Chapter 30

Over the next couple of weeks the whole house learns how to make do with less sleep than normal. Rick and Silver seem to have made it their personal mission to make sure everyone gets woken up at least three times a night for one reason or another. While it hasn’t bothered me a great deal, the rest of the pack is showing signs of irritation and grumpiness at the lack of sleep. Since it hasn’t hurt me to lose sleep, I have taken the opportunity to spend more time out of my room allowing me to keep the household chores well under control and giving the rest of the pack what sleep they can get.

As I am working on gathering all the ingredients I need to cook breakfast at about four in the morning, an exhausted Richard walks into the kitchen holding a fussy Silver in his arms. Turning to look at him I give a small smile and ask, “Is fatherhood all you dreamed it would be?”

He gives me a scowl with a hard glare before answering, “If my arms didn’t feel like they were going to fall off I would punch you in the face…”

His threats of violence fades off into a large yawn as Silver chooses that moment to start crying again. Shaking my head I set down the potato that I was peeling and move to take the young cub from his father, “Now, now what would Jasmine say if she heard you threatening to start a fight while holding your son.”

The glare continues as he hands over my godson, “She threatened to kick me out of bed if I didn’t take this fussy call.”

Chuckling I take little Silver in my arms moving him so he is sitting on my arm and leaning against my chest, “Well I see motherhood is bringing out the best in her as well.”

Within seconds of getting situated in my arms the young cub quiets down and rests his head on my shoulder. Pressing his small nose into my fur, he is soon falling asleep against me. With a grin I look towards his father who is still glaring at me, “How is it that he can be screaming his lungs out for anyone else around here, but the moment you take hold of him he settles down and usually falls asleep within seconds?”

Shrugging I shift the sleeping cub to where he is supported entirely by my left arm, so I can use my right to try and at least get everything sorted on the counter, “Honestly I have no idea. It’s not like I do anything different than you or Jasmine do.”

There is a scraping of a chair as Richard sits down at the dining table with a groan, “All I know is that more often than not you’re the only one who can get him to sleep, and it seems like it’s getting worse not better. I thought babies were supposed to sleep a lot, not take shifts driving everyone insane.”

Setting out plates and utensils I respond, “I have no idea about that. I typically have tried to avoid cubs at all cost. Done a pretty good job till now in fact.”

The only answer I get in response is a loud snore from where Richard is sitting. Turning to the sound I find Richard has lain his head on his folded arms on the table. Shaking my head I give up on trying to prep the kitchen while my arms are half full. Shifting the small cub slightly I step out of the kitchen and make my way to the living room.

Leaving the warmth of the kitchen, I notice that the fire has died down to just embers leaving a slight chill to creep into the room. Letting out a sigh I use my free hand to place a couple more logs on the embers before settling down on the couch with the sleeping Silver.

As I get comfortable I shift Silver so he is cradled in my arm with his face uncovered. Looking down at the sleeping cub I can’t help but smile at him, “You are a right pain in the butt you know that little one?”

In response Silver opens his mouth wide in a yawn before slowly blinking his eyes open. He looks at me for a moment before grinning slightly and letting out a tiny yip. Smirking down at him I say, “So you do know how much of a pain you are huh? And I bet you totally enjoy every minute of it.”

A small hiccup escapes his mouth as he wriggles his arms free and reaches up to my face. I put my free hand in reach of his grasping paws but he bats it out of his way and keeps reaching for my face. Lifting him up a bit more so he can reach I ask, “What are you looking for you little brat?”

He runs his small paws along both sides of my muzzle gripping the hairs while giving me a confused look. Slowly he tilts his head to the side a clear look of confusion on his face as his right paw lets go of my muzzle and bats at the air beside my head like he's trying to grab something. 

Several more times he does this before letting out a small grunt of irritation, “What are you trying to grab, Silver? There’s nothing there.”

He grabs again at the air before dropping his arm and letting out a small whine of disappointment. Then I notice that his eyes are following an odd path around my head. His gaze starts at a point above my right ear before it moves up going to a spot just behind and below my ear and follows a curving path that ends where he was just trying to grip. 

Twice more his eyes follow the path before moving to the left side of my head and repeats the motions there. For several moments I just watch him follow the same paths before a tired voice asks, “What are you two talking about?”

I turn to see a very tired looking Chase walk into the living room while rubbing his eyes. I give him a small smile saying, “Oh,m nothing much. Just trying to figure out why the little guy is such a butt to everyone but me.”

Chase lets out a large toothy yawn before answering, “Well when you find out would you let the rest of us know? I would really like to get a full night’s sleep again.”

As he makes himself comfortable beside me on the sofa I let out a small chuckle before I go back to looking at Silver, “You didn’t seem all that interested in sleeping last night.”

He leans over and licks my cheek before resting his head on my shoulder, “What can I say? I needed my big, bad demon something awful.”

I go back to playing with Silver a bit before Chase asks, “What does he keep looking at?”

Shrugging my shoulders, “No idea. He kept trying to grab something beside my head just before you got here. Like he sees something that’s not there.”

As though to emphasize my point Silver reaches up with his tiny paws again and claps just beside my head. For a moment he just looks at his empty paws with a confused look before Chase lifts his head up and looks at me a moment then looks back at the young cub, “You know, he keeps reaching for the point where one of your horns would be.”

I look at him with a confused look, “What do you mean?”

He makes a curved gesture beside his own head, “When you’re in your scaly form. Your lower horns end at about the point beside your head where he keeps reaching.”

I blink at Chase a couple times before looking down at Silver who is again reaching up at thin air. For a moment I watch where his gaze is before saying aloud, “You don’t think he can see what my real form looks like… Do you?”

Chase shrugs, “No idea, that’s your area of expertise not mine. I’m just saying what it looks like is all.”

Eventually Silver gives up on grabbing whatever he sees before yawning, and closing his eyes as he cuddles back up against my shoulder. I place my own paw on his back which covers nearly the entire pup before saying, “I have never heard of someone being able to see a demon’s true form when they aren’t in it. Not even other demons. I mean I suppose it is possible, though the only way I can think of to test it would be for me to change forms and see how he reacts sometime.”

Chase looks around, “Well I think everyone is currently asleep right now if you wanted to try it.”

I give him an incredulous stare, “Are you serious? I am not going to transform in front of him! What if it traumatized him or something?”

He lays his head back against me yawning, “You’re the one who said it was the only way to know for sure, not me.” His eyes drift shut and soon his snores join the ones drifting in from the kitchen.

Rolling my eyes I look down at Silver, who is again watching me intently, and ask, “Are you going to start snoring now as well and leave me alone to tend the fire?” 

By way of answer the small cub lets out a tiny giggle and waves his paws in the air at me. I wave my free paw above his face which he quickly grabs hold of and pulls my thumb down to his nose. Chuckling I say, “I take that as a no then.”

Wiggling my fingers causes Silver to giggle again as he hangs on tight. Then when he is mid-giggle his small head turns abruptly to the side and stares straight at a blank spot just past my right leg. He is so focused on the spot that his paws slip from my own. Following his gaze I ask, “What do you keep seeing, you little fur ball?”

Just then Ranger fades into existence beside me with his head tilted to the side in confusion as his gaze is locked hard with Silver’s own gaze. I look back and forth between them several times before asking, “You could see Ranger when he came in here, couldn’t you….?”

Silver looks up at me then back at Ranger before he stretches out a small paw towards the hellhound. Ranger leans forward and puts his nose right up against the tiny paw causing Silver to let out another giggle. I watch as the little cub runs his paws all over Ranger’s face before he reaches up to where the hound’s horns would be. Twice he reaches out and grabs at the air before letting out a small whine before going back to exploring Ranger’s ears.

I just sit there in confused silence as my theory seems to have just been confirmed. For a long while I just watch Silver play with Ranger’s face while the big hound just eats up the attention from his new friend.

 Eventually Silver begins to grow tired, and with a big yawn he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep with one of his tiny paws still resting on Ranger’s nose. From the door to the stairs a soft voice drifts in, “Well now, isn’t that a precious sight.”

Ranger and I both turn to see Jasmine walking into the room holding Rick close to her chest. Raising an eyebrow I ask, “What’s so precious about it?” 

She nods in my direction, “You, Chase, and Silver all on the couch.”

She moves over so she is standing in front of us before kneeling down next to Ranger, “And you must be our new secret food thief, Ranger, right?”

Ranger glances at me then at Jasmine before his thumping tail gives away his pleasure as she reaches out a paw to pat his head. Smirking at the hellhound I say, “I take it Richard told you about him.” 

She nods, “He did, but my mate didn’t mention he was such a handsome boy.”

That causes Ranger to let out a small happy whine as he shifts closer to get more pets causing Jasmine to laugh softly. At that moment Rick lets out a small whimper causing Ranger to jump and stare at the small bundle.

Pausing her pets Jasmine uses her paw to uncover Rick for Ranger to see him, “Ranger, this is Rick, Silver’s brother.”

Ranger puts his nose close to Rick and sniffs his face a couple of times causing the small cub to wake up fully with a tiny yip before he giggles as a large tongue licks his tiny nose. I watch Rick closely for any hint that he can see things like his brother, but all he does is pull one arm free of his blanket and grab a small fist full of Ranger’s ear before starting to wave it up and down.

With no hint that he can see Ranger’s horns I feel a scowl form on my face in confusion before I ask out loud, “Ranger, would you mind hiding yourself for just a moment?”

He looks at me with a confused look as his ear is pulled sideways but quickly does what I ask. As soon as he vanishes Rick pulls his paw back in shock, and his eyes go wide. As quickly as he disappeared Ranger reappears, much to the cubs delight.

As Rick lets out a happy giggle and goes back to playing with Ranger’s ear I feel my scowl deepen even more. Jasmine must have noticed because she asks, “Ebony, is something wrong?”

I look up at her then down at Rick, “No, I don’t think so… it’s just that….”

Looking down at Silver I see him awake and watching his brother and Ranger playing. Letting out a small huff of confusion I continue, “I think Silver is able to see things he shouldn’t be able to. Things no one should be able to see.”

Jasmine tilts her head to the side a bit as her brow wrinkles in confusion, “What do you mean?”

I shift Silver so that he is sitting up on my lap facing Ranger and Rick before answering, “Earlier I got the impression, Chase actually noticed it first, that he could see the horns I would have were I in my demon form. Then he started watching an empty area which turned out to be Ranger entering the room. I really think he can see much more than what you or I can.”

Jasmine watches her son for a moment before shaking her head, “I doubt that very much, Ebony. I think you’re reading too much into it.”

Continuing to scowl at nothing in particular I reply, “I hope that’s all it is, Jasmine, because I have never heard of any being having that ability before.”

She looks down at Rick then back at Silver before asking, “Do you think it’s something we should be worried about for the future? If you’re right?”

Slowly I shake my head as I gather my thoughts, “Honestly, Jasmine, I have no idea. This is something beyond my experience, and there is only one person I could ask… But I really don’t want to.”

She shifts her gaze and locks eyes with me, “Ebony, if there is anything that is a threat to my child I must know about it. No matter what it takes. So for my sake and the sake of my son, your godson, get over any reservations you have and go ask them.”

Swallowing hard I take a long deep breath before answering, “Jasmine, if I go ask about this it will bring the attention of very powerful beings onto you, your son, this whole pack. You don’t just go asking a demon lord this kind of thing without consequences.”

Her eyes widen at my words as she asks, “A demon lord?”

Nodding slowly, “Yes, one of the most dangerous beings I know of. My grandfather.”

She studies me for a moment before saying, “Chase said that you had made up with your grandparents, that they were willing to help you?”

I grimace a bit at the thought of getting help from Tribus, “That’s… complicated. While yes we did reestablish our communication of sorts, I still do not trust him and may never.”

For a long moment of silence she looks down at her twin boys as they are both grabbing hold of Ranger’s face from both sides leaving him with a look that is a mix of excitement and confusion. Eventually she sighs and looks up at me with steel and fire in her eyes, “Ebony, I will not allow anything to hurt my boys. I am asking you to do everything you can to find out what is going on and prove one way or another if what you think is real or not.”

I open my mouth to try and argue but look down at my godson and feel an angry growl of protection come from deep within my mind. Closing my eyes and mouth I nod slowly before answering, “Ok Jasmine, I’ll go ask him.”

Opening my eyes I look back at her then at Ranger, “But I will go alone, and Ranger…”

He looks up at me with wide eyes, “I don’t want you to let the boys out of your sight until I get back ok. Do not let anything hurt them but remain hidden from everyone except their parents and Chase.”

He gives a nod and low growl before licking each twin on the side of the head. Shifting I push Chase off of my shoulder so that he’s leaning on the couch before I hand Silver back to his mother, “I should probably go get ready. Richard is in the kitchen, if you didn’t notice his snores, should you need anything.”

As she works to get both young cubs situated on the couch so they can keep playing with Ranger’s face I add another log to the fire before making my way towards the stairs. As my paw hits the first step Jasmine calls out, “Ebony?”

I turn to see her looking at me, “Thank you for doing this for us. I really hope you’re wrong but in case you’re not…”

She looks down at Silver then back at me, “I have to know, and I trust you to make the right call on this.”

Swallowing, I simply nod before continuing my journey upstairs to reopen the portal.