Page 37 of Unforeseen Mate

He felt Fallon’s hand wrap around his upper arm. “And who is this charmer? Friend of yours? Didn’t I meet Caye?”

“He is my younger brother, Tanner. Those with him are his goons. And yes, you briefly met our sister Caye. Those in front of you, my beloved,” he said placing his hand over hers, “are the worst of our kind. They have some delusional belief that if we remove the rights of all our females and basically turn them into breeding stock, we can rebuild our species.”

“I don’t remember much about Caye, but I don’t think she’d agree to that.”

Hayden chuckled. “You have the right of it. Caye would pick up her sword and lead the other warriors—male and female—into battle and would eradicate those you see in front of you.”

“Is he jealous that you have a mate, and he doesn’t? Or is it the fact that I used to be human?”

“You still are,” snarled Tanner.

“Au contraire,” said Fallon, indicating the almost healed mark left from Hayden’s claiming bite.

“You did this without speaking to the rest of us?” asked Tanner, who seemed genuinely surprised.

Time to disabuse his younger brother of any notions he and his friends might have about how this encounter was going to go.

“I am alpha here. I do not require, nor do I ask, permission from anyone. I took my place as leader both by right of birth and right of strength. While you can claim birthright, you will have to challenge me to take my place.”

“That isn’t true, big brother. If what you do is so egregious to the hellhounds to cause irreparable harm, you can be removed. I have the votes to do it.”

Hayden patted Fallon’s hand to reassure her. “You might have the votes, but you have neither my strength nor skill. If you choose to try and banish me, I will challenge you for position. That will not work out the way you intend it to. Do not think for a moment that I will choose a blood tie to a brother who has never once thought of anyone but himself over my mate or the fate of the hellhounds.”

“It is dangerous to have her here. Strode is looking for her and you have been spotted in numerous places. The last thing we need is a war between the hellhounds and the dragons,” asserted one of the men standing with Tanner.

“Too late,” quipped Hayden. “And it won’t be a war with the dragons. The war is with Strode and those who follow him, among them the Shadow League. Fallon learned that the Phantom Fire has chosen to stand with the Resistance, as will I. Any hellhounds choosing to stand with my mate and I will be welcome, but I have made it clear to the Resistance that this is an individual choice, and I will not commit the hellhounds to a war with those from the Earth realm.”

“If we go to war, who will guard the entrance to the Underworld?” asked another hellhound.

“Thus, the reason I won’t commit all the hellhounds to the war above, even though I believe it is a war worth fighting and winning. Strode wants to bring back the age of dragons. Thatwas not a good time for those above or below and certainly not for those of us in the In-Between.”

“Do you think part of his end goal is to destroy the hellhounds?” asked Fallon, who seemed to easily grasp concepts that eluded others.

“Could be. As I told you, hellhounds are the dragons’ only natural enemy and vice versa.”

“You talked about taking me back so I could speak with Nora. Maybe we should do that sooner rather than later and let cooler heads prevail.”

Hayden nodded. “I spoke earlier with Oslo about this or at least about my being gone from the Hollow. As my second-in-command he will speak for me. I will trust, little brother, that you will not use my absences as a chance to plant and grow the seeds of dissension. If I’d been a hellhound much longer than I have been, I would worry about someone who would betray his brother especially in that brother’s absence.”

Tanner made a move to come at Fallon; Hayden stepped between them.

“Take care, little brother; I will kill anyone who tries to harm my mate. Now, all of you, get out. My mate has yet to complete the transition and was near death when she chose to make her life with me.”

There was some grumbling, but the group that had come in cranked up on their own importance and self-righteousness left, looking a bit demoralized.

“They’re an interesting group,” Fallon said as Hayden shut the door.

“How so?”

“Those with your little brother appeared to be either his age or younger, hotheads looking for a fight; or much older—those who have been promised a return to their glory days.”

“You underestimate them.”

“No, I don’t. I just think those who are strongest with the best heads on their shoulders follow you. In a full-out fight, I believe you would win, but the cost to the hellhounds would be high—not just in terms of bodies, but in spirit.”

Hayden brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. “It would seem that fate, while gifting me with a mate who is human, has imbued her with beauty, courage and intelligence.”

A small blush began to creep up her cheeks. “Thank you. If I’m being honest, this is all kind of weird to me.”

---