Page 28 of Wolves Always Bite

AlthoughJeremydidn’t shy away from my gaze as he tugged off his shirt and put on mine, he also didn’t take his time.Iwanted more than that brief glimpse of his lean torso.Later.Soon.

Hewas taller than a typical human, so my shirt fit him lengthwise along the torso, but it was too wide across the shoulders, so it hung limply over his body.Mywolf pranced in delight at the sight of him wearing it.Thebeast thought he looked amazing.Ishoved our damaged clothes into my bag.Ifwe found a mage who specialized in domestic arts or fabrics, we might be able to save them.

“WhenIwas healingJeremy, my magic sensed something…”

JeremyandIboth tensed.

“Nothingbad,”Teaguesaid quickly, looking betweenJeremyand me. “AndIprobably shouldn’t even mention it…”

“What?Whatdid you find?”Izipped up my bag and looked at the death mage.

Heopened his mouth but snapped it closed when we heard the crunch of tires on gravel.

ChapterEight

ADRIAN

Someonewas coming, driving right up beside the motorhome.Therumble of a motorbike engine vibrated through the air too, but another vehicle was closer.

MyAnubisform surged forward without conscious thought, asTeaguecursed and sprang from his chair.Heraced through the motorhome to the back, where the bedroom was, to check the view from those windows.Outside,IsawIsaacfade into the shadows of the trees that surrounded the parking lot.Hopefullyhe hadn’t been seen.Nelsonwould have been seen, but he could disappear quickly if needed.

"Idon't sense anyone else,"Teaguesaid. "Thewoods in the back are clear."Whenhe emerged again, both his irises and the white in his eyes had been swallowed by black. "I'llgo outside and see what's going on.Mightjust be someone using the place as a rest stop."

Themagical ozone scent of his magic blanketed us as he pulled on a pair of sunglasses.Asa mage, his body didn’t make any significant changes to draw on his magic, but his posture changed, and he held himself differently.Thosesubtle differences made him appear larger and more forbidding.

Assoon as he stepped out of the motorhome, he froze. "Shit.It'sa police vehicle."

Istared through the window, poised to defendJeremyif necessary.Assoon as the vehicle stopped, the stranger got out.

"Standdown."Gage'scommand rolled through the air like thunder as he rolled up onTeague’sbike.

Hemust have borrowed it to go into town.Itwas always strange to seeGageon a motorbike, but then again, it was strange to see him with thePinkLadytoo.Ihoped someday he’d find the place where he truly did fit.

Jeremywhimpered.

“ThisisVanClark,”Gagesaid. “He’sa hellhound.He’scome to retrieve our guests.”

“Jesus,”Jeremymuttered. “Ahellhound now too?First, there is a demon, followed by a death witch, and now this?Whatkind of people do you hang out with, handsome?”

“Canyou tell if it is really a hellhound?”IaskedTeague.Ididn’t bother whispering.Ifthe guy was a hellhound, he’d have heard me anyway. “He’sdownwind andIcan’t get a whiff of his scent.”

Thenthe tension fled fromTeague.Hiswhole body seemed to deflate.Helifted his sunglasses as the black fled his eyes. “Yeah.It’sa hellhound.”

“Andthis is a good thing?”Jeremy’seyebrows were halfway up his forehead.Bythe twist ofJeremy’sface, he wasn’t ready to trust this stranger yet, despite my team vouching for him.

“Yeah.It’sa good thing.”

I’donly met one other hellhound, but every supe knew they were always described as the most trustworthy people imaginable.Beingintrinsically good had been built into their genetic coding when the world was first created or something like that.Gagehad talked about it the last time we’d met up with one, butIhadn’t been paying too much attention.I’djust needed to know ifIcould trust one;Ididn’t need a history lesson.

Oneby one, our team emerged from where we’d taken up posts atGageandVan’sarrival.Nelsonemerged from the shadows by the truck.Istepped out of the motorhome to joinTeague.Isaacwas there now too, panting and huffing as if he’d run a marathon.

Vaninhaled and lifted a curious eyebrow inGage’sdirection. “Inaddition to these three,Iscent six others, and one other whose scent is strong too but who isn’t here.”

“Thereare two in the motorhome:Jeremy, a human who has been caught up in all of this, and aJahallherwe rescued today.Inthe back of the truck are another four.Theyare the ones who attacked my people earlier.Andthe last one you are probably scenting is another of my team.Sheis in the city attending to other business right now, but she usually travels with us.”

IexpectedVanto go to the prisoners first.Hedidn’t.Hemoved toward the motorhome.Istepped in front of the door to block his access.Ididn’t care if hellhounds were supposed to be innately truthful;Jeremyhad been through enough already today.Hedidn’t need to be interrogated by some backwater police officer.

“Ineed to see the human,”Vansaid.Thehellhound’s eyes flared as fire seemed to consume them.Lightpoured from where his eyes should have been, contrasting with the guy’s dark skin.