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Gavin smiled, hoping that Atlas was right and he’d still behimafter it was over. “What do you think my element will be?”
Atlas kissed him again. “I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out.”
* * *
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Paranormal Protectors: Gavin
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A Hellhound Called Derek
Chapter One
“They’re ready for you inside, boss,” Knox said, stepping out one of the side doors of the Solston Paranormal Council building.
Derek nodded, taking a final pull off his cigarette and flicking it to the asphalt of the alleyway. The nicotine didn’t affect him like it would a human, but he enjoyed the act of smoking all the same. Blowing the cigarette smoke, along with some of his own, out of his nose, he stood from where he’d been seated sideways on hisHarley.
He was the hellhound alpha and lead demon presence in Solston so this arranged mating was his responsibility. It didn’t mean he had to like it. The Paranormal Council and the human leaders of the city had gotten together to determine the best path forward to reduce friction between humans and paranormals. Somehow, they’d come up with this—reviving an archaic ritual that hadn’t been practiced in a century.
A leader from every paranormal faction in the city was set to be mated to a human citizen that was either in equal standing in the human world or willing to take a job in one of the paranormal organizations.
Derek wasn’t sure who the human he’d chosen was. He’d never even laid eyes on him, but his scent had been the most appealing when the council had passed around the files. Each file had held a picture and basic information about the human it represented, but also, a scrap of cloth with their scent. One whiff and he’d known. The outside of the file said the human’s name was Hollis. Derek hadn’t bothered to open it up and look at the picture.
Derek followed Knox through the door and down a long service hallway. The door they went through at the end opened into a carpeted hall Derek recognized. Four shiny wooden doors, two on either side, led to conference rooms. He’d been a part of many meetings there since coming to Solston and taking over the alpha hellhound position.
He and the hellhounds were the main enforcers for the council. They patrolled the streets, took care of rogue paranormals, and assisted the human police when necessary. Waiting in the hall were the other paranormal leaders about to meet their mates.
“Jacob. Leander,” Derek said with a nod. Jacob was one of the twins leading the Saint Coven, and Leander was the second highest-ranking vampire in the city.
“Derek,” Leander said, offering his hand to shake.
Derek took it, and after shaking Leander’s hand, shook Jacob’s extended one.
“You boys ready for this?” he asked, keeping his voice down. They’d all expressed their hesitance at the initial council meeting, but in the end, he knew their sense of duty was the same as his. They’d do what needed doing. More importantly, they’d do what their bosses commanded. Derek may be the leader of the hellhounds and demon presence in this city, but he wasn’t the Demon King in this country. Kerak’s orders were simple—do your duty and keep the peace.
That’s exactly what he intended to do. And he’d take care of this human that was to be his mate. Hollis wouldn’t want for anything and would have the protection of the hellhounds at all times.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Jacob said. He was young, barely in his late twenties, with shaggy brown hair and boyish good looks. By contrast, Leander was centuries-old, groomed down to his manicured fingernails, and dressed in an immaculate gray three-piece suit. Jacob was dressed nicely as well in slacks and a button-down. Derek had worn what he always did when he wasn’t on duty—jeans, a black t-shirt, his leather jacket, and thick-soled black boots.
“Oh good, you’re all here,” Lenette, the lead vampire of the city and head of the council, said as she came around the corner. “Your humans are already in the rooms. You’ll go in, have a few minutes to chat, and then we’ll come in with the mating license for you each to sign. It will be your choice and responsibility if you want to hold a ceremony later on. Questions?”
When no one spoke up, Lenette chuckled. “Don’t be so glum. It’s your mating day.” The sarcasm in her voice wasn’t lost on Derek. She cleared her throat and looked down at the clipboard in her hands. “Okay, Derek, your human is in Conference Room One.”
With a nod, he broke away from the group.
“You want me to hang around, boss?” Knox asked as Derek moved toward the first conference room’s door.
“Nah. We’ll get this mating settled, and then I’ll bring him to the house.”
“Okay. I’ll take care of any calls that come up tonight.” Knox was Derek’s second-in-command, the vice president by human standards. He was a good man and a helluva soldier.
“Thanks, brother.” Derek clasped Knox’s hand and watched him walk away before he turned toward the conference room door. The small window set high in the door didn’t reveal much, just a large plain wooden table and generic blue patterned carpeting. With a deep breath, he pushed the door open and got hit with a face full of the scent he’d chosen from a stack of files.
