"Not that easy," Lucifer walked over and dropped his ass into a chair. "And things are getting more fucking complicated with every breath we take."
“How’s Asher?” Kalen asked.
Lucifer looked the Wolf straight in the eyes, “Nearly dead.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Baz stumbled back. “How? What happened?”
“We can’t crack it. The power in him is out of control and has destroyed his senses.”
Valor was torn between wanting to protect Baz from being next, wanting to warn all the packs about what happened, and apologizing to Lucifer for outing him without permission. “Where’s his pack?”
Lucifer rubbed his temples. “Back there with him now.”
“I can’t believe this is happening.” Kalen looked at Valor, “Tell him. Right now, Valor.”
“Tell me what?”
Valor stepped between Baz and everyone else. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but the last thing he wanted was for his Hound to be locked away, or worse, because of what was on his back too.
“Alpha,” Baz warned. “I’m good. It’s fine.”
The hell it was. Valor didn’t want to lose Baz. Tilly’s voice echoed in the recesses of his mind, that stupid prophecy thing started looking like one hell of a sliver of hope to hold onto. Damn…
Baz tugged his shirt off again and turned so they could all get a good view of his back. Valor kept his eyes locked on Lucifer. Would the Devil kill Asher? Put him out of his misery? Would he kill Baz?
Valor wasn’t going to let that fucking happen. He’d take on the Devil and the other Angels right here, right now, if they dared to come after Sebastian. Damn the price. Damn the world. And damn Valor too. He had only just gotten his pack back, he wasn’t about to lose a single one of them ever again. “Whatever this is, we can handle it.”
Constantine stepped forward first and touched Baz’s back. “Fuck me running.”
“Tilly said this might be part of a prophecy.” The words felt like bubbles on his tongue, frothy and ridiculous. But that look in the Devil’s eyes said there might be some merit to it after all.
Lucifer tilted his head to the side. “What prophecy is that, Hound?”
“Something about the fallen one creating dark angels that would infest the world.”
Lucifer’s gaze darted to Gabriel first, then Constantine and Uriel. “Fuck.” He stood up and started barking orders at everyone. “I need all the pack alphas here. Now!”
Valor kept close to Baz while everyone else started moving around. There was a buzz in the atmosphere that had the hairs on Val’s neck stand on end.
“What about my Hounds?” Kalen asked. Lucifer’s lips formed a thin line. He glared at Kalen for so long, the Wolf actually threw his hands up, “Luce? What about my pack?”
“You can report to them after the meeting. Bring Tanner and Sara down here now. The rest of you, go make arrangements. We’re having a pack meeting in twenty motherfucking minutes.”
What the hell? What were Jack and Eli up to?
Lucifer jabbed a finger at Valor, “Bring your woman down here, now. Tell her she’s not in violation of our bargain and her presence is fucking necessary.”
“She’s…” Valor didn’t know what to say in front of so many. “It might take me a little while to retrieve her.”
“She’s at your house, is she not? She was supposed to stay there until her Hound powers were in full swing.”
“Hound powers?” Byrne barked. “You fucking turned a woman Hound for Val’s pack?”
“Not now,” Lucifer shut Byrne up. When the Hound started to say something else, Lucifer grabbed him by the neck, “My Hounds are dropping like flies and I’ll make whoever I wish into one of my hunters.” He squeezed Byrne’s neck so hard the guy’s face started turning purple.
“Lucifer!” Gabriel barked.
It seemed to snap the Devil out of it. Thank fuck. He dropped Byrne to the ground and stormed off. “I’ll give you one hour. No more.” He went through a back door and slammed it shut.
Valor glanced over at Kalen who said, “It’s only going to get worse, isn’t it?”
“Aye,” damn but Valor hated that simple truth more than anything. “So we need to make sure we’re ready when it does.”
Chapter 17
It was crazy that Tilly's family home wasn't too far away from the Hell Hound's big ass place. Had she run into them before and didn't know it? "How long have you lived here?"
“About six years I think.” Bishop was driving his SUV and Drake was behind him in the pick-up truck. It was going to take both vehicles to haul everything Tilly buried. "We switch districts every ten years or so. We don't age, Sweetness. It looks suspicious so we hop around."
Oh man, she hadn't thought about the fact that she was going to stay the same age forever now.
"Tanner and some other Hounds are great with computers and shit. They get us new IDs whenever its time. There's no records of us anymore, which is something we'll need to talk about soon with you. Valor wanted to wait until you were in your full Hell Hound glory before discussing it, but we gotta set up your death."
"Set up my death?"
Bishop purposefully kept his eyes on the road. "Wasn't sure if you wanted a closed casket funeral or anything. If you want to just leave it as a missing person’s report, you can. You'll just be another cold case. Enough time will pass and they'll stop looking for you."
Tilly’s belly roiled. How would they explain her death to the coroner, unless, "You have a coroner on payroll, don't you?"
Bishop gave a quick nod. "They fudge the paperwork and all. Having a funeral can be a nice thing to do for those you leave behind. And that's another thing, Sweetness. We'll have to pack up and head to a new district soon. Can't have people seeing you if they just went to your funeral. It gets them a little confused."
Tilly leaned her head on the window and tried to not cry. "I don't have anyone who will miss me, Bishop. No one will go to my funeral either."
She thought about all those people who mourned over Vivian the day she was put in the ground. Tilly wouldn't have any tears cried for her. No one knew her well enough to grieve for her. And she'd already cut ties with anyone who might think to look for her later. When she said those things out loud, she absolutely hated that Bishop's grip tightened on the steering wheel. Just like she hated hearing him say, "I'm so sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about," she half laughed, "I'm actually in a better place now. Maybe that stupid saying is true after all."
Drake's headlights flashed in the rearview mirror, catching their attention. Bishop pulled over and leaned out his window. “What’s up?”
Drake pulled up alongside of him and yelled, "We gotta turn back. Lucifer wants us now."
"I can't go," Tilly reminded them. "How about I take your truck and you head back with Drake."
"No way, Goldilocks. You're not leaving our sight. And Lucifer said," Drake looked down at his cell again and read the message on his screen, "You're not in breach of the bargain. Your presence is mandatory so hurry the fuck up." Drake waggled the phone at them, "That's from Valor but he even put quotes around Lucifer's words. He wants you down there, so down you're going, woman."
Drake wound the window back up and checked his rearview before making a U-turn. Bishop did the same and just like that, they were headed to Hell.
After arriving back home, Bishop headed to his room, as did Drake and Tilly. They were all supposed to get into their fight uniforms, as was customary for when there was a pack meeting.
She fought her way into the leather pants and corset. "How the fuck do you tie these damned things?" She started yanking on the laces and growled.
"Here, let me." Drake stepped into her bedroom, grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. He tugged and yanked and had her strapped in within seconds. He placed his hands on her shoulders again, his rough thumbs caressing her skin. Then she felt his warm mouth press a kiss to the side of her neck.
That small touch sent a rocket ship of lust straight to her core, too. Drake dropped his arms and stepped back. When Tilly turned around to say something to him, she was overrun with a lot of sensations and they all played over Drake's face. "You feel it too?"
She wasn't even sure what she meant by that.
"I only feel you," Drake's words were so quiet, she thought she’d imagined them. Then he cupped her cheek and swiped his calloused thumb over her bottom lip. His eyes dropped to her mouth and he held her still for several heartbeats. "I hate that I feel."
"Why?"
"Because I can't tell what's mine and what isn't anymore." Drake dropped his hand and walked away. When he got to the door, his hand paused on the knob, "At least when I was numb and had my brother's soul, I knew all that heat was his. Now?" He shook his head while he raked her body with his gaze, "Now I'm burning alive and I don't know if it's your soul that's doing it or not."
She only gave him a piece of her soul and Baz had his with him right now so... "Who else’s would be on fire right now, Drake?"
“Mine, Tilly. Mine."
Valor stood at the doorway to meet the rest of his pack as they entered Hell. His body buzzed with adrenaline and when he saw Tilly walk into Hell with her body strapped into a leather corset and skin tight leather pants, he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning. Had it been any other time, Valor wouldn’t have been so controlled. In fact, he would have pulled her pants down and fucked her against the wall until she was good and sated.
"Where's Baz?" Tilly asked, having no clue where Valor’s thoughts had gone so swiftly.
"He’s with Lucifer."
Bishop didn't miss the strain in Valor's face, nor the worry in his voice. "What's going on, Alpha?"
"Too much and not enough," Valor grabbed Tilly's hand and led the way with her by his side. He was making a statement by escorting her. Why? His fine woman was about to walk into a den of Alpha Males. That’s fucking why.
All kinds of crazy thoughts went ricocheting through his mind - Would other Hounds try to take her from them? Would they crave her? Would they turn envious?
It wouldn’t be the first time someone wanted what Valor had. Only now, Valor wasn’t going to let anything happen to those he loved. Not like before… with Kalen and Sara.
A growl ripped out of Valor’s throat and Drake grabbed his shoulders, halting him from moving any closer to those double doors. "Keep your cool, Valor." Drake's body language said he was thinking the same things Valor was. "She's ours and she's not going anywhere.”
“Damn straight.”
“Keep your focus where it needs to be right now, Alpha." Drake released him just before they entered the main room.
Many Hounds were already there, talking fast and furious about what the hell was going on. When Valor stepped in with Tilly on his arm, the air in the room vanished. He stepped in front of the first Hound to approach them and put his hand on the fucker's chest to keep him back. No one was getting near their woman. "Back the fuck up."
"Easy,” Finley put his arms up, "Just wanted to introduce myself before the big man took the floor. I'm Finley, call me Fin."
"Matilda Jane," Tilly put her hand out and shook his, “Call me Tilly.”
"Nice to see things are getting more co-ed around here." Fin turned on his heels and went back over to take a seat at the huge table.
"Stick by me, lass," Valor whispered. She re-gripped his arm and moved forward with her head held high. Valor swelled with pride. Good girl.
Sara sat right next to Lucifer's seat and pointed at a few empty chairs by the head of the table. "These are yours."
Sara's belly was bigger now. That little baby bump was now the size of a cantaloupe. Was that weird? Was she supposed to be so big already? Or was she not big enough? Valor knew better than to ask. No way was he going to have his ass handed to him by a pregnant woman jacked up on hormones and pickle juice. "You look radiant, Sara."
"You too." Sara's shit-eating grin made her look ten kinds of gorgeous, "I see pack life is treating you well." Her eyes darted to Tilly and she winked.
Bishop kissed Tilly’s neck, "She's doing great so far, but it's still early." He dropped his ass into a chair and kept his dagger out and resting on his lap. He probably had no intentions of using it at a pack meeting, but if someone tried to touch Tilly, Bishop would attack.
Valor approved.
Everyone quieted down when Gabriel, Constantine, Uriel and Lucifer entered through the back of the room. Every Hound stood and bowed, as was customary. Soon, rumor had it, these other Angels would become Rulers of Hell, too. While Lucifer took his seat, the other three Angels stood around the table - one to the left, one to the right, the other opposite of the Devil's chair.
Lucifer gave the order to "Have a seat."
Chairs groaned as the Hell Hounds obeyed. They would keep their mouths shut unless told otherwise.
"I'll address the new shiny in the room first so you all can stop eyeing her like she's a fucking steak." Lucifer swept his hand in Tilly's direction. "This is Matilda Jane Sinclair. Newest Hell Hound and member of Valor's pack." As the tension and murmurs in the room grew, Lucifer arched a dark brow at Tilly, "You still want to stay in that pack, right? Now's your chance to say otherwise." He swept his hand around the room, "I think it's pretty obvious females are in short supply. You can have your pick of any pack, little Hound. These are the alphas."
What. The. Fuck.
The twins snarled. Bishop's entire body tensed and he damn near snapped the handle on his dagger, clenching it so tight. Valor tried to see past the sudden red haze creeping into his vision. But Lucifer was right in giving Tilly the option to pick another pack. They’d been fools to think that because they saw her first, meant she belonged to them.
"Thanks, but no thanks.”
Valor released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Thank the Gods.
“I'm happy where I am, and with the pack I found."
Lucifer almost smiled. "I bet you are. Good. Now the real reason you've been called here isn't to flaunt this beauty in your face." Tilly’s cheeks reddened immediately. "It's because our problems from a few months ago have returned tenfold. What’s that saying? Oh yeah, that which does not kill us, will try again harder. Or some dumb shit like that."
"But you killed Charlotte," a Hound said.
"I know damn well who I killed," Lucifer addressed the room. "And she was just one more sacrifice whoever this is made to gain more leverage. The real traitor is still out there, and they’ve grown stronger and more cunning."
"So let's find them!" Finley pounded his fist on the table and others joined in.
"Easy, Hounds," Lucifer put up his hand to silence them. "I'm not going to tell you everything just yet, because I'm still trying to wrap my goddamn head around this myself. But I will tell you what's been happening down here. Trust," he glared at the packs, "remember that is the most important part of our bond."
A while back, when shit hit the fan, they all pledged to Lucifer. He already owned their souls, but this pledge was built off blood and loyalties far too strong to ever break. Some Hounds didn't survive that day, and the rest of them gained a renewed sense of purpose.
"Look around you," Lucifer's voice was low and controlled. "We have several more Hounds missing now. I know some may have thought that after I disbanded the packs, the Hounds that left became vagrants. No one has seen or heard from several of them. I don’t think they’ve become lone wolves, I think they’ve been taken and are being used, much like Asher, Sebastian and Drake had been...as well as my Darling Sara."
Lucifer rubbed a hand over his mouth. Again, his eyes shifted to one of his brothers standing against the wall with his wings spread and hands hovering over his sword. "We were fortunate to have found some of our Hounds," Luce dipped his head towards Drake and Baz. "No thanks to Tilly and her pack."
Her pack. Valor's dick hardened. The thought of her leading was easy to
imagine. Valor knew damn well his Hounds would follow that woman anywhere. If she wanted the position once she gained her full strength, Valor wouldn’t stop her. He’d give her the world, the moon, and the top position in the pack if she asked for it.
“You never did tell us what all happened to them,” Finley leaned in to look over at the twins.
“Some of it is still a fog,” Drake tapped his temple, “It’s muddy as fuck up here. I think that’s part of the charms placed on us.”
Lucifer nodded. "And sadly, Asher is struggling tremendously."
Tilly's hands were in her lap and sweat dripped down her temples. Wee wisps of hair were sticking to her neck, too. When Valor placed a hand over hers, she jerked back and looked at him. Her eyes were shining and she fought to swallow and keep her cool. He ran a thumb over her knuckles, a small gesture was all Valor would be able to make right now. Here's hoping it would be enough to calm her nerves.
"I've never been an Angel who put much weight into prophecies." Lucifer stood and clasped his hands behind him. "I know some of you put faith in mystics, so you'll understand that what I have to say next should be taken with a grain of salt. Others here, who think it's all a bunch of hocus pocus, better keep in mind who you are here with. Who the fuck owns your ass. I don't waste my breath on anything that's not worth the effort." He stopped right behind Tilly's chair and held the back of it with both hands.
"We might lose Asher and I fear more than him before this is over. Understand that everything I've done, and will do, is for the greater good." His voice dropped to a deadly tone, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
A few Hounds wrapped their knuckles on the table again. Others were dead quiet.
"I would die for each of you," Lucifer said. "And I would do worse to save your asses." The room grew quiet. "I'm asking you now to trust me and do what I ask, no matter how counterintuitive it may be."
Everyone's attention was one-hundred percent locked onto the Devil now.
"Matilda Jane," he smiled, "is a rare creature. She's braver than most men are. She spent her life keeping everyone around her safe, even at great costs to herself.” Lucifer let go of the chair and began walking around the table again. "This woman had a curse laid upon her bloodline and she was the one to break it."
Hard to Kill (Hell Hounds Harem Book 6) Page 14