Page 50 of Hellhounds Never Lie

No dice.

I tried stretching. Holy fuck that hurt. My body ached everywhere, but especially my back. Then I became aware of more things: the muffled conversations, the annoying beeping, the squeak of someone's shoes moving over linoleum floors…

No. Not a hospital. Not again. After Chris, I’d had enough of hospitals to last a lifetime. I had to get out of here.

When I forced my eyes open, bright lights blinded me. My body jerked as I tried to sit up. Pain ripped through me.

"Fuck…" I moaned. Or maybe it was more of a sob.

"Stay there, little witch," a deep, but gentle voice soothed as a large hand carefully guided me back to the mattress. "Calm down."

Some of my tension eased as I focused on Dillon, who was leaning over my bed. Dillon looked like shit, but then again, I doubted I looked much better considering I was the one hooked up to monitors and an IV.

"You’re safe." Dillon held my gaze.

"Okay." I nodded. "Why am I here? What happened? I don't remember…"

"You were shot. In the back. Dot…" Dillon took a shuddering breath. "You didn't seem to feel it. So I guess that's good, right?"

"I feel it now," I whined.

"Yeah. The doctor said you were lucky. They had to sew you up inside and out, but they said the bullet going right through you was the best thing that could have happened." Dillon grimaced. "I'm sorry, Ash. By the time you got rid of that magic, Van and I were almost done. I should have known what was happening. I should have been there to help you. To stop her. I… Fuck…"

I swallowed. "It isn't your fault, Dillon. I remember enough of what happened to know that much."

"Fuck, Ash, you scared me." Dillon held my hand in his as tears flowed down his cheeks. "I just found you and you went and got yourself shot."

"Hey. But you didn't lose me, right? And I'm going to be okay." I wanted to brush the tears off my hellhound's face but twisting my body around so I could reach him didn't sound like the best plan. Instead, I pulled Dillon's hand close and kissed it.

“Your mom and brother are here. They stepped out to grab a coffee a minute ago,” Dillon said after he cleared his throat and blinked away the sheen in his eyes. “They should be back soon.”

Which meant the only important person missing was Jeremy. I was surprised he wasn’t here. I’d been in a bad place after my ex’s attack and Jeremy had stayed with me for a long time. Dillon was my future, but Jeremy was my best friend, and he always would be. I had no idea how everyone kept magic hidden from him during my recovery, but he’d refused to leave my side. So I didn’t think he’d abandon me now. I looked around the room, and sure enough there was a large candy arrangement. That had to be from him.

“That’s from your friend Jeremy,” Dillon confirmed, as if reading my mind. “He couldn’t stay, but he was here for a few hours before your mother convinced him there wasn’t anything he could do here. He looked ready to fight her, but there’s a vampire on staff here. They worked some kind of mojo on him to make him change his mind.”

I winced. I hated that someone messed with my best friend, but I understood. Even injured as I was, I sensed magic all around me, which meant the doctors were supernatural healers.

Mom must have told one of the nurses that we were determined to keep magic hidden from Jeremy. Guilt stabbed through me like another fucking bullet. The only reason he didn’t know was because I had shied away from telling him. I could have—or more accurately—shouldhave told him years ago. My mom had said I could after we turned sixteen. But after being best friends since elementary school, I wasn’t sure how to confess my secret to him.

He’d be wildly excited to learn about supes, but what if he didn’t forgive me for lying to him our whole lives? I was so damn selfish, but he was my best friend. I never wanted to lose him. Ever since I’d met Dillon, I’d been looking forward to them meeting for the first time. But… I guess maybe they already had. I was disappointed to have missed that.

"What's this about my son finding his mate and not telling his beloved mother?" my mother asked from the doorway.

She wore a teasing smile, but I could tell it was forced. Her arms were crossed as she tapped her tiny foot with an air of impatience. My mother had become the queen of hiding her feelings and distracting me after my last stint in the hospital. I could tell she was doing it again. Her usually bright eyes were dull. The lines on her face seemed to cut deeper. Her hair was standing up all around her head at odd angles. Her air magic was obviously zinging through her right now—probably ready to pounce on any possible threat.

My brother Birch was right behind her. He was slightly taller than my mom, so he peered at me over her shoulder. His pale face was even paler than normal, which was saying something. Yep, once again, everyone had come rushing to my hospital bed.

"Don't pester him too much, Mother, he just woke up," Birch said. He stared at me for a long moment. “You going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I think so.” I nodded. “I’m sorry you both had to drop everything to be here.” I left off theagain. Like last time.They knew. They didn’t need me to say it.

"I'll go find a doctor or a nurse or something,” Birch said. Then he lumbered out of the room. It wasn’t that he was that big or anything, but he was stockier than either my mom or me and always seemed to move like a much, much larger man. Maybe it was because he was an earth mage.

As soon as he was gone, I thought back to what my mother had said when she’d first come into the room. I blinked at her. She was smirking now, and this time it didn’t look as forced.

"Mate?" I asked. My gaze darted to Dillon, whose cheeks darkened.

"I didn't mean to tell your family before you. It just kind of came out."