Fortune Academy: Year Three - J.R. Thorn Page 0,2

fucking stray animal. That’s Cerberus!”

The three-headed dog the size of a building marched through the wasteland, sending snow and dirt spraying in his wake as he headed straight for us.

Shit.

Chapter 2

Dante yanked me across the landscape as the ground hissed at our feet.

“Which way?” he barked.

“I don’t fucking know!”

A howl from behind us made my heart go in overdrive. Cerberus was supposed to be a creature of mythological proportions, a guard-dog of Hades and not actually… well, real.

Yet here we were. Hell had frozen over and we were about to get eaten.

A different howl responded to Cerberus’s challenge, echoing through my mind with piercing clarity.

Logan.

Seriously? He thought he could save the day?

The idiot would freeze to death if he stepped out onto the wasteland, but Cerberus was packing enough heat that the snow around us was already melting. I drew in a breath of the humid air as I searched for my Virtue.

There you are, cocky Alpha-hole.

“There’s another one?” Dante asked as I redirected our path towards the sound.

“That’s Logan,” I said as I drew from my super-strength and bolted us across the melted grounds. This layer of Hell could have been beautiful in the full light of day. A long horizon of sweeping grass perked to life from the warmth of Hell’s dog and a few rocky structures revealed themselves.

“The entrance to the tunnels,” Dante said with a relieved breath.

The ground shook again as Cerberus gained on us. I glanced over my shoulder and immediately regretted it.

The beast didn’t have any fur. Caked, red blisters ran across his crusty hide and beady red eyes locked in on us as one of the heads howled with victory. The other two salivated and the vile liquid landed on the ground, sending steam hissing into the air.

Gross.

“I do not want to be eaten by that thing,” I said as I turned back toward the patch of rocky landscape.

“Then hurry it up.” Dante reached for his blade with his free hand. “You’re going to get into the tunnels while I hold it off.”

“With your dagger?” I scoffed. “That creature will use it as a toothpick!”

Another howl pierced the air and a silver wolf sprang from an opening in the rocks, making me screech as I dove out of the way.

Logan, the dumb, overprotective Alpha that he was, ran straight toward Hell’s guard-dog.

“Logan! You stupid wolf! Get back here!”

To my surprise, Cerberus sidestepped Logan’s small wolf form and pranced around him, pulling his paws up in an undeniably playful manner.

What the fuck?

Logan yipped, causing the creature to bow down and stick his butt in the air like some kind of puppy. The two stared off and the air hummed with energy before Cerberus released a roar—one that I thought was meant to be playful—before springing off the way he’d come.

Logan shifted with a crack of bones, wincing as he gripped his bleeding side.

“Do I even want to ask how the hell you just did that?” Dante asked, holding up his dagger.

Logan shrugged. “It’s a dog thing.”

“A dog… thing,” Dante repeated.

Logan’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he winked at me. “I’m an Alpha, or have you forgotten? That’s not just a title for show. It means I can command any canine that isn’t a shifter, and even if the thing had three heads, it was still just a big mutt that wanted to play.”

“What did you tell him?” I asked.

Logan laughed. “I told him to bring me a stick and then we’d play tug-of-war.”

“And it fell for that?” Dante asked while waving around his weapon.

“I wasn’t lying. If he comes back, I’ll play.” Logan staggered toward us, naked, and glared at Dante. “Really, a dagger?” He glanced at the pitiful blade. “You come up against a three-headed guard dog from Hell and you’re going to offer it a toothpick?”

“That’s what I said,” I replied, propping my hands on my hips.

Dante huffed before tucking the weapon back into a scabbard at his waist. “You both severely underestimate my skills with a blade.” He pulled off his coat and offered it to the shifter. “Put something on.”

Logan took note of Dante’s rejuvenated hand, but didn’t comment on it. Regrowing an appendage was apparently one of the Hunter’s skills before I’d come along.

Instead of taking the offering, Logan chuckled. “Why? Am I turning you on?” He shook his hips for effect.

Dante swiped a hand over his face. “No, but you might be affecting other… people.” He glanced at me.

My face turned red, but Dante was just going to