Page 149 of Shifter Situations

They lived incredibly long lifespans and were slow to breed, which kept the population at a manageable level. One of the books also mentioned that a standard litter was four to six pups.

Only half made it to adulthood.

That was standard in many animal species, but it was a shocking fact to learn about hellhounds.

The causes of death in pups ranged from getting caught in the middle of adults fighting to getting trampled when the pack ran together. Mutations at birth had been reported as well, but there was nothing that explained what that meant.

Did Sloane’s hellhounds have mutations? That could be why they weren’t in their pack anymore, why Sam had chosen them for his daughter.

Were the mutations health issues or another case of supernatural creatures evolving into something new?

That was a mind-consuming road I wasn’t keen on following.

The books were quite insightful in some areas, but lacking in others. It was clear to me that not many demons cared to study the wildlife around them in the Underworld.

And godsdamnit, I was curious.

I suddenly felt like Stone, always wanting to know more. Instead of his straightforward line of questions, mine were warped and bent. I saw the beauty in a new world but didn’t fully understand the dangers of the Underworld.

Danger on Earth was something that I could easily wrap my head around, though.

With a sigh, I tucked the books back onto the shelf in the library and set out to find Sloane. We had some other things that we needed to talk about.

Like the tracker the angel had placed on me.

She wouldn’t like my idea, but it was the only thing I could think of to get rid of the tracker. If it killed me in the process, at least she’d be safe.

She could stay away from Belfast and the guild, and the guys could make sure that the angel didn’t find her.

As I was thinking it, I knew it was bullshit. Raguel would never stop looking for her, and she was going to need my knowledge of him at some point.

The spell would certainly kill me, though. That was the only way to remove the magical tracker. There was no other way unless the angel took it off himself.

The odds of that option weren’t favorable.

So death.

But hopefully not a final one…

I knew she was powerful enough. I knew she cared about me to some extent.

I was gambling with my idea, though.

I’d built my mental walls as strong as I could manage as I lumbered down the stairs. I didn’t want her to hear everything. My plans had already begun to weigh my conscious mind down.

She was going to be so fucking pissed at me.

Keeping her away from Raguel was worth every ounce of her wrath.

What I was going to ask her to do was only a miracle to the ordinary. Sloane was the most capable person I knew, and if she couldn’t do it, then it was an impossible task from the beginning.

I took a deep breath, pushing away any lingering doubts.

When I found her, I almost changed my mind.

Almost.

She looked so happy joking around with the guys, and I didn’t want to ruin that for her. But she was the only one that could help me, she was the only one that was powerful enough to finish the spell once I’d started it.