“My pack?”
“That’s how you’ve been referring to them, is it not?”
Tilly stumbled back from Lucifer. Her head felt too cloudy and full, yet empty and mushy all at the same time. “That’s…” her brow furrowed, “Yes. Yes, I have.”
“And that’s why you’re here.” He gently maneuvered her so she had her back against the wall. “I’m sorry this has to happen, but… you’ll understand soon.” He shackled her arms to the wall. She didn’t even realize it was being done until it was too late. The cold iron was loose enough around her wrists to not dig into her skin, but were tight enough that she couldn’t slip out.
“Wh-wh-what are you doing?”
“What needs to be done.” Lucifer’s gaze held a hint of remorse. He unbuckled his belt and slid it free from the loops of his leather pants. A heat wave plummeted down Tilly’s body and she groaned. It felt wrong to be so turned on, but it was unstoppable. Much like what happened next.
“Open,” he commanded with a sinful tone.
She obeyed immediately. Her instincts were to trust him. He stuffed the belt into her mouth and she clamped down tight, bracing herself as best she could.
Lucifer cupped her face gently, “It’ll be over soon.”
Then he walked away and slammed the door to her cell, locking her in with her sins.
Chapter 3
Drake carried Tilly’s corpse into Hell with Baz to his left, Valor to his right, while Bishop ran ahead of them yelling, “Lucifer!”
Brock rushed out of the main room to meet them. “He’s with her.”
Okay, that sounded like Brock just said He’s with her. “With who?”
“Your girl.” Brock nodded to the corpse in Drake’s arms and flinched when he saw what was done to her. “You’re to wait in his throne room.”
Drake stormed past Brock, still carrying Tilly, and went right past the throne room, no doubt in search of their girl. Bishop ripped Drake back by his shirt collar and it took all of them to get Drake into the throne room.
Valor got all up in Drake’s face, “We will obey. If the Devil gives us this gift, we’re not going to disrespect him by disobeying direct orders, Hound.”
Clutching Tilly’s corpse close, Drake ground his molars together and submitted.
Bishop didn’t know who to be more frightened for: Tilly or the pack. God knows he wasn’t a man who got his hopes up often, but the idea of there being a possibility that Tilly could become a Hell Hound was too big of a temptation to not put his whole heart into hoping for.
But if that didn’t happen, the damage to the pack would be irrecoverable. Looking at how devastated Drake was said it all. If she didn’t join them, and they lost her, either because she had turned malanum or refused to sell her soul, then…
Fuck, Bishop couldn’t swallow the bile rising in his throat. He started pacing. As did Baz and Valor. Meanwhile, Drake continued holding their woman with no expression on his face. No hurt, no hope, no nothing. The Hound had completely shut down.
Christ on a cracker, if this doesn’t end well… Bishop rubbed the back of his neck. Don’t think about that. Think about revenge. Sweet, beautiful, motherfucking revenge. Bishop’s pro tip: When stressed, plot murder. It saves your sanity more often than you’d think.
Lucifer’s voice rumbled from down the hall. He shoved the doors open with enough power to crack the solid wood and stormed right over to Drake with his arms out to take Tilly from the Hell Hound. Drake stepped back and barked viciously at their maker. “Hound,” Lucifer warned, “I don’t have the energy for this. Give her to me. Now.”
Valor squeezed Drake’s shoulder, grumbling something in his ear. Drake didn’t flinch, but he also didn’t fight when Lucifer took Tilly’s body from him. The Devil spun around and marched out the door, his jaw set and eyes fixed on the woman he now held.
When Bishop turned back to his alpha, he saw Valor and Baz were holding onto Drake. Holding him back or holding him up, it was hard to tell.
Kalen came running in, his expression grave. “Fuck, Hounds, I’m so sorry. We just heard.” He approached Valor first, gripping his forearm, they embraced each other like old warriors, old friends, and talked in Gaelic to each other.
Bishop never learned the language, but going off the vibes in the room, whatever Kalen was saying, it sent Valor to his ass. “What? What’s going on?”
Valor spoke with his head cast down, “She’s in purgatory. Kalen was guarding the Time Out Zone and found her. She was… verra confused. She’d been ripped too fast from her life and it hasn’t caught up with her.”
Bishop’s belly flip flopped. “We need to go. We should be there for her. Help her.”
“Not a good idea,” Kalen’s gaze flicked to Drake before he looked back at Bishop. “She’s strong. She’ll come through.”
They all looked at each other, except for Drake who stared at the floor like he was trying to burn a hole in it. What the hell was Tilly going to have go through? Becoming a Hound didn’t hurt all that much. What was Luce doing to her that would have Kalen in here as the goddamn guard dog?
“What,” Drake’s voice was deep and gruff, “What will she come through?”
Kalen looked around at each of them, then he sighed, “Just… trust our maker, okay?”
A high-pitched shriek from somewhere beyond the stone walls had Bishop’s balls tuck in tight to his body. “Holy shit,” he whispered, “What’s he doing to her?”
Another ear-piercing scream caused the entire pack to tense up. Drake bolted for the door. Kalen and Valor snagged him and pinned him to the ground. Baz shook his head, growing paler and paler as he moved closer to his twin. “I’m sorry, brother. I’m so sorry. There’s no other way to stop you.” Baz reached out to grab him.
“Don’t you dare,” Drake growled, “Don’t you fucking—”
Drake slapped Baz’s hand away, but that brief contact was all Baz needed to make the exchange. He shoved his soul into Drake and the Hound fell down to the ground with a bark.
“It’s the only way to keep you steady right now. A complete shutdown is all you can fucking do.”
“Fuuuck,” Drake whimpered. “Please… don’t… I can’t…”
“You must,” Baz whispered to him. “If you go in there now, you could ruin whatever the Devil is doing. And there’s no other way to stop you unless I can shut you down completely. This is the only way. I’m so sorry, brother. I am.”
The onslaught of emotions rendered Drake immobile. The Hound was in such a tailspin, they’d never seen anything like it. And none of them knew how to handle it. So this was the best they could do – They surrounded Drake and overwhelmed him with pack energy.
Drake curled into himself, bucking as he tried to push Baz’s soul out. It might have worked any other time, but not now. Not here. Not when, deep down, Drake had died inside all over again when he found Tilly dead and buried.
Another scream pierced their ears.
That one was all Drake.
“Please survive this,” Bishop whispered. He wasn’t sure if he was talking to Drake, the entire pack, or Tilly.
Tilly screamed until her throat was raw. Eyes bulging out of their sockets, sweat soaking her clothes, Tilly might be dead, but she was very much alive right now. Every molecule she owned was on fucking fire.
The chains clanked while she thrashed around. Lucifer held her, his big arms like a vice around her torso, and he stood between her and the wall, acting like a cushion so she didn’t bash her head into the stone.
“Accept it,” he growled. “Fucking accept it. The sooner you do, the sooner it’s done.”
Accept what? Tilly’s mind couldn’t hold onto anything for longer than a millisecond. Emotions too raw and blindingly painful lanced her, spilling her guts and heart out all over the floor. Every inch of her skin boiled and burned.
“Accept it, damnit!” Lucifer jerked her harder against him. “Focus, woman. Let it in.”
Let what in? The
evil? Because that was all she felt right now. Anger, wrath, rage, and the desire to kill, kill, kill. Let that in? Fine. Then she could slay the world and everything in it she hated.
“Fuck, Matilda Jane,” Lucifer’s voice shot flames into her veins and straight to her pussy. She was fucking drenched. It made her madder. Tilly gasped and bucked again. “Listen to me, woman. Focus on my voice.”
She ground her ass against the Devil and moaned, furious that she couldn’t control herself anymore. Then she went back to fighting all the shit warring inside her.
Lucifer’s breath was hot against her neck. “Think of your Hounds. Focus on them.”
Her nostrils flared. Something delicious funneled down into her body. She swayed against her restraints.
“Valor,” he growled, “Bishop,” he held her tighter, “Sebastian,” he placed a hand over her throat, “Drake.”
Tilly stilled.
“Accept it.”
Her eyes rolled. Everything got wobbly and tingly.
“Let it all in, Matilda Jane. Every fucking thing you’ve done your damnedest to keep out. Let it. The fuck. IN.”
She sputtered out a sob and went limp in her chains.
“Your greatest sin wasn’t that you were a thief or a liar. It wasn’t that you worked dark magic or acted on your lust or even had thoughts of suicide and murder.” He kept his grip firm, but started rubbing small circles on the column of her neck, “It’s that you wouldn’t accept love. What’s the point of having the gift of life, Matilda Jane, if not to have love in it?”
Tears cascaded down her cheeks. She slammed her teeth together and tried to breathe through her darkest truth while it did its worst to tear her to ribbons on the inside.
“You didn’t think you were worthy. You didn’t think you deserved it. You didn’t think you had it in you to give.”
All true.
“You lied to yourself every day,” Lucifer kept rubbing those little circles, almost lulling her into submission. “They were lies because all you did, Matilda Jane, all the sacrifices you made, were for love. I know everything about you,” he whispered. “It’s all right here,” his hand ran down her side and his touch sent a shiver down her spine. “And here,” he tugged her hair back and tapped her temple. “I see it all. I see you for what you really are.”
Tilly whimpered.
“Did you think you could hide your truth from the Devil, child?”
Nope. But she didn’t think confession was like this. It hurt. It paralyzed.
It fucking sucked.
“Accept it.” Lucifer continued his circles on her neck, his large hand on her throat was a constant threat and reminder of who she was with. “Open up and let it in. Rely on your instincts, Tilly. Accept your fate.”
Accept my fate? My fate was death! Fuck fate. Fuck you, too!
Lucifer’s grip strengthened. “Fuck, woman. Do not test my patience.”
She swallowed. Scared shitless, Tilly’s mind raced for things to hold onto. She needed some kind of goodness to brighten the darkness swarming her and immediately thought of her Hounds. “I don’t want this,” she cried. “I don’t want this.”
“What don’t you want, child?”
Tilly bit back her answer and wiped her mind clear so he couldn’t read it. Then… she gave in. The barriers Tilly spent her lifetime building up, crashed down. Like steel walls sinking down with a final slam, her soul flew wide open and she accepted everything. Her wrongs. Her rights. Her fears. Her desires.
Her fate.
“Good girl,” Lucifer didn’t let go of her. “Do you willingly give your soul to me?”
She nearly pissed herself. Give her soul to the Devil? She had this talk several times with Valor and was always so adamant that she would never do such a thing.
“The choice is entirely yours,” his voice was soothing. Deep. “Yes or no.”
Tilly didn’t know how to give her answer. It didn’t seem like a simple yes or no kind of thing. She had questions.
“You will not be able to go visit your sister. Ever.”
Tilly curled into herself a little.
“You will live with a pack and obey your alpha’s orders without complaint.”
She cringed.
“You will hunt down our enemies and help keep the balance of the world.”
That perked her up a tiny bit.
Lucifer made a deep throaty chuckle, “I can feel that pleases you.” He released his hold and walked around to face her. Bare chested, ripped with muscle, and still in leather pants, he was any woman’s wet dream. Shit, he was any man’s wet dream too. Satan could probably make anyone his to fuck.
“You’ve spent your life preparing for this, Matilda Jane.” He grabbed her waist. “You’ve always known about the darker things out there, made connections and allies with the worst sort of creatures and always played by the rules of magic.”
Her eyes widened.
Lucifer’s dark brow arched, “I see Zaza’s marks.” He reached up and traced a finger down her many scars – each of which were Zaza’s payment for a favor. “You got yourself expelled from school so you could be home to keep an eye on Vivian. She was… troubled, to put it lightly. And you gave up your future, your dreams, and focused solely on finding a cure for your family’s curse.” His finger swiped across the small faint scars on her belly. “You even swallowed your greatest fear of being in a hospital long enough to have this surgery.”
She’d had her tubes tied so the curse wouldn’t continue past her if she failed to find a cure. Had she found one, she’d have saved Vivian too, and Viv could keep the bloodline going by having lots of babies like she often dreamed of.
“You never stopped protecting people. Helping people. All the charity, all the long nights talking with,” Lucifer paused, “Liam was it?”
Tilly swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. God, Liam. Was he okay? He and Tilly had a strange connection. They met in high school, and, up until recently, he’d been her go to person to acquire the books and dark magic objects she needed to experiment with to cure her curse. They weren’t close, but at the same time were all each other had when it came to the tough pieces of life they both chewed on.
Tilly always used him to get more objects. She couldn’t get them herself – too clumsy and not enough stealth to get away with it. Liam was like a shadow you never knew was there. And he’d used her too. She never minded, though. Liam was lost a lot, depressed and beaten down by life. She would sit on the phone for hours with him, making a list of all the things to be grateful for. All the things he should live for. That’s one of the other reasons she’d made him that mojo bag. The man needed positivity in his life, as well as protection. And Liam had given her the mojo bag back to her and said he was done with everything. That was right after she’d met her Hell Hounds…
Seeing the forest for the trees, maybe Liam was so willing to jeopardize his life and be a thief because he was always looking for the next suicide mission. A way to let someone else end his life for him. The realization made her nauseous. Oh Liam.
Lucifer dipped his head into her line of vision. “Then there’s what you did to my Hounds.”
“I didn’t do anything to them,” her heart hammered in her chest. Drake’s accusation filled her ears, You think you can just come into this pack, break us all apart and play with our busted pieces?
“You didn’t?” Lucifer’s voice was laced with venom.
Tilly shook her head fast and hard. “No. I didn’t do anything to them. I swear.”
“And here I thought you’d learned your lesson about acceptance.” He let go of her and clasped his hands behind his back. “So you didn’t learn all about how Hell Hounds operate? You didn’t force them to break bread together in an attempt to force them to bond better? You didn’t go – solo – into the catacombs to help two strangers find their lost pack members, knowing,” he held his finger up and wagged it at her, “that you could damn well die in the process and didn’t care a
bout the consequences? You were so quick to accept your fate then, but struggle to accept it now. Why is that?”
Tilly gulped. She didn’t know how to answer that.
“What changed, Matilda Jane? Say it out loud so you can hear it for yourself.”
“I…” she bit her bottom lip. “I... I love them. And I’d do anything for them. Even if it meant losing myself to save one of them.”
“But you didn’t know them, they were strangers to you, child.”
“It didn’t feel that way.” She tried to wipe her tears away with her shoulder since her arms were still shackled.
Lucifer stepped in, cupped her face with both hands and swiped the rest of her tears away with his thumbs. “What kind of woman does such a thing?”
“A foolish one?”
“Or a fearless one.” His smile was warm. It made her all mushy on the inside. “Yes or No, Tilly?”
She bit her bottom lip. Closing her eyes, she wished the answer would come like one of those things you read about where destiny whispers the right thing in your ear. Nothing was saying shit to her. Instead, a vision of Bishop formed. His body chiseled to perfection with all that ink decorating his skin.
Find what you’d die for and live for it. Those were the words tattooed on his back.
She would have died for her sister, but Vivian beat her to the finish line. Tilly’s heart twisted painfully thinking about Viv. At least now Tilly wouldn’t have to worry about her sister ever again. Vivian was safe and happy.
Find what you’d die for and live for it.
Tilly would die for a chance at avenging her own death. Revenge would be worth selling her soul for right about now. The fucker who killed her had taken everything away. Her life… her Hounds…
The air whooshed out of Tilly when she thought about her Hounds. Of all images to conjure, she thought of Drake’s face. That smile of his was a stunner… and so rare. Her heart ached at the idea of never seeing him or the others ever again.
“I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with them,” she confessed. “I was always so careful to never get attached to anything. Anyone.”
Hard to Kill (Hell Hounds Harem Book 6) Page 2
