Parker winked at her, and the sight of one burning eye closing and opening was somehow more horrifying than anything else. Maybe because it was so human, she thought, her mind bouncing off on a tangent that she really didn’t have time for.
Doing what I do best, Sheena thought to herself, not thinking about how she’d normally think it to her sheep and launched herself down the tangent. Hellhounds were the sort of overwhelmingly terrifying that ranked on a scale alongside earthquakes and tsunamis. Scary, but inevitable, and simple in their inevitability. Burny dog makes things burn. Scary magic makes things scared. But that wink was entirely human and human evil was far more complex than natural disasters.
Parker yawned. *All this and we haven’t said hello yet? You’ll give me a big head.*
And he could read her mind.
*Quick on the uptake, aren’t ya?*
She wasn’t even sure she could read her own mind, most of the time. Another tangent appeared. Sheena shot towards it like a dog towards its bowl. This was what she did best and right now, it might be her only chance, a thought she veered away from like it stung. Luckily, she always had another useless thought to grab onto, something only vaguely related to the topic at hand, like—What’s the time, Mr. Wolf…
*Enough.* Parker was losing patience. His emotions lashed through the writhing surface of his psychic presence in her mind. He stepped forward, all arrogant confidence, blocking Sheena’s half-view of the movement behind him she’d been so careful to ignore.
This whole exchange had taken less than the time it took her to catch her breath. Enough time to—
She stopped thinking about that, just in time for the maggots in her head to tighten. The thought-tangent slammed shut.
*There. Was that so hard?* Parker’s voice was layered over with greasy smoothness. *Pay attention. You might have been livestock before, but you’re mine now. One of the family. And the first step in our on-boarding process—*
Sheena was trying not to see, but her skin prickled with anticipation for the thing she was trying not to think about, either. Wriggling around in her mind, feeding off her thoughts, Parker didn’t need any more warning than that.
He spun around.
Fleance was standing on the wreck of the car. Parker had turned around just as he was preparing to attack, but when he saw he’d been spotted, Fleance stilled.
*Did you really think that would work?* Parker sounded scornful. *I would have thought you’d know better than to attack me now.*
Fleance glowered at him. If Sheena didn’t know they were both the same type of shifter, she would have thought Fleance was some sort of magical fire creature, and Parker was a demon. They were both black dogs the size of no fucking dog she’d ever seen, but while Fleance’s coat looked like someone had combed the night sky, Parker’s was ragged, with raw-looking skin showing through the gaps. Smoke curled from his skin like steam from Rotorua’s earth. She’d thought she was imagining it last time, or mixing it up with the smoke from the burning houses, but now…
Fleance bared his teeth in a snarl. *I’ve had enough of your games, Angus. You can’t keep treating people like pawns!*
*Why not?* Parker yawned. *No one’s stopped me yet.*
*Caine did. And by the look of you, it almost killed you.*
Anger writhed in Sheena’s head. She was on her feet and growling before she realized it wasn’t her anger. She cowered backwards, hoping Fleance hadn’t seen her reaction.
Fleance seemed completely focused on Parker. He either didn’t care about, or couldn’t feel, the anger seeping as thick as oil from the alpha hellhound’s mind.
*I came here to make you pay for what you did, Angus. You hurt so many people and used us to do it. Manu, Rhys and me—we were just kids! I’d just lost my parents. I trusted you. How could you do this to me?*
Parker sighed and flicked his ears. His emotions rolled over Sheena, thick and foul. He didn’t even care. He was happy to let the kid whine, let him get it out, but—
Sheena was as off-guard as Parker was when Fleance struck.
He didn’t stop talking, or rear up, or tense. He had no tell at all. One second, he was standing on the ruined car and Sheena was trying desperately not to let Parker’s description of his voice as whining taint her own mind, and the next he was in the air. Parker jerked into motion, but he wasn’t quick enough. Fleance hit him and they both went down in a roar of sulfurous smoke.
9
Fleance
He couldn’t believe it had worked.
He knew what Parker thought of him. That he was a shrinking coward, too pathetic to realize how useless it was to fight against Parker’s chains. The fight the day before would have proved to Parker that he was still too weak-spined to stand up for himself. That he wouldn’t take Parker down if it meant risking inviting him back inside his head.
That was then. Now, he had Sheena to protect. Anything was worth keeping her safe.
So, he’d whined, and complained, his voice as nasal and annoying as he could make it without taking the piss. And when he’d seen Parker relax and—heart sinking—Sheena let down her guard, he’d made his move. Halfway through a sentence, mid-complaint. Bam.
And now he had Parker in the dirt.
The larger hellhound scrabbled at the ground, trying to get enough purchase to pull himself upright. Fleance didn’t let him. He pinned Parker with his forelegs, snapping at his shoulder and neck.
Parker snarled
