Page 173 of Hell Bound

My muscles relaxed as he ate up the last of the ground and stalked into our camp. The light illuminated him, and the harness he wore. It was Killian’s medic harness, but the leather pouch had been replaced with a far more worn-out bag.

He shifted into his human form and I followed suit.

“I only made it this far because we had orders to hunt you down, Commander.” His eyes flicked to Lilith’s sleeping form. “You and her.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And are you going to try to bring her back?”

Jovran laughed quietly. “Letter of the law. I’ve hunted you down… but he’s in such a rage, he’s gotten sloppy. No mention of hauling you back.”

I’d tensed once more without realizing it. I didn’t want to fight Jovran; despite our differences, he’d served our pack faithfully.

“And I brought supplies.”

He tugged the harness off, unhooking the worn bag. I opened it and found neatly folded piles of clothing, several plastic bottles of water, and food wrapped in wax paper and tied with twine.

“Are Pypentha and Deasley on the hunt?” I asked, looking at a pair of my dark pants folded into the pack. Better to leave them in there; if I had to shift at a moment’s notice, there was no point in shredding my only piece of clothing.

Jovran’s blue eyes shuttered. “They are… recovering.”

I nodded, grimly unpacking food for Lilith. They were recovering from something terrible… but that could only mean that they’d survived.

“Tell them I’m sorry. That we’ll be back for them.”

Jovran sat by the fire, watching me through the flames. “You can tell them yourself. Deasley would’ve made you proud.”

I thought of our youngest wolf, how much he’d proved himself since returning to Hell. “He always makes me proud.”

A long moment passed while I let Jovran build up to what he wanted to say. My second had always taken time before speaking, choosing his words, debating if it was worth starting an argument with them.

Jovran toyed with the bone runes around his neck, frowning at the flames, but finally spoke. “I’m glad you left. It’s long past time for one of us to try to break free; it could only have been you.”

“What makes you think that?” I’d found a chunk of smoked meat and thick, crusty bread to feed Lilith when she woke up. “It took a lot—everything I had in me—to throw off the chains. And even so, the curse isn’t broken. It’s just easier to defy.”

Jovran’s eyes were hollow when he looked back at me.

“Despite our past, you’ve been like a brother to me, Lucifer. Maybe that’s fucked up to say when I carry Travan right here by your hand, but… you’ve been fairer than I would’ve anticipated. But no matter how much of a home you’ve made the pack for us, I’m not dying for your relationship. No one is.”

It was the dark look in his eyes that made me question. “Who else?”

Jovran grimaced. “The guards discovered the leftover bottles in the dungeon cell the queen was held in. He had Hana stripped in front of the court and let Sameera whip her bloody.”

His hand, clenched around the bone runes, had gone white at the knuckles as he spoke.

It must have been terrible. Hana was good at getting out of the way and avoiding punishment, but this time, Jovran’s eyes were dark.

“I’m sorry.”

And I truly was. I was not the only demon who needed to escape. Who had a reason to hate it with every fiber of their being.

I needed to remember that.

“She’ll survive,” he rasped. “But it shouldn’t have been on her to bear that burden. Or on Deasley and Pypentha.”

“No,” I agreed. “No, it shouldn’t have.”

We fell into uneasy silence, and when a log popped in the fire, sending up a shower of fine sparks, Lilith stirred.

Her eyes opened a crack, and as soon as she saw the newcomer sitting at the fire, she sat bolt upright. “Jovran.” She greeted him warily, pushing her rumpled hair out of her face and watching him through the flames.

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