The Hellhound's Un-Christmas Miracle - Zoe Chant Page 0,61
them could escape.
*What about that guy? Caine? Fleance’s new boss. He turned into an alpha, right? So we can—*
*You just don’t fucking get it, do you? You can’t turn into an alpha. Alphas are born, not made. Face it, sweetheart, some of us are born to rule… and some to obey.*
The full reality of Parker’s words sank into Fleance’s bones like lead. He was right.
We always followed him, his hellhound muttered. The shame in its voice cut through him. I thought, now that we were free, we could stop him, but he’s right. We don’t know anything. We didn’t even know he could turn another shifter, like Sheena. What if he can take us back into his pack? We’re so far away from Caine and Meaghan…
He looked inside himself for his pack sense. It was still there, but it was faint. The other members of his pack—Caine and Meaghan, Manu and Rhys—felt more distant than the stars above.
The rapidly disappearing stars. Fleance’s heart sank. Morning was coming, and given the pathways and signs, he suspected this was some sort of tourist area.
Worms slithered over his mind.
*Always a fast thinker, aren’t you, Flea?* Parker chuckled. *You’re right to be worried. Oh, not that someone will spot us. Invisibility’s a handy thing that way. And we can walk through all this boiling dirt like it’s nothing.* His lips stretched in a wolfish grin. *It’s the tourists that concern me. If you insist on fighting like this, and something gets kicked up, or one of those pools spills over…*
He let the possibilities hang in the air.
Sheena’s laughter cut through them like a knife through butter.
*Sorry, I’m still hung up on alphas being ‘born not made’,* she hooted. *Are you serious? Right to rule? I thought you Americans hated that sort of thing so much you had a war about it.*
*Alphas are—*
*I mean, we’re hanging onto the bloody Queen and it still sounds like bullshit to me!*
Fleance had never heard Sheena like this before. Her psychic voice was smokey and… powerful.
And really, really sexy.
*It’s fate!* Parker snarled, losing his cool at last. *Unchangeable!*
*Unchangeable? Can you even hear yourself? You go around biting people like a bloody werewolf and you think fate can’t be changed? Look at me! LOOK AT ME!*
Parker jumped back as her voice darkened. The hairs on Fleance’s spine stood up. That was her hellsheep talking, he realized.
Sheena didn’t look at Parker. She stared past him, meeting Fleance’s eyes through the coiling steam.
*Neither of us were born to be hellhounds,* she said. From the way he growled, Fleance knew Parker could hear her, but her words were meant for him. *If one bite can change our fate, what’s to stop us changing it again? My sheep managed it.*
He was about to argue—he’d only been human, he hadn’t had anything like her sheep to protect him—*I don’t have anything to protect me like your sheep did,* he told her. *I wasn’t a shifter. I was just… me.* His hellhound shivered as he remembered those first months. I let you down, it growled.
*Being human doesn’t make you less than being a shifter.* Sheena’s voice was steady. *I might just be a back-country bogan, but I know that much. I believe you can fight back the same way my sheep did. Maybe you already did.*
Fleance tipped his head to one side, confused. *Fleance, you told me your hellhound never wanted to do what this dick told you. Wanting to change your fate is the first step, right? Parker might have turned you, but you choose what you do with your new life.*
I can choose? Fleance wasn’t sure whether the words came from him, or his hellhound.
From the moment Fleance had been turned, Parker had steamrolled over him. He’d never even considered there was any other way. Besides, Parker was all he had. His parents were dead, his life had fallen apart, and suddenly there was this strange creature in his head…
He hadn’t seen a way out. Parker had made sure of that. But now…
He raised his head. In a burst, Fleance knows that Sheena was right. Parker might have changed his fate, but it was his fate. He couldn’t leave it between Parker’s teeth.
With that realization his hellhound burned brighter than ever before. It was a clean, sharp brightness, like the morning sun reflecting off still water, not the yellow sulfur-burn he’d always known. Power pulsed through him.
He glanced at Sheena. He didn’t need to say anything—understanding passed between them, quick as a flash.