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It took Giorgio a moment, but he quickly grasped the situation as he burst into the bedroom he had already warded and saw what was happening. Lamont and Damon immediately reached for the man holding the flamethrower, but Giorgio held them back. “No, wait a moment.”

“What the fuck, man? Are you demented?” Lamont yelled. “That’s your mate who’s burning.”

“Watch and learn.” Giorgio grinned as he started to see the signs of panic on the man who could only be Enda’s father. “My mate’s not burning, he’s shifting. Look at who your son became,” he added to Enda’s father as he started to laugh. “Look at how beautiful he is.”

“No!” Enda’s father screamed. “No! It’s absolutely not possible! No! I knew that he could not shift unless he was claimed by a fated mate. Why do you think he had to die?” Enda’s father was raising his flame-flower up and down, trying to make the body burn, but Enda’s phoenix shrieked in victory, which was not easy on a hellhound’s ear, but Giorgio could totally understand why he did it.

“What do you think would have happened?” he said, striding over to the man and knocking the flamethrower out of his hands. He didn’t want his curtains burning. “What did you think would happen when you buried my mate under a mound of bodies and left him there, still alive, panicking that any move would cause his own death because you made sure to mention that so he could hear?”

“It would’ve been a quick death.” Enda’s father was still watching the phoenix as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“You sent your son’s mate in to pick him up. I was working for the agency you sent in to find those bodies and die along with them, guaranteeing the whole mess would be covered up.”

“That wasn’t my intention.” Enda’s father was trembling, perhaps finally noticing there was an awful lot of people in the room, and none of them were there for him. “He was just a loose end. Why is it that nobody understands that? He was just a loose end, and he had to go. Don’t you get it? I worried he might find his mate one day. Sure, it was a long shot, but I had to make sure that he didn’t. Don’t you see? Don’t you see? I had so much I had to protect.”

“Whereas I only had one person to protect, and you’re looking at him,” Giorgio said. “Your son. The man you left for me to find. My fated mate. You’re the one who orchestrated our meeting. You did this.”

Enda’s father’s mouth dropped open. “That damn witch! I will find her in hell, and I will fucking ruin the rest of her eternity. She was the one who did this. She cursed me…”

“Enda’s grandmother didn’t end up in the Underworld,” Giorgio said quietly. “Take it from one who knows these things. Enda’s grandmother never did anything wrong. All she did was try to protect her daughter, and when that failed, she worked hard to keep her grandson safe. Her afterlife will be one that reflects the good things she did. You, on the other hand…when I look at you, all I see is a soul so black it absorbs the light.”

“It won’t matter,” the man said desperately. “You think I’d be scared of the stories you tell? Hell is just a figment of a Christian’s imagination. It doesn’t exist. I will rise. You will see. I will rise, and I will find you and that thing covered in flames. I can’t die because I’m part demon.”

Giorgio looked at Beau who’d wandered closer, being as protective as any packmate would be. Beau nodded. “True that,” he said. “He is, he’s fucking half demon. No wonder he could get through the wards and do everything else he wanted.” Beau came even closer, sniffing hard. “A demon-human mix, I reckon. It looks like one of the boys from downstairs dropped their spunk where he didn’t have a right to. This is what turned up. He stinks though, and fuck this one is old. How did this thing slip through Lord Hades’ crack?”

“You might want to rephrase that,” Damon said, rubbing the side of his nose as he came closer. “Lord Hades’ crack is the domain of the consort and no one else.” A couple of the other hounds laughed.

“Who the hell is Lord Hades?” Enda’s father demanded. “You can’t keep me here. That thing” - he pointed a shaky finger in Enda’s direction - “that thing hasn’t died, so I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Yep, Enda will be living a long while yet, but there’s still the little matter of all the bodies he was found with. How about we go visit Lord Hades, and you can find this out for yourself. “Enda, babe,” Giorgio called out to the phoenix who was watching everything, hovering in the air, his flames flicking down and across his body. “Did you fancy another visit to see Consort Ali?”

The phoenix shook his head and shot a plume of flames into the ceiling. It didn’t leave a mark or scorch anything, not that Giorgio was worried. He already knew Enda would never damage anything in a destructive way.

I want to go to the wastelands Giorgio heard in his head. I want to see this man run. I want to hear him scream. I want to do to him what he did to my mother and likely my grandmother, too . I want him to suffer.

“I understand that, babe,” Giorgio said out loud, “but you’re not your father. You never will be. I think this is another matter that we can let Lord Hades deal with, don’t you?”

He grabbed Enda’s father’s arm as the man leaned back, trying to move away. “I’m not going anywhere with him. I’m not going anywhere with him. He is not natural. I should’ve known that when his nanny reported the flames on the sheets when he was ten. That is not my son.”

“That’s probably only the true thing you’ve said since the moment this all began.” Giorgio shook Enda’s father again for good measure. The man irritated his last nerve. “Enda is not your son in the true sense of the word. He may carry your genetics, but he was raised by people who loved him. And even when he was despised and used by his father, he survived. I wonder how well you’ll survive by the end of this night.”

“Well,” Faron said, stepping up and slapping Giorgio on the shoulder. “It was lovely to meet your mate. Be sure to bring him to Australia real soon. In the meantime, if you’ve got things handled here, I left chops on the barbie. Maybe think of the time zone differences next time you need me to do anything.”

Giorgio grinned and nodded. Like the rest of his packmates, Faron would come no matter what time it was. He was also thankful, though, because Faron’s mention of the words chops was the call to leave a hellhound would understand.

“You’ve got chops? We’re coming, we’re coming. I haven’t seen that little cutie of yours in ages. Come on, let’s go.” One by one, the hellhounds left until Lamont and Damon remained.

“Did you need us to stay?” Damon asked.

“No, guys. Thank you so much for all you’ve done – it’s been a hectic week, and we couldn’t have gone through this without you. But I think Enda and I have got this now.” Giorgio shook Enda’s father, making him stumble. He could feel the man trying to use his magic, but of course, that was never going to work on a hellhound.

“We’ll go and visit Lord Hades again, and then, maybe then, my mate and I can finally start living a life together in safety. You’ll be welcome to visit, but give it about another month before you do.”

Lamont and Damon laughed as they shimmered out of sight. Chances were they were on their way to Australia, too. Faron did have an amazing house, and his mate Patrick was also a talented cook.

“Are you going to shift back before we go, Enda?”

Enda’s phoenix shot another plume of flames, stopping short of hitting Enda’s father’s face, and then there was a flutter of flames as Enda’s human side came through.

“Perhaps instead of spending all your time worrying about all the changes in your business and everything else,” Enda said quietly, “you should have kept track of the changes in the being you donated your genetics to.”

Giorgio was gifted with one of his mate’s smiles. “Let’s go and visit Lord Hades. Maybe he’ll be in court again, and I can finally see someone thrown into the fires of Tartarus. Not that I’m a fire-bug or anything you understand, but somehow, I think those were the flames my grandmother described in her curse. Or, you know, they could’ve been mine.”

Enda was still smiling as Giorgio transported them to the Underworld. It was getting to be a habit, and Giorgio was fairly sure Lord Hades was getting tired of being disturbed. With luck, this will be the last visit for a while, Giorgio hoped as they landed in Lord Hades’ waiting room.

“Folsom. Don’t you ever sleep?”

“How can I when you two keep bringing your problems to our master’s door?” Folsom turned up his nose at Enda’s father. “This was one who should’ve been swallowed,” he added with a sneer. “Lord Hades is waiting for you. Honestly, your life lately has been more interesting than a movie. Did you think you’d be taking your mate shopping anytime soon? Only there’s this cute little top…”

“Folsom!” Lord Hades could be heard through the doors. “We’re waiting.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” Folsom whispered as he ran to the doors and opened them. “Hellhound Giorgio, his mate, and a thing that should’ve been swallowed awaits your audience, oh, learned, wise, and fair Master.”

“You have to earn your shopping privileges the same as anyone else, Folsom,” Lord Hades warned. “Don’t make me have to yell again. The consort and my children are sleeping.”

“What the hell is this place?” Enda’s father was staring with wide eyes. The black walls, floors, and ceilings seemed to have that effect on everyone.

“It’s not hell, it’s the Underworld,” Giorgio and Enda said together.

“But if you were worried about my flames,” Enda added quietly. “Check out the ones in that pit.”