Chapter 1
Atlas (aka Fluffy)
I lay crouched down in the leaves, patient in my hunt. My regular hellhound form was not subtle—all darkness and flames—but when I’d been young I’d figured out how to mute it and look more wolf-like. It felt vaguely uncomfortable—like clothes that were just a little too tight—but then most clothes still felt weird to me. I preferred nudity, but humans were odd about such things. Even my hellhound packmates all wore clothes in their human form.
I mentally shrugged, sniffing the air silently.
He was coming.
I could smell him, and I could also sense his presence. But I was patient. I would wait. I was exceptionally good at waiting.
I heard his footsteps, and still I waited. Patience , I told my hellhound. He was itching to get up and run, to find our prey, tackle him to the ground, pin him down, and cover his face with licks.
Yeah, I know, not what you’d expect. But Aiden wasn’t just any prey. He was…
Ours , my hellhound filled in.
Yes, I supposed that was enough. He was ours.
Smells good , my hellhound added.
He did. Like sweetness and joy. Like wild blueberries growing in the warm sun, all ripe and warm.
Only he didn’t always smell like joy. Often, he smelled of sadness.
Hurt , my hellhound corrected. He wasn’t wrong. Aiden was a wounded thing. I knew that. I knew that he had what the humans called trauma. I understood that, but my hellhound… Well, my hellhound thought it was something that could be fixed, like a thorn in our paw or like our loneliness before we’d found a wolf pack to take us in as children. My hellhound thought that we could fix Aiden, but I knew better.
Which was why I waited. Which was why I hadn’t taken him off to our lair and kept him until he smelled of nothing but warmth and happiness. Because he needed the human things he liked, like his therapy…
He talks to us , my hellhound insisted. Doesn’t need “therapy.”
I rolled my eyes. I knew he did need therapy, even if my hellhound didn’t. Hells, I probably needed my own therapy.
My hellhound made a snorting sound at the thought.
I wasn’t exactly “normal,” even for a hellhound. Most hellhounds didn’t talk. We weren’t technically separate entities; we were one being. I think the humans would call it multiple personality disorder or some such thing, but I enjoyed talking to my hellhound. For a long time, he was the only one I had to talk to, and I wasn’t going to banish him to silence just because I now had a pack of hellhounds who I could actually converse with.
The footsteps were drawing closer, and I stood up in anticipation. I made a bit of noise by pawing at the leaves on the ground.
I had been silent at first when I stalked him as he walked, but he’d noticed my presence. Rather than being afraid, it had seemed to set him at ease. Then it seemed like he actually looked for me when he walked, so I made sure to be there.
Then he started talking to me. It was… odd. I didn’t usually like small talk. What was the point? Humans liked to babble on about their days and what they did, and it was all so mundane. But I looked forward to hearing about Aiden’s day, about what he baked, about what his roommate was up to. I enjoyed it when he shared his random worries with me.
I’d gotten closer and closer to him, and after a couple weeks, I was practically rubbing against his side when I walked next to him. And still, he wasn’t nervous.
Touch , my hellhound growled. Want pets . Want to rub against him.
Yes, I wanted Aiden to touch me, and my hellhound wanted to lean into him and feel his warmth. But I wouldn’t force it. He would touch me when he was ready. I heard a soft whistle—that was my cue. I trotted through the woods toward him, announcing my presence by being nice and loud. I was almost to him when I sensed distress. I tried to hold back my growl. Something had upset my Aiden.
“Fluffy!” he called out when he saw me, and I trotted closer until I was within a few feet of him. I expected us to continue walking then, only Aiden sat down on a rock that was jutting out of the ground.
I tilted my head. This was new. Aiden smelled agitated, though. He was breathing quickly, and his beautiful hazel eyes were wide. His heart was racing—he hadn’t been running, so it shouldn’t have been.
Scared?
I didn’t think so. Not of us, anyway, because he wouldn’t have sat down. I stepped closer cautiously, unsure what to do.
“Hey, Fluffy,” Aiden murmured. He blew a breath out. “Rough night.”
I crept closer, cautious and unsure.
Cuddles , my hellhound insisted. Fluffy want cuddles with Aiden .
I paused then. I knew Aiden called us Fluffy, but…
Fluffy? I asked my hellhound.
Like having name. Not just “my hellhound.” Fluffy.
Well, ok, then. If my hellhound wanted to be named Fluffy, I wouldn’t judge. Maybe I should have given him a name. But then again, he was me, so his name was Atlas, because that was my name.
Fluffy , he insisted again.
It was a ridiculous name, and my hellhound and I both knew it, but if he wanted to be Fluffy, then Fluffy he would be.
I resumed slowly stalking forward. Aiden had put his head in his hands, so I made lots of noise as I walked so he knew I was getting closer. His tree-bark brown hair had been very short, barely grown in, when he’d first come here, but it was slightly longer now. He was still thin, but he didn’t look like he was hungry anymore. Still, I longed to cuddle his little form under my arm and make sure he was eating.
When I was close enough to touch, he slowly lifted his head. His heart was still racing, and he was breathing fast, but he seemed a wee bit calmer. He reached a hand out, tentative, like he was afraid I would bite him or something.
My hellhound scoffed at that notion. Afraid we will run away. We never run from Aiden .
That reassured me, and I crept closer, giving his hand a tentative lick.
He tasted like warmth and sunshine, and I wanted to lick him all over until his sadness was gone. He kept his hand out, and I walked closer, ducking my head until his hand was on top of it.
Fluffy want pets , my hellhound grumbled.
Yeah, so did I, but we had to let Aiden go at his own pace. He seemed sort of frozen though. I looked up, and his eyes were wide.
“You’re so soft, Fluffy. I guess I named you well,” Aiden whispered.
Yes. Good name.
I resisted the urge to grumble, and I moved a little closer still. Aiden rubbed my head gently, and then he gave a little hiccup that sounded like the start of a sob. I moved closer and pressed against his legs, and then suddenly I had a human wrapped around my body in a hug.
It was very nice, and Aiden’s scent was wrapped all around us, only he was also crying, and that was not very nice, because we did not want Aiden sad.
Fix him, my hellhound demanded.
But I was at a loss. I couldn’t exactly turn into a human and ask him what was wrong. I thought that might be a wee bit terrifying. Aiden didn’t seem to trust humans much, and I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t trust them either, so we had that in common.
“I’m ok,” Aiden whimpered.
I realized I was softly rumbling against him. I tried to control it, hoping he didn’t think I was growling at him.
I let him cry on me a bit—my fur would soak it up—and when a few minutes had passed and he was still crying, I decided we needed to do something.
My hellhound seemed to have the best idea, because we moved a bit and Aiden easily let us go. Then we started licking his tears off his face.
“Fluffy!” Aiden giggled wetly. He was still crying but also sort of laughing.
We could work with that. More kisses it was. We licked up all his tears, and he giggled a bit more and eventually stopped crying. Then he just sort of pet our fur and held us close.
It was nice.
“I don’t know what came over me. I just… Liam gave me some bad news the other day, and I guess I haven’t really let it sink in. I’ve been baking like crazy and avoiding it, and I know my therapist would say I can’t avoid my feelings forever, but I don’t want to think about my family. And then I’m trying to give Q and Liam more space and not sneak into their bed every night, and I promised myself I wouldn’t last night, but I ended up being awake half the night thinking about my family, and then I was thinking about how I left my family, and then I was thinking about being kidnapped. So I got up and baked at like 3 am.” Aiden laughed wetly again.
I grumbled a bit. Aiden should feel free to go get cuddles from Q and Liam whenever he needed to, and I would speak to Liam about that. I didn’t want my Aiden upset in the middle of the night. Or maybe I just needed to stay closer at night. I could hunt while he was at work. If he was sad, I could go in and cuddle him myself.
Yes. Cuddles all night with Aiden . Best idea.
It might be difficult to explain how I got into the house, but I’m sure I could think of something. Or I’d make Liam think of something. Yes, he would have words to explain it.
“My therapist wants me to talk about it all,” Aiden said, continuing to pet me. “She said it’s like lancing a wound and letting the poison out. And I’ve talked about a lot of it, but there’s some stuff… I don’t know. Talking about it makes it real, you know?
“And then there’s my family, and I did talk a little about that with her. I didn’t tell her who they were, just that they had money and were very set in their ways. It was why I left. I didn’t want to be in that life. I didn’t want my future dictated for me. I didn’t want to be involved in all their strict rules, even for the money. And it was hard to leave. My family… I don’t know. I don’t hate them. It’s not like I want anything bad to happen to them. I just don’t want to be a part of it all.”
My hellhound grumbled in annoyance, and I had to agree. It would definitely be easier if we could just kill them. Of course, I didn’t even know if they were technically rotten souls, but still… Aiden not wanting them hurt probably meant not even a little maiming.
Aiden breathed out a sigh. “I’m ok. Let’s take our morning walk, because then Q and I are going to work. Some fresh air will help me feel better.”
He got up, and we started walking, and if I pressed against his legs now and then, he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he often reached down and ran his fingers through my fur in response.
Ours , my hellhound rumbled.
Yes, Aiden was ours. We would protect him, and we would find a way to spend more time with him.
* * *
I was waiting in Liam’s office when he walked in, and I knew it was just him in the house. He gave a little start at seeing me, and I suppressed a grin.
Hellhounds could smell and hear very well, but I was gifted at hiding my scent, and I knew how to be quiet. So quiet even my packmates couldn’t hear me. Sometimes it was nice to remind them of that fact.
“Your bare ass is sitting on my chair, you uncultured mutt,” Liam grumbled.
I did smile then. He was grumpy, which meant I had definitely surprised him.
He just grumbled at my smile and walked out of the room. I heard him rifling around, and he came back with a pair of sweatpants.
I got up and put them on. I supposed clothes were necessary. It was good to remember how to be in my human form, and I’d been hellhound a lot lately.
“Last hunt was rough?” Liam asked.
I grunted in response.
Liam sat down in the other chair and continued to stare, his eyebrows raised. I sighed. He wouldn’t give up until I talked to him.
“Children in cages,” was all I said.
Liam nodded his head, his eyes soft. He knew I had a weakness for children, and he knew that children being neglected was… traumatic for me. I had been abandoned as a child. I didn’t remember much, and Wilder assured me that my hellhound father must not have known about me, because he said no hellhound would ever abandon a child. Give them away to raise, yes, but never abandon them.
I only remembered being hungry and cold and alone. Not completely alone, though, because I had my hellhound.
Fluffy , he rumbled.
He didn’t talk as much when I was in human form, but the name was important. Aiden had given it to us, so it was special.
I could feel his impatience, though. He wanted us to fix Aiden.
“Aiden didn’t sleep and didn’t want to bother you,” I said.
Liam raised his eyebrows. “Why would he bother us? He comes in and cuddles all the time.”
I shrugged. “He said he’s trying to give you guys ‘more space.’”
“More space?” he asked.
I shrugged. Liam and I both looked at each other, slightly puzzled.
“Do you think I should order a bigger bed?” he finally asked. “I didn’t realize he might be feeling smushed when he cuddles us, but I do know they make bigger beds.” He turned around to start typing away on his computer. “I think a king-sized bed will fit in Quinton’s room. I’ll have to measure. Although there’s also a California King. Why would a king-sized bed be different in California?”
“Humans are weird,” I answered.
Liam nodded in agreement, looking at his cameras now to see the size of Quinton’s bedroom. “Ok, I’ll order a bigger bed today. There’s definitely enough space.”
“And my hellhound should be allowed in the house,” I added.
Liam turned and looked at me, raising his eyebrows again. We stared at each other in silence.
“You sure about that, Fluffy?” he snarked, and I heard the mockery in his use of the name.
I was up and had him pinned against his chair faster than he could blink. He was growling low in his throat and so was I, my hellhound close to the surface.
No fighting packmates , I reminded my hellhound, and my hand relaxed a bit. I knew Liam could have escalated it, but my pack usually gave me a minute to control myself. They were good like that.
“Don’t mock. Aiden named me that,” I growled out.
“Interesting,” he said, like I didn’t still have a hand wrapped around his throat.
I let go and stepped back, shaking it off. Liam had only meant to tease.
“My Aiden,” I said.
Liam just nodded again. “Ok. I’ll tell him the… guard dog he walks with in the woods can come in the house. But Quinton will know. I don’t know what he’ll tell Aiden. It isn’t right to lie to him.”
I tilted my head, confused. “Who’s lying to him?”
“You’re not a dog,” Liam responded dryly.
I nodded. I knew that. What did that have to do with anything?
Liam banged his head against his desk lightly. He did that sometimes. An odd human trait he picked up, I guess. He eventually stopped and looked at me.
“If I tell him he can let the ‘dog’ in the house, I’ll be lying about what you are,” he reasoned.
Ah, yes. That was true.
Fluffy , my hellhound insisted.
“Tell him he can let Fluffy in the house. No lies then,” I answered. That was simple.
He looked at me, head tilted like he was trying to figure me out. “Isn’t that still lying? You’re Atlas.”
“My hellhound is Fluffy,” I answered, then I got up and walked out. He would take care of the space, and if Aiden needed company, I would go in the house and keep him company.
Immediate problem solved. I’d have to talk to Liam about the long-term problem of his family, but I needed more time in human skin before I had any longer conversations.