Page 86 of Seeking Hades' Ember

Holding my breath so I wouldn't breathe in the stagnant air, we dropped to the ground, and I put all my weight on Hades. The cloak was still engulfed around me, Hades' head out the top looking around before he let go for me to gain my balance. The ground was littered with leaves, and the forest around us was naked of any type of vegetation. We must be in the middle of fall. There was a crisp chill in the air as I rubbed my arm. Being still dressed in a white tunic dress with robes wrapped around my body to keep it in place, this wasn't the best idea for the weather.

Hades pulled me back in and wrapped his cloak around me. "We will have to wait for them," he ruffed. "I've sent word to their Sorceress that we are here." Hades still had his original form, and he closed his eyes, and I saw the dark hair envelope his hair.

"Please no," I whispered as I pulled his face to mine. "Just be with me, stay with me. The real Hades." Hades sighed deeply as the black hair receded.

"I thought we promised when we are alone."

"You are still the God of the Underworld, no matter what your hair color is, but I do love seeing this face rather than the other one." I kissed his nose as his shoulders slumped.

"You know how to vex me, woman." I put my arms around his torso and breathed in his scent.

"Mmhm, you always smell so good to me." Hades laughed.

"You always smell good to me too, Ember." We waited only a few moments before he heard the rustling of the leaves and heavy pants. Three wolves came to our tiny spot in the woods as they looked us over. Two were deep grey, while one was a sandy color. He was more significant than the two grey ones and stood at the front of the group. His head cocked to the side and barked.

Elea barked in my head, but I was confused. "Elea is barking, and I have no idea what's going on," whispered to Hades. Elea stopped barking and finally spoke. "He wants us to follow them back. He's acting strange."

I hummed and told Hades what we were to do. "The Alpha and Luna couldn't come to greet us? What a shame," Hades tsked as we walked. Elea relayed another message that their youngest child fell out of a treehouse at the last minute, and Luna was detained. She would be with us in a moment. Hades ran his hands through his hair. "Maybe we should find another pack if this one is going to give us trouble."

I shook my head no. "Elea seems excited she's all jumpy. Maybe things will be fine." I rubbed his arms as we walked towards the light in the distance. We made it through the last line of trees. A giant treehouse, two stories with a rope, that went up stood before us. I stopped while everyone kept walking and stared at it. It looked so familiar to me, and I couldn't place it where I had seen it before.

"This treehouse." I touched the tree as flashes of light went through my vision. "I've seen it before." I squinted my eyes to get a better look. It had a few letters that had been rubbed out. The treehouse didn't look like it had been used in ages. Boards were falling, and the name E. H. Club House was on the side.

I gasped involuntarily. "My dream," I whispered to Hades. I think I think I saw this in my dream. My heart pounded as a group of men and women began to gather. Some looked afraid. Others were curious about the God of the Underworld present in their territory.

Hades grabbed my hand tightly and held me back as a large man with blonde hair and green eyes approached. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and the woman beside him had strawberry blonde hair just like me. She was considerably shorter than him, maybe my own height.

"Gods," the woman whispered as she cupped both hands to her face. Immediately tears ran down her face. I felt joy, sadness, guilt all into one, and her emotions kept changing, so I had to block her out. Hades stood dumbfounded, not sure what was going on.

The large man stood stoically still as he grabbed his wife. The entire crowd stood still as I held onto Hades for dear life peeking my head around Hades’ muscular body.

"Ember?" the woman squeaked. The tone, the way my name hit my ear, was like a train hitting a wall at 100 miles an hour. Flashes of light went through my eyes as my knees grew weak. Visions of this woman singing me lullabies in bed while the storm raged outside.

Kissing me goodnight and to make sure the Sprites don't bite. The large man shifted right before my eyes, becoming a sizeable sandy wolf beckoning me to ride on his back. We ran through the trees while the pine needles entangled in my hair, and I screamed for joy watching my brother on my mother's back.

"You are going to make a great Alpha one day," my father spoke while we sat by the lake. Every Sunday, he would take me to the pack lake and give me words of wisdom. He told me great Alpha stories about how to protect a pack, the pack comes first, and it isn't always strength that takes care of a complete whole. Honesty, integrity, grit was what made a great pack, what made our pack the greatest in all North America. "You will always have your grandfather and me. Once you turn 25, you will have it all. The greatest responsibility a Wolf could have." The lake water rippled, and another scene fell before me.

"I would make a great Beta!" the boy said as he held up a stick. "I'll be the master of the weaponry while I stay by your side if you have me, great Alpha," Dante bowed as he held onto his twiddled weapon.

"But of course!" I chided back as I stood next to him. Our heights were the same, me being just a year older than him. "And Hunter will be our Gamma!" We both laughed as we wrestled with each other on the ground. The pool ripped one more time, and a baby was put in my arms.

"This is Steven." I sat beside my mother in a hospital. He was so small, but his grip was firm as he held onto my finger. "See, he likes you already."

"At least this one likes me. The others didn't like me that much." Mother laughed as she petted my hair.

"That's because you weren't too happy to see them either. Babies can sense fear and intimidation, you know." I tilted my head at her.

"They can?" Mother nodded while kissing Steven's forehead.

"How can you know they can feel that?" My heart skipped a beat as Steven nuzzled closer to me.

"It's a feeling, something you can feel with your heart. When they are born, babies have this intuition, and then it fades because no one tries to listen. If you pay attention to those around you, you can unlock how people feel not just by their actions but by their aura. That's something I learned from a few Fae back in Bergarian."

The white light pulled back to me as we all still stood between the tree and the clearing. The small town had already gathered in a large group; it was massive as Hades and I looked on. Blaze chittered in my ear, but I couldn't pay attention because I was too transfixed on my father and mother before me.

My father, my mother. Oh, my gods, my family. My heartbeat is quick as I let go of Hades' hand. He felt my excitement through the bond and nodded. I took one giant step forward and held my dress with my fists until finally, I dared to call out to the two people I'd missed the most while being gone.

"Mom? Dad?"

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