Page 35 of How to Trust a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #4)

I sighed. “No. It’s good. I’m just not sure how I’ll explain all of this without talking about all the hellhound stuff.”

“Oh, well, Helene is a fury, so she knows all about us,” Wilder said.

I turned and stared at him. She was a what now? I had the urge to check and see if my ears were clogged or something. Did I have a concussion?

Wilder must have sensed something in my look, because he looked apologetic. “Ah, sorry? I thought Aiden had told you that. I’m sure she’s ok—the guys have vetted her—but I still planned to walk you up and check her for myself. If that’s okay, of course.”

I just continued staring at Wilder.

“So, ah, you ready to go meet her?” he finally asked, fidgeting a bit.

I opened the car door and got out, and Wilder followed behind. Was I ready to meet the really nice lady I’d talked to on the phone, who was also apparently a fury? Sure. Why not? My day certainly couldn’t get any more fucked up than it already was.

Helene was… nice. Normal. Sweet, but also with a take-no-shit kind of attitude. I liked her, and I felt better talking to her. She and Wilder had stared each other down when we first got in, but she apparently passed whatever test he had, because he told me he’d wait in the car.

I’d given her some background over the phone about Rick and our relationship, so jumping straight into the explanation of what happened that afternoon was easy. That led into talking about Wilder and my feelings for him, and expressing all my concerns about moving too quickly.

“Your mind tells you it’s too quickly, but what does your heart say, Josh?” she asked.

I tilted my head at her, unsure how to answer that question.

“How would you feel if he was gone from your life?” she asked.

I rubbed my chest, which was suddenly tight and aching. I blinked my eyes, because they felt watery. “Wilder wouldn’t leave me,” I answered hoarsely, and as I said it, I knew it was true .

“Of course he wouldn’t,” she answered, easing something in me. “What about if you left him, though?”

“I wouldn’t leave him!” I said, outraged at the thought. “Wilder is kind, and good, and he deserves to be happy, too. I wouldn’t ever cause him pain.”

Helene leaned back in her chair and smiled. “Well, I think you have your answer, then, don’t you? Logical Josh may have reservations, but your heart knows what it wants.”

I nodded my head. I supposed she was right. “It just… It all feels kind of crazy.”

She nodded back at me. “You’re judging things based on regular society, but Wilder isn’t part of regular society. Things may be done a little differently, but you’re adaptable and strong, Josh—you’ve proven that.”

“What if I can’t be enough for him?” I asked, voicing the fear I hadn’t even admitted to myself. “Wilder is amazing. He takes care of everyone—he takes care of me —and he handles everything, and I don’t want to be a burden to him.”

“Perhaps you should talk to him about that, Josh. I’m sure you aren’t a burden, and I’m sure that you lighten his burden in many ways, but you won’t believe it until you speak to him about it.”

She was right, and I knew that, but ugh, I didn’t want to have that conversation.

“Is there anything else you want to talk about today?” she asked, and I knew our time was pretty much up.

“No, I’m good, unless you know how to deal with a troublesome cult,” I joked.

Helene sat up, though, suddenly very alert and slightly intimidating.

“What cult?” she asked, and her voice was a little rougher.

“I… I don’t know? Wilder knows,” I answered, feeling nervous fo r the first time.

Her head turned in the direction of the door, and as if I had conjured him, Wilder opened it up a minute later.

“Mei Ume?” he asked. I instantly relaxed when I saw him.

“I’m okay,” I answered, looking over at Helene.

“My apologies, Josh. I didn’t mean to make you nervous. I was just upset by the news of a cult,” she explained.

Wilder eyed her, and he finally nodded. “The Order of Asterphagia. I know they’re trouble.”

She looked pensive for a moment, her gaze staring off into the distance. “Yes, trouble is an understatement. I thought the last of the leaders had been dealt with decades ago, and I’m quite sorry to hear that isn’t the case. I’m assuming they have Cain’s descendent?”

Wilder looked surprised. “How did you know they were working together?”

“It is one of the few reasons I can think of for them to make themselves known. They would have been looking for him,” she answered.

Wilder walked over and pulled me into a hug, then he turned back to Helene. “Why would they look for him? He can’t give them his immortality.”

“No,” she said, looking at us both. Her face twisted, as if she smelled something foul. “They don’t want his immortality. They want his seed.”

Well, wasn’t that just creepy as hell. Definitely not what I expected to hear. Wilder seemed surprised as well, but Helene had no more information than that. She cautioned us to be careful, and then it was back to business, scheduling my next appointment.

It was all rather odd, but I supposed that was my life now. A little on the odd side.

“What do you say to an afternoon of Legos and documentaries?” Wilder asked when we got in the car.

“Sounds fantastic,” I answered .

Perhaps I could convince him to have an evening of sex as well, and I shifted a little in my seat thinking about it. As if he knew what I was thinking, he winked at me before he started driving.

My morning had been a little shitty, but I had faith my afternoon was going to improve. After all, I was going to get to spend time with Wilder.