Page 2 of Dante
I nodded. “Yeah, they’re my favorite, and I’ve never tasted anything like them before.”
“I’m…” Banner nodded. “That’s good to hear. Lewis doesn’t know if he should keep them or not because they’re not the traditional cinnamon rolls that everyone seems to want.”
“That’s sad to hear.”
Banner nodded again before he handed me a small box. Then he handed me a cup, and I nodded my head once in thanks. “I appreciate it,” I added, because why not. I knew that Augustus was standing not six inches from me and was hearing every single word between us. I had to admit, I was a bit shocked—not only had we actually talked, but Banner hadn’t openly glared at me.
Banner followed me to the register, and when he gave me the total, I handed him my card.
“Coal, huh? Dante Coal?”
“Yeah. None of us had last names, so we all just picked something. It seemed fitting.”
“How so?”
I shrugged. “I’m a hellhound. There’s a lot of sulfur and coal where I come from. There’s a lot of messy, dark things about me.”
Banner’s mouth opened a bit before he handed me back my card. I took it and the receipt he passed me, and after putting a generous tip on there for him, I picked up my purchases and gave him a curt nod before I turned and left. I waited outside for Augustus, who came out shortly after I did. Whereas I had a small box and coffee, he had a massive one in one hand as well as a coffee.
“Hungry or something?”
Augustus glared at me. “I heard every word. Why couldn’t you be…I don’t know…friendly?”
I was confused. “That was friendly. I talked to him. What more was I supposed to do? You wanted me to talk to him. I did.”
Augustus sighed. “You just might be hopeless.” He walked off, leaving me there wondering what I’d done wrong. I had nothing, so I shook my head and walked off, following Augustus at a slower pace. I wanted to eat my coffee cinnamon rolls and drink my latte before we left. I didn’t know what to expect, and although the rest of the pack seemed as if they had come around to me being among them, I still tended to shy away from spending much time with the rest outside of runs or work things. I knew Warwick didn’t necessarily like me all that much, and Damien and Atticus were both really wrapped up in their own mates.
I glanced back at the bakery one last time, telling myself it would be the final time I saw Banner. I was surprised he’d talked to me at all. Any previous attempts to check up on him, he’d been withdrawn and had once even told me to leave him alone. I’d done what I could to respect that boundary, but I’d made the mistake of confiding in Augustus about the possibility of Banner being my mate. Now, he wouldn’t let things go despite me telling him that Banner simply didn’t want anything to do with me, and rightly so.
I looked down at the box in my hand and suddenly no longer had a desire for them. Augustus had walked off, and I wasn’t sure where exactly I should go, so I popped myself back home. I lived in single enforcer housing, someplace far nicer than anywhere I’d ever lived before. It had the basic furniture that had come with it—we were all given the option to have it furnished or not, and since I didn’t have anything, I was happy with their furniture.
Maybe I should have spent some time updating things though. I looked around the place, and although it was functional, that was about the extent of it. I didn’t have people over except Augustus, and he didn’t care what the place looked like.
I set the box and my coffee on the table and then went to the couch and sat down. There wasn’t much to do before we left for our assignment. We didn’t need to pack anything, as it couldn’t go through with us anyway. Once we were in the Nexus, we would be in our beast forms, and it wasn’t like we needed shampoo or a toothbrush.
I leaned back and closed my eyes, wondering how long our assignment would take. I’d tracked many demons and other hellhounds in the Nexus before, but I had zero concept of time then. It didn’t matter. I had been doing what my master and creator had ordered, and that was it. That was where I’d first met Augustus. We weren’t originally in the same pack, but when we’d met in the Nexus, we seemed to form some sort of bond, and once we returned to our realm, we just gravitated toward one another.
But then we were banished, and not at the same time or to the same places and without our magic, which meant we couldn’t find one another. One by one, we seemed to be finding the council, or, in my case, it found me, and although I understood the reason for our assignments, I was beginningto wonder if the ability to resign as an enforcer was an option. Banner seemed to be at home here, and I knew I not only brought back memories I was certain he wished to forget, but also, he just didn’t seem to enjoy seeing me. Not that I could blame him.
I heard knocking that was more like pounding on my door and, with a bit of magic, discovered it was Augustus. That shouldn’t have surprised me. I stood, and by the time I was at the door, the pounding had started in earnest. I yanked the door open and glared.
“What?”
“What do you mean, what? You left.”
I crossed my arms in front of me and stared down my packmate. “You walked off because you weren’t happy with my response. I simply came home because I really didn’t know where else to go while we’re all waiting for Atticus, Damien, and Warwick to get done fucking their mates. What was I supposed to do? Stand around outside and twiddle my thumbs?”
Augustus took a step forward and tried to push inside, but I blocked him. He seemed a bit surprised by that because I hadn’t ever blocked him from entering my space before. “What gives?”
I shrugged. I was saved from answering when Atticus suddenly appeared behind Augustus. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged again. “Are we ready to go?” I asked.
“Damien is coming in just a minute. Warwick was kissing the twins one last time and—” The other two suddenly appeared behind Atticus, and that was answer enough for me. I stepped out of my house, pulling the door behind me shut. “Apparently, we’re all here. Shall we?” Atticus asked.
We used magic to pop from Treasure Ridge to the town just outside of the New Mexico pride. That was the last place that the demons had been heard, but that by no means meant they were still in the area. We were going to do our best, but we hadno idea that we would ever find them. It was just something we needed to investigate because where there were demons, there were usually hellhounds.
“What’s the plan again?” Damien asked. “Are we waiting around here to see if they come back?”
“Yes. Since the only people from this area who seem to be willing to talk are Todd and his siblings, Todd was questioned. He said he often heard a rumbling noise in the area growing up. He believed it was one of the reasons his pride was so secretive. If we split up, we can cover a lot of the area and wait and see if they return in the vicinity. Todd said it was often that it was heard, sometimes several times a day. But at a minimum, it was four or five days a week.”
