Page 4 of How to Trust a Hellhound
The man—it was definitely a man—groaned when he heard my voice. I was surprised he was still alive, what with all the parts missing.
“I’m amazed you’ve kept him alive this long. Lovely job, son,” I told him.
Dexter smiled at me, looking slightly maniacal since he was covered in blood. You could never give your kids too much praise.Yes, he had made a massive mess, but Dexter was good about cleaning things up.
I was a little surprised he’d brought someone back to the torture basement, though. Most of the boys did their work in the field since Dexter, Liam, and Atlas had human mates. This level of torture required privacy and time, however.
Humans could be squeamish about things like torture basements, although Dexter’s mate Toby wrote suspense novels, so he was usually interested in the details. Liam’s mate Quinton was a bloodthirsty, sassy human, so I didn’t think he’d mind, either. But Atlas, the most feral of my boys, had found himself a truly sweet and lovely mate in Aiden, and I didn’t think he’d enjoy knowing people were being tortured next door.
“Toby’s writing a new scene, and I’m doing some research,” Dexter explained. “He wants one of his characters to be tragically disfigured, and he was wondering how much people can go through without dying.”
“Ah,” I said, sipping my coffee. “Well, don’t let me stop you. I’m not sure he’ll last much longer without any treatment.”
Dexter looked thoughtful at that. Shit. I could see him planning.
“I’m sure you’ll get enough information for Toby without prolonging this for days. Plus, I’m not sure the mates would enjoy knowing there’s a serial killer being tortured in the basement,” I told Dexter.
Dexter sighed but nodded, turning back to the man. The hellbound soul was indeed a serial killer, and he’d been quite prolific. Just sitting near him gave me a sense of his crimes, and he’d face far worse in hell than anything that Dexter did to him.
We chatted for a bit as Dexter finished the guy off, marveling at how much the human body could take. Dexter did a perfect job of cleaning up, and he gushed about his mate and Toby’s newest book while cleaning up. He was truly besotted, and I was so happy for him.
We headed upstairs, and like an eager pup, Dexter raced off to fill in his mate, leaving me to my thoughts.
I finished off my coffee as I thought about our new home. Paradise Falls was an odd little town, with its eclectic mix of afterlifers and others. Usually you wouldn’t find such a mix in one place—the crews from upstairs and the underworld tended to bicker—and those of us who had left heaven and hell liked to stay under the radar. After all, our dedication was no longer to our previous departments. We served Earth now, and our loyalty was to her.
But three of my boys had found mates here, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the others wouldn’t be far behind. It was rather miraculous.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, focusing on my boys. Corbin was outside with his crows, and Dexter was already with Toby at their house. Liam was on the other side in his own house with Quinton. Atlas and Aiden were… to the west, but not far away. Still in Paradise Falls.
Jude had been full of restless energy this morning, so he’d gone off to hunt. He was north, a couple hours away.
If I concentrated very hard, I could feel three other mortals—they werealmostpack members, but they were on the fringes. Very far off in the distance, I felt another hellhound, but it was a very faint trace. Free will would determine whether any of them joined our pack. I breathed out and let my concentration fade. Finding those who weren’t pack yet was difficult and a bit draining.
Being able to easily find my boys, though, had made wrangling a bunch of adolescent hellhounds a hell of a lot easier. I smiled to myself, thinking of all the mischief they’d gotten into as they’d grown up. I’d been blessed to have them all in my life.
I’d spent some quality time with most of my boys since coming to Paradise Falls, but I hadn’t really had one on one time with Corbin yet. I tracked down some nuts and stuffed them in my pockets before I made my way outside, following my senses. Corbinwas a little ways into the forest, sitting cross legged on the ground. His crows announced my arrival, but Corbin already knew I was coming. He had his own sense of the pack because of his witch blood.
He nodded at me, and I sat next to him. I took out my offering, and the crow on his shoulder took a nut from my hand, and then, as if that gave the rest permission, they came down from the trees and surrounded me.
Corbin smiled fondly at them as I threw nuts out for them.
“You spoil them,” he said.
“Isn’t it a grandfather’s job to spoil his grandchildren?” I asked.
Corbin laughed, which was my aim. He was usually too serious. Besides, the crows were like his children—his pack within the pack.
He pet the one that had returned to his shoulder, and we sat in content silence for a while, watching his crows and occasionally chuckling at their antics. I was gifted with a perfectly smooth pebble that had hues of white and blue, and I thanked the crow who brought it to me, slipping it into a pocket.
Sometimes just sitting with Corbin was enough. He was like Atlas in that way—he enjoyed quiet companionship. I could tell he had something on his mind, though.
“What have your crows been telling you? Or is it Mother Earth who is worrying you?” I asked.
Corbin hummed thoughtfully. “This town. There’s something about it.”
“Yes,” I agreed. I sat and let him gather his thoughts. I knew sometimes it was hard to put feelings into words.
“Things are… changing. I don’t think in a bad way. I think the universe wants change, and I think it helps us along.” He stopped, looking into the distance. “Three of my brothers have mates,” he added.
