Page 16 of Hades

Her smile is warm, if not a bit sympathetic. “The hotel has an amazing restaurant on the fourth floor. Should I let them know you’re coming?”

My heart sinks, and I debate just returning to the room and ordering something from Uber Eats. But I don’t need to see the disappointed look on my dog’s face,whose name I am now definitely changing. “Fourth floor, you said?” She gives me a nod. “Please let them know I’ll be coming up. Thank you.”

With my tail tucked and my ego crushed, I do my best to hold my head up as I wait for the lift. Thankfully, it’s empty when I get in, so I can take a moment to compose myself. With a deep breath, I let my head fall forward in defeat. It’s only for a moment and more disappointment than defeat. But when the elevator doors open, I take a few confident steps forward and smack directly into a beast of a man.

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” I blurt out as I stumble back. What is it with this space and giant men?

A quick hand grasps my arm to steady me before I can tumble backward onto my ass and somehow make more of a fool of myself tonight.

“Whoa, there, killer. You okay?”

His words sound familiar, though I don’t recognize his voice. I take a moment to straighten myself before looking up at him. He’s tall, though not quite as tall as Hades. Maybe an inch or two shorter, but he still towers over me. He has a cropping of short, ginger hair, amber eyes, and a goatee that only adds to his handsome face. I know I don’t know this man. He’s not someone you would forget, but something about him seems oddly familiar.

His eyes are darting around as if he’s looking for someone. “Where’s your date?” he asks, and the line of questioning, though wildly inappropriate, doesn’t seem out of character for him. Nor does it seem threatening in any way. But it still has me squinting my eyes at him as I give him the universal WTF look.

“Excuse me? My date?” I snap.

“Are you alone?”

I step to the side to see around him and into the restaurant. The woman I had seen earlier with the wolf pups sits alone at a table, so I wave my hand over my head as if waving at her. “No, I’m meeting a few friends for dinner. I see them now,” I say as I skirt around him and enter the restaurant, making a beeline for the woman by the window.

To my surprise, the man follows behind me.

“Oh my God. There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you,” I announce as I come close to her table, my eyes wide in the international girl code of follow along.

I watch as her eyes dart from me to the man following me several times before a wide smile crosses her face.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she says as she stands and pulls me in for a friendly hug. “I’m Kat,” she whispers in my ear. “And he’s harmless,” she adds as she pulls away. She sits and motions for me to do the same, so I do.

The beast of a man stops at our table and looks between myself and my new friend, Kat.

“Ladies,” the ginger-haired man addresses us.

“Alastor, this is my friend…” Kat pauses and looks at me with a kind smile on her face.

“Aradia,” I inform both of them. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you knew each other. I was just… You know what, it doesn’t matter,” I remark as I push back from my seat. I look at Alastor. Something about him seems so familiar, but I can’t place him. “Have we met before?” I inquire.

He gives me a crooked smile, and again, I could swear I’ve met him before. “Perhaps many lifetimes ago,” he comments matter-of-factly.

There’s something about that comment… my entire life, I’ve had dreams that seem more like memories of lives I’ve lived. And now, for a stranger to say such a thing is a bit unnerving.

“Why don’t you stay, and we can all have a drink and maybe a bite to eat,” Alastor says as he pulls out my chair.

I’m hesitant to stay, but when I look at Kat, she gives me a smile and a quick nod. “Kat, have we met before?” This seems to be a question I’m asking everyone I’ve met here. I’m not used to this familiarity when encountering people, but first it was Hades, and now Alastor, and even Kat seems familiar somehow.

Kat shakes her head. “No, we’ve never met before tonight, though I think I’ll stick around to hear this,” she adds as she waves over the waiter to take our order.

I’m not usually one to drink alone with a bunch of strangers, but something tells me I might need that Cosmo tonight.

The three of us sit in silence and wait for our drinks. It’s beginning to make me nervous, and when I get nervous, I start to ramble.

“Did I see you earlier walking with two wolf cubs?” I question Kat, who nearly chokes as she sips her water.

Kat glances over at Alastor, and they seem to have a silent conversation before she answers. “Umm, yes, you did.”

“Oh, wow, that’s so cool. Do you work for a zoo or one of the shows?” I inquire with genuine curiosity. After all, it isn’t every day you meet someone who has pet wolves and can walk them unleashed through a hotel lobby. “They must be amazingly trained for you to walk through the hotel with them trailing behind,” I continue.

Alastor smirks at Kat. “How well trained are those cubs?” he asks, and somehow, I feel as though I’m missing the joke.

---