Crowned by Two Banished Rogue Vampires

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Wren

I’m serving the two most dangerous-looking Krovenians in the whole pub.

Again.

Jeez.

They keep on returning, trudging through tonight’s heavy snow, asking for my section. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s great to have customers who like me so much, they’ve become regulars. They know my name and we’re friendly. It makes my work easier.

It’s just…

I blow out a breath, readying myself for yet another pass of their table, wherein I will remain professional, pretending these two vampires aren’t unbelievably handsome, and I’m not sexually interested in both of them, equally.

Both of them.

How is that even possible? First, they are Krovenians, which means we aren’t even the same species.

Humans privately refer to Krovenians as vampires, because they are stronger than us and have the ability to sink their fangs into each other’s necks and drink blood.

They also use their fangs to drink the blood of their mates during sex.

Everyone knows this, which is why there’s so few human and Krovenian marriages.

And Krovenians usually stay amongst their own kind, within their small, European country.

Despite their power, they don’t hurt humans, unless it’s self-defense.

Our two species are friendly, but separate.

We live on the same planet but try not to mingle too much.

I suppose it’s for the best.

But I really like Krovenians and find them fascinating, which is why I took this job in the first place.

I love the idea of working this close to the border and getting to know these vampires.

Although, I hadn’t really thought I’d start an actual relationship with any of them.

That seemed an impossibility, so I’d pushed it out of my mind.

I was here to work and make new friends.

And yet here I am, highly attracted to these two males. And they seem interested in me too.

But how can I be attracted to two men, at the same time?

This hasn’t ever happened in my life. I’m usually only interested in one man at a time.

And if I met two men who were friends or brothers, I’d be attracted to only one of them.

Easy. But in this instance, I’d like to date both Krovenians.

I’m finding it impossible to choose one over the other.

In fact, I’m strangely loving the idea of going out with the both of them.

Like, the three of us on a date and I go home with both Sebastian and Maxim.

I literally imagine myself sitting on a couch, watching a movie and snuggling between them and there’s lots of kissing and my hands are touching the both of them, at the same time.

Which is silly, right?

Hence, every time they come in, I’m a mess of conflicting emotions.

Sebastian and Maxim are stationed in the back room, by the hearth, as they always are, in my section.

It’s been like this for the last three weeks.

I’ve learned from my coworkers that they aren’t here if I’m not on shift.

The other border guards straighten a little when these two walk in, and nobody ever takes the tables closest to theirs.

I assume this is just a border patrol thing—rank, or seniority, or whatever it is guards do.

I pick up two glasses and head over.

The Crossing is an amazing pub and a lovely place to work.

It’s actually a coaching inn and tiny restaurant which has been continuously running since the twelve hundreds, built from timber and stone with black beams so low I have to duck at the taps.

There’s a well-worn flagstone floor and enormous hearth at the far end.

The bar itself is one slab of oak. Margit, the owner, likes to tell the story of how this ancient wood was originally floated down the river on a raft.

This inn sits on an old trade road, one mile from the border of Krovenia.

Over the door and on the menu, it says Pouring since 1247.

The back of the inn is cut straight into the hillside with two low stone rooms and walls that sweat in winter.

The ceiling is black from eight centuries of smoke with candle niches in the rock because there was never anywhere to run a wire.

This is where the Krovenians drink. Humans call it the cave, but Krovenians call it the back.

They are here, in a pub run by humans because the Krovenian border is so close and they feel comfortable in an establishment known for centuries of amicable patronage between both species.

And out in the courtyard there’s a copper still and two tanks. The Crossing has always brewed one beer, a dark lager everybody just calls the black. It’s very popular amongst humans and Krovenians alike.

The Crossing is on the list of every oldest-pubs-in-the-world article ever written, alongside that one in Ireland and the other in Prague.

Three hundred bartenders a year apply for this job.

The pay is okay and comes with an attic room.

But it’s worth it because the Crossing is the only pub in the world where humans serve Krovenians every night as a matter of routine.

Border guards off shift, traders, and the handful who live on this side.

They walk in and head to the back room and order, and a human pours for them.

This is a big deal because not that many Krovenians live outside of their home country.

And humans are rarely allowed into the country of Krovenia.

I cannot go there to work. So, working in a border town bar that serves Krovenians is the closest a human like me can get to the famous “vampires.”

I’m thrilled that I was chosen for this rare position.

And I am not going to ruin this opportunity by doing something unprofessional, like flirting or sleeping with, any of the customers, especially the Krovenians.

This was the number one rule when I was hired—always retain professional hospitality towards customers.

The Krovenians must feel safe around humans.

And I’ve been tasked with working exclusively in the back room.

In a way, I’ve become an unofficial ambassador between our two species, and I take that role seriously.

I bussed tables at sixteen, bar-backed at eighteen and got behind the stick at twenty-one in Nashville.

Then I worked my way up to the good hotel bars in Chicago, the ones with leather stools and forty-dollar old fashioneds.

For three years running I applied to the Crossing and finally, I was hired.

I live in the attic now and from my one window I can see the mountains, and some nights the lights on the Krovenian side.

I still can’t believe how lucky I am to be living the dream.

“Good evening, Wren.”

I set the pint of the black down in front of Sebastian.

He reaches out to take the mug and his fingers brush mine.

Oh wow, this is how it always happens. The soft touch could be an accident and isn’t anything that could be noticed by the other customers or staff.

But these, small touches happen often enough that I notice.

And each time, a spark of electricity runs up my arm and causes me to catch my breath.

And both of them touch me this way, and it doesn’t matter which of them it is, I still burst into flames.

“Good evening,” I rasp.

Sebastian is devastating. He wears a black leather jacket and his dark hair is pushed back off his forehead like he did it once with one hand and never thought about it again.

I want to kiss that jaw of stubble and feel the burn against my cheek.

He’s tall, and broad through the shoulders in a way the jacket doesn’t hide.

His perfect lips are always about to form a grin. “How’s the night?” he questions evenly.

“Fine. Busy. Fine.”

He grins and I feel it in my knees. I turn to the other side of the table and set down the whiskey that I didn’t need to be told to bring.

“Whiskey,” Maxim remarks with that smooth, deep voice. “Neat. Thank you.”

Maxim is the quiet one. He’s also the tallest Krovenian I’ve ever served, with hair darker than Sebastian’s, cropped close at the sides and longer on top, the kind of cut you get from a military barber.

Same leather jacket and stubble. And his eyes are pale.

Not black like every other Krovenian in this room.

In the firelight they look almost silver.

“Are you two eating tonight?” I ask brightly, because it’s my job and I’m trying to be pleasant.

Also because I genuinely adore these two males and I really do want them to have a nice dinner.

They are nothing but nice to me and always leave generous tips.

“The special is the stew, which I know you both enjoy. The type with the beef, root vegetables and the dumplings. And there’s the sausage plate if you want something faster. ”

Sebastian leans back. “What do you recommend?”

“The stew. It’s been on since noon. The sausage plate is fine but it’s the same sausage plate as yesterday.”

“Then we’ll take the stew.”

“Two stews, it is.”

“It’s really coming down out there,” Sebastian comments, referencing the cold weather outside.

I nod in agreement. “Margit says the pass will probably close by tomorrow night.”

“Sooner.” He glances at Maxim. “It’ll be worse than she thinks.”

I give them a wide smile. “You two sound like farmers.”

“We’re Krovenian,” Maxim grunts. “We know snow.”

“And how was your day off?” Sebastian questions before I can leave.

I pause. “Oh…it was good. I went shopping.”

“For?”

“Well, I bought groceries and a new book.” My face heats up. Should I tell them about the new, erotic romance book I started reading? Probably not. “Then I had coffee at the place by the church.”

“The one with the bad chairs?”

I stare at him. “How do you know about the chairs?”

“You told us about it last week. You said the coffee was worth putting up with the chairs.” He picks up his pint. “You’re very loyal to that coffee.”