Page 121 of Seeking Hades' Ember

Chapter 57

Ember

Uh oh.

I wasn't expecting this turn of events.

Dad growled as his claws extended. Remus was in control, and I didn't quite understand Remus like I did dad. Mom was the one who calmed him down, and she was far from here. The thought of her coming down here was out of my mind; she hates basements, and for a good reason.

"Dad!" I yelled, but his shorts ripped as his hindquarters sprouted hair. Dad was trying to hold Remus back but to no avail. Hades was a god; I wasn't worried for Hades, just dad's sake. Hades wouldn't really hurt him, rough him up a bit, maybe, but who wants to bring that up at the next holiday party?

"Dad!" I pulled on the silver bars; even if they weren't burning me like an average Wolf, it was still strong. Dante's eyes narrowed at Hades; he was pissed too. I didn't need my empath abilities to tell me that.

"Did you know? Did you know he wanted to reject you?" Dante’s voice was stiff, ridged as he bore his judging eyes into Hades.

"I did," I spoke. "And that is something that is between him and me, no one else. Get these bars open now before things are said or done that can't be reversed." Dante's jaw tightened.

"He could have prevented it." Dante waved his hands around. "All of this. If he had just accepted you in the beginning! None of this would have happened!" I shook my head.

"Now is not the time; get these bars open! I swear I'll explain! Now! Please," I begged. I pleaded and even gave him the 'I'm your sister, please help me for once' eyes. Dante's face softened as he glanced back at Hades and Dad.

"Hades would win anyway; it's just a small brawl. I get it though." He took the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. Dad was entirely shifted, in a crouching position to attack. His sandy blond wolf, Remus, bared his teeth, salivating for a bite. Hades wasn't afraid; his posture wasn't even stiff. The sorrow, regret already filled him. Memories of his past caught up with him again. He would let my dad do whatever he wanted to remove the mental anguish and feel the physical pain.

Jumping in front of Hades, I latched onto his waist. "Stop!" I yelled again; my dad paused his steps, surprised to see me stand in front of my mate. Why would I not stand in front of him?

"You still want mate?" Remus mind-linked in his caveman's voice. I gripped onto Hades' torso more.

"More than anything," I replied out loud. "He's already told me we've worked on it on our own. We worked on this. This is between Hades and me, no one else." I felt Hades grip me tight.

"I wronged Ember in the beginning. I know that, and I will always bear the guilt. Ember is too good for me, and yet she decided to stay." Hades' voice was low, unable to hear with human ears. "I'll spend the rest of eternity proving to her how sorry I am. How she suffered because of me, the terrible domino effect it had on her. I'll do anything." Hades took a deep breath as he pulled me close. "Do anything to show her how much I love her."

My eyes pricked with tears; reaching both my arms up around his neck, I pecked the side of his neck. "I love you too, Hades."

Dad stood just feet away. No longer showing his fierce teeth, he backed away slowly, changing instantly back into his human form. "Finish this." Dad waved to Lyle, who had almost been forgotten. Dad opened the cell door and walked alone down the basement hallway.

"Wasn't expecting that bit of information to pop out," I joked.

Hades brushed my hair to the side and kissed my cheek. "Neither was I."

Dante stood leaning on the cell door frame; arms crossed while shaking his head. "I can't say much," he sighed. "I made the wrong decision too, so I can't say much at all. I'm glad you came clean and were honest too." We all stood in silence as we heard Lyle groan.

"I guess we should interrogate him further?" I muttered. Hades gave me a quick peck on the lips and had me stand outside the cell. If he thinks he is hiding the whole torture thing, it doesn't work. I've seen every bit of what he's done; it's not like there is a vast difference between standing beside the whole thing or being on the outside.

Dante and I watched as Hades and his demons extracted every bit of information out of Lyle. He became difficult after spilling Hades' own personal details about a rejection. It must have been a ploy to deter the torturing or bade time for what is yet to come.

The torturing and screaming lasted for hours, and once it was all said and done, you couldn't recognize Lyle. Blood seeped from his head, his fingers were broken, and his toenails were ripped out. A horror movie couldn't do justice as Hades did to this Wolf.

"Let's go upstairs, relay what we know." Hades willed the last bit of blood off his body. It's handy when you are the god of the dead and can take away all remnants of his victims’ blood.

Loukas sat upstairs on the sizeable decorative chair in the living room. A purple glow stood out from the seat. Cyrene must have cast a small binding spell to keep him seated. Loukas rubbed his chin with those manicured fingers, and his tail flicked side to side as we walked into the room.

"Welcome back." Hades sauntered up to Loukas. "Ember enjoyed your show," he mocked.

"I'm sorry, Ember, I couldn't help myself." He winked. "What did you think of my acting skills?" I walked straight up to him and slapped him in the face. He chuckled while he rubbed the burn of my hand.

"Don't ever do that again! You had me so worried!" Loukas frowned and grabbed my hand. "I'm sorry, I thought you would have remembered after a few minutes. Then I died and couldn't say, 'gotcha!'" I smiled and punched him in the shoulder.

"Just don't do it again." Hades came forward and pulled me in by the waist.

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