Page 29 of How to Trust a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #4)

We made it to the house and everyone sat in the living room.

I think Josh would have distanced himself, but I pulled him down to sit close to me.

I told the boys about Thea—that she was human-raised and hadn’t changed forms until recently, that she thought she was a sociopath who killed bad people, and that she wasn’t trusting.

I also told them that the messenger angel and his demon apprentice had given me the message that I ought to find her, so some afterlifer had an invested interest in her.

The boys let me talk, and they were silent for a moment when I finished.

Of course, that didn’t last.

“Wait, since when does the archangel Gabriel have a demon apprentice for delivering messages? I thought angels and demons didn’t fraternize that often,” Liam commented.

“Dude—focus,” Jude cut in. “Who cares about afterlifers? I wanna know how come I never knew there were female hellhounds.”

“Where do you think I came from, idiot?” Dexter asked, rolling his eyes .

“A hellhound dad and human mum, just like the rest of us,” Jude answered.

“My mother wasn’t human,” Corbin cut in.

“Yeah, but she wasn’t a hellhound, either,” Liam reasoned. “I thought there were only a handful of first gen female hellhounds, but that all second gen hellhounds were born male.”

Jude motioned to Liam. “Yeah. What he said.”

Everyone looked at me, but I wasn’t sure what to answer. I hated not having all the answers. Josh reached over and took my hand. I gave him a squeeze in return.

“I have never known of a second gen female hellhound, and many of the first gen hellhounds would identify as nonbinary. It isn’t unusual to have no knowledge of a female hellhound. That makes Thea all the more extraordinary, and all the more alone in the world, as well,” I answered.

The boys all looked at me, and I don’t think they knew what to make of that. Luckily, Josh took over.

“That means that you have to be nice . Maybe treat her like another human for a while until you figure out what she’s comfortable talking about or seeing.” Josh looked at Atlas. “And no turning into a flamy dog in front of her. Or being naked.”

“Was just being helpful,” Atlas grumbled.

Josh just shot him a look, then gave each of the boys a stare in response. “That means being on good behavior. Be nice .”

They all nodded their heads in agreement.

“Let our human packmates know. We’ll have to figure out a place for her to stay, too,” I added.

“She can stay with me,” Josh answered.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

“What? I’m pretty normal and very human, and there are two bedrooms in the cabin. She seemed nice on the phone, and she might not be comfortable staying with you guys—no offense.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” I mused, “but I’m not sure you should be staying with a relatively unknown hellhound.”

“Wilder can stay at the cabin, too,” Corbin volunteered.

Josh turned a little pink at that and gripped my hand more tightly. I didn’t sense distress or disagreement from him, but it never hurt to check.

“As long as Josh doesn’t mind, I would love to stay with him,” I said, looking over at him.

“Umm, yeah, sure, if you don’t mind…” Josh sort of trailed off.

“All set, then,” Corbin said, getting up and going out the back door.

Atlas followed him. Dexter at least said goodbye before he headed back to Toby’s, and Jude wandered into the kitchen area to scrounge for food. Liam was the only one left staring at us.

“I’ll look into her background,” he said. “It’ll be useful to know about her life so far.”

“Not yet,” I answered. “Trust is a fragile thing.”

Liam snorted. “I knew there was a reason you didn’t give us a last name.” He paused before raising his eyebrows and looking in Josh’s direction.

I nodded. Yes, Josh should be filled in on his ex.

Liam proceeded to do just that, giving Josh all the details we had so far, including the issue with Aiden’s grandfather.

Josh seemed to absorb it all, nodding at the right parts, but I could tell he was a bit shaken. He smiled at Liam and thanked him, and then asked if I was coming back to the cabin. I definitely was—Josh was unsettled, and I would be there for whatever he needed.

He’d been pacing across the living room for ten minutes. Josh had logged out of his computer and sent off a text message to his boss, and then the pacing had begun. He hadn’t asked me to leave, but he wasn’t talking to me, either.

“Mei Ume, what can I do for you?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s just… I don’t know.”

“It’s a lot,” I answered.

Josh stopped, running his hands over his face. “Yes. Yes, it’s a lot. Because naked men and flamy dogs and a sexy older guy wasn’t enough for me to deal with. Now there’s some immortal guy who’s related to Aiden and a cult, and my ex-boyfriend somehow ended up in cahoots with them.”

I couldn’t help smiling at the sexy older guy part, and Josh caught the look on my face.

“No smiling! Because cults and immortal bad guys and… And some woman who’s gonna be family is coming here, and she’s coming into a freaking disaster!

” Josh started pacing again. “How are we gonna make her feel comfortable if we have to be on the lookout for a cult?” he asked, stopping and staring at me.

“I…” I started, but Josh kept on talking.

“And Rick! What a stupid, idiotic, dumb asshole! Who gets involved with a cult?! Who is that stupid? Do you know how many times I told him he can’t believe everything he reads online?

He used to say it was snarky and annoying to fact check people’s social media posts, but really, you can’t just repost fake news like it’s real! ”

I smiled again, because I could picture Josh going through and telling people their posts had incorrect factual information. He wouldn’t do it to be mean, though. He’d do it because he cared about people.

“And yes, he’s a total jerk, and yes, I stayed with him too long, but… I don’t want him killed as a human sacrifice by some cult because of me! I don’t want to be responsible for anyone’s death!” Josh finished ranting and started pacing again.

My Mei Ume was all wound up, and he needed a way to unwind.

I stood up, walked over to him, and grabbed him in my arms, pulling him close and holding him tightly. I breathed deeply, and I felt him take a few deep breaths against me.

“Mei Ume, you’re obviously overwhelmed. Anyone would be. Will you let me take your mind off things and settle your thoughts?” I asked him.

In case he had any doubts about what I meant, I leaned down and bit the corner of his neck and his shoulder.

He gasped at the sensation, and I felt his breathing pick up.

“But we don’t know when Thea will get here,” he protested.

“I can sense her, and she isn’t close yet. I’ll know when she is. I’ll have a good twenty minutes’ warning,” I answered. I continued to nibble at his neck, squeezing him tightly. “Will you let me take care of you? Will you let me make you feel good?”

Josh whined deep in his throat, his breath catching. “But I want to make you feel good. I want to please you.”

“Oh, you will, Mei Ume. You will,” I answered. “It will pleasure me immensely to use you and take you out of your head. Will you let me do that?”

“Yes,” Josh whimpered, pulling away.

He went to sink to his knees, but I caught him.

“Stop means stop, and I’ll know if you’re not enjoying yourself. I’ll be very upset with you if you aren’t enjoying something and you don’t tell me. Understand?” I asked, looking into his eyes.

His pupils were blown wide, his face tinged pink, his breathing heavy. He was exquisite. I waited, not letting his arms go.

He licked his lips. “Yes, I understand.”