The Son of Hades and A Mermaid

A First Dance

Andrea

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We all woke up early the following day to help Amber prepare. Our morning is a mixture of laughter, tears, and bonding. Amber makes us breakfast...even though it's her wedding day. Alice is running around coordinating everything….The twins have volunteered to be my hairstylist and makeup artist. So I let them do their thing. Before I know it, I am zipping up Amber's wedding dress. Amber's mother just left the room to double-check a few things before we walked down the aisle.

"Andrea, I need you to promise me something…" as she says this, I look up to see my sister's golden eyes almost blazing.

"Anything…"

"If Cole… if he abuses you… you'll come to me… or if you're unhappy…."

"I don't think that he will…." I say back, a bit confused about how we went from happily getting ready to this.

"I don't care… promise me," she says with a determined glint in her golden eyes.

Ahh, her protective sister side is showing.

I smile before saying, "I promise."

She nods and gives me a tight hug before we head out to see her parents.

__

Cole

I am sitting in the second row...in an all-black suit. I'm slightly hungover; these werewolves know how to party. Most alcohol can't get gods drunk, but since werewolves brew their own, their alcohol actually registered in my system. I look at the grooms smiling face. He does not look hungover at all, but he didn't drink much. He seems excited, and he greets people as they sit down. I notice him looking towards the end of the aisle every now and again... Like he can't wait to get the first glimpse of his bride. For some reason, his own excitement makes me feel hallow. I never dreamt of a bride or a wedding day. I don't understand why this groom's love for his wife-to-be affects me.

I hear the music change, and I look up the aisle. First come two young kids. a boy, the ring bear, and a young girl who spreads flower petals down the aisle.

My breath catches as I see Andrea with her arm wrapped around another man's arm. Although I know this part of the precession, I must keep my jealous feelings to myself. She isn't mine. I file those jealous feelings away for later. I instead focus on how beautiful she looks in an aqua blue bridesmaid's dress. She radiates happiness and beauty. She notices my stare and smiles at me. I feel my heart rate go up a tick. She takes her place as the maid of honor. Next, all of the bridesmaids and groom's men are lined up. The bride is halfway up the aisle when I hear the distinct sound of a portal opening.

Maybe someone is running behind?

Next, I hear the bride mutter, "That Son of B*tch showing up at our wedding."

I looked to where a portal opened, and a dark figure came out of the portal, closer to the bride. She doesn't back down, though. Instead, she stares at him with hate blazing in her eyes.

The groom shreds his clothes as he shifts into a werewolf.

This dark wizard opens his mouth, and this f*cker threatens their race, and I've heard enough. So I snap my fingers and bind him with the chains of the underworld.

He looks at me, and I see something like fear and disgust on his features. Then he disappears, chains and all. Good. He knows what those chains mean. They mean that he just became prey.

A bunch of noise comes from the crowd around me, but the brides and groom are determined not to let this ruin their moment.

Within minutes, the groom's men hand the groom a pair of jeans, a dress shirt, and one of their suit jackets. The groom goes behind a tree and returns later dressed, slightly disheveled but dressed. The bride lifts her chin before speaking.

"That wizard took so much away from us. Let's not let him ruin this moment."

The noise of the crowd dies down, and their vows go forward without another interuption.. Thank the Moon Goddess...this bride must have nerves of steel to still be smiling and joyous with everything that just happened.

We're all invited to join them in a reception that is in a large building. I enter a large ballroom with a bar to the left. The bartender makes me a quick old-fashioned, and I sip on it….hoping it will help my hangover. It starts to do the trick, and I relax a bit. Spending most of my week at Olympus has my nerves fried. Although I have grown up like most gods and goddesses' children and bastards, I am not like them. They're quick to flaunt whatever power they have...and frankly… I don't give a F***. I have two gods as parents, but I don't desire more control. If anything, I prefer less. Those spoiled children fail to realize that with more power...comes more responsibility. More chains, less freedom.

I can feel that Andrea is near me. This mate bond is both fascinating and annoying... I ache when we are away from each other. I can feel it when she is near. Even at the beach last night, being closer to my mate made me sleep better. If this is how it feels before we're married, before we have spent hundreds of years together, how will it handle a hundred years from now? Will it ever die or weaken, or will it, as Eric told me, only get stronger with time? That sounds both terrifying and fascinating at the same time.

I down my drink, and the bartender makes me another.

"Ahh, a whisky fan, You and Amber have similar tastes in alcohol," says Andrea. Her voice sounds like a fresh spring day.

"Noted, I'll buy her bottle for a belated wedding gift," I say as I turn to Andrea.

"I've missed you," I say quickly.

I notice an attractive color of pink start to show on her tanned cheeks.

"I've missed you too" She turns her gold eyes to me and... I'm torn between kissing her, hugging her,.... and stealing her away from here.

Damn her for being this beautiful.

Saving me from making a stupid decision, the bride and groom come out and start dragging people onto the dance floor. Instead of something mushy and cute, they start with something celebratory and upbeat. I don't even pay attention to what is playing as Andrea takes my hand and leads me to the dance floor.

She starts swaying her hips, and I put my hand on her waist and pull her towards me. My whole body is both relaxed and excited by the fact that she is this close to me.

She turns towards me and puts her hands around my neck as we keep up with the song's tempo. I pull her even closer to me. Enjoying how much of our bodies are touching. Unfortunately, the music is interrupted just as I get the courage to kiss her. I see the disappointment on her face and file that away for later.

Andrea

Damn it. Damn it all. Cole was going to kiss me. I could feel and see it by how he looked at me. I would have let him...but Andrea's mother interrupted all of our dancing to announce the food. So as we head in line, I watch my mate interact with more of my friends. I watch as he jokes with the groom and some other groom's men. They obviously got to know each other last night, and I love how quickly he fits into my world already.

They're joking about some of last night's accidents involving late-night surfing. Suddenly a thought idea dawns on me.

"Wait, Cole...can you surf?"

He turns his too handsome face to stare at me.

"Yeah, why?" he asks me.

"I just find that surprising… but that's good! So now you won't be bored with how much we are by the ocean ….with me being a part mermaid."

:....I mean, being near the ocean means I get to see you in a bikini… so I wouldn't have been bored anyway.." he says with a half smile.

I blush and swat him on the arm.

Cole feigns being in pain. "It is good that the Moon Goddess paired you with me...you're stronger than you look.".

The night continues with more laughing and dancing. Andrea pulled all her bridesmaids onto the dance floor for a fun dance. We laugh and dance together, All of the moms joining in. It took fighting a war for all of us to get to this point. To get this couple to this point. I haven't seen my mother with this big of a smile in a long time. She and Ambers's mom are currently dancing together. I laugh and take a sip of my drink.

After that, the music turns slow, and I turn to look for Cole, but he has already found me. He smiles at me and pulls me in for a slow dance. Our hands join, and he slides one down to the small of my back. I have to remind myself to breathe. Cole picks up on my shortness of breathe and lets out a low chuckle.