Page 175 of Hell Bound

“It will be soon, Jovran.”

“And I need to leave as well. I only stopped long enough to bring you what you need. With Odragir running rounds, I’d rather not give him a concentrated scent to focus on.”

I stood, and Lilith did too, a slight frown on her face. Her brows drew together as she reached out for Jovran.

“Why don’t you come with us?” she asked, her voice quiet and intense. “You’ve made it this far, surely we can reach Ossean territory together…”

Jovran shook his head before she finished speaking. “My place is in the Infernal Court for now. I will catch up to both of you when I can—all of us together.”

His reticence made sense. Deasley, Pypentha, Killian, and Hana wouldn’t be able to get out alone. They were young, needed someone more experienced who could guide them.

“You can’t risk finding us again,” I told him. “Give us a wide berth for now. It’ll be safer for you all.”

A crooked half-smile split his face. “‘Safer’. As if anywhere is safe these days.”

He gave Lilith a brief bow. “My lady.”

“Bye, Jovran. For now.” She whispered the words, as though regretting she hadn’t convinced him to come with us.

“Commander.” He nodded to me. Then a spark of hellfire flared in his eyes, and his words grew guttural as he began the shift. “Of Morningstar Pack. We will await you and your orders.”

A second later, an enormous wolf landed on all fours.

He stepped beyond the fire, looking back at us once, then raced off into the dark.

I listened for a long time. He was miles away when he sent up a howl, a defiant victory scream.

“Morningstar Pack, huh?” Lilith sidled closer, smirking at me. “Doesn’t that sound fancy?”

“I didn’t come up with it. That’s all Deasley.”

She made a face. “Oh, my god. Thatisa Deasley-ism, for sure.”

I thought about him and Pypentha, likely savaged to a terrible degree if they hadn’t been sent on the hunt with Jovran.

How loyal they were, despite the unfairness of the situation, despite their lives.

They’d made the pack a tolerable place to be, all of them together.

And if they wanted to call it the Morningstar Pack, I would take it, knowing that from here on out, everything I did would be to bring us back together.

To find a home and sanctuary for those of us in it, those who had served faithfully and well.

If it was the last thing I did, I would find sanctuary for the queen.

And Morningstar Pack would be her loyal guardians unto death.

Chapter43

Lilith

We’d been here too long.

I could tell that Lucifer was anxious to move on, and so was I. It was a wonder that we’d remained undiscovered this long, and I couldn’t let us continue to delay because I wasn’t feeling one-hundred percent.

“We should move.”

“You’re not strong enough yet.”

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