Chapter Ten

“Are you going to be upset with me if we talk about Warner for a minute?” Simon stroked over Kolton’s hair. They were on the couch, relaxing after a leisurely lunch, or rather Simon was sitting on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table, and Kolton was sprawled over the rest of it with his head on Simon’s lap. Kolton didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere, and while Simon had effectively walked away from his position in the hospital, it wasn’t like he could shut off his responsible side. But maybe I need to think a bit more about my timing, he thought as Kolton tensed.

“He was more like my brother than anything else.” Simon hated how Kolton sounded nervous. “I found him homeless. I cared for him. I got him the help he needed.” He sat up, twirling around on his butt so they were facing each other. “Are you cross because I wanted the claim with you so quickly? Was that the wrong thing to do when someone’s died? You can’t take it back. The claim’s done now. I don’t know what you want me to do.”

“That wasn’t what I meant, at all. Lie back down.” Simon guided Kolton’s head back onto his lap. “I like your head there and it seems to make your hound happy.”

“Can you sense that? That’s wicked cool.” At least Kolton settled back down again. “So why did you want to talk about Warner then?”

“Well, for one thing, it would be understandable for you to be grieving over the death of a friend.” Simon kept his voice gentle. “Sometimes talking about your feelings with someone else you’re close to, and by that I meant me,” he added quickly, because he was fast realizing hellhounds needed a bit of guidance with sensitive topics. “Or even just sharing a few happy memories of the deceased loved one can help at times like this.”

Kolton was quiet for a long minute, his eyes closed, but Simon could see his eyeballs moving underneath the lids. You do worry about a lot, don’t you, my lovely hound. “Lord Hades said we hellhounds weren’t used to the idea of death,” he said at last. “He told me, back when Warner was still alive…the day he died actually, but he said that the beings of the Underworld didn’t have to deal with death because they were already dead, or they were immortal. He already knew Warner wasn’t my mate. He said Warner couldn’t be because he was dying.”

Oh, you poor soul. “I understand why you thought Warner might be. You have to remember that thanks to you, Warner was comfortable at the end. You couldn’t change his outcome, but…” Simon tried to work out how to put it. “Imagine if he’d died in the alley where you found him, how cold and alone he would’ve been at the end?”

“Thanatos took him.”

“Thanatos?” It took a moment for Simon to catch up. “Ah, you mean the personification of death.”

“He’s a good man.” Kolton nodded even though he wasn’t looking at Simon. “He wasn’t even in his skeleton and robes. He was dressed in regular clothes so Warner wouldn’t be frightened of him at the end... Warner was so happy to go with him.” Kolton’s breath caught.

Simon blinked rapidly. He’d seen death a thousand times and it never got any easier. “You know the Fates will look after him, and if it’s meant to be, his next life will be easier for him.” He stroked over Kolton’s hair.

“That’s what we get told. The thing is I…I…I don’t know what else you want me to say. Warner was only in my life for three months and for most of that he was sick. We didn’t even share a bed, we would just cuddle on the couch sometimes. He had his own room. I cared for him and tried to make him happy, but he said himself I was like the older brother he’d never had.”

“I think that’s lovely he had you in his life like that. But as the older brother as such, there are a few things you still need to do. Such as, have you given any thought about the burial? Did you and Warner talk about anything like that?”

“No. I didn’t want to ever talk to him about dying and then when he did, I just left him in the hospital.” Kolton pushed against Simon’s hand as if he wanted to sit up, but Simon kept stroking his hair.

“It’s fine. I…” Simon shook his head. “You probably don’t remember but you bumped into me just after Warner had died. You were running down the corridor. I wanted to follow, because I could see how distressed you were. But I guessed what had happened, so I went in and took care of the initial proceedings – processes that happen automatically when someone dies in a hospital. Warner didn’t need an autopsy, we already knew how sick he was, so the cause of death wasn’t an issue. But his body will be in the hospital morgue. I’m surprised someone from the hospital hasn’t contacted you about retrieving it.”

“I’ve been thinking about you. I haven’t even checked my phone.” Kolton shot upright again, knocking Simon’s hand away as he patted his pockets. “Where did I…?” He held out his hand and seconds later a phone appeared. “I must’ve left it back at my place.” Unlocking the screen, he quickly scrolled through what looked like a dozen messages. Tapping one, he shook his head. “That’s all it says. Warner’s body is ready for collection. Collection by who? Do I have to go and get it? What am I meant to do with it?”

“Usually a funeral home will collect the body for you and prepare it for whatever you want to have happen to him next. I can recommend a good one for you and take care of the details if it helps.”

“Do we need to have a funeral? Is that expected?”

Simon thought about Warner’s lack of family support and about how Kolton was the only one who visited the young man in the month he was in the hospital. If there was a funeral, it would only be him and Kolton there.

“Not if you don’t want to. Funerals are a means of showing respect for the body and for loved ones to come together to grieve and share their memories of the person who passed. But you and I both know the spirit, the essence of Warner, has already moved on, so we can just arrange a quiet burial somewhere, and perhaps a simple headstone to mark the spot.”

“That would be nice, I suppose.” Kolton seemed to be thinking about it. “It wouldn’t be good if his body was just left at the hospital.” He sighed. “I should’ve thought about things like that but living on Earth can be confusing at times.”

“How long have you lived on this realm?” Simon was genuinely curious. Kolton seemed innocent in a lot of ways, and it was probably a good idea to change the subject.

“A thousand years or so, maybe closer to two.” Kolton looked up and then put his phone on the seat beside him. “It’s between the two at least because the second pack has also been on Earth for a while now – about three or four hundred years I think - and they would’ve had to do a thousand years of service at the bare minimum before they were granted the right to live on Earth.”

“That’s a long time.” Simon was fascinated by the idea of how long Kolton had been alive. He was considered an elder of his kind as well, but Kolton had been around since the beginning of time. “How did it feel, arriving on Earth after hearing about it for so long?”

To Simon’s surprise, Kolton looked down at his hands, and there was nothing but gloom coming through their bond. “It was okay, I guess.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to get to know more about you. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Simon said gently, reaching out and resting his hand on Kolton’s shoulder. “Face it, we really don’t know anything about each other at all, outside of the bedroom. We’re going to be together forever, and surely you know, because we’re mates, you can tell me anything at all and I’m not going to feel badly about you.”

“It was okay.” Kolton’s eyes were still sad though. “It was a huge honor, being given the chance to shift into a human form. Everyone said so. Our master believed in us, was proud of us and sending us to Earth was his reward for our service.”

“But you didn’t think the same way?”

Kolton shook his head.

“You weren’t allowed to live with your pack members?”

The head shake was slow.

Simon tried to imagine what it would be like for a happy hound, who’d spent his entire existence with his pack, to suddenly find themselves on Earth, with no support, and not even his pack members to lean on.

“You didn’t like being on Earth, did you?” It was a guess, but Kolton was shaking his head. “Come here, babe.” Simon tugged Kolton back down so his head was on Simon’s lap. “What was it like?”

“Scary. Weird, I know. You don’t have to tell me how weird it was, me being an indestructible hellhound, but it was scary, and I didn’t like it. Everything was so different. Yes, the sun shone, and there was rain, and I got to see the moon for the first time, and all the stars. Not many demons or the spirits mentioned the stars and how pretty they are.”

“I’ve spent many a night staring at the night sky, so I understand what you mean.”

“It gets cold here – not in Vegas, obviously, well not much, but I’ve been to so many places and have frozen in the snow and slipped on ice. That wasn’t fun.” Kolton frowned. “But in other places it seems like the air is so wet it clings to your skin and makes it difficult to breathe, or so cold your breath fogs up.

“The Underworld has nothing like that. The only time it was super-hot in the Underworld was if you were a demon that worked in the pits and hellhounds didn’t work there. And there were ice regions for certain punishments, but they were a long way from the gates, and most of the spirits there never bothered to try and escape. I think they were just frozen in the wasteland.” Kolton shivered.

“The Underworld sounds like a very diverse place.” Simon had never been to another realm.

“It was home to me. For the longest time I lived with my pack, and I was happy with that. I did a job, and I did it well. So well, the master kicked us out and sent us to Earth as a reward. And now another pack, the third pack, is doing the job me and my pack used to do.”

There was a wealth of sadness behind those words. Thinking quickly, Simon said, “I’m glad you came to Earth. I’ve not been in a pack like you describe. I have friends, but I’ve always been cautious about letting people get close to me. I never wanted them to get the wrong idea, if they weren’t my mate. But now, I feel like I’ve found my person, and I’m really happy about that.”

“Then why did you ask me about Warner, if you’re happy here with me? Did you think I was still pinning over him or something? I don’t think hounds know how to pine.”

Simon actually thought they probably did, because Kolton was doing a good job of pining for his life back in the Underworld, but he wasn’t going to upset his mate on day one. He seemed to have done enough of that already.

“One of the things I’m sure you’ve already found out about living on Earth, is that there are processes people go through at different stages of their life and death. As you were the only person who truly cared about Warner at all in his last months alive, it’s only fair and fitting that we take care of his body now he’s no longer on Earth. I’m just glad I can be here with you while we navigate those processes.”

“Do we have to do it right now?”

“You stay snuggling on my lap, and I’ll make a few calls.” Simon reached for his phone and then remembered it was still upstairs. “Can you zap my phone to us for me please? I’m not keen on moving right now either.” And clearly that was the right thing to say, because seconds later Simon’s phone was in his hand and Kolton’s eyes were closed again as he snuggled his head into Simon’s lap.