Page 28 of Hell Bound

Move—

Letmesmell—

A snarl rumbled out of me. That was Lilith’s footprint; her scent was strong here.

And of course, the trail led into the forest.

I saw movement and started, my muscles bunching as I prepared to pounce—

But that figure was definitely not Lilith.

The Crone, swaddled in her usual rags and digging among the leaves of the forest floor with a stick, looked up at us.

A grin spread across her lips, revealing cracked teeth. She pulled a bone from the earth and took a rough bite out of it, crunching the ivory between those teeth with gusto. She cackled as I stalked past.

I would have words with her later. But not while Lilith could be hurt or running headlong into a death trap.

Pypentha was still following the trail past the Crone, her nostrils flaring wide. She let out a low whine as we drew closer to the tree line.That’s not good, Commander. Really, really not good.

Even Jovran scratched at the ground once, and Deasley’s tail drooped.What if the queen…?

I swallowed down the sick fear that this was no longer a rescue mission, but a body recovery.Stop complaining. Her scent is fresh.

Despite all their misgivings, none of them hesitated to follow me as I plunged in, dead leaves crackling beneath my paws. Sounds in this forest were strangely muffled, a twig cracked underfoot seeming to come from far away.

But it wasn’t twigs I was worried about.

It was the screams that slowly became more audible the deeper we went.

Killian.

He trotted up to my side, happily snapping at a dangling leaf.

Distract the Beast.

He caught the leaf on his second try, barked, lost it, and bolted off with his tail waving.

The rest of you, spread out. Whoever has the best chance at grabbing the queen, take it.

The pack obeyed, flame-eyes brightening as we narrowed in on our quarry. Her smell was stronger now, the floral sweetness tinged with the acrid scent of fear.

The closer we got, the stronger the fear became, until it was the only part of her scent remaining.

Up ahead, the trees grew thicker, but one of them was seemingly moving. The crown of blackened branches stretched towards the sky as the Beast roared, a sound like a chorus of voices, and then a smaller, higher shriek blasted towards us.

I burst towards the trees, just as Lilith came pelting out of them, running right at us.

The Beast was hot on her heels, towering twenty feet above us all, limbs like tree trunks stamping craters into the earth.

Deasley and Jovran spread out, ducking around Lilith and howling at the Beast.

The enormous creature knew us. Pale ghost eyes peered out from where its face should be, a cavern surrounded by gnarled wood and topped with the crown of branches.

It stamped angrily, letting out a bellow that echoed in our bones, but Killian was suddenly there, weaving in and out between its legs.

The Beast let its bellow taper off, staring down at the wolf.

The monstrous being wouldn’t stomp Killian into a pulp, but he was the only one who could get close to the thing safely.

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