’d heard Gertrude snarl about.
The result was the community was struggling, and it was exactly what the humans hoped for. They wanted to starve them out.
Holding in a sigh, Chaton looked around. “I have some radishes, but they won’t get you far.”
Orsa swallowed hard and nodded, so Chaton moved to a garden bed filled with radishes. He found the biggest ones and pulled them out. “Do you have anything to take them in?”
When she didn’t reply, Chaton looked up and saw her wipe a tear from her cheek. Fuck. He might not trust shifters, but his heart broke for her.
“I have some kale, but not a lot, and some lamb lettuce.” He moved to the neighboring garden bed and pinched some of the lettuce leaves.
Since there had been a body part in his chest freezer last year, he’d gotten a new one, a bigger one, and he still had a few bags of kale there. It wasn’t a lot, but both he and Rue could live without it.
Gertrude still gave him groceries every week. He didn’t know if she still gave to Rue or if Noah had taken over the task of feeding him. Either way, they weren’t starving. Yet.
“Hang on.” He dropped what he had in his hands and hurried into the house. There he grabbed a paper bag, rushed down into the basement, and rummaged around in the freezer. It was almost empty, but he found a bag with kale and one with spinach. On top of it, he added a tiny bag of slanted carrots. They hadn’t grown nearly enough carrots last year, but there were a lot in the ground now, and he could survive without for a couple of months.
When he went outside again, the sky was no longer rosy. He stopped by the garden bed where he’d dropped the radishes and the few pinched leaves of lamb’s lettuce.
“It’s not a lot.” He held out the bag. “But maybe you can make soup or a stew or something.” Kale stew. Was it doable? Edible? He feared they’d be testing the boundaries for what was edible in due time.
“Thank you so much, Chaton. I… if you ever need my help here.” She gestured at the still mostly bare garden beds. “I’m willing to work. Weeding or whatever.”
He nodded, wishing she’d leave now. He’d used up his quota of human—or monster—interaction time for a week, if not more. She reached out as if to touch him, but snatched her hand back, for which he was grateful. He didn’t do touch.
“Thank you.” This time it was a whisper, and he almost winced.
“Things will start to grow soon. Hang in there.” Shit, they needed to grow more food. Preserve more food.
* * * *
Asher Blackmore looked out over the empty seats in The Bar. Things were going to shit. The bad feeling had grown more and more insistent over the last few months.
“What’s wrong?” Noah, a fellow vampire and his best friend, wiped the bar.
“Nothing.” Everything.
He stilled and studied Asher. “It’s something.”
“Do you think it would be better if we left?” They were vampires. They could disappear. They didn’t need jobs and groceries. As long as they had regular access to blood, they’d survive.
Noah stared at him without moving a muscle. “No.”
“But it’s all falling apart. Soon we’ll be hunted the moment we set foot outside the walls. Look.” He gestured at the empty bar. “There is no one here.” Two men were sitting by a corner table nursing a beer each.
Noah narrowed his eyes. “Meghan didn’t show?”
Meghan was his most regular meal. She liked being bitten, and he liked to eat. “No.” She hadn’t shown up last week either, but then there had been a cute twink trying to get his attention, so he’d gone with him to the bathroom. If he was disappointed that he didn’t get more than a bite while he jacked himself off, Asher didn’t know. Most likely, but he never touched Meghan in a sexual way either.
He rolled his shoulders. He needed to eat. A few more days without wouldn’t do him any harm, but since he only worked in town on Saturdays, it was the day he fed.
“Maybe it’ll pick up.”
“Sure.”
It wouldn’t. They weren’t fooling anyone, least of all themselves. It was a quarter past eleven in the evening, and they had two customers.
“If we were to leave, where would you want to go?”
“I’m not leaving, Ash. I’d never do that to Rue.”
Right, Rue. Noah’s little forest sprite of a boyfriend. Asher looked away. He liked Rue, but he didn’t want to leave on his own. Asher didn’t do well on his own, which was why he’d moved into the community in the first place. He’d been there almost from the beginning, had watched Gertrude build it into what it had been a few years ago, and now he had first-row seats to watch it fall apart.
The door opened and a group of girls hardly old enough to drink stumbled inside. They were giggling and swaying, talking louder than necessary, which made him believe they were pretty drunk already.
Maybe he could score a meal after all. He caught Noah’s gaze and smiled a flirty smile which was met with an eye roll. He slid closer, pushing Noah out of the way.
“Evening, ladies, what can I get you?”
A short, curvy girl blinked at him with large Bambi eyes. “We were told monsters work here.”
Asher held on to his smile but sighed on the inside. “It’s only the two of us.” He gestured at Noah, who looked like his normal broody self. Well, he might have blood on tap at home, but Asher sure didn’t. He needed to feed.
“Can you shift into a bear?”
Asher stared at her. He’d lived a long time, but he didn’t think he’d ever been mistaken for a bear shifter.
“Eh… no.” He gave her a sultry smile, showing off the tip of one fang. It was a risk, but if they came to look at monsters, maybe they’d like it.
There was a rustle, and then one of the other girls aimed a gun at him. “Step away from her.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Asher raised his hands in a disarming gesture and edged away. Guess he wouldn’t be eating today.
“I’ll have to ask you to leave.” Noah stepped forward.
“Yeah?” The girl with the gun glared at him. “And what are you?”
“It doesn’t matter what I am. What matters is you’re not allowed to wave a gun around in here, and unless you leave now, we’ll be forced to call the police.”
Which would end badly for all of them. Asher prayed they’d get the hell out of there.
“Soon you freaks won’t be allowed to own bars.”
“The owner is human, and there hasn’t been a vote on the bill yet.” Noah spoke in a calm tone.
The owner wasn’t human. Last year, when the human police had raided the community, Gertrude had signed over all businesses to Rue since he’d never registered as a supernatural being. Rue was a magic user. He looked human, he acted human unless he was sprinkling gold on plants, and he couldn’t shift, didn’t have sharp teeth or claws, but he wasn’t human.
The curvy one with the Bambi eyes took a step away from the gun-wielding one. “Maybe we should leave.”
“Why? It’s our city. They should leave.” The girl tightened her hold on the gun. Asher could jump over the bar and grab it from her. He might make it before she pulled the trigger, but if he touched her, they’d most likely have him thrown in jail.
One of the two men in the corner waved a hand. Asher chanced a glance. He didn’t want to look away from the gun, but… Once he met the man’s gaze, he held up a few bills of money and dropped them on the table before hurrying toward the door. Great. At least he wanted to pay.
When the door opened, the girl with the gun looked away for a fraction of a second, and Asher jumped. He didn’t touch her, but he yanked the gun out of her hand and bent the barrel before handing it back to her. “Now, if you would be so kind as to leave.”
The girl gaped at him, and he herded them toward the door. Bambi-eyes stared open-mouthed, and there was something close to admiration on her face. If she hadn’t been with her friends, he was sure he could’ve gotten a meal out of her.
Noah was speaking low on the other side of the bar, most likely calling Gertrude.
Once the girls had stepped outside, Asher closed the door behind them.
“Gertrude says to lock up and get our asses back home.”
Asher held in a sigh, turned the lock, and switched off the neon sign declaring them open.
“Jasper was shot.”
“What?” Asher whirled around. Jasper was the calmest, quietest person Asher knew. Or maybe not. To begin with, he didn’t know Jasper well at all, and simply because he didn’t want to be around people didn’t mean he was calm. Though, his impression of him was that he was solid, grounded.
“Gertrude says there have been people with guns in most of our establishments at about the same time, and she hung up because someone else was calling her.”
Shit. “How’s Jasper?”
“Hit in the shoulder. Gertrude said there is no one who can feed him. All the customers had run screaming for the doors when the shot went off, and there were only vampires on staff in The Virgin Drop.”
Meaning there would be no blood for Jasper, though it wouldn’t have mattered if there had been a mixed staff. Shifters didn’t share their blood willingly.
There weren’t many vampires in the community, but for the first time since the downfall started, Asher feared for their future. He’d always figured they’d have it the easiest since they didn’t need solid food and therefore didn’t need their jobs, but if humans refused to give them blood, they were in trouble.
“Let’s head home before a mob finds us here.”
Asher nodded. He was right. It wasn’t safe to stay here. They might be faster and stronger than the humans, but if the entire city grew hostile, there wasn’t much two vampires could do.
Sequel to There Will Be Aliens
Ofelia Grand 