Hellhounds

by Esther E. Schmidt

  Alistair leans in and kisses my nose. “Our connection is there for a reason. With delicate things, information, or feelings, or even our fears, they sometimes share to our mates so we can be there for our mate. So, what did you hear?”

  “That I think letting the vampire kill our dad wouldn’t be such a bad idea.” There, now I don’t have to exactly put it in other words. Oh. A thought comes to mind and I might as well take advantage of him being here. “And that it might be good to let us fight with you guys.”

  Alistair’s jaw ticks. “The first part has a ring of truth in it. It matches my thoughts. That last part, though? When we’re done handling your father? Your ass will receive a count of twenty for lying.”

  I gasp out in...yeah, that might be a mixture of fake horror and excitement all rolled into one. “I didn’t mean it as part of your thoughts. I just gave you some of my own thoughts.”

  His eyebrow raises. Shit. I just lied again and we both know it.

  “Fine. Twenty it is, whatever,” I murmur, knowing I should take my loss before he adds more.

  Alistair cups my cheek, softly letting his thumb brush my skin. “Just so you know, we all decided to have you right next to us. Velma’s a Hellhound herself so…”

  “No, I’m not. I’m a Guardian,” Velma states. “I might look like a white version of …holy shit. What if I’m now black instead of white?”

  Os laughs and shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter, princess, you’re stunning either way. But somehow I get the feeling that you’re still you. Your job didn’t switch by our mating and neither will your appearance. You’re still a Guardian through and through. White or black…I need you right next to me, for whatever we might be facing at any moment.”

  “Aw,” I sigh. “That’s so sweet.” My throat is closing up, there’s so much emotion crackling around those two.

  A sharp sting on my earlobe makes me tip my head back to glare at Alistair.

  “Same goes for the two of us, love. I’ll fight knowing you’ll have my back. I would never leave you behind or let someone else look out for you. You’re mine to take care of. So either we die together or we spend eternity loving one another. There can never be a middle road,” he vows.

  “Can I vote for the eternity loving one another? Because I don’t want to die any time soon. I do however wanna come and kick some ass. That sounds like fun.” I give him a huge smile, one that Alistair returns.

  “You’re cute. But we need to talk things through first and get you suited up.” Alistair turns to Os. “You fill in your Old Lady. I’m going to head over to Lajos and see if he has some things she can strap to her leg or something.”

  Strap to my… “What does Lajos have that needs…”

  “Knives, Eliana. We all have claws. I’m pretty sure you can get angry enough during a fight to be able to attempt to fry your opponent’s brain, but just humor me with having a knife on you so you are able to slice off his head if need be,” Alistair tells me as he guides me toward the hall that leads to the private rooms.

  “But I never learned how to fight.” Yikes, is that my voice that sounds timid and scared at the thought of using a knife?

  “Don’t worry, I’ll give you a few pointers,” Mr. Know-It-All says before he knocks on a door.

  Lajos opens it and walks over to his bed that’s covered with a large, black silk sheet. Lying on top of it are a whole lot of weapons; knives, ninja stars, guns. Guns?

  “Why do you have these things? You guys only fight with claws, not with your hands. Guns? Knives? Why? How?” I shake my head in confusion.

  “Lajos here has a fascination with human weapons. He’s been collecting them over the years. He suggested that you take a look to see if there was something you could bring with you. We all thought it was a good idea and it makes me somewhat more comfortable.” Alistair sighs. “Look, you always seem to squint your eyes when you try to use your powers, like you’re forcing it. What if you can’t make it work? Even if you don’t know how to fight, you can always swing a knife or shoot a damn gun to hold them off long enough for me to kill them.”

  “Okay.” That was kind of sweet. Although I will ignore the fact that he thinks I can’t do my magic when I want to…well, he does have a point, but that sucks when I think about it. Hang on. “I squint my eyes?”

  The corner of his mouth twitches. “Uh huh.”

  I bite my bottom lip and glance at Lajos. Taking a deep breath, I think of something that would get me pissed. A gun malfunctioning would…I raise my hand and point a finger at him, trying not to think, only wanting to warn him for double checking things.

  “Stop, stop, stop.” Alistair wraps his fingers around my wrist and shoves my arm down. “Don’t. You never use it intentionally on someone who doesn’t mean you harm.”

  “But I was trying to…” I don’t understand.

  “Look at your goddamned hand, Eliana,” Alistair growls.

  Glancing down, I don’t even recognize the hand that’s connected to my own arm. I can feel Alistair’s fingers that are still wrapped around my wrist, but it’s…

  “They call it black magic for a reason,” Alistair snaps at me. “You’re using it for the wrong reasons, selfish purposes. You can never…”

  “I didn’t know,” I whisper while I swallow hard, hating myself in this moment. I feel tears burning in my eyes.

  “Aw, fuck. Lajos, leave us for a moment,” Alistair snaps before he pulls me into his arms.

  Soft strokes on the back of my head are soothing while he’s holding me close. Melting in his embrace, I let go of all my emotions. The tears I was holding back from everything that has happened now flow freely. He doesn’t say a single word, not until I feel like I’m getting my grip back. I now feel silly for letting myself go like that.

  I pat his chest. “Uhmmm, thanks?”

  Bracing myself, I find the nerve to look down at my hand, thankful to see it back to normal again. It was as if I’d dipped my whole hand into a black paint bucket. There were black lashes, like roots, crawling up my arm. It was a horrifying image, like the hand wasn’t mine at all.

  “How come it didn’t go all black when I used magic the first two times? Or if I think of Velma, to feel if she’s near?” I ask Alistair, because it seems like he knows more about these things.

  “Probably because you were defending yourself, or me, the last time. With locating Velma you’re not harming anyone with your magic, that’s different. But I don’t know everything there is to know.” Alistair rubs the back of his neck. “If I run into a specific paranormal, The Orderly debriefs me. Or we dive into the archive if there’s something unexplained. So I know more about vampires because I’ve dealt with many in the past. Just like Fae, shifters, werewolves…”

  “Werewolves…” I muse. “When I read about them in romance books, they’re always naked when they shift…are they naked? I mean, when they shift, do they like…rip all their clothes like the hulk? Hey…does the Hulk exist? Oh, better question, does Thor? No, more importantly…why aren’t you guys naked when you switch from Hellhound back to man? Because I’m kinda happy your naked ass isn’t on show for everybody.”

  Somewhere in the middle of my rant, Alistair fell into a sea of laughter and is wiping his tears away while I glare at him. “What’s so funny? I’m serious here.”

  “About what part, love? My ass?”

  Seriously? He needs to ask me that in-between chuckles?

  I put my hands on my hips and add a little bite to my words. “Yes, your ass. Covered up at all times, that’s kind of a big deal here.”

  He’s now holding up his hands in defeat. “My Hellhound and I are two merged into one, like flipping a coin. You don’t see him losing all his fur when I switch back, it’s the same with my clothes. It’s me the way I am when we flip, and it’s him in full glory too.”

  “Except when I have you both, kinda like balancing on the edge of the coin.” I bite my lip.

  His cheeks heat. “That never happ
ened to me before. It freaked me out because I couldn’t contain my Hellhound and I was afraid I would hurt you. I wanted to grab you, ravish you, consume you. I had no other choice but to step back…but then…”

  “You’re one and the same for me. There hasn’t been a moment when I feared you would hurt me, so don’t ever hold back,” I tell him.

  Alistair steps closer.

  “Never again,” he growls against my mouth.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ***Alastair***

  “Where did you get this?” Velma asks while she holds up the present Eliana brought her.

  “It’s called a push dagger, and…”

  Velma cuts Eliana off. “But it’s a necklace. Look, a chain with a triangle that flows into a...oh. Wow. So you hold the crystal between your fingers, touching your palm, and then...nice. One smooth pull and it’s out of the sheath. Best present ever,” Velma squeals and hugs Eliana.

  “Well, I just brought it for you. Lajos was the one who’s got this whole stash. Look, I’ve got the same one.” Eliana holds up her necklace and both girls squeal.

  “Fuck. Can we go to fucking war already because I’d rather fight me some Heaven MC scum than stay here and get my eardrums blown to shreds,” Zigmund complains.

  Both sisters glare at him and he just shrugs. “What? I can’t be honest anymore?”

  That’s my cue. “Everybody, we’re heading out.”

  I tug Eliana away from her sister. She’s wearing a tight leather vest that looks more like a corset if you ask me. Lajos told me that the inside was made from Kevlar, that way the most important body parts will have a layer of protection.

  She doesn’t utter a single word when she gets on the back of my bike. To have her plastered against me, the heat of her pussy ever so close, her arms locked around my waist, things couldn’t be more perfect. Except for the fact that I’m riding toward a war where we won’t know what the outcome will be. But this right here gives me all the strength I need to raise hell and walk away with everything I hold dear.

  We leave our bikes a few miles down the road. Two of my men leave first to check the perimeter. Eliana looks nervous, but Velma looks like she’s going to puke at any damn second.

  “Are you okay? I totally understand if you want to sit this out. I’d even leave your mate with you,” I tell Velma.

  She seems to swallow back the urge to puke and squares her shoulders. “No. I’m fine. But are you sure about this? I mean, they’re like you guys, and you know how Hellhounds can smell everything from miles away.”

  I give her a tight nod. “The Orderly cloaked us, not just the way where we can hide and appear out of human’s sight, this is different. But the moment we reveal ourselves, it’s gone. And it’s just us, not you and Eliana, because you two are going in first.”

  “Yeah, about that,” Velma says with a concerned look on her face. “Is that really a smart thing to do? Me? I’m not so much a problem because I belong there but…”

  Os growls low, “Not anymore you don’t.”

  A proud smile tugs Velma’s lips. “Very true, my lovely mate, I don’t. But my father has been fierce in the past about keeping me away from Eliana and staying hidden from humans, yet here I am…strolling right into the clubhouse with, what he sees as a human, at my side.”

  “This is the way it should go down. I’m not making any last minute changes,” I snap.

  “I’m just making sure, and I’m sorry…I shouldn’t doubt anything you do but…” Velma’s face goes soft. Although I’m on edge as it is, I know the words she just spoke aren’t from doubting my experience or actions, or my plan for that matter.

  “You and I have the same end game here, Velma. Just know that I will fight just as hard to keep you from harm, not just because you’re my mate’s sister, or my VP’s mate, but you’re one of us now, part of our family, and we will never let you down,” I vow to her.

  Velma surprises the fuck out of me when she throws herself at me and hugs me tight.

  “See? Before all this mating shit, we never had these gooey moments. Makes me feel awkward. I mean…do we join in, check the time to see everyone gets equal amount of hug time?”

  “Zigmund!” we all snap in sync.

  “What?” he asks with wide eyes.

  “You’re doing it again,” Eliana tells him. “Didn’t your mom ever hug you or something?”

  Zigmund still has his eyes like saucers. “I never had a mom.”

  “True,” I tell them. “I found him as a pup, ass up in a garbage can.”

  “Awww.” Velma and Eliana both have emotions flowing through their voices.

  If Zigmund’s eyes could go any wider, they would. He takes a step back. “No, no. Stay the fuck away. No hugging or planning for mega lovin’ time. That shit needs to stay far away from me. I’ve lived for centuries without, so I’m not starting any time soon.”

  “Okay,” Eliana sighs. “But after we’ve handled this…you and I are going to sit down and have a little talk, young man.”

  “Did I not mention centuries just now? Damn woman, I’m not a young man. And fine. As long as you stick to your words…just talking,” Zigmund tells her.

  “Yeah, are we done now? Because here comes Rouvin and Petros.” I lift my chin in the direction my two guys are coming from. “Any update on the perimeter sweep, guys?”

  Rouvin comes to a stop next to Os. “There are two guys out front. One is fucking some chick against the wall but I think by the way he was grunting they will be done in a minute or two. Then we have a row of eighteen bikes out front and three cars in the lot. That might give us the number of people who are inside.”

  “I smell thirty different scents in there,” Petros states. “Nine of those are female. Two of those have a scent that are off and I can’t determine.”

  “Like me?” Eliana questions.

  Petros nods. “Yes, I believe so. But they smell different than you, still…off, like you.”

  Zigmund whistles low. “Better stick with purple, dude…cut out the ‘they smell off’ shit. I might not be all ‘cuddle me now’ but I do know a killer look when I see one, our Prez’s Old Lady is not liking you calling them that. And if it’s like that…they might be their half-sisters. So…”

  “Are we ready for you four to go in first?” Jagger asks.

  And I’m happy he did so before I shut Zigmund up with a punch to the face. “That’s the plan.”

  Jagger rubs his hands together. “Okay, but as soon as there’s any sound of a struggle…we’re busting in there.”

  “That would also be part of the plan.” I chuckle and slap him on the back. “Are your guys ready?”

  “They sure are, laying low around the perimeter, waiting for my okay,” Jagger tells me.

  There are no more words exchanged as I put a hand on Eliana’s back and guide her toward her father’s clubhouse. Velma is right next to her and Os is flanking Velma. Our girls are the only ones who can see us now. When we were talking things through, The Orderly offered this gift when I suggested we let Velma talk to her father first. This way we can have one hundred percent certainty about what is going to go down.

  Even when all the evidence is miles high, both sisters need it. Even more importantly, this confrontation is crucial for all the members in this MC. Even when I got the all clear to wipe this whole MC to the ground, there’s no way in hell, pun intended, I would do that without picking out the good ones. And I know for fucking sure there are enough of them in there. Fuck. I would bet more than half of the guys aren’t even aware of how rotten their Prez is.

  So I made sure every one of my men, and Jagger’s guys, know it’s not a killing spree we’re in for. Well, if things turn to shit it will be, but I’m hoping things will go smoothly. Meaning Velma and Eliana can have a chat that will give us a good reading on who the rotten apples are. Then we will take those souls and only those souls. If that doesn’t work…well, then we’ll skip right down to plan B; kill them all.

 
“Velma,” a biker near the entrance quips. “Didn’t think you’d be here for at least another two days. Did Prez call you in? Does he know…hey, Gabriel, check it out, Velma brought fresh pussy.”

  “Fresh pussy?” Gabriel, a biker who’s fucking a woman against the wall steps back. The woman falls on her ass and his fucking dick is swinging out in the open.

  “My eyes, my eyes,” Eliana holds her hands up in front of her, trying to block the fucker’s dick from her vision.

  I feel a tap on my shoulder. Glancing to my right, I see Os shaking his head no. Shit. I must look like I’m ready to rip the fucker’s dick off if he doesn’t shove it back in his pants quick enough.

  “This one here has some of your President’s blood in her,” Velma spits out her words in anger. “So I would guess that’s a no to her being a human fuckhole. To put it in your terms, because for me…that’s my sister right there, and I will punch you in the face if you keep talking like that. And put your willy away, Gabriel. I’ve seen what a real dick looks like and yours doesn’t match up.”

  Glancing to my VP again, I see there’s a huge smirk on his face. Smart woman to compliment her man’s dick when she’s staring at another dude’s flesh. Gabriel doesn’t know how fast he needs to put his dick, that’s gone slack, into his pants.

  The other dude is staring at Velma, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. “You’re not shitting us, are you?”

  They both glance from Eliana to Velma and back.

  “I can see it now, same jawline and eyes, holy shit. You found another one?” Gabriel states.

  Found another one? What…is their father knocking up woman by the dozen?

  “What do you mean by that? I have more than one sister?” Velma gasps, clearly shocked at the fact that this Gabriel fucker threw out that little piece of information.

  “No, I didn’t. You don’t.” Gabriel clears his throat. “I mean, you found a sister? Nice. Does your father know?”