Page 46 (1/2)

Praise for Blue Bloods

His earliest ht Fro he wanted it off It reminded him every day that he had been born a slave

He was a wolf, a beast of hell, a captive, but for now his will and his mind were his own He had family to protect, brothers and sisters from his den who shared his fate Taken froether, and as they grew, he led theht break free of their chains

Freedoh The future was far ine Every as turned into a Hellhound on their eighteenthwolves turned too early ran the risk of death So the e When he turned eighteen, his life would be over He would lose his identity, his soul His every thought and action would be controlled by Romulus, the Hound of Hounds, the Great Beast of Hell

One day during his sixteenth year, Master Corvinus pulled hieant, and like the rest of the el, banished from Paradise, a veteran of the War of Heaven Corvinus was the one who exercised theress, who put their names on the lists

Corvinus had noticed his talent at a recent battle, how he had been able to dodge his adversary’s bloith graceful precision—as if he knehere they would land before they did, as if he could see one or two or even three seconds ahead—and the fight had been over before the bell finished ringing

His name was put on the top of the lists, and he h the pits He kept winning Every round He beat theer than any of theiant-killer, because he was the first who bested Gorg; Varg; Tatius; Aelia, the vicious she-ith the long claws; Drusus; Evander He had just had to win one more round for the top prize

But to his shock, he was bested at the trials and not made alpha After his defeat, he waited for them to come and take him away He waited, but no one caotten about him

Not so Instead of killing hieneral

Ro crimson eyes and silver pupils; he wascombination of both, as all Hellhounds were Roardless of your performance in the arena, they tell me you are the one That once you’ve shed the wolf skin for Hellhound forest Hell has ever known The Dark Prince himself has seen it Lucifer has entreated hteenth moon day to make you one of us”

Never, he whispered to himself afterward

Never what? Ahramin asked She was the oldest wolf in their den, the fiercest of the she-wolves Beautiful, dangerous

I’ to be a hound I’ll die before they turn me

And how are you going to do that? She motioned to the collar he wore, the one all the wolves wore That collar will keep you fro

Once they were Hellhounds they would assuht, they would speak the language of the masters They would carry black swords and wear ars of war, Hell’s arn

That was his fate; that was the fate of all wolves

But there had to be a way out Since his defeat, he had not been lazy He spent his ti the hounds There’s a sword, he told her I saw it An archangel’s sword The hounds stole it, but it’s here, they keep it at the armory It can break our collars We can escape We can leave this place

Ahramin looked skeptical

Trust me

He spent the next week for a plan Their collars hindered their power and tethered the wolves to the underworld He was certain that once they were broken and the wolves were free, they could easily subdue the trolls who guarded theet aboveground? Hoould they cross Hell’s Gates into the land of the living? There were ruth had been sapped—but the masters kept them in the dark, and there was no way to knoas true