Page 13 of How to Trust a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #4)

Wilder

A s much as I wanted to stay and have breakfast with Josh, I knew he had to get ready for work. Still, my hellhound pushed me to go back and cuddle the man and not let him go. It was a hard impulse to fight, but I left the food on the counter and headed out, strolling back towards the main houses.

I had been awake earlier when I sensed that Josh needed me.

When I’d walked into the cabin (after knocking and not getting an answer), I was glad to see that he wasn’t in any danger, but it still broke my heart to see him huddled up, the smell of fear and sadness thick in the air.

I was just glad he’d let me hold and comfort him.

I sighed as I walked, thinking about the last week. Josh had been avoiding me. He’d been avoiding everyone, though, so I’d let him have his space. Perhaps that needed to end, though.

I knew he was avoiding talking about it with anyone, even Toby (much to Toby’s concern).

He’d seemed content enough, getting visits from Aiden and Q, building Lego sets, and watching documentaries.

I felt like that had been a waiting period, though.

Josh hadn’t dealt with his emotions, and maybe it was time for him to do so.

Hopefully this morning had helped purge some of the bad feelings .

I had the urge to do something, to fix things, even though I logically knew that wasn’t possible. Josh needed to work through his trauma, and being there for him was what I needed to do. Sitting back and waiting was not my forte, though.

There was still an itch under my skin. I had comforted Josh, and that was what had started the feeling of needing to act this morning, but I felt like there was something else that needed my attention.

Sometimes being a first generation hellhound was a pain in the ass. We’d forgotten a lot over time, and I often ran on instinct more than anything else.

With that thought, I headed to Liam’s. He was, as usual, ensconced in his technology den, although Quinton was at work, so he was alone.

“We might have a problem,” he said when I walked in.

Ah, there it was. Nothing urgent, but Liam had an issue.

Sometimes my boys needed me to listen and let them figure things out on their own.

It was frustrating when my instincts told me to back off and not take care of everything for them.

I expected that was a curse parents everywhere faced.

We couldn’t solve all our children’s problems, no matter how much we wanted to.

Hopefully this was something I could help with, however, so I sat in the chair and nodded for him to go ahead.

“There have been some discreet inquiries into the whereabouts of Aiden’s brother. Unfortunately, it isn’t that hard to trace him to this area. Nothing is going through official channels, and I was able to do a bit of backtracking to find where the inquiries are coming from,” Liam said.

“I didn’t think he would take any interest in Aiden,” I said, aggravated at myself that I had gotten it wrong.

“No, he doesn’t seem to be. There’s absolutely no mention of Aiden anywhere, and no one appears to be looking for him. The search is only for his brother, who vanished. We know he’s dead, of course, but there’s no body, so…” Liam shrugged .

“So people think he’s still alive. Why is that a problem?” I asked.

“You know how I’ve been trying to track the cursed grandfather through a money trail? Well, I haven’t found much, but I did find that the brother had a large amount of money transferred into his own accounts right after the grandfather supposedly died.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered. “Could he really have been stupid enough to steal money from his immortal grandfather?”

“Looks like it,” Liam sighed.

Humans. The evil ones never ceased to amaze me with their stupidity.

“Ok,” I said. “Maybe I’m being shortsighted, but I don’t see an impact on Aiden. He didn’t get the bulk of the inheritance.”

“No, I don’t think the grandfather gives a shit about Aiden.

He does care about the money, though, and he’s started making inquiries into this area.

If you know what to look for, it isn’t hard to find out that Paradise Falls has a lot of afterlifers.

I’m not sure what conclusions he’ll draw about anything or if he’ll be a problem for the area. ”

I sighed. “We’ll keep an eye on things. We’re already grounded here, and I think we’ll sense a descendent of Cain in town.”

“Well, that’s the other thing…”

I raised an eyebrow when Liam looked over at me.

Liam breathed out a sigh before continuing.

“I can’t find his exact whereabouts, but I think he may be in league with a cult.

I’m not sure if he restarted the cult, if it’s something that runs down his family line, or if he just happened into it and he’s now taking advantage of them, but there are clear ties between the cult and the person searching for Aiden’s brother. ”

“Shit,” I muttered. “I hate cults. Nothing but trouble. Rotten to the core souls taking advantage of the innocent. Despicable.”

“Is there an afterlifer in charge of that territory? I usually wouldn’t think to deal with other afterlifers, but this town has quite a few, and they’re all willing to help,” Liam said.

I shook my head. “Cults were the creation of humans. Free will and all that. No afterlifer is in charge, and the humans being sacrificed even get all the power now after a memo went out a few centuries ago. It curbed some of the cult activity, but not all of it. Cults are an earthly creation, and thus they fall under our domain. Cain does not, but if he’s in league with a cult, then it has become somewhat our problem. ”

Liam nodded, looking back at his screens. “I’ll keep digging and find out what I can. I’ll get in touch with other hellhounds, too, to see if there’s any info on the cult.”

I clapped him on the back as I got up. “Good job, son. Keep me posted. I know you’ll protect our pack, and we’ll sense if anyone evil is nearby. Perhaps for now, a hellhound should go with a human packmate whenever they leave town.”

Liam turned to smile at me. “Already being done. You don’t think any of us would let our mates out there without a hellhound for protection, do you?”

I laughed. My boys were always overprotective of each other, so yes, I imagined they were even more protective of mortal packmates. Not that their mates were quite mortal anymore, but I knew it was no use arguing that.

I made it to the doorway before I turned around and asked, “Which cult?” They were all awful, but it helped to know if it was one I’d run into before.

“The Order of Asterphagia. Aster is a plant, and phagia means to eat, so I’m not sure what that has to do with anything. Are they eating plants or something ridiculous like that? I can’t find much on them at all. They don’t have an online footprint.”

“Aster means star in old Greek. It’s a cult with ancient roots.” I sighed. A pain in the ass, that’s what they were. They’d been dealt with a dozen times over the centuries, but they just kept coming back.

“The star eaters?” Liam asked, turning to look at me.

“The devourers of the stars—they seek to end the universe as we know it. They seem to have an uncanny knowledge of afterlifers, as well. I’m not sure who fucked up on giving someone too many details, but it’s been passed down through generations. They’re trouble.”

Liam blew out a breath. “And Aiden’s grandfather is in league with them.”

I walked over and rested my hand on his shoulder. “You’ll dig deeper and find out what you can. Our boys will be safe, Liam. We’ll all make sure of it.”

Liam nodded, and then he turned back to his computers, effectively dismissing me. I didn’t mind. He was heading into the zone, and he’d be focused on unearthing every scrap of knowledge about the cult that he could.

I wandered out, following my instincts and grabbing some nuts from the kitchen on my way out the back door. I guessed I was going to see Corbin.

He was in the forest, sitting cross-legged on the ground, crows surrounding him.

I sat by him, taking a moment to feed and pet the crows.

We chuckled over the antics of his friends, and then we sat in comfortable silence.

I wasn’t surprised when Atlas, in his wolf-like form, came and laid down beside us.

The crows didn’t pay him any mind, and we all basked in the sunlight filtering through the trees.

I felt my tension fade as the warmth seeped into my skin. I hadn’t realized how agitated I’d been. The last week had been harder than I’d acknowledged, even to myself.

“It’s in your nature to help,” Corbin said, as if he’d read my mind. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities. I don’t think Corbin himself even knew how he knew things.

“It is,” I admitted, “but it’s more than that.”

“I still remember when Atlas came to us,” Corbin said, gesturing toward him. “Or should I say Fluffy?” he joked.

“Fluffy in this form, I think.” I smiled, ruffling his fur when he leaned into me.

“He was feral. He wouldn’t change into a human. He barely even changed into a hellhound. I think it broke your heart every day,” Corbin said softly.

Atlas whined next to me.

“I was fine,” I reassured him. “You needed time to feel safe, to get acclimated. I knew that, and the best thing I could do was show you that I loved you and be there when you were ready to accept that love.”

“You did that for all of us, in whatever way we needed,” Corbin mused. “You were so patient, so understanding, but I think you suffered for us. Worried about us. Sacrificed for each of us.”

“It was no sacrifice,” I rumbled gruffly. “You’re my boys, and every one of you is worth everything to me. You’re pieces of my soul walking around outside of this vessel, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You have all been a gift.”

Corbin nodded. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard. I don’t think any of us ever got how hard it was.” Corbin smiled then. “None of us were ever the best at being patient and not taking action.”

I chuckled, thinking back to some of their antics as pups. Corbin was probably the most patient of all of them, but they had all favored action.

“You were never any trouble. None of you were,” I reassured them both.

Atlas changed into his human form, and Corbin raised an eyebrow, obviously shocked at the transition. I just put my arm around his shoulders where he sat next to me.

“You’re worried about Josh,” Atlas murmured quietly.

I sighed. “I know that sometimes waiting is necessary. It’s hard, and it’s a struggle, but I can’t force things.

Hellhound or human, each being must come to their own place of self-discovery.

Josh is on his way, and I can’t rush him.

I wouldn’t want to rush him. He’s beginning to trust me, and I cherish each moment I get to spend with him. ”

“He already trusts you,” Atlas rumbled.

Corbin hummed in agreement.

“He avoids me,” I murmured. “I understand why, and I respect the space he needs.”

“He might have needed space before, but is that what your instinct tells you he needs now?” Corbin asked.

I thought that over. I did have a hard time leaving Josh this morning. I hadn’t wanted to let him go, but I’d thought that had been my own neediness.

“He is human,” Atlas grunted. “Sometimes they need ‘therapy.’”

Corbin nodded, adding, “It’s more than him being human, though. You treat Aiden and Toby and Quinton just like you treat us. We’re all your children. He isn’t your child, though.”

I smirked. “Do you think I’m so unaware of myself that I don’t know that? What I feel for Josh isn’t fatherly.” My smile faded. “But he still needs to heal.”

“Mates help each other heal,” Atlas said. “He needs to be needed, too.”

Corbin and I both looked at him, and Corbin smirked. “Well, looks like Fluffy has some good advice.”

Atlas reached over to smack Corbin on the head, and Corbin smacked back at him. I ignored their mild squabbling as they started to roll around and wrestle.

Josh had needed space—I was sure of that. But perhaps I was ignoring my instincts and the time to give him space was over. I understood the point my boys were making. Partnerships were equal, and Josh couldn’t feel like I was treating him like a child.

Maybe I needed to make my interest in him known. I wasn’t sure if he was ready for that… but I trusted my instincts, and my instincts were telling me that I needed to see Josh before this evening.

The crows were scrabbling about and cawing as Atlas and Corbin continued to roughhouse.

I winced as Corbin elbowed Atlas in the face, then Atlas kneed him in the stomach.

Some things really never changed. Corbin was usually so sedate, but I could always count on Atlas to bring out the playfulness in him.

“Boys,” I said, and they both stopped and looked up at me. They were covered in dirt and grass, and there was a wee bit of blood—I wasn’t sure whose. “Perhaps you should both head out for a hunt? Get rid of some excess energy?”

They looked at one another, and then they both got up. Corbin brushed himself off, then Atlas shook himself off, flinging some dirt and grass back onto Corbin. I tried not to laugh as Corbin shot Atlas a dirty look.

They managed to stalk off without any more fighting, the crows following.

I sat for a moment longer. I ‘d been in fatherly mode for so long, but Corbin was right. Josh wasn’t a child, and I couldn’t treat him like one.

With that thought, I headed back through the house to grab my cell phone and keys.

When I picked the phone up, I noticed a missed call.

That itch under my skin started again. I hit redial.

“Wilder?” a female voice asked. She didn’t wait for me to answer, though. “Wilder—I turned into a fucking fiery dog. What the fuck, Wilder.”

Well, then—never a dull moment.