Chapter 7
Atlas/Fluffy
I had ear plugs in, because I wasn’t really a fan of the screaming, so although I didn’t hear Liam come down the stairs, I smelled his presence.
Our kill , Fluffy rumbled.
Yeah, he’s probably just coming to talk, I assured my hellhound.
Fluffy huffed, and I agreed. Talking was overrated. I sighed and took out the ear plugs.
At least the guy wasn’t screaming anymore. I mean, he didn’t have a tongue now, and his vocal cords were pretty damaged. The grunting when he saw Liam was still kind of annoying, though.
“He’s not going to save you. If you’re really unlucky, he might join in,” I told the guy.
“Nice job on him. What did this one do?” Liam asked, sitting on the stairs.
“Kids,” I said, because that was all I needed to say.
Liam nodded. Everyone knew I went a little nuts when children were harmed or neglected in any way. Even if that wasn’t a person’s primary sin, I made sure they paid for the children who were collateral damage in their fucked up lives.
I was probably working out my own childhood trauma of being abandoned or some shit like that. Whatever the case, the world would be rid of one more black soul, and I saved pups along the way.
I picked up a hammer off the table nearby, and I was about to start with a few well-aimed blows when I heard Liam sigh.
No fun , Fluffy grumbled.
I agreed. I turned around, raising my eyebrows and grunting at Liam. Obviously whatever he was down here for couldn’t wait.
“So, you and Aiden…” he started, and then he trailed off, like I was supposed to know what the fuck he was getting at.
I just stared at Liam. The guy behind me whimpered, and I turned around and shushed him before turning back.
Liam sighed again.
I continued to stare. I could wait. I had all the patience in the world, and I wasn’t going to ask. He was the one who had come down to bother me. I had nothing to talk about. If he had something to bring up, he could damn well bring it up.
“You can’t pretend to be a dog forever,” Liam finally said.
“I’m not pretending. It’s not my fault none of you ever mastered another form aside from your hellhound,” I answered.
Liam sighed again. He was so dramatic.
“You know what I mean. Aiden thinks you’re a dog. You’ve been cuddled up in bed with us or just Aiden for weeks. You take walks with him every day. He talks to you—I’ve heard him,” Liam said.
“So?” I asked. I failed to see what he was getting at. It was nice that Aiden talked to me. I enjoyed listening to him, and he clearly enjoyed my company. I didn’t see what the problem was.
“So don’t you think Aiden might be a little upset when he finds out you lied to him?” Liam asked, clearly exasperated.
“I never lied to him,” I answered, turning back to the hellbound soul.
Only Liam sighed dramatically again. “Fine. You left some important details out. Quinton is going to be mad as hell, too, and he’s gonna wanna know why I didn’t tell him.”
I turned back, smirking. “It’s not my fault your mate can’t tell who’s pack. He should know it’s me.” Liam didn’t seem satisfied, so I added, “He probably does know it’s me on some level. Aiden knows deep down, too. They have good instincts. They’ll come to terms with it when they’re ready. There’s no need to rush.”
Liam stared at me, and eventually he nodded. I was about to get back to work when he spoke again. “How’s the cabin coming along?”
“It’s done. We hooked up water and electricity last week. I spend my spare time there when Aiden is at work. I think he’ll like it.”
Liam looked vaguely alarmed at that. “What do you mean, you think he’ll like it?”
“Well, at some point we might want separate residences,” I explained. “Of course we’ll still enjoy a puppy pile for cuddling, but Aiden and Quinton don’t need that every night.”
“Atlas,” Liam said slowly, like he was talking to a pup, “you cannot kidnap Aiden and bring him to your cabin.”
I sighed this time. “Of course not. I would never harm my mate.”
Liam’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Your mate?”
Fluffy huffed in my mind, but I didn’t bother replying. I just gave him a look.
“Do not look at me like I’m an idiot. How was I supposed to know?” Liam defended.
No instincts , Fluffy rumbled.
Well, Liam had some instincts, especially when it came to his technology stuff, but maybe not so much when it came to dealing with hellhound stuff. I didn’t bother answering him. I turned back around and got to work.
Kneecaps were so breakable. Really, so many human bones were easy to break, especially with a hammer. I even turned around and offered Liam a turn, because he was here, after all, but he just shook his head. He was probably right—this one was pretty much done. He was barely conscious.
Fun’s done , Fluffy grumbled, and I agreed.
I placed my hand on the hellbound soul and let my fire consume him, letting it lick over my own skin when I was done in order to get rid of the blood. It burned up the sweatpants I had been wearing as well. Liam rolled his eyes at me when I was standing naked in front of him. I smirked, then turned into my other form. He didn’t have to look at me naked, and I didn’t have to talk to him. It was a win all around.
Unfortunately, it didn’t stop him from talking.
“Toby is having some friends over this evening, and Quinton thinks it would be nice if Aiden went, too. Aiden has apparently reluctantly agreed. He’s gotten comfortable with Toby, and Sebbie and Josh are good souls that wouldn’t harm him,” Liam explained.
I trusted his judgement, but I’d still be close by just in case Aiden needed me.
I knew Dexter and Liam would be nearby for protection, but I assumed Corbin wouldn’t be. How no one realized he was never here when Toby’s friends came over, I didn’t know. I was betting there was some type of connection between Corbin and one of Toby’s friends, but I wasn’t sure whether Corbin even knew that yet, or if he was just following the dictates of his witchy instincts.
Corbin understood that there was a time for everything. He wouldn’t be down here lecturing me about telling Aiden I was a hellhound.
At any rate, it wasn’t Aiden’s protection I was worried about. It was his mental well-being. If he needed a walk break during the gathering, Fluffy would be there.
“Aiden’s brother is still poking about, and he’s hired a handful of people to look for Aiden, too. I’ve covered Aiden’s tracks everywhere I can, but it’s still best to be on guard.”
I growled in response. I was always on guard.
“I heard from Wilder,” Liam added. “I think he’ll be coming soon. I kind of wonder if he’ll have a new packmate for us.”
Good. Pack is happy , Fluffy grumbled, and I agreed. Our pack was getting bigger, hellhounds were finding mates, and the ties between us were stronger and more solid because of it. It was good.
I thumped my tail in response. It would be good to have Wilder back. He was the head of our pack, and things never quite felt complete until he was with us.
Liam sighed again—such a drama queen—and he finally got up and headed out of the basement. I followed, ready to go wait for Aiden to be done with work. It was time for our afternoon walk together.
* * *
I was lying near a side window at Toby’s, where I could hear the conversations inside and also see if anyone came up to the front of the house. Aiden and Quinton had walked over more than an hour ago, and Josh and Sebbie were already here.
Not human , my hellhound said, not for the first time.
Yeah, yeah, I knew. Sebbie was definitely not human. We weren’t quite sure what he was—he didn’t smell like Helene, so they were something different. He was a pure soul, though, so I didn’t worry about him with Aiden. He seemed like a cheerful little thing from the conversations they were having inside.
Josh came out onto the front porch at that moment. I could see him typing away on his phone.
Hurt , Fluffy rumbled.
Yes, he smelled hurt. Something wasn’t right with him. It wasn’t sickness, but maybe physical injury? Maybe just sadness. Humans got sad sometimes.
Needs cuddles to feel better , Fluffy said.
Yeah, no. We can’t go cuddling random humans. Some people don’t want cuddles, I answered.
I saw Josh rub at his eyes, and before he could go back in, Aiden came out. Josh was looking out into the front yard, and I thought he was trying not to cry. Aiden just stood next to him, not saying anything for a while.
Finally, Aiden said softly, “It isn’t your fault.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but Josh started crying then. His sobs were silent, but I could see him shaking and hear his breaths. Aiden just stood closer until their arms were pressed together and looked out into the yard with him.
Just needs a packmate , Fluffy rumbled, and I agreed. Sometimes you just needed a packmate there with you.
Eventually Josh settled down and stopped crying, and he nodded his head a few times before he said, “Sorry. Thanks. I’m ok.”
Aiden looked at Josh’s phone and said, “May I?”
Josh nodded his head, and Aiden took the phone and typed something into it. “I’m under Amanda - Work in your contacts. Call me if you ever want to talk, ok? I know… I know what it’s like, you know?”
“It isn’t…” Josh started, but Aiden just gave him a look, and he stopped whatever he was going to say. Josh just nodded instead, and then they went back inside.
Josh needs pack , Fluffy rumbled again.
I agreed. Something was going on there, but Aiden was apparently in tune with it, and he’d let me know if I needed to do anything. Toby would let Dexter know, too.
I heard Aiden make his excuses inside, and I realized that he was done with people for today. I slunk around to the backyard, ready to watch him walk home.
He came out the back door, and he seemed to be searching the darkness.
Aiden wants walkies , my hellhound growled happily.
I mentally rolled my eyes. Walkies? Seriously? Could we not come up with a better name than ‘walkies’?
Fluffy huffed, and I walked out of the woods so that Aiden could see me. He looked relieved when he did, and he walked down the back steps and out toward the woods until he was next to me.
I was a bit surprised when he leaned down to hug me, and he smelled a little sad, too. He rubbed his face against my side, and eventually he got up and started walking. Rather than going towards home, though, he headed in the opposite direction. Our land didn’t extend too far in this direction—it mostly went back into the protected woods—but there was still a fair amount of forest before he’d happen upon the main road. Plus, we were with him for safety.
“There’s a trail this way, according to Toby, so I thought we’d try that. I could use a longer walk this evening,” Aiden said, as if he could sense my thoughts.
We happened upon it after a few minutes. It was a wide, well-used trail, and Fluffy grumbled—the smell of other people was annoying. It was evening and it was dark out already, but the day had been relatively mild, and this path had seen a lot of traffic in the recent past.
My hackles were raised a bit, and I wasn’t sure why. I bumped against Aiden’s leg, and he reached down to pat me. I wanted to turn back, but I had no idea why, and I couldn’t very well tell Aiden we should turn around.
We were probably two miles down the trail when I smelled it. Human. Not rotten, but questionable. I growled low in my throat, and Aiden stopped walking. I wanted to tug him back towards home, only I didn’t want to call attention to us either.
The human came around a bend in the path ahead of us and stopped short on seeing us. I bared my teeth and growled.
“Woah, that’s quite the dog you have there. Isn’t there a leash law around here?” the guy asked, and he definitely sounded nervous.
Maybe he was just out for an evening walk, like Aiden. I didn’t trust him though.
“Uh, sorry. He’s trained. He won’t attack you or anything,” Aiden said, holding onto the fur on my neck.
I didn’t think it was to hold me back, though. This man made Aiden nervous, too. He took a couple steps closer, and I growled again.
“Wow. What kind of dog is that? He’s really huge!” the guy commented, stepping forward again.
Predator, Fluffy growled, and I agreed.
Aiden took a step back, and I stepped in front of him, growling more loudly.
“Alden Astor?” the man asked.
Aiden gasped beside me, even though the guy had said Alden and not Aiden. I could see the man reaching for something, but there wasn’t time to do more than make sure Aiden was protected.
It wasn’t Aiden he aimed at, though. It was me.
Stupid human , Fluffy growled as fifty thousand volts of electricity flowed through my body. I let out a howl, calling to my brothers, as my hellhound form burst out at the charge of electricity. I lunged at the man before he could do anything stupid, like try to tase Aiden.
He wasn’t a hellbound soul, but I wasn’t sure I could hold back from killing him if he hurt my Aiden.