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We strode in, taking in the large room. Everything was black and silver and crimson. There was a large couch covered in cushions, and Lucifer sat back on a massive armchair that looked more like a throne, a black cat with vibrant green eyes on his lap. He stood when he saw us, putting the little beast on his shoulder. He held out his fist, and biting back my scowl, I gave it a pound. Jagger did the same.

“War, Jag, it’s been too long.”

I gripped my hands behind my back, fighting a snarl as the sense of urgency rising inside me had me close to exploding into my animal form and tearing Hell apart to get home.

“My king,” I said and dipped my chin.

“So you guys like your new digs? Your old quarters were kind of shit. Thought I’d give them a spruce up.”

Our old quarters had most definitely been shit, but no improvements would make me want to be back here. “Yes, and we appreciate it.”

Lucifer sat back down and motioned for the couch. “Urse, get them a drink, would you?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Not your servant, Lucifer.”

Lucifer sighed. “Please? As a friend then?”

She tapped her chin as if she were considering it. “Aw okay then, since you asked so nicely…not.” Then she strode right out the door.

He grinned at her retreating back before his gaze returned to me. “She really is a pain in the ass, but she can slaughter ten men with one swing of that ax.” He shrugged. “So anything else you and your brothers need, just say the word and you got it.”

“Can I speak freely, my lord?”

“Shoot.”

“Why are we here?” There was some growl to my voice this time, but there was no holding it back.

Lucifer’s head tilted to the side, gaze sharpening. “I’m back in Hell, that’s why.”

“We’ve been on earth a long time…”

“Yeah, and while we’ve been gone, the demons down here have been fucking running amok. I need help keeping them in line, and I need you and your brothers to do that for me when I’m not here. I occasionally pop back to earth.” He relaxed in his chair and stroked his cat. “Why? Do we have a problem?”

Lucifer may joke around at times, even seem easygoing on occasion, but he was the king of Hell, of darkness. He was capable of things that would horrify even me, and I’d seen him angry more than once. It wasn’t something I was fired up to see again. But it was a risk I was willing to take to get back to my dove.

“Yeah, there’s a problem.”

Lucifer put his cat on the floor carefully and sat forward. “I’m all ears.”

“We left Hell when you did, and we made a life for ourselves aboveground. We had no intention of ever coming back here.”

“I see.” He was quiet for several long seconds. “I really need you here, War. I need loyal soldiers. There are demons here who preferred my son’s way of running things. I need eyes and ears, and I need brute strength.”

Lucifer’s son, Diemos, had been in charge of Hell in Lucifer’s absence, in fact, he’d managed to lock Lucifer out. There’d been a battle and a lot of shit had gone down, but Lucifer was finally back where he belonged and looking to set things right—with our help, obviously.

Fuck. I needed to make him understand why we couldn’t stay. “My female is aboveground. Two of my brothers also have mates and pups, and are now separated from them. We owe you, my lord, you created us, you have treated us with respect and generosity, and we will always be loyal to you, but we cannot stay here.”

Lucifer was quiet again, then finally, he stood and paced away then back. “This is a serious problem for me.” He grabbed a glass that was filled with red wine and drank deeply. When it was drained, his gaze returned to me. “You got any ideas? Because I need loyal soldiers, lots of them.”

“Could you create more hounds? That way you’ll have an army here and on earth.” I didn’t even know if that was possible, but he’d done it once before, right?

“I could, but they would need to be trained, they would need leadership.” His head tilted to the side again and then his face lit up. “How about, you stay long enough to train them? Then all you have to do is pop back regularly to make sure shit is running smoothly? Maybe some babysitting when I’m aboveground.”

I didn’t want to stay here, not for any length of time. I wanted to get the fuck back to my dove. “How long would we need to stay?”

Lucifer held my gaze, and his eyes turned hard, icy. He was done negotiating. He was accommodating us, giving us what we wanted, but that came at a price, and if we pushed, if we pissed him off, he might never let us go back.

“I can create full-grown hounds in several days,” Lucifer said. “But they’d be as helpless as newborn babes. I’ll need you here for several months, at least.”