Raise the Dead Read online

  Raise the Dead

  Hell Hounds Harem

  Book 2 in the Third Trilogy

  Book 8 in the Series

  By Briana Michaels

  Copyright

  All names, characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to actual places, events, or real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission, in writing, of the author.

  www.BrianaMichaels.com

  Copyright © 2020 Briana Michaels

  Contents

  Raise the Dead

  Copyright

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Other Books By This Author

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Gabriel’s roar thundered through Hell’s vast space. Sweat bloomed across his brow, trickling down his temples, chest, and bare back. His wings flexed and feathers hardened. Thighs quivering, fists shaking, he thrashed his head back and sucked in a ragged breath only to release it in another howling scream.

  Lucifer smashed his body flush against Gabe, who was trying so hard to accept some of Hell’s power. Caging Gabriel with his arms, this was the first time in a while Lucifer really wished he had his wings back. He could have used them to cover more of Gabriel’s body right about now. But he worked with what he had, and that needed to be enough.

  “Easy, brother. Inhale, nice and slow. Let it out, steadily.”

  Lucifer felt sick watching Gabriel struggle so badly. Gabe was the strongest warrior he’d ever known, and to see him flounder made Lucifer feel like a fucking dick for being a little merciless with the energy transfer. But actions needed to be taken and sharing Hell’s energy was imperative. Lucifer needed to get out of Hell and the only way that could happen was if one of his brothers ruled in his stead.

  Never in their wildest dreams had any of them thought Hell would grow to this magnitude. There was enough evil in the world to expand Hell in an endless realm. That was a fuck load of malicious energy to contain.

  Unlike Gabriel, Lucifer grew in tandem with Hell. He was big when first created, strong and perfectly fucking balanced – like a sword forged by a true master of precision. Now, the Devil was powerful beyond measure.

  And as unbalanced as a drunk on a tightrope.

  “Exhale, slowly,” he grumbled while restraining Gabriel’s quivering arms.

  “Burns,” Gabe gritted out. Spit sprayed out his mouth as he obeyed Lucifer and exhaled as slow as possible. A long angry hiss slithered through his gritting teeth.

  Never having done something like this before, Lucifer was going with his instincts on how to transfer some of his power and bond to Hell over to Gabriel. He would have to do it again with Constantine and Uriel too.

  Gabriel asked to go first and Lucifer knew why: Gabriel was scared shitless. It took a strong breed of male to admit fear and no one blamed him. Hellfire and Damnation wasn’t a little slap and tickle. This level of power hurt.

  Gabe’s feathers cut and sliced Lucifer’s arms like a thousand razor blades. Blood mixed with sweat and stung like a bitch. Luce used the pain to focus with. It felt good, if he was going to admit it. The pain gave him hope that he wasn’t totally lost and numb to everything around him. Lucifer’s skin was mottled now. He’d reverted rapidly lately.

  “FUCK!” Gabriel barked. Pressing his back to Lucifer, they were both rock hard and stiff with pent up aggression. That fight or flight mode just kicked in. Gabriel pinned, hurt, and scared. There was no flying, so he snapped into fight mode.

  Lucifer moved with the speed of light. He spun out from behind Gabe and slammed the brother against the stone wall. The back of Gabe’s head smacked the stone and his teeth clacked together.

  “Almost there,” Lucifer groaned. Giving power like this, a little thread at a time, took a tremendous amount of control and focus. Those were two things Lucifer was becoming incapable of lately.

  Getting as close as possible to each other, Lucifer was damn grateful they were both wearing their leathers. At this range, their dicks would be touching.

  Smashing his forehead to Gabe’s, Lucifer felt the buildup and inevitable release rising fast and furious. “You ready?”

  “Mmm hmm.”

  The Devil gripped Gabriel by the throat and tipped his chin. “Open.”

  Gabriel trembled; his lips parted. Lucifer pressed his mouth over Gabe’s and made sure to press hard enough to seal and fuse them together. Flames of every color rose from Lucifer’s body and slithered across to Gabriel’s, wrapping them both in a searing knot. The two Angels went up in a ball of flames while Constantine, Uriel, and a few Hell Hounds watched from the other side of the cage.

  “Holy shit,” someone said.

  Gabriel’s body shook harder now. Lucifer – never breaking the seal of their mouths – slammed Gabriel’s arms against the wall, wedged one muscular leg between Gabe’s, and pinned him immobile.

  Nostrils flaring, Gabe’s blue eyes peeled wide open.

  Lucifer’s broad shoulders rose and fell, his back muscles flexing as he continued to breathe his vicious power into his brother.

  Then…. he backed off. Sucked in a ragged breath. Let it out. Let go of Gabriel’s arms. Took a step back. “How do you feel, Gabriel?”

  Gabe wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His tremors calmed. His breathing slowed. His wings were still stiff, but only half-flexed. “Strong,” he growled in a deep voice.

  “That’s because you are strong,” Lucifer wiped his own mouth. “The power down here only intensifies what you’re already made of.”

  “So my good looks are enhanced too then huh?”

  They both chuckled and the fire between them died down and eventually snuffed out completely.

  “Can you walk out of here?” If not, Lucifer would help him.

  “Yeah, I think so.” Gabriel peeled his back off the wall and took an unbalanced step forward. Lucifer walked backwards out of the cell, keeping his focus and gaze locked on Gabriel until he was satisfied the Angel was able to be on his own.

  “Fuck, everything feels…”

  “Intense. Yeah.” Lucifer knew all about that.

  “You didn’t warn me about how this would feel inside.”

  “Can you find a way to put what you’re feeling right now into words?”

  “Not really,” Gabriel latched onto the bars of the door and gulped a few big breaths. “Jesus fucking Christ, Luce.”

  “I’d lie and say it gets better.” But contrary to popular beliefs, Lucifer was not, in fact, the Father of Lies.

  “At the risk of
sounding like a weakling,” Gabe winced and tucked his wings in, “I need someplace to lie down. I think I just need to sleep this horrendous burn off.”

  “What you need,” Luce observed, “is a good hard fuck. Trust me.”

  They could all see Gabriel was rock hard. The tip of his huge cock poked out of the top of his leather pants and was turning purple from the restricted blood flow.

  “My ladies are all gone,” Lucifer’s grief was still strong over that – not because he was still fucking any of them, hell, he’d not done that in ages, but he still cared for each of them and had not been there to save them from their gruesome attacks and ultimate deaths. “If you want,” he glanced over at the lineup of males all gawking, “There might be a taker or two here.”

  “Nope,” Gabriel unbuttoned his pants and let out a sigh, “I’m good on my own.”

  He shoved his way past the wall of Angels and Hell Hounds and stumbled out of there.

  “Holy Hell, Luce,” Uriel rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve never seen him get rocked like that before.”

  “Scared for your turn?”

  “Yeah.” Uriel didn’t even try to hide his apprehension.

  Given Uriel’s threshold for pain, and what Michael did to work Uriel up to such a high tolerance, Lucifer patted him on the shoulder, “You’ll be fine. Besides, you’re down here more than the others. I think you’re better conditioned than Con and Gabe.”

  “Still,” Uriel frowned. “I’m not looking forward to it.”

  I don’t blame you, Lucifer thought. He gave Gabriel instructions ahead of time on how to make a quick transfer in case of emergencies, but Uriel and Constantine would eventually have to go through the same thing as Gabriel to get all the power Lucifer planned to grant them. Tossing Uriel a tight smile, Lucifer headed to the main room where maps and battle plans scattered across the table.

  They heard Gabriel slam the door to one of Lucifer’s workout rooms. If that Angel thought he could ease his sexual appetites by lifting weights, he was about to get a brutal wake-up call. A few minutes ticked by and they heard the Angel let out a howl of pleasure. Down here, one had to take care of everything on their own. Including themselves.

  Desire was strong in the Devil. Though it ebbed quite a bit after Hell found some stability, Lucifer’s sex drive was still full-throttle. It made his existence down here so damn lonely.

  He turned to Jack, “We need to get him some females. Think you can rally up some women, Voodoo Man?”

  “Yeah,” the Hound cleared his throat, “I can ask a few Mediums if they’re willing.”

  “He’s not going to go for that.” Uriel warned.

  “Agreed,” Con frowned.

  “Well,” Lucifer heard Gabriel howl again, “he was the one who sent me my ladies all those centuries ago. The least I can do is return the favor.” Lucifer dropped into his chair and stared at the maps.

  Red slashes marked mass shootings. Black squares were for malanum infestation areas that had been spelled by someone – presumably Michael – and were now death traps for humans. Green were Hell Hound Pack houses. Blue marked Holy Ground.

  Lucifer felt a sudden rage flare. “Con,” he growled, “get me something to hit.”

  “Shit,” Constantine stormed off and a few minutes later, returned with a malanum in his grip.

  “Lock us in,” Lucifer rotated his neck and cracked his knuckles.

  “We’ll stay,” Con argued.

  “Fine.” But he really didn’t want them to see this.

  Lucifer closed the distance between him and the malanum shrieking in Constantine’s grasp. “Let him go.” Con obeyed and the malanum darted away and skittered up the wall like a man-sized spider.

  “Keep those doors shut and blocked.” Closing his eyes, Luce allowed the worst parts of himself loose. The hunt, chase, and beat down was over so fast, it barely soothed the overwhelming need that kept gnawing at him. When he regained focus, Luce frowned at the pile of black pulp.

  “Shit. Did I kill it?”

  “No,” Constantine checked, “but he’s close.”

  “Toss him back into the prison. Let the others have at him before it’s too late.”

  Evil eating evil kept the levels the same. Lucifer destroying evil, did not.

  Rubbing the back of his neck, the Devil shivered for no good goddamn reason.

  “You sure about leaving Hell, brother?” Uri stepped around the black stains left behind from the pulverized malanum. “You’re so unstable now. And you might get worse.” Leave it to Uriel to be the Devil’s advocate.

  “I know my limits. I’ll return here if or when I reach that line.”

  No one commented.

  “Jack?”

  “Yes, my Lord?”

  “Why the fuck are you still here? Go get my brother some pussy.” At least one of them should be eased of some of their suffering. He’d rather it be Gabriel.

  “Bloody fucking Hell,” Jack grumbled his way out of there and slammed the door shut behind him.

  Sinking down in his chair, Lucifer stared at the plans and Gabriel let out another howl in the distance. Should have had Jack bring down lube too, the Devil thought. Gabe was going to rub his dick raw until he regained control over his lust.

  Lucifer’s power over Hell was a package deal – Hell’s extraordinary strength came with endless desire. He was so fucking sorry for that, by the way. Nothing made Lucifer more aggressive than his sexual needs.

  “I’m going to shower.” He rolled up the maps and handed them to Constantine. “Then I’m going to pack,” he pushed in his chair. “Then I’m going to bring that motherfucking Michael down for good this time.”

  Marching to his bedchamber, Lucifer entered quietly so he didn’t wake Sara. She was sleeping a lot lately and he worried for her. The Hound’s belly was round and tight. Her hair was longer too, like her estrogen had kicked into high gear. Her skin glowed and emotions ran high all the time. She was so lovely… and smelled so good…

  Lucifer backed the fucked up and slammed into his door jamb. Barking from the sudden stop, he accidentally woke her and she sat up with a dagger in her hand. “Lucy!”

  He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to be called Lucy anymore. His heart pounded in his throat. His vision wavered. The fuck was he going to do if he couldn’t control himself in his own realm?

  What would he do to the world once he was let out of here?

  “Deep breaths, Luce.” Sara padded her bare feet over to him.

  “Stay back, Darling,” he thrust his hand out and knew it was shaking as hard as the rest of him. “I’m… I’m off my axis right now.”

  “You’re not going to do anything you shouldn’t. Give yourself some credit, Luce.”

  He sank down and plopped his ass on the floor. Lately, his aggression and need to dominate – especially a female – had become a major weakness for him. He’d been channeling that aggression into other forms, but after having just transferred power to Gabriel, he wasn’t capable of control right now.

  Fuck, he was in worse shape than he thought.

  Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

  Sara cleared her throat. With his eyes closed, he sensed her drop down onto the floor right in front of him. He couldn’t back away anymore without going through the wooden door. His nostrils flared when she leaned in. “Shit… Sara… don’t get closer.”

  She didn’t listen. Instead, his Darling flicked his goddamn nose. “Knock it off, Satan.”

  He jerked back and popped his eyes open. “The fuck?”

  “The fuck is right, Lucifer. Get your head out of the gutter.” She flicked his nose again and it made his eyes water. Her touch felt too intensified and it actually stung a little. “Don’t make me get the spray bottle.”

  He barked a laugh and smacked his head on the door jamb. “Damn, I love you, girl.”

  “Good, that means you won’t kill me for what I’m about to ask of you.”

  He looked down at her hand rubbi
ng that beautifully big belly. Sara was expecting the first ever Hell Hound child and no one knew what to expect when he or she came. Her pack always hovered, unless she was with Lucifer in Hell, in which case Sara would insist her men take a break and go do guy stuff to lessen their stress levels.

  He arched his brow, “Asking the favor from the Devil?”

  “Don’t I always?”

  Yes. He never minded. He’d give her the world if she asked. “What do you need, Darling?”

  “Can you go get me a banana milkshake?”

  Huh? Was she serious? “A what?”

  “B-A-N-A-N-A M-I-L-K-S-H-A-K-E”

  He blinked stupidly slow.

  “From the diner in my town,” Sara grinned. “Pleeeease.”

  Lucifer exhaled a big puff of frustrated hot air and rose to his feet. He knew what she was doing. She was giving him a mission to focus on so his first trip out of Hell would be small enough to accomplish, but important enough to him to see it through.

  “Go on now,” she shooed.

  Dumbfounded, Lucifer walked out of his bedroom with a dazed look on his puss and headed back to his throne room where everyone else still waited. “It’s time. Get Reggie so I can tell him what to do and I need at least two packs down here with Gabe until I return.”

  “On it,” Kalen left immediately to find Reggie.

  Holy fucking shit, Luce thought. This was it. The Devil’s escape from Hell was actually going to happen.

  And he was terrified.

  If the world collapsed into a burning wasteland, it wouldn’t be the first time Lucifer took the blame. Ahh, the risks he took for the ones he loved.

  Chapter 2

  Eve put the pedal to the metal and burned down the road as fast as her truck could go. The piece of shit sounded like it was going to rattle apart on the bumpy road.

  Story of her fucking life.

  Looking in her rearview mirror, she checked on Anam. The other dogs were given to a foster home prior to Eve’s departure. She didn’t want to do it, but was scared to bring them all with her. Anam, however, was going to be with her no matter what.