Chapter Eight

Simon was furious. He didn’t care if the bouncy little man in his sexy kilt and top was the leader of the Underworld, a go-go dancer, or the king of England. No one had the right to pop into his house like it was a train station.

“I appreciate that you’re clearly a person of power in the Underworld,” Simon said sternly. “I can respect that. But if I came zapping into your house unannounced, waking people up from a sleep that was badly needed, then I imagine neither yourself nor Lord Hades would be too impressed.”

“Oh, my goodness no.” Consort Ali did have a lovely laugh. “But it’s not Hades they need to worry about, it’s me. My mate’s expecting again. He needs his rest and worrying about one of his beloved hounds who should’ve been claimed yesterday and still isn’t, is not helpful with that.” The look he gave Simon could only be called “accusatory.”

“I’m a doctor, all right?” Simon held up his hand. “You might live in a realm where people don’t get tired, or sick, or emotionally overwhelmed, but on Earth those things are common.”

“I know what living on Earth is like. I lived on this realm for eighty years.” Ali sounded indignant.

“I’ve been around a lot longer,” Simon said firmly. “Do I want to claim your hound? Yes. Do I want him to claim me? Yes. Are we going to do it before breakfast, when I can hear my mate’s stomach from here? No. And we’re definitely not doing anything with an audience. So you go back and let your mate know that my mate is fine, he’s being looked after, and we’ll all have dinner together real soon. All right?”

“Ooh, your Simon is so firm and commanding when he’s protecting you and thinking about your welfare all at the same time. I like him.” Ali grinned at Kolton, who was holding his stomach as if that would make the rumbles Simon could hear any quieter. “I like your Simon a lot. And did you hear? He’s a genuine doctor. I feel so proud one of our hounds has found himself a professional mate. My job is clearly done. I’ve left breakfast for two in the oven for you both. Don’t forget family dinners are on Sundays and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Later, tootles.”

Ali disappeared in a flash of sparkles so bright, Simon expected to see his floor covered in glitter. But no, his rug was saved. Simon felt himself shrink into his human form as he turned to Kolton. “Did you sleep all right? How are you feeling this morning?”

“Hungry.” Kolton rubbed his belly again as it rumbled. “A bit befuddled. The last thing I expected to be confronted with this morning was the consort. I’m sorry about him just dropping in.” He pointed to where Ali had been standing. “He’s never done that to me before.”

“You don’t have to apologize for someone else’s behavior, not even your master’s mate.” Simon rested his hand on Kolton’s shoulder, aware he was still wearing his sleep pants and some parts of him were more awake than others. “Do you fancy breakfast?”

“I do… but.” A man would have to be blind to miss Kolton’s look of longing at the collar box still resting on the couch. “My hound has other needs and is getting pushy about it.”

“Kolton, look at me,” Simon urged his mate quietly. “I do want to be claimed by you. I didn’t lie to your Consort Ali. I want to claim you in return. But that’s twice now that you’ve mentioned your hound in relation to our claiming. I’m assuming that means you will want to shift at some point. You and I both know a shift takes energy, energy you can get eating breakfast. We’ll have eternity together, won’t we?”

Kolton nodded.

“Then let’s have food first, and you can explain, while you’re eating, what claiming means to you. What does it mean to be the mate of a hellhound?”

/~/~/~/~/

Hade’s garden, he wants me to talk again. Kolton appreciated breakfast. Actually he appreciated the fact they didn’t have to waste time cooking it, although he was just as capable of zapping up a spread as the consort was. He was hungry – his stomach didn’t lie about that, but with every mouthful Kolton took, he knew he was another step closer to an inevitable fuckup. Because now the breakfast casserole was almost gone, the plates were empty, and Simon was pouring them both coffee. Pushing a mug over to Kolton’s side of the table, Simon smiled. “It’ll be fine,” he said quietly. “Just tell me what a hellhound mate means to you.”

“Didn’t I tell you that last night?” Kolton ran a hand through his hair, wincing at the tangles left from his sleep.

“You said a lot of things last night about other pack members and their mates, but you didn’t say what you were looking for. There weren’t many details about mechanics either. For example, what is the significance of the collar? I got the impression it was some kind of mate detection device, but how does that tie into claiming each other?”

“The collar is for my hound to wear,” Kolton explained, so damn glad he had something concrete he knew the answer to. “I can’t take my collar out of my box. Only my mate…you…only you can take it out of the box and only you can put it around my neck. It’s not got a clasp, but it stays on with magic, and when that goes around my neck in my hound form, then we’re technically claimed. When I’m in my human form, it turns into a gold chain that never breaks or comes off.”

“So it doesn’t have the same significance as a BDSM collar for example?” Simon was watching him intently over his coffee mug. “The kind that a Dominant might present his sub as a means of showing their bond?”

“Doms… subs…” It took Kolton’s brain a moment to catch up. “No. No. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but no. The collar is…it’s a way to use Lord Hades’ magic to generate the bond between you and me. There was talk…” Now Kolton had to think really hard, because he wanted to get the story right.

“When Java met Cyril, his mate, they had a few issues with another pack member from the second hellhound pack. It turns out the guy lost his box – I think he gambled it away, or it got stolen, or something like that, but he was trying to steal Java’s collar box, although that didn’t work. But the hound was going mad – like slobbery, smelling like he'd been working in a sewer, rotting flesh type mad, and then he tried to capture Cyril… It was a mess, and Java wasn’t allowed to kill him because the Consort and Lord Hades intervened.”

Kolton looked around, making sure no one could hear even though they were the only ones in the house, but what he wanted to share wasn’t something that was discussed very often. He leaned closer to Simon just to make sure. “There was a lot of talk among my pack members after that happened,” he said, keeping his voice low.

“Cain and Beau said that the only reason we can live on Earth is because we visit the Underworld quite often – we’re tied to our master. Our collars…” He pointed back to the couch. “Those collars transfer the tie that keeps us grounded from Lord Hades to our mate. Can you see now why my hound is edgy that my box is open but the collar’s not on my neck?”

“Okay, that collar is clearly a lot more important than just a fancy mating accessory.” Simon got up, striding over to the couch and picking up the box, the collar still gleaming in the sunlight coming in through the breakfast nook windows. As he brought it back to the table and sat down again, Kolton’s hound was getting excited, and Kolton strained to keep him from just bursting out.

“I know you must think I’m being ridiculous, taking my time over this,” Simon said, but Kolton was focused on those capable hands that were lifting the collar out of the box. “It’s not out of spite or anything from seeing you with Warner every day for the past month, for example, or you not knowing who I was to you. It has nothing to do with any of that. I’m just the type of person who likes to think everything through, even a mating – it is for eternity, after all.”

“I understand, or at least I think I do.” Simon’s comments were surprising enough to have Kolton lifting his eyes for a second, but that collar was so beautiful, and what it symbolized for Kolton meant so much more. “You asked me before what the mating would mean to me. For me, you’d be my pack. A pack I can live with and be with every day,” Kolton said. His eyes were watering, and he quickly blinked to hold the moisture back. “We’re not allowed to live together here on Earth because we’re just too powerful together, and I miss…my hound misses…”

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry. Shift Kolton. Let me meet your hound and get this collar on your neck.”