Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Why do they like you?” Fen asked. “They should be able to smell the wolf on you. I know I can. Even when the wolf isn’t my dad. You smell like a wolf to me, so I don’t get why the pixies don’t view you as a predator.”
“Because your mother’s prey is different from ours, son,” Trent said solemnly. “She was born to protect our world. It’s written into her DNA.”
“Because she’s a Hunter,” Fen replied.
“And the Nex Apparatus,” Evan added.
“I’m the Nex Apparatus because your dad is smart when it comes to politics.” I wasn’t about to use the words I should use. Donovan and Quinn were both ruthless bastards, and they’d made a bet on me that could have gone poorly. “Before I came around, the Nex Apparatus was always a vampire. He was an assassin. A Hunter isn’t an assassin. She’s a protector. So the king needed supernatural law enforcement and he found me. I didn’t belong to a pack. I’m not a vamp. I owe no loyalties to any species, but I was born with the power to defend myself against almost all of them.”
“Hunter is what we now call her, but once she was the Amazon’s champion,” Evan said quietly. “That’s who we were. The companions were Amazons, and Hunters like Kelsey were our ultimate warriors. I think about that a lot. I think about how we banded together because we weren’t the strongest. The very power we had attracted predators to us. We had to form our own army to protect ourselves because no one else would. The pixies love Kelsey because they understand that time and time again she’s sacrificed her own comfort to stand up for creatures others consider lesser. They love Kelsey because while other people look away from atrocities happening, she walks in and does what she can to stop them. Everyone’s happy that my parents are back and it’s great, but if you ask the prey creatures and the companions and the wee Fae who they’ve been waiting for, it’s Kelsey Owens.”
She was going to make me cry, and I didn’t like to do that. “That better not be from a song, Evan.”
She chuckled. “Nope. All me and all true. And I will take you up on helping me out with the pixies. I really do find them fascinating, and Fen hasn’t tried to eat a single one in years and years.”
“You’re settled in Frelsi now, right?” Gray asked.
“For now.” Fen straightened up. “We’ll likely move to New Zealand soon. We move between the two bases when the seasons change. We chase the winter for Sasha’s sake. Longer nights means we have our general around more. The village there is as comfy as Frelsi. Only moving twice a year is a nice change.”
“But you should be able to have a dog if you like. Dogs like you, Fen. They’re attracted to you like wolves are,” Gray pointed out. “Unlike cats. Evan could have a pet if she wanted one.”
Evan sighed. “He’s right about a dog, unfortunately. I’m afraid the Fae of the villages include trolls, and they are not great around sweet puppies. In Fae culture, dogs aren’t viewed as pets. Not domesticated human plane dogs.”
“How do you feel about a hellhound?” Gray asked and held up a hand. “Like most demonic beings, they’re not all bad. If you raise one from a puppy, they can be quite lovely pets. I mean they will kill anyone who attacks their people, but I would think that’s not a bad thing in your case. And I happen to know they won’t have a problem with werewolves, especially one as strong as Fenrir. They enjoy being part of a pack, which is why it’s sad that they’re usually kept as solitary animals, but that’s the Hell plane for you.”
Evan’s expression had gone soft. “Awww, they sound cute.”
They weren’t. They were big balls of what looked like rage and murder, but Gray was right. They could be loving pets. Hellhounds were a lot like most creatures. The more care you put into them at a young age, the more loving they tended to be.
“How do you know so much about hellhounds?” I had to ask because Gray had always actively avoided anything related to the Hell plane.
“I looked into it a couple of years back,” he replied.
“He looked into hellhounds when Evan first started talking about wanting a pet,” Trent corrected.
“You did that? For Evan?” Fen sounded surprised. I could have told him Gray Sloane would do almost anything for the people he loved.
“No. I did it for you. Even when you were young, you loved her,” Gray said quietly. “If Evan was unhappy, you couldn’t help but feel it, too. I had halfling friends growing up who kept a hellhound or two, and they were great.”