A Hell Hound's Fire (2 page)

“Great places are waiting. Today is your
day. Your mountain needs moving so…” Sarah paused and Alex could
picture the words as they’d been read to him so long ago. “Get on
your way!”

Alex’s throat closed with a mixture of hope
and gratitude, and tears threatened to slide down his cheeks. He
firmly reminded himself a male Moon Singer, who’d lived for more
than two centuries, didn’t cry. But the soft cadence of her Irish
lilt and the evident love he heard in her voice damn near unmanned
him.

“Can you read it to me again, Mama?”

“Not right now, Liam.”

Alex cleared his throat. “Ms. Flanagan?”

Chapter Two

Sarah jerked her head around so fast she
heard her neck pop. The man’s rich, rumbling voice offered comfort
in ways she’d never experienced before. She inhaled to get more of
an understanding of the salt-and-pepper haired man standing in the
doorway. He carried the scents of alpine river and hot stone, but
more importantly, he smelled like a Moon Singer.

Don’t be fooled, gel. The demon can pull off
such trickery.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Alex MacLaren. Lt. Fitzroy
called me to take you somewhere safe.”

She sighed. “Thank you, but I don’t think
there’s anywhere safe from what’s following us.”

“Fitzroy says running water helps throw off
the scents. I happen to own a house surrounded by the river. What
say we get you there and then figure out an additional plan of
action?”

“Are you
west of left field
, Mr.
MacLaren?” The Moon Singer code popped out before she thought.

He gave her a half smile. “I haven’t heard
that phrase in a long time. But, yes, ma’am, I surely am
west of
left field.
”

Sarah hadn’t known she’d been holding her
breath until it rushed out in a relieved sigh. More relief than
required over his not being the demon.
What’s that
about?

“Do you think we’d be safe from…what’s
coming?”

“Let’s talk about it on the way. The fewer
people who know, the less likely someone might tip off your
pursuer.”

Sarah wanted to ask more questions, but a
sense of urgency made her rise and pull Liam up with her. Her son
watched Alex with wide, blue eyes, clutching the book.

“Mama, can we bring the book with us?”

“It doesn’t belong to us, Liam.”

“Bring it. Fitzroy won’t mind. He keeps
books just for that reason. We’ll just go out the back to my Jeep.”
Alex gestured to the door. No one stood in the hallway outside and
Sarah scented Alex’s relief.

He ushered them out to a cherry red Jeep
Rubicon and helped them inside. He buckled Liam in directly behind
him as if to protect the boy with his own body. The inside of the
Jeep smelled like Alex. His strength, comfort, and power wrapped
around them as he closed the doors. Old sorrow spiced the other
scents and Sarah wondered what wounds he carried.

“I’m taking you to the River House. I don’t
go there very much anymore, so most people in town won’t know about
it.” Alex scanned the world outside the windows with careful eyes
as he drove. “It may be a little dusty, but it’s quiet and
safe.”

“Why don’t you go there much?” Liam
asked.

Sarah hissed a warning and the boy
frowned.

“My mate and I built it for relaxation.
After she left, it just didn’t feel the same.”

“I’m sorry about your mate.” Sarah smelled
his pain as he shrugged nonchalantly.

“It happened a long time ago.” Alex checked
his mirrors and made a turn up a dirt road. “Let’s talk about
what’s going on with you. Fitzroy told me you have a demon after
you. Want to tell me how that happened?”

Sarah clenched her jaw and looked at her
son. She hated revisiting the memories, but she’d come to the
Morukai
and he’d brought Alex in to help.
Knowledge is
power and I can’t do this alone anymore.

“Six years ago, demons attacked our
village.” Alex raised his eyebrows and Sarah shrugged, pushing away
fresh grief. “We’d just learned of my pregnancy and had gone out to
celebrate. They killed my mate, Malcolm, and left me for dead.” She
rubbed the ragged scar along her thigh under her jeans. “They
killed so many people. If we’d stayed home, we might have
escaped.”

Alex whistled with amazement. “They bit
you?”

She nodded. “Bit, scratched. They left my
body a bloody mess.”

“How did you survive the venom?”

“I don’t know. Sheer dumb luck? I wish I
could explain.” She glanced at Liam. He met her gaze with love and
trust.

“Why would the demons pursue you now?” Alex
downshifted and slowed the Jeep, sparing her a thoughtful look.

Sarah sighed and clenched her fists on her
legs. “They’re after Liam.” Alex only raised an eyebrow. “He must
have incorporated some of the venom during his development because
now he can smell and sense when demons are around. He has saved us
from them many times.”

Alex’s expression softened. “That’s a mighty
useful skill to have, Liam.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You can call me Alex.” He smiled. “What do
they smell like to you?”

Liam didn’t say anything for a long time and
the seconds ticked by with the growl of the engine. Sarah tried to
forget the putrid demonic stench, but it festered inside her,
engraved in her scent memory. At last, Liam glanced at her as if
seeking permission and she nodded.

“They smell like rotten eggs and really hot
rock.” He paused and hugged himself. “A little like you.”

****

All the air left Alex’s chest as Sarah’s
sea-green eyes fixed on him and he focused hard on the road.

“I smell like them?”

“Yes. Are you like me? Demon touched?”

Sometimes it felt like that. “No, not quite.
I’m a Moon Singer, just not the average kind.”

Not average at all.

“What do you mean ‘not average’?” Sarah drew
away from him and sorrow flooded Alex’s chest. Why did it matter?
He’d never found another like him or Lisa in all his two hundred
years of life. He couldn’t expect Sarah to understand.

“You know the Creation story of Moon
Singers, right? How the First Canid, Ho’a’tote, asked for shifter
abilities so he might find harmony with all the Goddess’s
children?”

“Of course.”

Alex nodded. “And do you know She asked the
dragons to protect all Her peoples from the dwellers of the
Kilgorem, the underworld?”

“I had to learn. We both did.” Sarah reached
out to squeeze Liam’s hand.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Why did her tender gesture
to her son make him ache for some consolation of his own? “The
Goddess knew the dragons wouldn't always be available. So She made
backup plans. She took a few of Ho’a’tote’s children, and gave them
some extra abilities.” He tightened his grip on the steering wheel,
knowing this news would likely alienate him from Sarah and her son
forever. “I’m a descendent of those children, the Hell Hounds, Moon
Singers with the ability to fight the Kilgorem dwellers with tooth,
claw, and a coat of blessed fire.”

“Aren’t Hell Hounds supposed to be evil?”
Sarah’s wariness broke his heart.

“That’s a myth perpetuated to keep everyone
safer from what trouble we can attract.” Alex looked up ahead at
the bridge crossing one branch of the river to his house. “Mostly
we got the name from the hell we have to go through to kill the
monsters and send them home.”

He believed that, though he’d never fought a
demon himself. Hell Hounds lived on the fringes of pack life
because of their extraordinary abilities. A wolf with the tendency
to catch fire attracted a lot of attention, from both humans and
curious pups. Alex had heard Hell Hounds died in a blaze of glory
at the end of their life, the blessed fire taking them home.

Lisa had retreated to die alone, to allow
the fire to consume her where no one could see. At least, he
assumed she’d died. She’d never returned and had been older than
him by several centuries. Because they’d never True Mated, he
didn’t know for sure. True Mates connected at the soul level, but
he’d never experienced such a link to Lisa.

“Lieutenant Fitzroy asked you to take us in
because of your abilities?”

“He asked me because the Goddess told him
I’d be your best defender.”

“Does he know what you are?” Sarah’s voice
sounded wary.

He couldn’t blame her.

“Not about the Hell Hound part. At least,
I’ve never told him. But he’s
Morukai
. You never can tell
what he knows.”

Alex didn’t know much about the
Morukai
either, other than they had a deeper connection to
the Goddess than Alex did. Henry Fitzroy always seemed at ease
around him, a change from most other members of the Elder Races.
Although, Sarah doesn’t seem too bothered by me. At least she’s
not jumping out of the Jeep.

They trundled across the wooden bridge to
the island and pulled up in front of the River House. Alex unloaded
their few belongings from the back of the Jeep. Sarah and Liam
stared at the land around the house as they walked up to the porch.
Alex had bought the river island and a hundred acres surrounding it
a century earlier when land prices had been dirt cheap. He’d left
most of it natural to facilitate the nights he needed to run in his
Brother form, but he’d made an effort to landscape the immediate
grounds.

“It’s too bad you don’t come here often.
It’s beautiful and restful.” Sarah inhaled deeply and some of the
tension riding her shoulders escaped with her exhale.

Alex shrugged as he unlocked the front door.
“Too many memories, I guess.” He didn’t want to discuss his dead
mate. “Come on in. There are two extra bedrooms upstairs.”

He tried to ignore the jolt of attraction
tightening his balls when the light caressed Sarah’s hair as she
stepped inside. Damn, he hadn’t experienced this kind of desire for
anyone in eight years.
She isn’t a Hell Hound. Down, boy.
But his cock ignored the warning.

“Let me show you the rooms.” He led them up
the stairs and flipped on the lights in the hall. “The last two
rooms are empty…I mean of occupants.” He mentally slapped his
forehead. “Uh, anyway, you can choose whichever you want.”

“Liam, why don’t you take a bath?”

“Do I have to, Mama?” The boy crossed his
arms over his chest and grimaced.

“Yes. Off you go, now.”

Sarah herded her son past Alex, checking the
doors as she went.

“Bathroom’s at the end.”

“Thank you.” She gave him a dismissive smile
and Alex retreated to the kitchen, trying to remember if he had
anything to eat in the house. He listened to their footsteps along
the floor above as he stepped into the pantry. Cans and boxes with
a fine patina of dust on their surfaces filled the shelves. He
grimaced.

He pieced together the ingredients for
spaghetti with chicken from the freezer, and started cooking as he
heard the water upstairs running. Good thing he’d remembered to pay
the gas bill and buy a few provisions this month. He’d been staying
in a small apartment in town temporarily, despite the danger to his
neighbors.
Yeah, eight years temporarily
.

Alex shook his head. Maybe it was time to
return to River House. But he had nothing to keep him here. Lisa
was gone and everything here reminded him of her.

The scuff of a boot against the flagstone
floor made him look up.

“Supper smells good.” Sarah hovered at the
edge of the kitchen. “Can I help with anything?”

“It’s just chicken and pasta. Best I could
do on short notice.” He glanced around at the dusty kitchen and
chagrin swirled in his gut. “Sorry about the dust. I’ll get to it
here in a sec.”

“Let me. I might be tired, but I can still
wipe up some counters.”

“Where’s Liam?”

“I convinced him to take the bath.” She bit
her lip. “Is that okay?”

“Of course. Damn, I think there are towels
in the linen closet behind the bathroom door. Let me go get
them.”

“I found them.” She rested her hand on his
arm, stalling him. Heat crawled over his skin from her hand,
warming him in ways he hadn’t known he needed. “Thank you.”

He fell into her pale green gaze and his
heart stirred along with his cock.
This one! This one is the
right one.
His Brother let loose a whine and Alex almost pulled
Sarah into his arms and kissed her. But lightning flashed and
thunder shook the house, making him jump. He stepped back.

“You’re welcome. All part of the plan to
keep you safe. You’ve had a rough time and I’m happy to help.” Alex
glanced out the windows to see rain rattling against the glass in
great sheets. “Looks like we caught a break, though.”

A cute crease developed between her auburn
brows. “How so?”

“Fitzroy said water confuses demons. I
figure between the river and the rain storm, we got it
covered.”

“Oh, yes, I suppose you’re right.” She
looked so lost and alone he wanted to gather her into his arms and
hold her tight.

“It’s going to be okay, Sarah.”

The bleakness of her expression tore at his
heart. “Do you know how often I’ve thought those words only to
discover they aren’t true? A demon is after me and my son, Mr.
MacLaren. Nothing will ever be okay.”

“Hey.” He couldn’t resist grasping her hand
and pulling her to face him. “You’ve come here seeking help and
that’s what you’re going to get. We’ll get through this and beat
this thing. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that.” She shook her head
fiercely. “Everyone who has come into contact with the demon, who
has tried to help us—they’re dead.”

“None of them were Hell Hounds, were they?
Or dragons?”

Sarah bit her bottom lip. “No.”

“Believe me, that’s what will make the
difference this time. We’ll take the demon down and send it
packing.”