Page 33 of Hellhound AU

I cleared my throat again. “No. I have two forms. Well, three, I guess, if you count this one.”

“I thought you were a stray dog! I pulled thorns out of your paws!” Milo yelled, clearly angry at me now.

“So you don’t care that I’m a hellhound, but you’re mad I was a wolf-dog?” I asked.

“I baby talked to you!” Milo yelled.

Of course, Riley chose that moment to saunter in through the door, clothed and cleaned up. “Well, he is a baby, so baby talk seems fitting.”

Milo settled his hands on his hips, looking at Riley. Uh oh. I recognized a death stare when I saw one, and while I appreciated that Milo was about to defend my honor even though he was mad at me, I really didn’t want Riley to start harpy-screeching at him. That shit really could make your ears bleed. I knew from experience.

I walked over and grabbed Milo in a hug, because it was the only way I could think of to distract him. I kind of forgot I was naked until Milo whispered in my ear, “Boo, I’m not getting sexy with your sister here. Because eww.”

I felt something hit me in the back of the head, and I instinctively grabbed it. I let Milo go and looked at what Riley had thrown at me—a pair of sweatpants. I pulled them on, and Milo let out a little sound of disappointment.

I gave him a peck on the lips and then turned to Riley.

“Well, boys, it’s been fun. But I’ve got people to maim. Call me if you have something else enjoyable.” She turned around, waved over her shoulder, and sauntered out.

“Rude,” Milo commented.

“Yup, that’s Riley. Leaves all the aftermath for someone else to deal with.”

Milo gasped, and then he ran toward the dog fighting ring. All of the dogs except the one in the ring had been put into their cages, and there was a constant sound of barking and growling coming from that area of the warehouse.

The one in the ring was quiet, though, and I walked over slowly, ready to comfort Milo if the dog had passed away. I knewfrom how he’d treated my wolf-dog form that he’d be devastated to see an animal die. He had a big heart.

The dog was a pitbull mix of some type, and it lifted its head and growled a bit as Milo went into the ring.

“Milo, be careful—” I started, but of course Milo paid me zero attention.

“You poor baby,” he cooed as he got down onto his knees next to the dog.

The dog growled again, and it looked like it was trying to get up.

“Shhhh,” Milo murmured, and he reached out a hand for the dog to smell. The dog amazingly didn’t bite Milo. It sniffed at his hand and then put its head back down, at which point Milo started gently petting it.

I came up behind Milo and the dog growled at me, but it made no move to get up. It was scratched, bitten, and bloodied, and I couldn’t tell if there were any serious injuries going on beneath the blood and fur. It didn’t look like there was gushing blood, so that was certainly a good sign.

“You poor baby. Look what they did to you. But don’t worry, we killed all those mean, mean men. You’re safe now,” Milo murmured.

And, miraculously, the dog’s tail gave a thump against the floor.

“I’m going to get her some water. What do we need to do before we call the animal people?” Milo asked.

Ah, yes, clean up. I walked around and burned up the bodies and any signs of blood, occasionally looking back at Milo, who was sitting with the dog. At some point the dog’s head was transferred into his lap, and when I checked in later, Milo was feeling along the dog’s legs and body, probably for injuries. I thought again of telling him to be careful, but it wasn’t like he would listen.

I walked back toward the cages, continuing to burn up any evidence of dead people and gore. Riley really had left a huge mess, but hellfire could take care of anything. The dogs snarled, growled, barked, or whimpered as I passed by. I gave a low growl, and they all quieted at that. Dogs didn’t fuck with hellhounds.

I finished the last of the clean up, walking around to make sure all was taken care of. When I went back toward Milo, he was eating an apple and sharing bites with the dog, who still had its head resting in his lap.

“That’s a neat trick,” he commented between bites. “You’ll be useful to have around.”

“Well, glad to be useful,” I grumbled. I couldn’t help the grumpiness—I’d gotten stuck with cleanup, and this other dog was getting all the Milo snuggles.

“Oh, boo, you’re always useful. Now help me get Baby up and to the car before we call the animal people.”

“Baby?” I asked, confused.