“You say that now.” Ewen could barely stop his voice from wavering. “But what if Lord Hades calls again? What if you have to leave for another job? I still don’t even know what you are. For all I know, you’re a demon who…”
Lamont laughed. He actually threw his head back and laughed, the sound rich and warm.
“A demon? Really?” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Is that what you’ve been thinking this whole time?”
“Well, you work for Lord Hades.” Ewen’s cheeks burned. “And you can make things appear out of nowhere, and you translocated us here, and…”
“I’m a hellhound.”
Ewen blinked, and then, when the scene in front of him didn’t change, he blinked again. “A what?”
“Hellhound. From the Underworld’s original pack.” Lamont settled more comfortably on the bed, his long body creating a warm line beside Ewen even through the layers of blankets between them. “Do you want to hear a story?”
“About hellhounds?”
“About how a guard dog from the Underworld ended up in a Cairo hotel room with his mate, yes.” Lamont’s smile turnedsoft. “And why I didn’t recognize you at that restaurant, even though every instinct I had was screaming at me that you were important.”
Ewen’s fox surged forward eagerly. He wanted to learn more about their mate.
He nodded, tucking the covers under his chin.
“Thousands of years ago,” Lamont began, “Lord Hades created twelve hellhounds to guard the gates of the Underworld and chase rogue spirits across the wastelands. We were good at our jobs, extremely loyal, and we never complained. It was a really good life.
“We had our pack, we knew we were doing important work for our master, but over time we realized we were the only beings who’d never seen Earth. The demons used to be summoned at times, and they would talk about what it was like. The spirits had all lived on Earth originally, so they knew what it was like, but we’d never even seen a blue sky. The sky’s red in the Underworld, in case you were wondering.”
“You were actually there?” Ewen interrupted. “In the Underworld? As an actual dog?”
“I can tell you’re a journalist, always clarifying the facts,” Lamont said, but his eyes danced. “And yes. For more time than you can comprehend I was a giant black hound, with red eyes that had been known to flicker with fire at times, and huge jaws. The whole terrifying package.”
“You don’t seem terrifying now.” Ewen actually thought Lamont’s hound sounded cute, in an ugly-cute sort of way.
“Give me time.” Lamont’s grin flashed teeth that seemed just slightly too sharp. “Where was I? Right. So, after thousands upon thousands of years of service, Lord Hades decided wedeserved a reward. He called us all together and gave us the ability to shift into human form, then we were sent to Earth to live our lives.”
“Just like that?” Ewen frowned. “What was that like, a retirement? Didn’t he need you to chase the spirits? Or is that why you have to answer when he calls?”
“Lord Hades created a second pack to take our place, although…” Lamont rubbed his chin. “I think the second pack has rights to live on Earth now, too, so the pack there now must be the third one. Anyway, Lord Hades is not a bad man - he used to get grumpy before he found his mate, but he’s always been fair.” Lamont shifted, his hand coming to rest on the blanket near Ewen’s shoulder. Not touching, but close.
“There were conditions for us living on Earth, of course. We weren’t allowed to get into any trouble or break any human laws unless directed by Lord Hades or the Fates themselves, and it’s not like they get in touch very often.
“The original twelve pack members can’t live near each other because together we’d create a power imbalance with other packs and covens. That wasn’t easy for us initially as we’d always been together, but we visit each other a lot. And, along with the ability to shift into a human form, Lord Hades blessed each one of us with a collar box.”
Ewen frowned. “A collar box? Why a collar? Shifters don’t usually like to wear anything like that. Is that something you have to wear if you go back to the Underworld?”
“Hounds don’t wear a collar unless they find their fated mate.” Lamont’s expression turned serious. “Back when Lord Hades allowed us to live on Earth, we weren’t given mates…”
“How can you say that?” Ewen sat up so fast his head swam. “I know you’re my mate. My fox hasn’t made a mistake.”
“I know. I know. Come on and lie back down again.” Lamont sighed as Ewen slowly lay back down again. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to telling anyone about this, and it’s not always easy to get all the details straight. Because we were Lord Hades’s creation, we weren’t part of the weave. You might know it as the tapestry of life. It’s the Fates that take those threads and tie mates together.
“But, on the other hand, we’re also immortal, and Lord Hades thought that was very unfair if we didn’t have a mate. He advocated to the Fates for us, and after a while, they decreed that we could have mates after all, but because of the type of shifters we are, we needed a way to know if the person we met was the one fated for us.”
“It would’ve been helpful if you could just scent your mate the same as any other shifter.” Ewen felt that was a definite design flaw.
“That’s why the collar box is so important – it’s our mate indicator, I suppose you could call it. It’s a black velvet box that won’t open for anyone except the hellhound’s fated mate. Not even I can open my box. But, according to my mated pack members, inside that box is a beautiful collar encrusted with gems. It doesn’t have a buckle or a catch on it, but when the mate places the collar around the hellhound’s neck, the ends of the collar click together magically so it can never come off, and the mating bond is sealed.”
Ewen’s fox perked up, interested. “What happens if someone who isn’t the mate tries to open the box?”
“That can’t be done. The box has no hinges or locks. It simply won’t open.” Lamont’s fingers drummed against the blanket. “I’ve been on Earth for two thousand years, Ewen. Two thousandyears, and I’ve never met anyone who could open my box. So, I stopped looking. Stopped even thinking about it.”