Page 70 of How to Trust a Hellhound
“Is Sebbie okay?” I asked, although I don’t know why Corbin would know that.
Corbin nodded his head once, and then he went to the car, getting in the driver’s seat. Wilder led me towards the car as well. Thea and Jude were talking quietly, but Thea got up and headed toward the car too, getting in the passenger seat.
“Jude?” Wilder asked.
“He’ll be okay with human intervention. I’ll stay here and call for an ambulance. It’s more important that you get to Sebbie than worry about this asshole,” Jude answered.
Wilder gave a nod and opened the back door, ushering me in and climbing in next to me. Corbin had already started the car, and there was a crow on his shoulder. His window was open, and I had the crazy thought that the crow would escape. But it wasn’t exactly a pet anyway—at least I didn’t think so?
Corbin made a K turn in the driveway and started out toward the road, pausing at the end of the long driveway. His crow ruffled up its feathers and gave a soft caw, and Corbin turned left. Wilder reached out and pulled me in close, and I pressed my face into his chest, letting his scent comfort me.
“We’ll find him, Mei Ume,” Wilder promised.
“I know you will,” I answered, my voice muffled by his shirt.
I kept my face pressed into Wilder, breathing in and trying to calm my racing heart. The car occasionally slowed, and then we’d turn or pick up speed again. The cawing of crows was a constant sound outside in the trees, but I didn’t ask. I didn’t care, as long as we got to Sebbie.
I trusted Wilder. We would find Sebbie.
I just hoped we found him in time.
Chapter 24
Wilder
The crows guided Corbin, and I was never more thankful that he had an affinity with them. Josh stayed pressed against my chest, and I rubbed his back, occasionally murmuring to him.
I thought I could sense Sebbie, but I wasn’t sure. He seemed to be slightly connected to the pack, but the tether was barely there. I knew we were headed in the right direction, however, and therewasstill a faint link, so I knew he was alive. I could only hope he stayed that way.
I thought the cult had probably taken him in order to get to Josh, and maybe through him to us, but it all seemed very convoluted. We didn’t have access to Aiden’s grandfather’s stolen money. I couldn’t understand their motives, and that made them unpredictable.
Then there was Sebbie’s… otherness. I hadn’t delved too deeply into what he was, because I could sense the humanity in him, and his soul was good. There was something there, though, that I could almost remember. Something familiar from long, long ago, but I hadn’t really tried to place it. I cursed myself now for that, because it was just one more level of the unknown added to an already fucked up situation.
We eventually left the main highway and drove onto gravel and then dirt roads, the car bumping along and our speed slowing down quite a bit. Josh roused himself from against me and looked out the windows.
“We’re close,” Corbin said, still focusing on driving.
The road was getting narrower, with only room for one car. There was a clearing in the trees ahead, and we pulled up and saw an old house.
“Oh, lovely. This looks like it belongs in a horror movie,” Thea grumbled.
I wasn’t sure why she said that, since it didn’t look particularly scary. It was a rather large Victorian home, and it seemed well-maintained, although deserted. I didn’t watch horror movies, though, and Josh must have agreed, because he gave a little sound of distress as we pulled to a stop.
Thea turned around to look at him, reaching into the backseat to pat his hand. “Don’t worry, Josh—we’re the monsters in this horror movie. We’ll save your friend and end these fuckers.”
“Wilder?” Corbin asked, and I could hear the concern in his voice as he stared at the house.
“I know,” I answered.
It smelled of rotten souls, but it also smelled of something else. I would have said afterlifers, but that wasn’t quite right. It was a stench like burnt food. The smell of angels and demons was sort of there, but it was like their essence had been tainted somehow.
It was unsettling.
“Not too many people in there,” Thea said, staring at the house. “Less than ten? It’s hard to tell for some reason.”
We all opened our doors and got out of the car. I grabbed onto Josh’s hand and held on. Technically, I had marked and mated him, so he was as immortal as I was. I still worried, though.
The front door creaked open, yet no one was there.
