I woke up relaxed in Dex's arms. His light snores surprised me. Usually Dex is the one to wake me up in the mornings. He must be exhausted if he's still sleeping. I slowly got off the bed, careful not to wake him. I wanted to surprise him awake for a change. Although I know I don't have much time until I have to wake Gabriel up for school. I brushed my hair and my teeth very quickly. I then locked our bedroom door and took my pajamas off staying in my black strapless bra and lace pants. I sauntered over to him in bed, climbing on top of him. I leaned over him and kissed his nose. Then his forehead. He groaned and smiled happily, but his eyes were still closed. "This must be a dream if my ray of light is waking me." He chuckled lightly. "Not a dream." I kissed his lips passionately. "Mmm, yes, not a dream." His eyes finally fluttered open and he blinked a few times in surprise. "What's this?" He arched an eyebrow at me. "A different kind of wake up." I winked at him. "I could ge
I rubbed my ankle, feeling better. I went to get up to make breakfast, forgetting that I can't sit on the floor when I'm too pregnant. I got up and began seeing stars. I started to fall over, but Sam caught me. His arm wrapped around my waist sending a chill through me. He steadied me, only removing his arm when he saw I was steady enough. "Perhaps you should sit." Sam suggested. "I am fine. Besides, I need to make breakfast." I smiled at him kindly. He didn't seem convinced by my words. He watched me attentively as I made breakfast. I could feel his eyes on me, sending a warmth through me. He would get up and reach the things he saw me struggling to get. "Thank you again, Sam." I told him as he handed me Gabriel's favorite cereal from over the fridge. I have to start storing that somewhere else if I ever want to reach it myself. "It's not a problem." His eyes still held concern for me. He was watching me carefully. I turned, making Gabriel's cereal. I didn't want to keep star
"I'm sorry." He whispered, kissing my shoulder. "What? Why?" I arched an eyebrow at him. "I wore you out too much." He gave me that ridiculously handsome half smirk of his. "I enjoyed every moment of it." I winked at him. He laid his head on my chest and I brushed my fingers over his hair. It was always so soft and silky. I felt a warmth wash over me, filling my heart with pure joy. "He looks a lot like Toni." Dex mused. I didn't have to read his mind to know who he's talking about. "It's unnerving." "Extremely. Why do you think they look so much alike?" I kept rubbing his hair as I spoke. "I really don't know. Some cruel joke from a god above." He shook his head. "It hurts." I admitted. Seeing Sam only made me miss Toni that much more. "I know, my love. I am sorry." He was always so understanding of my feelings for Toni. He knows that me missing Toni isn't a reflection of our relationship. It took a year or two for him to understand that when I missed Toni it didn't mean I
"My sunshine." Dex's sweet voice flooded my ears. I let go of Sam, running towards Dex. He caught me, letting me cry into his shoulder like always. "I'm here now, my little sun. Whatever it is, I'll make it better." He whispered. "I miss him so much. It hurts, Dex." I gripped at his shirt. "I know, Ember." He rubbed my back soothingly. "I got you now. It's okay." "I'm sorry." I could hear Sam's voice from behind me. He sounded confused and guilty all at once. I felt bad for just crying like that on him. "You're fine, Sam. Don't take it personally, you just look a lot like someone we knew." Dex was being so supportive as always. "Her dead mate." He told Dex, letting him know that he knew."She told you." I could hear Dex sigh. "Yeah. I'm not going to lie, Sam, your similarities are unnerving. I thought you were him sent from the afterlife when I saw you at the clinic. It hit me hard.""Gabriel." I finally spoke, coming to my senses and realizing that he didn't come in with Dex. "
Ember's P.O.V.I felt his small body lay next to me in bed before my eyes opened to see him. His little hand rested on my cheek. He smiled real big at me when he saw my eyes open. "I missed you mommy." He told me right away. It warmed my heart. "I miss you too, mi amor." I pulled him in for a tight squeeze. My sweet baby boy. "How was your playdate?" Gabriel told me about how much fun he had with Gale. Well, that is until he got hurt. He told me how he had scraped his knee. Gale's dad had brought him home. What really surprised me, and honestly, almost made me cry, was that Dex healed him. He used his magic for the first time. I wonder how he's feeling about that? I'm so proud of him for it. "Shall we go talk to dad?" I asked him excitedly. I still had the pearl in my hand. I need to see Toni's face, it's becoming blurred with Sam's. The similarities are too uncanny. I need to talk to him about Sam too. I wonder if he would know why Sam looks like him. "Yeah!" He jumped off the
Eric and I tried to brainstorm for a while before dinner was ready. We had come up dry. Nothing good had come from our thinking. We thought of Mom, but she really doesn't have much witch magic to be of help. Ash doesn't know any of this either. Eric didn't have the heart to tell him and neither did I. "I could smell that meat from the castle." Ash came in from the side door. He had that childish grin of his as he eyed the steaks. "Don't worry, big guy, there's one with your name on it." Dex patted Ash's shoulder. "Thanks!" Ash took a seat in front of me. "Where's Layla?" I just realized she wasn't here with him. "She's with some friends. It's one of their birthdays" Ash shrugged his shoulders, as he cut his steak. "This is delicious, Dex. Thanks. I was about to have to try to cook for myself." "Oh gods, no. You would have burned the place down." I teased him. Ash is the worst at cooking and that hasn't changed over the years. Despite his numerous attempts, Ash's cooking had only
The day passed by quickly. Dex, Gabriel and I spent it exploring and playing. We soaked up as much of the sun and good weather as we could. Dex even packed us a picnic. He's always so thoughtful and full of surprises. "Ready to go home?" Dex asked Gabriel after pushing him for the 100th time on the swing. "Awe, no. I wanna keep playing." Gabriel pouted. "The sun is starting to set Gabriel. We need to get home." Dex's tone was firm, but still gentle. Gabriel sighed, lowering his head slightly. He is so cute, it's hard to tell him no. Dex picked him up and put him over his shoulders. Gabriel squealed excitedly. "I'm so tall up here." He giggled. "Gabriel! When did you get so big?" I joked. "Mommy." He giggled. "I'm not this tall. I'm just on top of daddy." "Oh, I see. I was wondering where daddy went." Dex gave me a quick kiss before leading us all back home. I walked behind, watching his and Gabriel's backs. The two most important guys in my life right now. I don't know how I
We made it inside the wards by the skin of our teeth. I looked around seeing many people injured, crying and scared. There were people wailing in pain as they held their gashing wounds. Dex had Gabriel's head tucked in his chest. We were shielding him from what we could. Although I know these screams will haunt him, at least the images won't."Ember!" I heard Aunt Star's familiar voice from the crowd. I found her knelt down helping people. "Oh God, your little one. Take him inside with the other children. All the injured are out here." Star directed us inside. "Wait, Aunt Star." I grabbed her wrist. "Here, have people who are injured eat these. They will heal them." I handed her 5 ice marbles I was able to make quickly. "I'll keep making them if you want to come back for more when those are gone." "You're definitely your mother's daughter." She scoffed as she ran back out. I looked around inside. The children were all staring at the floor traumatized. Not a single child was playing