Noah breathed in the familiar scents of his diner—grilled meat, coffee, the subtle blend of supernatural pheromones—and tried to focus on the night's work. But his mind kept drifting back to the vampire's apartment. To his apartment now, too, he supposed.

  "You're distracted tonight, boss." Lena, his head waitress and a half-sylph, glided past with three ptes banced effortlessly on her arms. "New roommate got you down?"

  "That obvious, huh?" Noah wiped down the counter, watching as the te-night crowd began to filter in. The Night Owl catered to all kinds of supernatural beings who either couldn't or preferred not to keep human hours.

  "You've refilled the same salt shaker three times." She nodded toward the overflowing container. "So yeah, a little obvious."

  Noah capped the shaker, sheepish. "He's just so..." He searched for the right word. "Rigid."

  "He's a vampire. They're all like that. Too much time to develop their neuroses." Lena leaned against the counter. "What's this one's damage?"

  "Everything has to be perfect. Everything has to be quiet. Everything has to be..." Noah gestured vaguely, "vampiric."

  "And I bet you left your dirty undry on his pristine floor." Her knowing smirk made Noah wince.

  "Just a coffee cup. Or two."

  "You're doing it on purpose." It wasn't a question.

  Noah shrugged, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. "Maybe a little. He's so composed all the time. I just want to see him react to something."

  "Be careful what you wish for. Vampire reactions aren't known for their subtlety." She gnced at the door as the bell jingled. "Speaking of supernatural drama—trouble at ten o'clock."

  A group of werewolves from the Northern Pack entered, their postures tense. Noah recognized their alpha, Marcus, a powerfully built man with silver threading through his dark beard.

  "I got this," Noah murmured, wiping his hands on a towel before approaching them. "Marcus. Good to see you. Booth in the back just opened up."

  Marcus nodded curtly. "Parker." He surveyed the diner, nostrils fring slightly. "Mixed crowd tonight."

  "Every night," Noah corrected gently. "That's the point of the pce."

  The older werewolf grunted but allowed Noah to lead his pack to the booth. Noah could feel the tension rippling through the diner. A table of fae folk whispered among themselves; a lone vampire in the corner deliberately turned a page in her book with exaggerated slowness.

  "Coffee all around?" Noah asked, keeping his tone light.

  "And steaks. Rare." Marcus held his gaze, a subtle challenge in his eyes. "Heard you got yourself a bloodsucker roommate. Council's doing?"

  Noah kept his expression neutral. "Housing crisis affects us all."

  "Not all the same way. Watch yourself, Parker. Those leeches can't be trusted." Marcus leaned back. "Neither can those who get too comfortable with them."

  The threat hung in the air, unspoken but clear. Noah's wolf bristled beneath his skin, but he tamped down the instinct to growl.

  "I'll put your order in," he said evenly. "Let me know if you need anything else."

  At the counter, Lena raised an eyebrow. "What was that about?"

  "Pack politics." Noah scribbled the order and passed it to the kitchen. "Some things never change."

  "Unlike you," she observed. "The Noah I met five years ago would've shown some fang."

  "The Noah you met five years ago didn't have a business to run." Or a vampire roommate complicating his already complicated life, he thought but didn't say.

  The rest of the shift passed in a blur of orders, mediating a minor dispute between a troll and a night hag and one broken coffee pot. By the time Noah locked up at 5 AM, exhaustion weighed on his shoulders.

  Dawn was still an hour away when he unlocked the apartment door, trying to be quiet despite his bone-deep fatigue. The scent of old books and that distinctive, clean vampire smell hit him immediately. Elias.

  To his surprise, the vampire was still awake, seated in the living room with a book open on his p. He wore reading gsses—an affectation, Noah assumed, since vampire eyesight was perfect—and a dark blue robe. The soft mp light caught the angles of his face, softening them.

  "You're up te," Noah said, dropping his keys in the bowl by the door.

  Elias marked his page carefully before looking up. "Research. This particur text requires careful transtion."

  Noah nodded, suddenly aware of the diner smells clinging to his clothes—grease and coffee and too many supernatural pheromones. Self-consciously, he ran a hand through his hair. "I'll, uh, shower before I turn in."

  Something that might have been amusement flickered across Elias's face. "Probably wise. You smell like a supernatural census."

  Noah paused, surprised by what almost sounded like humor. "Hazard of the job. You should stop by sometime. See what I do."

  "Perhaps." Elias returned to his book, clearly dismissing him.

  Noah hesitated, then headed to the bathroom. The hot water washed away the night's tensions, but not his thoughts. Marcus's warning echoed in his mind, along with the image of Elias bathed in mplight, looking almost human.

  When he emerged, toweling his hair dry, he could hear Elias moving around the kitchen. Curious, he followed the sound.

  The vampire was preparing tea, his movements precise and elegant. Without looking up, he said, "I presume your shift was acceptable?"

  The question caught Noah off guard. Was Elias attempting small talk? "It was fine. Busy. Had some pack wolves come in, giving me grief about..." he trailed off.

  "About your living arrangements with a vampire?" Elias finished, a note of bitterness in his voice.

  "Something like that." Noah leaned against the doorframe. "They'll get over it."

  "Perhaps. Or perhaps they're right to warn you." Elias looked up, his eyes reflecting the dim kitchen light. "Werewolves and vampires have been enemies for centuries for a reason."

  "Yeah, well, I never was much for tradition." Noah stifled a yawn. "My pack disowned me years ago when I opened the diner. Said serving vampires and fae was betraying my kind."

  Elias studied him with new interest. "Yet you persisted."

  "I like feeding people. All kinds of people." Noah shrugged. "Simple as that."

  "Nothing is ever that simple." Elias poured the tea into a delicate cup. After a moment's hesitation, he reached for a second cup. "Would you like some? It's chamomile. Good for sleep."

  The gesture, small as it was, felt significant. Noah nodded, accepting the offered cup with careful hands. "Thanks."

  They drank in silence, but it felt different from their previous silences—less hostile, more contemptive.

  "I cleaned the bathroom," Noah said finally.

  A faint smile touched Elias's lips. "I noticed. Thank you."

  "Don't get used to it. I'm not naturally tidy."

  "Of that, I am painfully aware." But there was no real sting in the words.

  Noah finished his tea, feeling the day's exhaustion creeping over him. "I should sleep. Dawn's almost here."

  Elias nodded. "Yes, I should retire as well. Though I don't require as much rest as you do."

  "Vampire perks, huh?"

  "Among other things." Elias took Noah's cup, his cool fingers brushing against Noah's warm ones for a brief moment.

  The contact sent an unexpected jolt through Noah's body. Elias must have felt it too; he withdrew his hand quickly, his expression unreadable.

  "Goodnight, Noah."

  "Sleep well, Elias."

  In his room, Noah colpsed onto his bed, the day's events swirling in his mind. The council had thrown them together, natural enemies forced to coexist. It should have been a disaster.

  Maybe it still would be. But as sleep cimed him, Noah found himself thinking not of Marcus's warnings, but of the surprising gentleness in Elias's hands as he'd poured the tea, and the way the mplight had caught in his dark hair.

  Three months suddenly didn't seem like such a long time after all. In fact, it seemed barely enough.