Ember woke up in the middle of the night. She always fell asleep later when her power went out of control.
Looking at the snow piled up above and around her, Ember sighed.
Azurite's blessing.
The water goddess Azurite, who is also the moon goddess the wolves worship, blessed a wolf shifter many years ago.
He was the first ancestor of the Winters family.
Azurite's blessed can control water and snow, stronger ones can control even the wind due to the water vapour present in the air.
The Elementalists are the ones favoured by the elemental gods. There are seven elementals in total; the water, the fire, the wind, the earth, the light, the darkness and the void.
When all the Elementalists appear together, that will be the time when the dwellers arise.
For now, Ember is the only elemental around known to her. And her grandfather who was the previous blessed of Azurite, passed away before she was born, so no one could teach her to control her powers.
Ember got off the floor where she was half-buried in white and patted off the snow from her head and soaked clothes. She then trudged up the stairs and held onto the door handle.
She sighed and used her wolf strength to open the door forcefully as it was stuck frozen to the wall.
When Ember got out of the shed, the sky was pitch black with the waning moon hidden behind the clouds. Ember shut the door behind her before heading towards her house. Just as she reached the front door she heard giggles behind her.
She did not have to turn to know who it is.
"Hey! Sister! Did you go for a late-night swim again?"
Leah burst out laughing followed by Linda.
Ember just shook her head in resignation and headed inside ignoring the two girls returning just after having their fun. She could smell the scent of male wolves on them but she did not reprimand them as she knew her lecture would be better off listened to by a wall than them.
Ember dragged her tired body to her room and locked the door. She leaned her forehead on the door for a while before she took a deep breath and turned around to head towards the bathroom.
Ember turned on the hot water in the shower and stripped out of her wet clothes. She then stood still for a long time under the warm water before turning it off. Ember wore her light blue bathrobe around her and haphazardly dried her hair before collapsing on her bed, falling asleep in seconds.
.........
The next morning, the whole Winters family was seated at the dining table for breakfast except for the three daughters.
"Where's sister? I haven't seen her since morning. She would be up before anyone else." Liam asked as he helped set the table.
Alpha Grey walked out from his office just then and took his seat at the table. Tara followed him at his heel and sat beside his feet.
"She was out cold when I checked on her. She does that sometimes anyway." Elliot walked out of the kitchen holding a casserole that had piping hot lasagna.
He placed it on the table with other dishes and went back to help Emmanuel who was preparing dessert in the kitchen.
Alpha grey helped serve a piece of beef to Tara while Liam helped serve his dad and the two youngest. By that time the two girls Leah and Linda came downstairs giggling and whispering to each other all dressed up.
"Girls! Eat before you leave." Alpha Grey raised his voice not turning away from Tara to look at them.
Leah groaned and Linda rolled her eyes before walking back to the table. "Yes, dad." They replied in unison.
Alpha Grey was the only person the two girls didn't dare disobey to his face but they stick to their playfulness when he turned away from them.
Alpha Grey could only shake his head helplessly. These two girls are the most troublesome among his kids during this phase. None of the three eldest and Liam was of any trouble in their teens.
He could only blame himself for being absent in most of their life.
The two girls hurriedly finished a sandwich before standing up to leave.
"You eat like dieting humans, you are wolves, girls." Alpha Grey frowned.
"Sorry dad we aren't hungry" Leah replied crisply.
"Why don't you call down sister who came back looking like a drowned rat yesterday to eat?" Linda scoffed before pulling Leah by her elbow and heading out.
"What's with your attitude towards your sister?!" Alpha Grey raised his voice only to be replied to with the sound of the door slamming shut.
He fumed at the disrespect he was shown when Tara placed her foot over his leg and pressed gently.
'Calm down Honey', her voice echoed in his head.
Alpha Grey took deep breaths, the mate bond working to soothe his nerves and he finally calmed down.
"You know them, dad, no use getting angry." Elliot sat down after placing the desserts on the table followed by Emmanuel.
Alpha Grey could only sigh. "After you are done, bring her breakfast to her room."
"Sure" Emmanuel nodded.
"Of course, would have done so myself even if you did not tell me to" Elliot replied.
Alpha Grey chuckled and shook his head.
..........
Ember felt beat. She blinked her eyes open when she smelled something delicious, only to see Elliot's face staring close up at her.
"Wh-What?" Ember stuttered.
"Hey, there sleepy head! You are finally up!" Elliot grinned.
"Argh" Ember groaned and covered her eyes with her hand. "How long did I sleep for?"
"It's Eight-thirty in the morning, don't worry," Emmanuel replied as he held a tray with Ember's breakfast while Elliot helped her up.
The three tails were crouching beside her bed looking at Ember worriedly.
"Sister, are you sick?" Oliver looked like he was about to cry.
Ember let out a light laugh.
"No Ollie, sister is just tired, I will get better after sleeping some more." She smiled as she patted his head.
"You can rest today, I will help out with the canteen and brother Jay," Liam stated seriously making Ember chuckle and ruffle his head.
"You don't have to do that, just give me company, your elder brothers will take care of it. Right?"
Ember gave a sharp look towards the two boys who nodded their heads readily, which made her laugh a little.
Ember was too drained to sit for long. Elliot helped her sit by making her lean on him while Emmanuel fed her breakfast.
It was a light soup and porridge which was quite soothing to her stomach and throat.
When she was done eating, Emmanuel took the dishes downstairs and the kids turned on the television inside Ember's room.
Ember turned around and buried her face in Elliot's chest hugging him drowsily.
"Sleep if you are tired" Elliot patted Ember's head to which she made a sound of agreement. Elliot moved back on the bed and let Ember lie on him comfortably. While the two youngest got on the bed and huddled next to their favourite sister.
When Emmanuel came back after washing all the dishes, he was greeted with the sight of all four siblings sleeping peacefully on the single queen-sized bed.
Liam was awake and was sitting on the carpet leaning against the bed while watching the television. When Emmanuel's eyes met his he could only shrug and the latter shook his head helplessly.
Ember felt quite peaceful in her sleep and her lips unconsciously made a tiny arc upwards. She had never felt the burden of her duties for she knew her brothers always had her back. She could give it her all because of them and she would give her all for them.
Anytime and Always.