I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but knowing we were in a hellhound breeding ground—according to Lazarus—made fear rush through me.
All I could think about were the hairless, bloodthirsty dog-looking beasts who attacked me back home. The moment my entire world changed, when I’d been thrown into this life of magic, romance, and power.
The fact that we’d been walking nearly two hours now and hadn’t come across any made the hairs on the back of my neck rise and sickness churn in my belly.
The bullet wound was mostly healed now. It’d been a through-and-through, so Hawk thought it would heal well now that he’d done most of the stitching. The wound was sort of numb, though I tried not to look at it. I wanted to believe being so close to Xerxes and Hawk helped with healing.
Lazarus and Onyx, the two demons Greer had mated, walked ahead. The children they’d been holding were now in Hawk’s and my arms. While he held a toddler, I had a baby. A baby with plump little arms and feet that liked to kick into me every so often. Now, she slept soundly in my arms, head on my chest, one hand tangled in my hair.
I allowed only one tear to fall for her as I clutched her tightly to me. Where were this girl’s parents? Her mother, was she trapped in a cage still? She had to be shifter; all these children were. But without my magic, I couldn’t tell where she belonged.
And the father…I had no idea what Dante did with the breeding. Was her father another shifter? Or another creature? Goddess above, the thought made me physically ill.
Some of the wolf pups were skittish as they walked ahead. I hated seeing them on leashes, but it was better than the alternative: them running ahead and getting eaten by hellhounds.Now, I understood parents who leashed their kids at Disney. I’d probably do the same.
They might have been skittish, but they were also excited. The few witch lights we had to guide our way were just enough to see by, allowing me to watch the children looking back every so often with excitement in their eyes.
The air thickened with tension and unbearable heat. Ahead, Lazarus raised his arm, fist up, signalling us to stop. My heart skipped a beat as we slowed. Somehow, even the young, shifted kids knew to remain quiet and come to a complete halt.
I couldn’t help but look over at Hawk, who stared into the darkness ahead, his eyes black. Gently, I brushed my hurt shoulder against his.
Do you sense something?I asked.
His eyes locked with mine.They’re here.
A shiver rolled down my spine as I looked away, searching the darkness. The last time I’d faced off with hellhounds, I’d known nothing about them.
Once again, there was a chance we were about to go head-to-head with the damned creatures, and Istillknew nothing about them. Only that they were loyal to Dante.
What are the chances that their loyalty to Dante extends to his father?I asked Hawk.
A frown pulled at his features, but he didn’t get a chance to respond.
Something in the darkness growled, the sound echoing through the tunnel, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I chanced a look back at Xerxes, still carrying Thor and the others.
From the shadows, three large hounds appeared, bigger than the ones I’d faced before. These were huge, the size of a large wolf shifter. They had no fur, but they were lined with plenty of scars and gouges.
And with them was the pain demon from the cages.
50
Ivy
The demon chuckled darkly under his breath as he pulled a whip from his belt, letting it unfold and hit the ground. A sadistic glint entered his dark eyes, a look that made my stomach twist.
I clutched the baby closer as he stepped forward, more hellhounds swarming around him. Their growls echoed through the tunnel, dark and feral.
“No more chances, little bitch Queen,” the demon said, cracking the whip. It had the shifted children struggling against their leashes, trying to escape him. Even the sleeping babies woke with cries. The one in my arms startled and buried her face into my shoulder, though she didn’t cry like the newborns. Like she already knew better at a few months old.
Bile rose in my throat, as well as anger. An anger I couldn’t feed because I didn’t have my magic.
There was nothing human Ivy could do against the demon and approaching hellhounds.
But if I had my magic…I could have destroyed them all with just a thought.
Instead, I was weak. And all I could do was let Hawk shield me from any possible attack.
“Are you really going to let all of them die for you?” the demon continued, dragging his whip against the rocky ground,the sound just as chilling as the crack. “They were all wrong about you, then.”
