Chapter Twenty-Two

“So what does one wear to a dinner with a god?” Simon asked as they were getting ready. “Are there any protocols I need to know, any behaviors you do to show respect?”

Kolton glanced up from tying his boots. “I won’t burp at the table. Is that what you mean by protocols? This is the first dinner for me, too. Only mated couples are invited.”

Simon pulled a shirt from his closet and slipped it on. He already had on black suit pants and figured a smart shirt and pants would work for most occasions, including it would seem, dinner with a god and his consort. “Why aren’t the rest of your pack invited?”

Standing upright, Kolton shook his head. “To hear Beau talk about it, Consort Ali doesn’t trust us hellhounds to look after our mates properly. Four of the other five…no, sorry, three of the five are shifters.”

Then he frowned. “Nope, that’s not right either. Beau’s mate Blue is a shifter and so is Raoul’s mate Jason. Java’s mate, Cyril, is a magic user…er…” Kolton squinted. “Faron’s mate, Patrick, is an empath and a magic user, and Ollie, who is Cain’s mate, is half fae, half elf. But anyway. Consort Ali is a shifter, too, and doesn’t trust us to keep our mates happy, or so Beau says. Apparently it has something to do with us never being pups or babies…or something like that. I’m not sure, but the consort makes a point of meeting and spending time with the mates.”

“Hang on a minute.” Simon grinned, as he held up his finger. “Just let me catch up. These family dinners are so Consort Ali can make sure you hellhounds are treating your mates how? In the way he expects? Is he going to pull out a rule book?”

Kolton shrugged. “I’m not sure. A couple of the pack have mentioned Consort Ali has talked about writing one. He thinks we need a dating manual. I told you when we met that we were useless at it.”

“And the consort believes that’s because you didn’t go through a typical human development in early childhood?” Simon had never heard anything so weird in his life.

“It might’ve been because Raoul, who was the first, really messed things up with his mate, and so did Java and… there’re precedents for that sort of thinking.”

“But you’ve been around forever. You know how to behave in public.”

“I know, and truthfully, I don’t know what the consort thinks. I mean, look how he zapped in here because the collar box was open but I hadn’t been claimed. He does care about all of us and just wants us to be happy. But if you think the dinner’s weird, we don’t have to go. It’s not mandatory.”

“No, no, I want to meet an actual god, and your packmates and their mates, too. I think that will be fun.” Simon went over, stroking a hair Kolton had sticking up. “It’s just, as a doctor, I don’t think it’s helpful for anyone to be told that they might be deficient in some way, even in concepts like dating. You and I are happy, aren’t we?”

“I’m really happy with you.” Kolton nodded, his dark eyes shining. “And I can feel, in here,” he tapped his chest, “that you’re happy with me, too. But I did fuck up, remember? First with Warner and then with you. If it hadn’t been for Lord Hades setting me straight and reminding me about the importance of communication, I could’ve fucked things up between us completely.”

Simon could hear a hint of defensiveness in Kolton’s tone, and he cupped his mate around the neck. “But you didn’t fuck things up. I’m here. We’re together. And yes, I believe that everybody needs someone who is not their partner to talk to sometimes.

“I’m really glad you feel you can talk to Lord Hades or any of your packmates. Those bonds are important, too. It’s just I don’t and won’t ever treat you like a pup who keeps peeing on the carpet because they don’t know any better. You’ve been the best mate I could ever hope for, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.”

“You really believe that?”

Kolton’s insecurities were showing, and Simon wondered if it was because they were due to meet some of his pack. “You can feel it in here, remember.” He patted Kolton’s chest. “You’ve accepted me exactly the way I am, and that means more to me than all the gold and riches in the world. You care. You show me that you care for me. That is truly precious to me.”

“Will that caring be love one day?”

The words were hesitant, but Simon still thought about it – yes, he was that person – and then he nodded. “It probably already is if you think about it. I just wasn’t sure how comfortable you were with using that specific word, and it’s not like we’ve been together very long. But I don’t doubt my feelings for you, or yours for me, not in the slightest. So if that’s love, we can call it that.” He grinned as Kolton’s eyes widened.

“We can be in love, like my packmates are with their mates?”

In the back of his head, Simon was aware they could end up late for dinner, but Kolton would always be his first focus. “How do you feel deep inside? What does your hound feel?”

Kolton didn’t hesitate. “You’re our pack – our special pack within our pack. You’re our person. You’re…you’re…you’re everything!”

“And that’s how me and my gargoyle feel about you. In fact” – Simon had an idea – “I don’t know if it’s allowed or not, but seeing as we’re going to the Underworld anyway, you mentioned there’s a wasteland or a badlands there? Somewhere where no one goes?”

“It’s pretty bleak.” Kolton nodded. “My hound likes to run there sometimes, but there’s nothing there but red sand, red sky, and the occasional rocks and caves. No one goes there. The wastelands just stretch for miles.”

“Could we go flying there? Would it be safe for me to shift there and take you flying? Just you and me. Would that be allowed after dinner perhaps?”

“Yes. Yes. You’re my mate now, you have as much right to be in the Underworld as I do. Yes.” Simon could almost see the hound bouncing in Kolton’s eyes. “Let’s do that. I really want to fly with you.”

“There you go. We’ll do that after dinner. It’s a date.” Simon kissed Kolton’s forehead, keeping it brief. He really didn’t want to be late for his first visit to the Underworld. He felt a shimmer in the air, and realized they were translocating. This should be fun.

/~/~/~/~/

In hindsight, dinner was fun. Kolton had transported them to a large ornate room. The walls were a shimmery black as if they were made out of marble, and there were absolutely no windows. There weren’t even any curtains to suggest there could be windows.

The table was huge and made of gnarled wood that was also a burnished black. The cushions on the chairs, in comparison, were a deep red. In other words, it was the sort of décor Simon expected for the lord of the Underworld and his mate.

But there were homely touches as well. The placemats on the table were bright abstract colors. There was two big bowls of fruit and over in the corner of the room, Simon could see someone had left a plastic truck and a bucket of brightly colored blocks, along with two odd children’s shoes.

It was easy to make out the hellhounds in the room. They were all roughly the same height and build, although Kolton was only one of two blonds with the others having dark hair. Simon smiled as Kolton bounded over to his friends – his pack mates – congratulations ringing through the air. It was in that moment Simon realized Kolton hadn’t told any of his packmates he was mated.

There could be a lot of reasons for that, Simon reasoned privately. It’s not like I told anyone but Elijah either. In the time they’d been together, he hadn’t noticed Kolton ever getting a text or a call from his pack and guessed they’d been living apart for so long… Perhaps it’s too hard for all of them with not being able to live together. Maybe it’s not just Kolton who misses the pack dynamic.

Although the reason why they couldn’t live together on Earth was evident. Just with five hellhounds together the power levels in the air rose. “It can be a bit overwhelming when you see a group of them together at one time,” a friendly cat shifter with a wide grin said, sauntering over and holding out his hand. “Hi, I’m Jason, mate of Raoul. Welcome to the Hellhound Collar Club.”

“You have a club for the mates?” Simon smiled as he shook Jason’s hand. “I’m Simon, mate of Kolton.”

“We have t-shirts and everything.” A small blond danced over and held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Ollie, mate of Cain, and this is Blue, mate of Beau, and Cyril, mate of Java. Faron doesn’t bring Patrick down here, as Patrick’s an empath and the negative vibes from some of the spirits here would give the poor man such a headache, but I’ll be sure to text him and let him know we’ve met. He’ll be sure to want you to go and visit him sometime soon.”

“That sounds great and it’s nice to meet you all.” Simon shook all the small hands thrust in his direction. “How long has this club of yours been going?”

Simon followed the conversation with only half an ear. The other part of his brain was thinking about Warner, and how Kolton had made a mistake thinking that sweet human had been his mate. Seeing the mates all together in one place, it was easy to see why Kolton would think that way.

Aside from Jason, the other three were all between five foot two inches and five foot five, with slender builds and innocent expressions. Simon was given the impression Patrick was just the same. Just like Warner, in other words. He would’ve fit in with this lot so easily, he thought with a pang.

“I’m going to be rude. I can’t help it, it’s just the way I am,” Ollie said, breaking into Simon’s thoughts. “I can’t work out what species you are. Is that the right word?” he asked Cyril. “It’s species when it refers to paranormals, am I right?”

Cyril looked slightly older than the others, although he was only twenty-five at most. He nodded and smiled. “Yes, that would be a good word because you’re not a magic user or a shifter, are you Simon?”

“No, I’m a gargoyle,” Simon said, his smile widening as Blue’s eyes almost fell out of his head. “That’s probably why I am more a hellhound’s size than the rest of you.”

“A gargoyle.” Blue darted closer and stroked Simon’s arm. “Your skin feels just the same as ours. I thought gargoyles were stone creatures.”

“We can be.” Simon pushed up his sleeve and changed the skin on his arm, taking care to make sure his fingers didn’t change. “See? My second form is a lot taller than I am and has a leathery skin, and wings, and then my third form, which I only change into a couple of times a year, is a fully stone version of my second form.”

“I’ve heard a bit about gargoyles,” Cyril said, as Blue and Ollie oohed and ahh’d over the skin on his arm. “Is it true you’re actually hatched as opposed to being born?”

“Yes, all true gargoyles are hatched from an egg. The egg is created in the normal way between two consenting adults, and when it’s laid, born, or whatever you want to call it, the egg grows and is cared for by the clan until it hatches about six months later. Births among our kind are a very rare occurrence and from what I understand, a gargoyle child can only be born between two other gargoyles.”

“The egg method sounds like it would save a lot of swollen bellies and fatty ankles,” Blue said. “When I had my…”

Simon was never going to find out what Blue had because in that moment a gong sounded, and a green-skinned demon came running into the room. “The masters are on their way. Dinner is served.”

The table was suddenly overloaded with food platters containing meats, fish, and vegetables, along with large jugs of a delicious smelling gravy. Plates and cutlery all appeared on and around the placemats, the exact number for five hellhounds, five mates and their hosts. But it wasn’t the food that attracted Simon’s attention, it was the couple coming into the room.

Consort Ali was just as he’d appeared in Simon’s living room, back before Kolton and he claimed each other. His kilt was bright green with pink accents and his t-shirt was emblazoned in pink rhinestones that spelled out the words “Consort and proud of it.” He was hanging onto the arm of a man who carried the power of an ancient god – power that filled the air to the point the walls seemed to pulsate as he went past.

The hounds and mates all bowed their heads, and Simon quickly followed suit.

“Don’t stop chatting on our account,” Consort Ali said brightly. “Have a seat, all of you, sit down. Simon and Kolton, you came. Simon, you must come and meet my mate, Lord Hades. Hades, this is Simon, the doctor I told you about.”

“I’m honored to meet you, Lord Hades,” Simon said, bowing again as Kolton came up beside him. “Thank you for inviting us.”

“Welcome to the family, Simon. You and yours are very welcome here anytime,” Hades said. His voice was deep but there were layers of warmth there as well – a warmth Simon hadn’t expected. “Kolton, you’re looking well – your collar suits you. Congratulations to you both. Take a seat. You’ll find we’re very casual for Sunday dinners.”

Lord Hades turned, moving to the head of the table, and that’s when Simon noticed the man was very definitely pregnant. Consort Ali is pushy in more ways than one, he thought with a quiet grin as Kolton guided him to an empty seat.