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If she wasn’t, I’d know.I’d feel it.Mated or not, I would feel it.

Head down, I ran at the first wall, smashing through it, and I kept on going, systematically tearing the house down.Tarrant had completely disappeared.If he was in Hell, I’d know.Our brothers down there would have seen or heard something.Unless he was being hidden from us.

I’d find him, though, then I’d kill him.

My brothers followed my lead, tearing the walls down, looking for anywhere she could have been taken.I turned to the paneled wall at the end of the hall and bounded toward it, exploding through it with a roar—and dropped, landing halfway down a set of stairs.Howling, I alerted my brothers and tore down the stairs into a small empty room.

War, Relic, and Lothar ran in as I shifted, and tilting my head back scented the air.“Brimstone,” I said and pressed my hand to the brick wall in front of me.Echoes of Hell reached out to me, shooting up my arm and nailing me in the gut.“Somehow, Tarrant opened a gateway, and did it down here to try to hide it.”

War moved up beside me and pressed his hand to the warm brick just as I had done.His eyes flashed red.“Only a lord could have opened a portal for that asshole.No way a hound would have done it, and Brick’s too young to have the ability.And Lucifer sure as fuck wouldn’t have.”

War got on his phone, while I tried to fucking breathe.Pressing both hands to the brick, I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to see her, to find her.Her scent lived inside me, I should be able to track her anywhere.“Why can’t I track her?Why the fuck can’t I see her?”

“Check it out,” Loth said.“More fucking sigils.Powerful ones.Stronger than the ones we found in the sewer.They’re designed to conceal.Only a lord could create something like that, something powerful enough to block them between this realm and Hell.”

War finished his call with Lucifer.“He’s alerting our brothers in Hell and calling in his lords.I told him several of us were heading down.”

War, Relic, and the others needed to make sure the females and pups were covered above ground.

“Keep me updated,” War said as I lifted a hand and opened a gateway.

I jerked my chin up, then Loth, Rome, Fender, and I walked through the portal and into Hell.

As soon as I stepped through, I tilted my head back and closed my eyes.My world instantly spun, recalibrating—there.Finally.

There you are, sunshine.

“This way,” I said, shifted, and ran like hell toward my mate.

Sutton

A naked Brick and I followed the huge and also naked Kurgan, though neither male seemed bothered.Lenny was frozen in Kurgan’s enormous arms.She looked terrified, and I wanted to help her, but there was no way Kurgan was going to put her down.

We’d been walking for hours.Every now and then we’d come across a group of demons, and Kurgan and Brick would growl and snarl and they’d run away.So far, so good.

Except for my wound that was hot and weeping.It throbbed as infection set in.I was starting to feel feverish and achy.As much as I needed to tend it, I didn’t have any of my supplies.I could use magic to help it, but I was too weak to do that, especially after depleting my power to get free.I needed rest first.

Kurgan headed down another path that opened up into a wide expanse.A forest, but all the colors were wrong.There were clumps of red rock and black-trunked trees with leaves in deep autumn colors, deep reds and browns and burned oranges.There were openings in the forest floor, and every now and then flames licked up from somewhere below, while strange spindly birds with leathery wings perched on ebony branches watching us with red eyes as we passed.

“What is this place?”

Brick shrugged.“Hell is vast, there are many levels, and different climates and landscapes.This is just one forest among many.”

I had no idea.“Jagger brought me to Hell, but it looked different.There were caverns and tunnels like the one we just walked out of.How far away is that from here?”

“My sire has shown me a lot of places down here,” Brick said, “but we spend most of our time where Jagger took you.That’s where Lucifer resides.We’re a long way from there now.”

“How do you know?”

He placed his hand on the center of his chest.“Lucifer is part of us, even I, born not made like my sire, feel the connection.I know how far away I am from him at all times, and my pack.They feel very distant.I’ve never been this far from them before.”

There was a lost look in his eyes, and I gave his hand a squeeze and didn’t let go.He squeezed my hand in return and released a small sigh.My young friend needed physical touch just as badly as his brothers.“If Jagger realizes we’re down here, can he open a gateway and come straight to us?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

He glanced my way.“On whether or not he caught your scent before he came through.Without a scent to guide him, or any idea where you are, he’ll probably open a gateway in Lucifer’s quadrant.If that happens, he’ll have to travel on foot to get to you.The gateway takes us between realms, once we’re down here we have to walk like everyone else.”