Page 32 of Lucifer's Redemption

“Mother! I don’t need any help!” I hissed.

“He might have some pointers on how he dealt with me while we courted,” she said lovingly.

“Ember,” Father’s voice rang behind her.

“Fates, could this night get any worse?” I spat, trying to shut the door.

Father put his foot in the door, preventing me from closing it. “Everything alright?”

“Just leave me alone!” I growled out. His foot retracted, allowing the door to finally shut.

“He’s hurting, babe. He’s gotman troubledownstairs,” Mother whined.

“Love, just leave the man alone. He will figure it out.” Father began pulling on her hand, her feet dragging on the carpet.

“Maybe you can talk to him?” she pleaded. Father grumbled some incoherent words, leading her down the hall.

Uriel

A growl sounded somewhere in the room. My eyes flipped open, and my head turned in all directions. I wasn’t sitting in Loki’s room anymore. I was lying down in my bed. The growl happened again, and I jumped up in attack position. My arms spread out like a karate master with my knees bent, ready to lunge to the door. Then I put my hand to my stomach, hearing the irritating groan again.

Aha! I was just hungry.

Giggling, I jumped, landed my booty on the bed, and hopped down. It was still early; at least it looked early by the way the red sun had yet to appear over the horizon. The puppies outside weren’t even leaving their pens to come out to play.

Taking a quick shower, not even daring to wash my hair since I did it the night before, I pranced out in just my lacy bra and panties, trying to find something to wear. Mom always liked me to wear white, which was a nice color, but I wanted to wear something different.

Shuffling through the massive closet, I found clothes that weren’t mine, but they looked too tempting not to wear.

I mean, they are in my room, so I guess they are alright to wear, right?

Flipping through each dress, I found one that suited my taste for the day—pale pink flowers with hints of blue and yellow were scattered throughout. It was thin-strapped, showing off my shoulders, and would easily accommodate my wings breaking through in the back. Gasping, I realized it was exactly my size.

It was destiny!

Staying barefooted, I peeked out the door. The hallway was lit, no longer dark and creepy.No monsters here.Everyone’s door was shut, and the baby wasn’t crying.

Maybe I could make breakfast before the demons even got up to help prepare it.

Shutting my door quietly, I skipped down the hall. The dining room was dark but the light in the kitchen had me bolting to the door so no monsters could get me.

Stumbling in, a woman with a white apron tied loosely around her back glanced at me. “Goddess! Are you alright, child?” Dropping the bowl on the counter, she came to see if I had any cuts or bruises.

“I’m fine,” I brushed my knees away. “I, uh, was actually coming to make breakfast for everyone since they were so nice to let me stay.” The woman’s fanged smile helped my nervousness float away.

“I’m Nora. And you must be Uriel, right?” Nodding with a broad grin on my face, I watched as she pulled an apron from the wall behind me. “How about you put this on? I bet Lucifer and Loki would love it if you made them their favorites.” Gasping, I walked over to the counter to see what she was making.

“Lucifer loves Belgian waffles with dark chocolate chips and fresh maple syrup. Loki prefers strawberry preserves with whipped cream.”

Nora helped me every step of the way. She made sure I put in the exact ingredients and poured them into the waffle maker with precise measurements. I committed all of it to memory since I wasn’t allowed to cook back home.

You burn down the kitchen one time, and Mom won’t let you anywhere near a stove for the rest of your life.

While I paid extra close attention to Lucifer and Loki’s waffles, Nora prepared Hades’ and Ember’s meals.

Nora was a wolf who lived in Ember’s pack back on Earth. She was just a simple omega, meaning she wasn’t the strongest, but she helped with important roles in the kitchen. Loukas was her mate. He was a demon who held the highest position possible for such a creature. As she reminisced on how they met, I couldn’t help but think of that word again—mate.

Dad called Mom that, a lot. I thought it was a just friend or someone you felt really close to, but it seems so much more than that.

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