Dire Desires: A Novel of the Eternal Wolf Clan by Stephanie Tyler

over.”
    “I’m guessing they learned a lot about stalking their prey,” Jinx said. “And I’ve never felt more like it in my life.”
    “I think we should go.”
    “Way too late. Good thing we can’t die.” But it was for sure going to hurt. “What did they look like?”
    “That’s the odd thing—each person described them differently. It appears that the monsters morph into whatever your greatest fear is,” Jez told him. “They feed off humans and wolves alike. Vamps too, I’m guessing. Equal opportunity monsters.”
    “You didn’t think to mention this before?”
    “You didn’t ask.”
    A low growl emanated from the trees. “Jez, what’s your big fear?”
    “I don’t really like hellhounds much,” the deadhead admitted. As he spoke, a giant black beast with red eyes darted out of the woods, making a beeline for the vamp. Jez stood stock-still, muttering some kind of prayer—if vamps even prayed.
    Jinx wanted to remind him that prayers didn’t work so well for them the last time, since that’s what opened purgatory in the first place, but he refrained, if only because his heart was in his throat.
    “Jez, man, what the hell?”
    There was no way to outrun this thing. Fighting would be their best option. And what a fight it would be.
    The hellhound bounded on a straight course toward Jez, who pulled a silver knife and prepared to slice at whatever he could. Jinx called out and the hellhound skidded to a stop as the vamp and wolf stood close to one another.
    “What the hell?” Jinx repeated softly.
    “Good puppy,” Jez muttered and it advanced. Jinx took a step closer to it and it backed up.
    Okay, this was definitely all kinds of weird.
    “What’s your big fear, wolf?” Jez asked.
    Oddly enough, Jinx appeared to have none, since he was looking downwind at a hellhound, and he didn’t much fear those necessarily, although it was a big motherfucker and Brother was straining at the bit, pushing for a shift.
    “Not now, Brother,” he hissed.
    The monster hellhound stared him down. Snorted. But it was confused.
    And then it bowed.
    “It thinks you’re its master.”
    “I don’t want to be in charge of it,” Jinx hissed.
    “I’m not minding it,” Jez said. “Now tell the nice hellhound that the vampire isn’t a chew toy.”
    “Maybe. Or maybe I’ll take him home with us. We wouldn’t need a security system then.”
    The hellhound moved toward Jez and Jinx stifled a laugh. “Back off the vamp. He’s with me.”
    The giant hound backed up.
    “Yeah, down boy,” Jez told it. “I bet if you followed him, he’d take you to the others.”
    “I’m not ready for that—what am I going to do?”
    “This is like that book,
Where the Wild Things Are
. You’re that five-year-old kid who wears the white suit with the horns. Kinky.”
    “I am not five,” Jinx said coldly.
    “You’ve created quite a wild rumpus,” Jez persisted.
    “I could still make you puppy chow.”
    “Point taken.” Jez cleared his throat. “You do realize you’re like their king now.”
    “I’m definitely not the king of goddamned purgatory,” Jinx said, but the beast sent up a mournful bark that said otherwise.
    “Cheer up. Things could be worse,” Jez noted.
    “How so?”
    “You could be the king of purgatory and be inside purgatory.”
    “I hate it when you’re logical.”
    Jez stilled then, murmured, “Hey Jinx, we’ve got company.”
    But Jinx already felt her presence like the soft brush of a hand on the back of his neck, a warm caress of sun. He felt her before he saw her, like there was a silken tie that stretched between them but remained unbroken. He felt tangled up. Confused. And grateful as hell.
    He didn’t dare turn away from the monster, had no fucking clue what to do with the bowing hellhound presence. Finally, he told it, “Go hide. Don’t kill or hurt anyone. Tell the others to stand the fuck down. Wait for my call.”
    The hellhound did some kind of doggy nod and