AIDEN
It was a sleepless night.
The vault smelled damp and filthy, and as whiffs of mold and other unpleasant odors invaded my nose and twisted my stomach, a grim feeling seized me.
Sleeping here reminded me of my past—of the times I had slept in the sewer to escape the biting winter winds. It had been cruel on the streets. Finding shelter, finding a place where none could hurt or bother me was difficult, so often, I had to hide in unpleasant places that others wouldn’t dare to come to.
But that was before I met Steven Caddel.
Steven and his family had given me a home, a place to live and sleep that didn’t require me to keep one eye open. When they’d taken me in, I’d been a small, scrawny thing. I had dreams of one day being a fighter and protector but I could see all of my ribs throu
