by Melody Raven
All he had to do was make it to the apartment. He collected the papers and computer he brought home with him and stepped out of the car. The sun hadn’t officially risen, but it was just high enough to light up the skies with a soft glow. He would probably get upstairs just in time to shut his blinds and pass out.
He rolled his neck, working out the cracks and kinks, when he heard the footsteps. He froze. The idea of being followed didn’t bother him. It was the number of steps. Four. No, eight. There was an animal behind him. Two, actually. And there were only two wild animals he’d seen lately, and they weren’t anything his Glock could handle.
He reached into his pocket as he carefully pulled out his phone and called Sam’s number. It was ringing as he pivoted around to see the creatures breathing heavily and staring him down.
“Hey,” said Sam in a sexy and sleepy voice, signaling that he’d probably woken her up.
“Hey,” he said in a whisper. “I think I’m going to need some help.”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“It’s the hellhounds. They found me.”
Sam jumped out of the car and looked around the street, but there was no sign of Derek. Her heart kicked up a notch as she scanned the street for any sign of trouble—overturned trash cans, blood, anything—but it seemed like a very normal section of town.
Then she saw it. A phone was on the sidewalk. She hoped it belonged to some unlucky New Yorker, but when she picked it up and turned on the screen, she confirmed that it was Derek’s. It was obvious because the lock screen was a picture of her.
She sucked in a breath and looked around her. Why would he drop his phone? Had the hellhounds dragged him off somewhere? There would have to be bullet casings, right? The hellhounds wouldn’t know to clean up after themselves....
Doing a quick scan through the area, she didn’t see anything else suspicious. She instead went toward her old building. Thanks to her newfound powers, she didn’t need a key to open the door. Once inside, she ran up the stairs until she reached Derek’s apartment. She started to pound on the door, but it swung open before she ever made contact. When she saw Derek alive and well in front of her, she was torn between joy and fury that he’d scared the hell out of her.
Before she could start screaming at him, he widened his eyes and gave her a warning glance. She quickly realized why as the door swung open more and she saw what was behind him. “Um, honey.... Why are there two hellhounds in your apartment?”
He raised his hand in an “I don’t know” gesture. “They just kind of followed me here.”
“I’m gonna need a bit more explanation....” She shifted her weight to get a better view. The hounds were rather wolf-like. Bigger than a normal wolf by probably about fifty pounds; the fur looked like a greasy black and their eyes were a glowing orange. But the eyes seemed a bit dulled. Not as bright as the last time she saw them. “Are they sick?”
“I don’t think so,” said Derek, not moving to let her inside. “They seem pretty... calm.”
“But why are they here?”
“It’s cute that you think I know that.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and she started to move in, but he still blocked her way. “Come on, Derek. Let me take a look.” She put a hand on his chest and pushed him back, but as he took a step back, the hounds suddenly stood and stared right at her, letting out a deep, rumbling growl. Sam’s eyes widened and she removed her hand from his chest. “They like you.”
“They haven’t killed me.”
“No, they’re protecting you. Derek, walk me inside. So they know they’re not supposed to be afraid of me.”
“What are you going to do to them?”
She blinked in surprise. “You seem to have a hellhound infestation. Consider me your exterminator.”
“They’re not hurting me.”
“Yet.”
He was quiet, but she could tell by the way he clenched his jaw that he wasn’t happy with her extermination idea.
“Fine. Let me in so I can assess the situation. It’s not like I know how to get rid of hellhounds anyway,” she muttered.
He reached out and, taking her hand in his, led her into the apartment. As soon as she stepped inside, the hounds surrounded her. Their noses pushed against her jeans as they started to sniff voraciously. She stayed still and tried not to move a muscle as they continued their inspection. All it would take was one bite from them to send her on a trip to hell. And if the bite was bad enough, she’d never wake up.
“Relax,” whispered Derek into her ear.
She opened her eyes to realize that Derek was right in front of her, his face bent down to hers. As though shielding her with his body, letting the hounds know she was off-limits.
“Easy for you to say,” she said, even as some of the tension crept out of her. Every second that she still had all of her limbs was another vote of confidence for the dogs. “What’s going on, Derek?”
“I think... I think when I was gone, I went to the place they’re from. There’s something about me they recognize.”
“I thought you didn’t remember what happened when you were dead.”
“I don’t but.... It’s hard to describe it. I can’t read their minds or anything, but I know them. I know what they’re feeling, what they want.”
She glanced down at the two terrifying-looking hounds that appeared pretty identical. “And they’re not hungry, are they?”
“They’re tired. Abigail pulled them from their home. They don’t know how to hunt here. They don’t know where to sleep. So they tracked me down.”
It sure as hell seemed to her as if he could read their minds. Sam kept that to herself as the dogs seemed to lose interest in her and wandered back to the living room, where one jumped on the couch and one curled up on the floor. As they relaxed into their resting positions, they seemed to immediately fall into a deep sleep. Maybe he was right about them being tired....
“What have they been doing here?”
“That.” Derek gestured to their positions in the living room. “Sorry I didn’t call you. I knew I dropped my phone, but I didn’t want to leave them alone. I still don’t know what I’m going to do about them.”
“So.... You’re anti-killing hellhounds now?”
He didn’t say anything, but the look he gave her spoke volumes. She held up her hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m sure we can figure something out. They’re just like big dogs, right? I like dogs. They’ll be our big, scary rescue dogs.” Yeah. That was totally a thing they could pull off.
She could tell that Derek didn’t think they were much like dogs either. “I just.... They’re not evil. I can feel it. They went after Claire because they were infected with the darkness, just like you were at one time. They don’t have anywhere to go now. Thanks to the darkness.”
Now that point hit her hard. “We can give them a test period,” she said hesitantly, looking between both of the hounds. “But you know if they hurt anyone, things will have to change.”
“They won’t,” he said with far too much confidence considering he’d just officially met the hounds maybe an hour ago.
“So what do we do now?” Bastian was still recovering from the second sight spell, and she was in need of a bit of recovery at this point too.
Derek pointed at the hounds. “Sleep doesn’t seem so bad. We’re going to search for the diary in the morning?” She nodded. “All right then. Rest now. Kick ass tomorrow.”
This was going to be the carpool from hell. Derek could already tell as Bastian got out of his SUV and crossed over toward the SUV Sam had lent him. One of Abigail’s cars that Sam had borrowed.
“Where’s Samantha?” Bastian asked as he approached.
“Picking up Claire and Dante. Angela is driving with her too.”
“Full house, huh? Do we really need everyone?” Bastian wore casual clothes that Derek wasn’t used to seeing—jeans and a gray Henley that did absolutely nothing to conceal the sword strapped to his back. Because
who didn’t walk around modern-day New York with a sword just hanging out back there?
“We’re going to a cursed town to look for something that could be hidden anywhere. Why wouldn’t we go with as many hands as possible?” he asked.
“So what did I do so I’m lucky enough to get to ride alone with you?”
“Well, lucky for you, we’re not alone.” Derek moved aside so Bastian could see the two hounds taking up every available inch of space in the backseat.
Bastian’s expression didn’t change as he looked between the hounds and Derek. “You came back wrong, son.”
“We’re going to look in a cursed town. Dogs might be able to help.”
“Or kill us all.”
“One of those two things will happen. You ready to go? We’re going to meet with the other group along the way.”
“Why isn’t Sam driving with you?”
“Because she wants to keep an eye on Claire.”
“You’re sure it’s not because she doesn’t want to be alone with those things?”
“Those things are named Zeus and Hera.”
“I’ll ride with ’em, but I’m not taking them out to shit.”
“That seems fair.” In all honesty, Derek hadn’t seen them go to the bathroom at all. Or eat, for that matter. From what he could tell, they weren’t hungry either. There were a lot of biological questions he had, and he didn’t foresee any vet appointments in the near future to clear anything up.
“Let’s get this shitshow on the road.” Bastian headed for the front seat. Before he even walked around the front end, a string of black SUVs pulled up and screeched to a halt around them.
Derek immediately put a hand on his gun while Bastian pulled out his sword. Derek was tensed and ready as the door to the lead SUV opened and the guy from the night outside Sam’s apartment stepped out.
“Detective Pierce. Nice to see you again. Last time we met, it was under such... rushed circumstances.”
He unholstered his gun and held it at his side, ready to go. “Rushed because you were ready to storm the building and look for Claire. She wasn’t there then and she’s not there now.”
Phillip Carpenter was just like Sam described. Derek could practically smell the entitlement coming off him in waves. He didn’t have time to deal with entitlement right now.
“Can I help you?” he asked as other men in suits started to pile out of the SUVs. God, he hated sentries. And now the handy little anti-mind control charm in his chest was useless because Claudia was gone.
He could only hope Phillip wouldn’t realize that and try anything. But that was asking for a lot.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Phillip approached and held out a hand.
Derek didn’t shake it. He just glared at the other man, as though daring him to stay longer and test his patience.
“Well.” Phillip drew his hand back. “There’s something to be said for good breeding.”
Derek raised a brow. He wasn’t insulted by the words as much as curious about how the fuck Phillip went so quickly between trying to be polite and being a dick. He obviously wanted something and thought he was going to get it by throwing around his weight. He was honestly curious about what the guy was about to ask for.
“I’ve done some reading about you, Pierce. I know you now.”
“Do you? I can’t wait to hear all the things you know about me.”
“You’re a good guy. You want to help people. Fix problems. Save people. Humans in particular.”
“He likes dogs too,” said Bastian.
Derek glared at the unhelpful remark but kept quiet.
“So, I’m sure you understand why the families are so worried about the soul sucker running around the city with no supervision.”
“Fuck, this is still about her? Forget the soul sucker. You have bigger problems than that.”
“I’m well aware of the Abigail Harris situation. But, from what I can tell, Claudia Harris’s recent departure has left a vacancy of power. It’s only reasonable for the daughter to hold down the fort. Temporarily, of course. Once things are sorted, the power will be shifted to its rightful place.”
Derek nodded. “And you think if you kill the last soul sucker, that power will be yours. Nice.”
“This is a serious concern. Imagine the bubonic plague being released into the world again. A wave of unstoppable mass destruction sweeping through every home and family. This is what I’m trying to prevent.”
“Ohh...... I didn’t realize your cause was so noble. Please excuse me for getting in the way of your quest. Did you want me to give you the exact coordinates of Claire? Better yet, I can give you her address.” He pointed to his and Claire’s apartment building that Phillip and his guys had already searched.
“Pierce, you’re a smart man. Look around. See my guys? See your one guy? What chance do you think you have against me?”
He looked over at Bastian. “I think he just insulted you.”
In a flash, Bastian’s blade was pressed against Phillip’s throat, the point right at the man’s Adam’s apple. “Is that right? You know, it’s a lot harder to insult someone with steel stuck in your trachea.”
The surrounding group of sentries started to pull their own guns and Derek raised his. Except Phillip had been right about one thing. There was just one of him and a lot of guys. How many could he take out in time?
A second later, though, everyone was startled by the sounds of glass shattering. Suddenly, Zeus and Hera were flanking Bastian and Derek, growling at the surrounding men as their eyes glowed a fiery orange.
Derek raised his brow in grateful surprise but tried not to show it. “Oh, I forgot to mention the other two members of the team.”
The sword hadn’t seemed to faze Phillip, but the hellhounds struck fear into his eyes and he fell back. “Call them off,” he said so quietly Derek could barely hear him.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Call. Them. Off.”
Derek winced as he felt the power of the words go through him. He hadn’t felt like that since the charm had been given to him. The pulse of mind control made its way through all of his nerves and veins. But as quick as it started, it was gone. Derek sucked in a breath as his anger spilled over and he took a step for Phillip. He didn’t think about the gun in his hand or the hounds at his side. He wanted to choke the godforsaken life out of this son of a bitch himself. He was going to squeeze until he went blue and lifeless and—
Bastian put a hand on his shoulder and that was enough to snap him out of the trance. He blinked back to normal and fell back as the real world crashed down. “You can stay and deal with the hounds and us, or you can leave before we rip your souls to hell. Your choice.”
Phillip backed up until he was surrounded by his men once more. “You’ve made an enemy today, Pierce.”
Derek looked at Phillip, and with his eyes alone, he tried to communicate all the ways he wanted to break his body. “So have you. And, between the two of us, I think you’re the one who should sleep with one eye open.”
“But, seriously, hellhounds?”
Sam had already been over this so many times. And considering it was a subject she really didn’t want to talk about, she didn’t know what to say. “Yes, they’re real hellhounds.”
Claire, however, wasn’t even close to letting it go. “The same ones that attacked me?”
“Probably. They all kind of look the same to me.” Well, they had. Through the course of the night, the boy and girl had shown slight differences. The boy was a smidge bigger and had a corner missing from the edge of one of his standing ears. The girl, Hera, had slightly silkier fur, even though it was still very coarse, and the tip of her nose had a scar that was almost imperceptible.
Despite her misgivings, around Derek, the hounds were rather normal. Lots of sleeping. They didn’t seem to want to cuddle, but they did like to be close to him. The only room that they didn’t go into was the bathroom, and that was probab
ly because they were too damn big. Derek wasn’t exactly small, so the apartment was going to need to be seriously upgraded if the three of them expected to live there without conflict.
And she was going to take a wild guess that his lease agreement didn’t allow for hellhounds. But it probably didn’t ban them either.... Loophole?
“And they were nice?”
“I don’t know about nice. I pushed at Derek once and they were pissed about that. But they seemed to calm down once they realized I was with Derek.”
“But you probably smell like him too,” pointed out Dante. “Maybe you only get that respect from them if you smell like him. Do we all have to fuck Derek now?”
Sam rolled her eyes and looked to Angela, who was normally her voice of reason for the long car ride, but she was leaning against the car with her eyes closed. She’d been the one to get the least amount of sleep over the previous day, so Sam had let her sleep in the car. Claire had ridden in the front seat and not in the back with Dante. Which seemed weird to Sam but also wasn’t any of her damn business. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to ask about it the second she and Claire were alone again.
“Well, I assume that if they’d eaten Bastian, we would’ve heard about it by now. And I’m reasonably sure Bastian didn’t fuck Derek to get his scent.”
Dante looked up as though he was considering that and then nodded in defeat. “Sounds fair.”
Just then, Abigail’s SUV appeared in the distance. Sam pushed away from the car as she walked toward the center of the road so he would see her. She had been parked on the crumbling concrete for about an hour, waiting for Derek to show up. Every time she considered going on without him, a gnawing in the pit of her stomach would stop her.
She wasn’t sure whether it was a sign of how attached she was to him or because of the spell over the town in front of them.
