Page 67 of Hateful Prince
A furious wave of barking preceded the door opening.
“Can I help you?”
Kai reached me just as I opened my mouth to respond. “Is she with you?” I asked, peering over Cain’s shoulder. Part of me relaxed simply because he was still here and hadn’t fled with her to the underworld. No matter what Sorcha said about Blackwood preventing its residents from leaving, something told me Hades couldn’t be kept from his kingdom.
“Dahlia?”
I blinked at his stupidity. Was everyone lacking for brains here? What other woman would I possibly have any interest in?
“Aye,” Kai said, the urgency in his tone matching my own.
“No, I haven’t seen her since this morning.”
“No one has seen her.”
Sparks ignited from the tips of Cain’s fingers while Asshole’s low growl joined mine.
Rage bubbled close to the surface again. If she wasn’t with any of us, that left one option. “The pirate.”
The sparks turned to a full flame, turning Asshole’s white fur a soft blue and casting his shadow onto the wall behind me. As I turned, I had to blink, questioning what I saw. For it was not a tiny dog’s shadow filling the wall, but an enormous three-headed beast. Cerberus. Of bloody course.
“Holy hell,” Kai muttered.
“Indeed.”
“Asshole. Find her,” Cain ordered.
I was quick to step out of the Bischon’s way, showing the fluffball a level of deference I probably wouldn’t have had I not learned his true identity. He shot past the three of us, running as though his tiny tail was on fire. We were hot on his heels, all three of us jockeying for position as we gave chase.
Instead of turning right toward Hook’s room, Asshole went left, leading us back to Blackwood’s central foyer. As we passed Joffrey, he called out, “No running in the halls!”
As usual, we ignored him, our only goal finding Dahlia.
“What the hell is this?” Sorcha asked with a cackle as we raced past her. “Did the clowns lose their car?”
“Maybe the pup stole the last condom,” Oz offered.
“You’re an even bigger idiot than I thought if you believe they use condoms.”
“All right, fine. The lube, then.”
I didn’t give them another thought as we continued following Asshole out the door. My heart sank as soon as we tumbled out into the night and caught sight of the swagger-soaked idiot himself. He was sauntering up the main walkway, a sated, dazed expression on his face.
“Where is she?” I snarled, my beast front and center as I caught him by the throat and held him up until we were at eye level. I could smell her on him, which only made me squeeze harder.
“I . . . don’t . . . know,” Hook choked out.
Cain laughed, low and bitter. “Fuck her and chuck her, huh? I don’t know why I’m surprised.”
Asshole yipped twice, sharp and insistent, as he jumped up on Cain’s legs, begging for attention.
“Where?” Cain asked the dog. “Which way?”
The puppy took off again, heading not for the forest from which Hook had come, but in the direction of the lake.
I let go of the pirate, letting him drop to the ground with an audible oof. I was already in pursuit of Cain and his dog but could easily hear Kai and Hook’s rushed conversation taking place behind me.
“What the fuck is going on?” the pirate asked, pain threading through the question.