15. Vega/Volkov

Konstantin

"So, what made you decide to come back in here?” I finally ask Kai when we walk the path to the

mansion. I know how the guilt ate at him after what happened, so seeing him here is a shock in

itself.

He shrugs and exhales. “It was time, wouldn't you say?” He says, looking up at the place we used to

call home. “Caterina is about to have my child; we need a base of support from the entire pack

instead of living right in the middle of New York away from everyone.”

I understand this; as amazing as our penthouses are, it's not exactly a perfect place to raise children.

At least here, they'll be able to shift and run around as they please.

“But how the fuck did you flip that switch so easily? You hated the place,” I say.

Kai shakes his head and chuckles. “I never hated our home, Kon, just what I did in it. Speaking to

mother after Xamnir killed me helped a lot more than I thought.”

I nod; he did mention seeing my dead brother and mother after the werewolf god killed him a few

months ago. When I died, all I saw was darkness - not even my wolf waited for me. I suppose Kai

had a lot more to lose than I did.

"Well, I'm glad you're back here, brother,” I say, slapping his back as we come to a stop on the back

porch. “We were worried about you, but it seems your mate helped with your healing.”

Jealousy has me in its grips as I see the smile on his face at my words. It's not like I am not happy

for Kai, the complete opposite actually. He only found his mate after almost sixteen years, and he

had to go into enemy territory to claim her. If anyone deserved to be happy, it's him

But I want to feel that pride I see on his face; I want my mate to look at me with love like Caterina

looks at him. I want her in my arms again. I want to keep her safe and away from harm

I fucked up. I fucked up so much, and now the worst possible thing has happened.

“Konstantin,” I look up at my brother and frown; he rarely calls me by my full name. “We will get

Lilith back; I promise not only on my life but as your Alpha. We will get her back and rip those

responsible to shreds for what they've done to her.” He growls, those double crimson irises back yet

again.

As much as his words calm me down some, I can't help but take a step back at the intimidation in

his scent.

"Kai, what the fuck...?” I ask even as fear grips my heart. “Why are your... are you still a Lycan?!”

As far as I know, his Lycan died when the Moon Goddess resurrected him. Tiarin replaced Xamnir's

gifts with her own, but then again, he did eat Xamnir's heart. So what else is he hiding?

He blinks, and his irises meld back into one, then he shakes his head and leans against the pillar by

the back door. “Don't... don't tell Caterina,” he says through our shared link. “I've been struggling

with my twin beasts, and the Lycan seems to be dominant.”

I can see him visibly sweating as he tries to control his breathing, then he extends his claws and

embeds them in his upper thigh. My eyes widen at this, but I don't interfere because I do the exact

same thing to control my anger - only with my claws in my palms.

He levels out his breathing, then his blue eyes are back, and he offers me an apologetic smile.

"Wait, how long have you been struggling with this?” I ask, approaching him again, but tentatively.

"When Caterina has entered the last stages of her pregnancy. The Witches have informed us that

since the child is not simply a wolf and Caterina and I are the reincarnations of our Wolf Gods, we

should expect her to give birth within the next two weeks.” He says, flooring me.

"Wait, so your children only have a gestation period of two months?!”

Kai nods. “As your average wolf does, I suppose; we are more in tune with our base instincts. But I

do think my beasts are reacting to being over protective of their mate since she’s so close to giving

birth. Caterina is a hybrid as well, remember?”

“I get it,” I say, letting out a sigh. “But I think you need to tell her about this, Kai. You don't know

how it could affect her during her birth process. What if your Lycan decides the child isn't worthy

and does what Fenriz did to his wives?”

My brother has me up against the wall with his hand around my throat before I can even react. His

double irises are back, and the intimidation in his scent would have had me kneeling in submission

if he weren't holding me up right now.

“I would NEVER do anything to put my mate in harms’ way, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!" He

growls. I can see the muscles in his neck start to bulge along with the throbbing at his temple.

I claw at his hand, feeling myself growing faint because of his grip. “Kai... Kai, stop it..." I croak while

calling out to him over the link as well. I'm losing further consciousness as I feel him grow angrier,

his claws embedding into my throat.

Then I get tossed to the side and land on my back.

“Fuck!” I cough out, turning on all fours when I hear growling coming from behind me; Fenriz has

pushed Kai towards the woods and now has Kai against a large tree in the same position he had me

in a few seconds ago.

“Calm down, brother!” Fenriz says through gritted teeth. I still don't get how these two are so close

when Kai doesn't completely trust the Lycan Alpha who calls him “brother.

I approach them, but Fenriz puts up a hand to stop me.

"Your mate is inside waiting for you; do you want her to see you losing control like this? Do you

want her to feel unsafe around you?” Fenriz says quietly but loud enough for Kai to hear through

the haze of his own anger.

The huffing and thrashing slowly stop, and Kai blinks, his irises becoming blue once again. Trying to

control his breathing as his heart continues to pound, he swallows hard and looks at Fenriz. “Thank

you... Thank you, brother,” he gasps, and Fenriz slowly eases his grip around my brother's throat.

Then he walks over to me and looks at me with that same broken expression he had after his 18th.

“Kon, I"

“No, I understand,” I say, not really understanding, but I don't want my brother to feel even worse

than he already does. “I won't poke the Lycan again and watch what I say from now on.”

Kai runs his hand over his throat, the wounds from Fenriz's claws already healed. “No, I need to

control this fucking Lycan.” He says, shaking his head.

“That might be difficult as Caterina nears her birth, Kai,” our heads turn towards Fenriz, who comes

to a stop next to us. “You're an Alpha; your beasts will be overbearing as the birth of their firstborn

nears.”

I shake my head. “And how would you know this?” I ask.

Fenriz sighs, then a strange look crosses his face. “Because that's how I was with my first born, and I

still haven't been able to control it."

Kai's eyes widen as he looks at the Lycan Alpha. “Firstborn? Is this why-"

“Yes,” Fenriz says sadly. “This is why all my wives end up dead. My beast gets over protective and

ends up lashing out at everyone when the birth nears. But what I have realised is that jealousy

overtakes the place of overprotectiveness as soon as the child is born.”

I look at Fenriz in shock; what the fuck?! “Wait, so your beast kills the children as well as the wives?

WHY?!"

He shrugs. “I wish I knew. My father and his father before him never struggled with this. They found

their mates, impregnated them and started a strong bloodline. I don't know what my beast is doing

or what he is waiting for, but my patience is wearing thin, and so is my anger.” He says, pinching the

bridge of his nose.

Kai has a deep frown on his brow when he looks at Fenriz. “So Lycans can impregnate those who

aren't their mates? Was your mother not his mate then?” He asks a question that hasn't even

crossed my mind yet.

Fenriz nods. “My mother died giving birth to me, but she was his mate at the time. Vega Lycans can

have multiple mates after one dies due to the primal urge to strengthen our bloodline. But yes, if a

woman is not our mate and gets impregnated, their children do not become Lycans; they end up

being an average wolf, like with Lilith. This, I think, is part of the reason why my father killed Lilith's

mother - even if she got turned by a mere bite, Lilith should have been a Lycan if her mother were

truly his mate.” He says.

“Not gonna lie, your bloodline is fucked up,” I say, shaking my head.

The Alpha chuckles and slaps my back. “Truer words have never been spoken.”

But something doesn’t make sense to me, and I think Kai caught on to my thoughts because he

nodded. “So this begs the question; what the fuck was Lilith’s mother if she could fool your father

into thinking he felt the Mate Bond Sighting when he saw her?” Kai asks.

Fenriz growls at Kai's question. “This has been my question, but my father refuses to answer me.” He

says and turns to walk away.

Wait...

I run up to Fenriz and pull him back. “Wait, your father is still alive? The one fucking person who can

help us with finding out who and what Stefan is?!” I exclaim, but Fenriz only sighs.

“He will be of no help, Konstantin. After passing on the Alpha role to me, he’s become a recluse and

refuses to see anyone, even his only son, when he seeks guidance from him.” He says, pulling his

forearm out of my grip.

“What about me? Will he speak to a Xamnir's vessel instead of his son?”

Fenriz and I both turned to look at Kai, who stood there with a cocky grin on his face. “What's the

point of being a God if I can't use my influence?” He says, crossing his arms.

I think I'm rubbing off on Kai in the wrong way.