Page 77 of How to Trust a Hellhound
“The Nephilim weren’t immortal,” he insisted. “Nephilim die. And the descendent of Cain… Something went wrong. That’s all.”
“The descendent of Cain was immortal, although the blade was draining that from him. I’m not sure how many other immortals they’d used that blade on, but the woman had attained immortality, and whatever she did with the blade would have prevented the man’s death. I could feel it, and so could you,” I said, letting my hand rest on his back.
“He wouldn’t hurt us,” Corbin insisted, his gaze focused on Sebbie again.
“Not on purpose, no. Of course not. He proved that down in that room, because you and I both know what happened in there. We both know what you were willing to sacrifice for him to live.” There was no judgment in my voice; Corbin had done what was necessary.
“Not just for him to live,” Corbin replied quietly. “I would have spared you all the pain of what I saw in that blade.”
“You did good down there,” I said, reassuring him. “And you were right. Apparently even for immortals, death is not an ending.”
He looked at me sharply, and I patted his shoulder. I looked back over at the group; Josh was looking toward me, his eyebrows raising slightly. Did I need help? Did Corbin need us? I knew exactly whathe was asking, and I loved him all the more for it. I smiled at him in response, letting him know it was okay.
After all, I wasn’t sure if Josh was ready to deal with the fact that one of his best friends was a grim reaper and death ferryman.
It was dark by the time we left the scene. We probably could have left earlier, but the sheriff kept coming back with questions, and it was honestly kind of amusing to watch Jude’s juvenile attempts at flirting.
The sheriff was also kind enough to give us updates. Rick was alive, and he would recover from his injuries. I might have been mildly disappointed, but I also didn’t want Josh thinking he had somehow led to someone’s death, so I supposed it was all for the best.
There was evidence that other people had been in the house, and tire tracks and grooves from other vehicles were clear in the back of the property, so the other cult members were not something that we had imagined. Why they’d left was unclear, but I didn’t think we were lucky enough for them to be dead.
I hadn’t sensed that same strong, burnt smell on any of them, so I doubted they were immortal. I also felt like we hadn’t heard the last of the Order of Asterphagia. If they had been using “selective breeding” to keep Nephilim characteristics strong, there was a good chance that the woman we had met was not the only one with power out there. I also worried that they had other weapons at their disposal. It was something we would need to alert all the other hellhound packs about. Perhaps we even needed to get a message to the other afterlifers, but I would worry about that later. I hated dealing with angels and demons.
Cults were such a pain in the ass.
The dagger, at least, was no longer in their possession. It was, unfortunately, in the possession of the police, but I was sure we couldfix that. The problem would be making sure Jude wasn’t the one to get it. I had very little faith that he wouldn’taccidentallyget caught by the sheriff. Although, I was beginning to get a sense of where the sheriff was, so perhaps I didn’t need to worry about their very strange way of flirting. It seemed the sheriff was on the periphery of our pack, and I didn’t mind that at all. He was a good man.
We’d taken two cars back, and Thea, Jude, and Corbin rode with us. Thea had elected to stay at the main house with Jude and Corbin. Sebbie was riding back with Toby and the others, and Toby had insisted that he stay over. It eased something in me to know that everyone was staying close by.
Once we got into town, we all opened our windows, and the air was fresh and clean—no smell of rotten souls. No burnt stench in the air. Paradise Falls remained our safe haven, but that didn’t mean that evil couldn’t sneak in and do harm. The Nephilim had, after all, gotten onto Sebbie’s land and taken him. It didn’t help that he was on the outskirts of town, and I hoped that would be rectified soon.
Not that Sebbie couldn’t take care of himself, although I wasn’t sure if he knew that. But that was also a problem for another day. Right now, I just needed to reassure myself that my mate was safe. Even though I knew that he was, I needed physical closeness to affirm it in my heart.
We dropped off Thea, Jude, and Corbin, then drove back to the cabin and parked. When we got out of the car, Josh reached his arms up to stretch, and I gazed at him, thankful that we’d made it back here, thankful that he was my mate.
He caught my staring and blushed, but he didn’t put his arms down. A small sliver of skin was visible where his shirt had ridden up, and I wanted a taste.
“You are so beautiful,” I rumbled, and I was pleased to see Josh blush again.
I walked over and wrapped my arms around him, and he snuggled into me. I could smell the faint tinge of his arousal, but heseemed content to just stand and cuddle for a moment, and I certainly wasn’t going to complain.
Eventually, he pulled back and looked up at me. “Wilder, were we…” he trailed off, like he didn’t want to speak the words.
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. Had we been dead? Or had we been in an in-between place? I wasn’t sure.
“I meant it, you know,” Josh said, gazing up at me. “You’re worth it.”
“As did I, Mei Ume. You are worth everything. I love you.” I leaned down and kissed him.
We started gently, our lips brushing against each other, teasing, licking, and nipping. It didn’t take long for Josh to melt into me, opening his mouth in invitation. I grabbed onto his hair, and he moaned as I teased his tongue with mine, licking into his mouth and biting his bottom lip.
“Wilder!” he gasped as I pulled away.
“Inside,” I said, giving him a pat on the ass as he turned around to follow my directions.
We both went in, and Josh looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to tell him what to do. I rumbled in pleasure at the sight. I walked over and circled him, the smell of his arousal growing stronger as I did so.
“What do you want, Mei Ume?” I whispered in his ear.
