I sucked in a deep breath, my entire body going still. I shrank against Glinda’s warm, soft body, trying to disappear into her fur, but Griff closed the distance between us, making the air crackle with the force of his suspicion.Beki whimpered. She knew this moment would happen eventually, which was why she had wanted me to be honest with Griff. The tiny shred of me that believed in good luck had hoped I might escape before anyone worked out I was a spy.“I’m waiting for an answer,” Griff snarled.My lips trembled, so I forced them into a tight line. What was wrong with this wolf? Why of all times was he asking such questions?“You’re feverish,” I said, my words clipped. “In case you’ve forgotten, your body is trying to recover from being impaled by a demon’s javelin.”“Cathwulf.” He said my name with the kind of hatred one would reserve for their worst enemy. Considering everything I had done to him, I guessed that he counted me as his nemesis.“Go back to bed.” I gave him a shove.
“It was a faerie curse,” he snarled.“That’s what you’re saying now,” I spat. “But you weren’t under their influence when you stole my alpha power.”Griff turned to me, his eyes burning with hatred. “Nothing I ever did to you could ever justify that execution. You could have challenged me to become the alpha again, but you came in with guns. ”“I’m not saying it does,” I hissed from between clenched teeth. “But don’t act like you’re one-hundred percent innocent.”“If I’m such a villain, why did you save me?”“I shouldn’t have bloody bothered.”His lips tightened, and he jerked his head away. “Go back to your side of the shelter.”“With pleasure.”I turned on my heel and walked around Glinda, my insides loosening with relief. Nothing I had told him had been a lie, but I had distracted him a little from his question. I settled beside the Hellhound and leaned against her flank. Hopefully, Griff wouldn’t ask this question again… at least not until we’d reached the Living World and I had a
“You never answered my question,” he said in a low voice.It took every ounce of willpower not to huff an annoyed breath. “If we ever make it out of Hell alive, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”A dragon swooped down from one of the clouds, gliding in a circle above us before making a 180-degree turn.My heart plummeted into my stomach. I whispered to Griff, “Do you think he spotted us?”“It’s safe to assume that he has just left to report the presence of a suspicious Hellhound to his superiors.”“Glinda,” I whispered. “Can you go any faster?”She picked up her pace, but it was nothing like the rapid stream of movement she made when it was just her and me and the soul crystal. Part of me wanted to suggest that we hide the crystal so Glinda could move faster, but I couldn’t sacrifice thousands of souls to save my life.Beki barked a rebuke, making my insides clench.“Can you honestly say that we should risk all those people just so we can make Glinda run faster?” I asked her.
Since a lot of wild animals roamed Hell, I hoped to anyone listening that the demons by the tunnel entrance had dismissed the sight of Glinda as another wild hound, especially since she didn’t venture close to our only way out of their dimension.We descended down an increasingly steep slope until we reached a patch of rock that recessed a little to provide an overhang. “Here,” I said to Glinda. “Let’s take a rest.”He jumped off her back as though staying close to me for a second longer than necessary would burn him from the inside. “So, what’s your bright idea?”“There’s a needle and thread in the first aid kit,” I said as I swung my legs around and dismounted. “I’m going to use the shears to turn the tent into an invisibility suit for Glinda.”His gaze darted from the saddlebags to the hellhound, whose pristine fur was still covered in dirt. “You can sew?”“It’s an important wilderness skill,” I said with a sniff. “Any objections, comments, better ideas? Or will you just stand ther
By now, the clouds had lightened and thinned, flooding the terrain with light.I clenched my teeth, wishing we could have traveled under the cover of semi-darkness, but Griff had been too feverish and unreasonable to be moved until now. And since I wasn’t sure if our bottomless water canteen’s magic would continue to work in Hell, we couldn’t wait any longer unless we wanted to drain away what was left of our strength.As we approached the demons from a hundred feet away, I ordered Glinda to pause.Twelve of them stood before a small cave within a large rock. From the outside, it looked like its surface had a hairline crack, but having exited through it, I now knew that to be a special ward.I chewed the inside of my cheek. “How on earth did the demons work out the location of the entrance?”“Someone told them,” Griff said, his voice heavy with accusation.“You had better not be talking about me.” I leaned against Griff’s broad back and whispered, “Throw the rocks on the rock’s other
Out of the corner of my eyes, I was sure Griff was giving Glinda silent signals to giddy up, but she was my special friend, not his. And there was no way she would abandon me inside a creepy tunnel. I mounted again, this time, keeping my hands on my thighs.He shot me a filthy glance. “Too proud to hold onto me?”“Actually,” I said with a yawn. “I think I can do better.”Ignoring his low growl, I got Glinda to continue up the gentle slope. She broke into a gentle run that became faster and faster and faster, as though the ground had turned into a travelator and was propelling her forward by magic.My eyes fluttered shut, and the muscles around my chest finally loosened enough for me to exhale. That little trip to Hell had been more emotionally grueling than the Punishment Pits. At least in Tower 1313, I knew exactly what to expect.All the exhaustion I had held at bay while Griff had been recovering from his wounds rushed back, and I slumped against his broad body.“It is time for us
I was about to dismount, when Griff whirled on me, his teeth bared. “You did this.”I reared back. “How could you possibly—”With a roar, he cut off my words and leaped several feet through the air, interrupting whatever I was about to say and knocking me off Glinda’s back. I fell onto the grass with a heavy thud and an infuriated Griff cutting off my air with his weight.“What did you do?” he snarled, rolling me onto my back.I tried to buck him off, but his hands tightened around my neck. He was just holding me in place, so I wouldn’t escape, but he sat on top of my lungs, and I was struggling for air.“Stop.” I tried to jerk to the side.Griff followed my movements as I thrashed from left to right, holding onto me with his powerful leg muscles as though he’d spent his entire life taming buckaroo horses.“Answer me,” he roared.“Trying to,” I said with my last breath.He finally got the message and shifted his weight onto his knees, but he still pinned me down by the shoulders.I gl
Griff stopped the Range Rover as close as he could get to the stage, opened the door, and stormed out without a glance in my direction.I glared at his back, wishing I could set it alight with the force of my hatred, but then my body unfastened my seatbelt and hurried after him.Crowds shoved at either side of me, jostling me from left to right. I couldn’t shove anyone aside because the arrogant, pack-stealing bastard hadn’t given me back control of my arms.Up on the stage, Fenrir stood between his mate, Lydia, and the clean-cut blond wolf Hades had shown us on the slide show. Apart from a blonde shamaness, a pair of mischievous looking twins, and a few enforcers, the entire platform was crowded with young women.My lip curled. All that effort for one boy who was probably basking in all that female attention. Gerrison hadn’t made men compete for my hand in marriage, but then Griff had come along and had made his intentions clear.I finally made my way through the crowd and stopped at