Page 12 of Hellhounds Never Lie

"Ash?" the cop said as he tapped on the window. "You okay?"

Ash's eyes flashed with light as his magic flared. Then he flew into action. He threw the vehicle into Park, turned off the ignition and wrenched open the door to glare at the cop. "No. No, Van, I'm not okay. Those bastards tried to kill us. They rammed my truck. If they dented it, I swear…"

"You're okay." Van lifted his hands in a placating way and stepped closer to Ash.

It could be to console or comfort him, but what if it wasn't? I had decided a few miles back I’d keep the little witch safe. That decision didn't end because the wolves had been chased away. My instincts toprotect, protect, protectroared to life. This Van guy needed to back up and get the hell away from Ash. Except Ash wasn't shying away from the guy.

Were these two lovers? I growled. The sound was deep and angry, showing how close I was to my shift. My hellhound side geared up to pounce, ready to annihilate the threat to what was mine.

Mine? Oh, no. That wasn’t right. What was I thinking? I didn't know this witch. I couldn't just claim people. It wasn't done. I shook my head.Not cool, beast, not cool. It’s been a long time since our kind moved out of caves.

Then the intruder's smoky scent hit me, and my beast froze.

"What the—?"

Van's eyes snapped to mine. Fire blazed in his irises. Fire. Like a hellhound's fire. Confirming what I’d already scented. My jaw dropped.

"Calm down, hellhound," Van said. "We're here to help you."

It looked like I wasn't the only hellhound left in the world after all.

ChapterFive

DILLON

"Start from the beginning," Van said as he spun his pen between his fingers. His notebook was open in front of him. I took it as a good sign we were in a meeting room at the police station instead of an interrogation room. Even better, Ash had been allowed to stay with me.

I didn’t know why I wanted to keep the witch close, but I did.

Instead of talking, I grabbed another piece of extra spicy beef jerky from the bag he’d given me to replenish my magic after my shift and my race through the woods. I gave it to Ash, since he’d used magic tonight too, then took a piece for myself.

I leaned back in my chair and eyed the other hellhound as I chewed. I was getting tired of going over all this, so he had to be tired of it too. Besides, I had my own fair share of questions, but Van wasn’t interested in entertaining any of those until he was satisfied with my answers.

I doubted he was trying to be cruel, but I hadn’t seen another hellhound in… well, a long, long time, and I wanted to know more. Did other hellhounds live here? If they didn’t, where were they? Did hellhounds typically abandon their young?

And then there was Willow Lake. Was the bizarre blend of energies in the air a product of the so-called supernatural paradise? I’d never felt anything like it. It was too unusual to be entirely comfortable, but maybe it’d grow on me since I suspected this was the place I’d been looking for when I’d first traveled this way. Once again, the persistent sliver of hope in my chest tried to expand. I pushed it down and forced my attention back to Van’s question.

I opened my mouth to tell my story. Again. For the fourth time. The sooner Van got the answers he was looking for, the sooner I’d get mine.

"Where is he?" The loud male voice rose over the din of muted conversations outside of the room and drew all our attention. "Don't make me sniff him out. There. He's in there, isn't he? Step aside, Dot. I don't want to have to use my alpha will on you."

When Van's lips twitched into a near smile and Ash's breath hitched, I sat up and braced myself. The door burst open. My blood heated as my hellhound rose in me. Neither Van nor Ash’s reactions suggested the newcomer was a threat, but I wasn't ready to trust anyone here. Not yet.

Well, except maybe the witch, for reasons I couldn't explain.

A man with messy light brown hair pushed past the wide-eyed deer shifter who'd been standing outside the room. The intruder's square jaw was tight with anger, then his eyes flashed, showing his wolf. His jeans were stained with who knew what and he wore a T-shirt with a faded band logo on the front. I recognized it as a human band, but I couldn't remember what kind of music they played.

"Alpha," Ash said in deference, tilting his head to the side to bare his throat. And wasn’t that an odd thing for a mage to do?

Was this another pack? In my experience, wolf packs didn't usually have territories so close together. And I’d never seen one accept mages. I eyed the new arrival. He looked a bit familiar, but I was sure I’d never met the guy before. I inhaled deeply and froze.

A low growl rumbled along the back of my throat.

Underneath the stink of motor oil was the scent I thought I’d left behind earlier today, because there was no doubt this guy was kin to the asshole alpha in the woods. Now that I knew that, the familiar shape of his face was obvious.

“Easy there,” Van said to me.

Didn’t he know who this guy was?