CHAPTER ONE
Ember
I don’t look at anyone but Saint as I impart my observation, give my request and then stride to the end of the dock; Declan is behind me, Layton to my left and River to my right. I see River’s hand twitch, and I brush it with mine, trying to tell him to trust me.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Sparkplug. Have you seen their tags?” Layton grumbles next to me.
“Of course, I saw them. Lay, please trust me like I’m trusting you three to have my back” I nearly snap back, but I pull a deep breath through my nose to keep my voice calm; I see River straighten at my words; he and Saint look so much alike they could be twins minus where Saints hair is white blonde, River’ hair is so Black it blends with the shadows, River also doesn’t hold himself with the same smug arrogance that Saint does.
I reach the end of the dock, and my ‘guards’ stand two paces behind me.
“I know you’re there. You never send your troops without one of you being around”, I state loud and clear. I’m not yelling as their hearing is better than any supe I know; I smirk when nothing moves.
“Too scared to come out and talk to me, Laurent?” The troops tense at my challenge, and they shift with the familiarity of my voice,
“Ember, what the fuck, sister?” I ignore Declan’s annoyance with me as I hear footsteps on the other dock; about halfway, ice footprints form on the dock; by the time the steps reach the end, a 7ft trim man stops; at first glance, you would think he’s Greek from the olive skin and dark hair but the more you look, the more it’s obvious he’s otherworldly, his eyes look like fire and ice are battling to take over, he has a permanent smirk on his face it’s then you realise the olive toned skin and dark hair is a glamour to hide his true form, his skin is ice fresh that contrasts his fiery hair, which is similar colors to mine, reds, oranges and a bit of warm brown.
Still, unlike mine, if you piss him off, he turns into hellfire; he’s muscular with a body literally made for, and by, sin.
As he fully appears at the end of the dock, I am no longer scared, and my relaxed nature puts the others on edge.
“Laurent, it’s been a while”, I hear my brother choke on air again. I have a hunch that Declan is struggling with how to be with me. I know I’m not what they expected, not that they have said anything.
“How long? Do you have any idea who the fuck that is?” Declan demands, in a whisper-shout.
“I met him in the Den ten years ago, and either his left or right hand in the tank seven years ago. I never remember which is which”, I say with a shrug. I don’t think his two closest friends know which is which, and knowing them, they swap randomly to confuse and test the troops.
“And yes, I know who he is, probably better than you do” Before Declan has the chance to speak again, Laurent speaks,
“You look well, little flame. I didn’t know you had moved to a pack. It is unlike you,” he's speaking Latin, so Declan is grumbling, but River quickly translates, not that I think that will help.
“I got hurt, and my blood family found me. It seems SJ lied, and they did want me all these years” I see his eyes ignite with my words, and the ice on the floor evaporates.
“Why are you here, Laurent? Who asked you to hurt my family?” he seems to think his response, his words slow as he starts to speak.
“I was hired to retrieve a stolen mate; I thought these disputes had ended years ago, but the payment was any female offspring from the union, and you know how I feel about those offers!” I don’t need to hear the anger in his voice to know how this is going to go.
“Yeah, I know how you feel about that” I turn and lift the back of my shirt to show my scar.
“Saint”, I whisper; by the time I turn to face Laurent, my dad and Saint have joined us.
“I am who you were sent to collect; I received the scar when someone tried to rape me!” I knew it would happen, so I don’t react, but my five companions do.
There are a few shouts from those not on the dock as Laurent blinks in front of me, his hands cradling my cheeks, his hair aflame; Layton puts his arm between me and the enraged Prince as he’s the only one that won’t be burnt by the hellfire, as calm and clear as I can with my face squished.
“Papa, brother, I would like to introduce you to His Royal Highness Ishildur, one of the princes of hell's heirs. Ishildur, please meet biological my father, Alpha Maykal Ivanova, and my oldest brother, Declan Ivanova, and my good friends Layton Hound, Saint and River Knight” I say all this low enough that only us seven can hear, so I don’t yell his actual name, the water could carry it too well, and it’s not safe for others to have his name.
“Shall we take this conversation inside? We have a few problems to deal with tonight that have to do with my daughter.” Dad seems to take diplomacy in his stride. I inwardly flinch, feeling like I am causing more problems than I’m worth, something I know the demons catch, but none of the others do.
Ishildur, or Ishi, as I call him, takes a breath, closes his eyes and let’s go of my face; there seems to be a group sigh. When I’m free, he turns and sends a single command to his troops.
“Leave” All but two leave. He glances over his shoulder at me, and I nod, stepping back to make room for Angel and Evan to appear flanking Ishi.
Yes, that’s their proper names; they look different every time I see them.
They are what’s known as chameleon demons.
The only things that never change are Angel’s black and shocking pink mohawk, Evan’s variegated blue 90s curtain fringe, and their tattoos.
They will give Jenson a run for his money on mischief, too.
“Papa, these are Ishi's right and left hands, basically his betas. They will also share a mate when he is born,” I tell my dad, and he nods, putting his arm around my shoulders. I can feel a slight tremor in his touch, and I think the physical contact is to remind himself that I’m here and I’m safe
“Let's go to my office while Dad keeps Jameson entertained with Nic and Luc.”
Our party moves to Dad's office; Ren, Creed and Brayden meet us there. I make it to a vibrating Ren as Bas enters with drinks.
“I’m okay. He would never hurt me,” I whisper against his chest, his face presses against his bite marks, as he takes some deep, calming breaths.
“I love you”, I breathe.
“Erm, smudge, can you explain the look I’m getting from the scary demon trio, and let me know if I need to cover my junk or pee myself?
” Creed says, half stage whisper, half nervous, chuckle.
I turn to look at the 'scary demon trio' and raise an eyebrow; their eyes flash to me, and then they mumble a sorry and take a seat on a couch together.
“I need to explain some stuff, but not right now; you don’t need to pee, and your junk is probably the safest in the room,” I say to Creed with a smile; he gives me a nod and kisses me just below my right eye, he nicknamed me smudge because, around when we first met I used a piece of coal from the fire one time to do some drawing and had a smudge on my face below my eye.