Chapter Five

“I’ve messed up things so badly, I don’t know where to start.” Kolton took in a huge breath and let it out just as slowly. He was fairly sure he was feeling relief, although as that was a foreign emotion for him, he wasn’t sure. But his whole body seemed to relax into the comfortable couch.

“Start with what species of paranormal you are,” the man who’d opened his box said quietly. “I thought you were a shifter, but you’re a lot more than that, aren’t you?”

That was something Kolton could answer. “I’m one of the original hellhounds. Created by Lord Hades to guard the Underworld, my packmates and I have served him since the beginning of time. Long story short, the hellhounds started to wonder about life on Earth because they used to hear about it all the time from the demons who were summoned by mortals and the spirits who we guarded over. Lord Hades created a second pack and gave us all in the first pack the ability to shift into a human form.”

Kolton flicked a finger at the box on the other side of his apparent mate. “We were each given one of those collars at the same time. They are a mate indicator, I suppose you can call it. What’s your name?”

“Simon Teeg. Doctor Simon Teeg if you want the full title, but you can call me Simon. I know you’re Kolton Davis…and you’re related in some way to young Warner? I’m sorry for your loss. That must’ve been really difficult for you today.”

“See, right there. I fucked things up with Warner, too. I blame the other mates, honestly. I do. I saw a small person scavenging in the rubbish bin, and I was so sure Warner was my mate. I mean he looked like a redheaded version of Blue, or Patrick, or even Ollie – they’re all small and they all lived in horrible or lonely situations before they were rescued by my packmates. But I didn’t feel anything in here” - Kolton banged his chest - “and I should’ve done, shouldn’t I? I mean Beau messed things up with Blue because he fainted or something when he heard that Beau was a hellhound, and Roaul mucked things up with Jason because he sent a vampire after his mate to sign him up as a singer, when he should’ve just bought the guy a drink and taken him home…and…and…” Kolton remembered more about the story now he was thinking about it.

“Raoul, right. Raoul, he’s one of my packmates and the first one to find his mate. He shifted into his hound form before he even summoned his collar box, and Jason was left wondering what on earth was going on. Raoul had to mentally summon a demon to come and explain the story to Jason, because he couldn’t speak in his hellhound form and they hadn’t got a mind link yet, so that was the only way they could claim each other. Raoul and Jason I mean, not the demon and Jason. And Farron, do you know what Farron did? He claimed Patrick while Patrick thought he was having a coma dream and Farron just happened to be in it. Can you believe that sort of shit?”

“I can’t say I’ve heard anything like it before,” Simon said slowly. “I’m just failing to see what Jason, or Patrick, or Blue had to do with Warner or me.”

Twisting in his seat, Kolton turned so he could see Simon’s face, resting his arm on the back of the couch. “I’m going to say this straight up, all right. Me and my packmates, we can run businesses, we can do magic, we have all amassed fortunes in our time on Earth, because our master wants us to work hard and prove ourselves worthy of being here. Which we all do without complaint. But none of us, and I mean not a single one of this pack, or the second pack currently on Earth, knows a thing about dating or courting someone or anything like that. We suck at it.

“The fact that” - Kolton counted on his fingers - “five of them, six now with me, have found our mates is nothing short of incredible. But we’ve all messed things up with our mates. I mean, you can’t really blame us. It’s not like I can inhale and take in your scent and think, yes Simon is my mate. The Fates had never given us mates until Lord Hades went to them and petitioned on our behalf. We weren’t part of the original weave, although we are now, because we were Lord Hades’ creation, and so he had to petition to them, and he gave us collars so we could claim our mate…And now I’m messing things up with you, just like the others did…” He trailed off. “Consort Ali said I should communicate with you, but I’m not sure what I’m meant to be saying.”

“I guessed that.” At least Simon was smiling. “It’s like you’re throwing names and stories around hoping something will stick.”

“Did it?” Kolton figured that would make things so much easier if Simon knew what he was talking about. That was probably what Consort Ali had meant when he was talking about communication.

“I got some of it, and I’m sure you’ll fill in the missing details…”

“Oh, Hades’ garden, did I tell you about the wendigo? The whole pack had to fight an honest to Hades wendigo in Texas. A friend of Patrick’s brother summoned it because…” Kolton shook his head. “Actually I have no idea why it was summoned. Anyone with an ounce of common sense stays away from wendigos. But we fought it, and Farron sent it back to the Underworld and now they live in Australia.”

“Farron and Patrick?”

“Yes.” Kolton tried smiling, but he really was tired. He’d been for a long run earlier, and between Warner’s death – and he still wasn’t sure what he felt about that – and the run, and Consort Ali giving him a hard time. “Can I just curl up here a minute?” He swung around in his seat, lifting his legs so he could lay down, and plonked his head on Simon’s lap. “This is nice,” he said, sniffing and smiling as his eyes closed. “I’ll tell you some more stories in a minute. It’s been a weird and long-assed day.”