Chapter 23

CATALINA

Lucien’s words lingered in my mind as we descended the stairs.

Was it possible to lose your soul without your lycan? I hadn’t been a lycan for very long, or at least I wasn’t aware that I was, so I didn’t know the answer.

But considering that your lycan constituted half of your soul, it might just be possible.

My thoughts were interrupted as we entered the dining hall.

Lucifer was pacing back and forth behind his seat. The rest of my mates were seated around the table, looking anxious.

“What’s the problem now?” I asked, taking a seat in the last available chair.

“What isn’t the problem? There are too many issues at once!”

We all watched as Lucifer continued to pace. Something was bothering him, and sooner or later, he was going to tell us what it was—whether we wanted him to or not.

“We’re going back to the surface.”

Kol jumped from his seat.

“Absolutely not.”

Lucifer gave him a dismissive look.

“I wasn’t asking.”

Mateo stepped in before a war could break out.

“Why?”

Nick remained silent, and so did Lucien.

“They’re not going to stop coming after her. We need to take the fight to them.”

Kol scoffed.

“Yes, let’s forget the fact that she’s carrying my child,” he said, crossing his arms.

Lucien mumbled something under his breath, most likely in response to the “my child” comment Kol made.

“I didn’t say Catalina would be the one fighting.”

Nick let out a sigh from his spot.

“We can’t win without Catalina. She’s the only one of us on the power level of a god.” He looked at Lucifer.

“You can stall them, maybe even hurt them, but you can’t kill them.”

“Maybe not, but with all of us together, I believe we could stand a chance.”

He pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket and placed it on the table.

“I made a list of every Greek god’s strengths and weaknesses.”

I leaned forward at the same time as the others.

I expected to see an elegant flourish of writing on a well-organized piece of paper. Instead, it was a bunch of chicken scratch.

“How do you expect us to understand this?” I asked, squinting at the paper.

Mateo shuffled closer for a better look, adjusting his glasses.

“It’s more organized than it looks.” He pointed to a black splotch in the far-left corner.

“This is Artemis; notice the symbols here.” I looked, but it still didn’t make sense.

“We can go over all this later.”

Lucifer abruptly picked up the paper, folded it, and slid it into his back pocket.

“First, there are items we must get a hold of.”

Nick straightened in his seat.

“That’s why you want us to go back above ground?”

We had only just returned from my prison break. The plan was to lay low afterward.

Lucifer nodded.

“Precisely, and we won’t have much time to find these items when we get there. Catalina will be a beacon the moment she steps foot above ground. They already tracked her to the prison. That’s confirmation enough that they’re watching and waiting.”

His eyes cut to me, a flash of fire in them.

“I care for her safety just as much as the rest of you, so I want this done quickly.”

“And how exactly do you expect us to get this done quickly? You still haven’t told us what we’re looking for.”

Lucien sounded bored with the whole thing. I wondered if it had anything to do with what he told me upstairs.

Did losing his soul make him care less? I watched him for a moment, but I saw no noticeable changes on the outside.

When I looked away, Kol caught my eye, frowning at Lucien.

“We need three items.”

Lucifer pulled out another piece of paper, this one more readable since it had pictures.

“The Bow of the Hunt, the Light of Betrayal—”

“Hold on, is that a lightning bolt?”

Kol laughed, pointing at a picture that indeed looked like a lightning bolt.

“Who are we, Percy Jackson now?”

I tried to hide my smile at the look on Lucifer’s face. He was clearly irritated.

Lucifer snarled.

“Zeus is one of the most powerful gods alive. His bolts can do more damage than ten of your kin combined.”

Kol rolled his eyes at the insult.

“Now, as I was saying—the Light of Betrayal, and the One with Three.”

He frowned at the last one.

“The One with Three?” I asked, looking at him for an answer.

He shrugged.

“All I know is that it’s in the Underworld.”

“Okay.”

Sebastian stared at the pictures.

“Three items and less than a few days to find them.”

Luce nodded.

“I’ve already decided on retrieval teams based on skills and competence.”

He stared pointedly at Kol with the last of his words. Wow, so much friendly fire today.

“Mateo and I will get the Light of Betrayal, Sebastian and Nick will get the Bow of the Hunt, and Kol, Lucien, and Catalina will get the One with Three.”

“Wait! I thought we were keeping Catalina out of this?”

Lucien said, sounding like his old self.

“I agree, Cat needs no parts,” Nick said, winking at me when I glared at him.

Why did they only agree with each other when it had to do with me staying out of something?

Surprisingly, it was Sebastian that answered.

“Hades is one of her creators; the Underworld is his domain. She’s the only one of us not likely to be killed the moment we step foot there.”

Something about the word ~creator~ left a nasty taste in my mouth. But then again, so did ~dad~.

“Good to know more than two of us are using our brains,” Kol said.

“Where are the other two?”

The excitement in Mateo’s voice amused me. I could practically see the nerd in him bouncing with excitement. He couldn’t wait to go look for his thing.

Luce sighed.

“Unfortunately for you two,” he looked at Nick and Sebastian, “it’s in a forest on Olympus.”

That halted all my amusement.

“No! You’re not going there. You could be walking straight into a trap!”

A low wind picked up in the room, ruffling everyone’s hair.

Sebastian frowned at it.

Lucifer walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder. I instantly started to relax. The touch of a mate was a dangerous thing, I’m telling you.

“The gods want you, not us, and not all of them.”

When I simply stared at him, he smirked. “They’ll be safe, I promise.” His hand moved from my shoulder to my face. He let his thumb glide across my bottom lip. “They’ll come back to you.”

I saw the truth in his eyes, and my body completely relaxed.

“And the last one?” I asked.

“The Fae have it,” Luce replied.

Nick stood. “What do you mean the Fae have it? I would know if my people were hiding a giant bolt.” He looked downright offended.

“The same way you knew your father was an evil lapdog?” Lucien scoffed.

Nick turned on him. “Yeah, the same way you knew yours was too.” He chuckled. “And he took the dog part literally.”

Normally, Lucien would’ve jumped across the table snarling, and a fight would break out. Instead, he reclined in his chair with a shrug, doing nothing. Very unlike him.

“Enough, you imbeciles. If he says the Fae have it, then they have it.” The look on Sebastian’s face could cut glass. He was always a grumpy boot.

Lucifer once again gathered his papers. “We’ll set out tomorrow afternoon. Remember, the moment we leave, time will be our enemy. Find your item quickly and effectively.” With that, he exited the room, leaving the rest of us to stew over this information.

I heaved a loud sigh. “I need a long vacation after this. Somewhere with a beach and lots of sun.”

Kol chuckled. “I guess you don’t plan to bring the vamp.”

“I can walk in the sun, you moron.” I rubbed my forehead in annoyance. These mates of mine.

Pushing from the table without another word, I made my way to the first room available. I needed a long nap.

***

It was night when I awoke again. A warm, solid body pressed up against me from the back. Honestly, I was surprised I wasn’t surrounded by more. Kol, Lucien, Nick, and Mateo loved piling in bed with me.

“Damn, now you’re going to open your mouth.” I rolled my eyes at the voice behind me.

“No one told you to crawl in my bed,” I retorted.

“This is my room, little claws.” I turned in the arm holding me, a little shocked to find Sebastian.

“Little claws? That’s a new one.” He watched me with his slightly red-tinted eyes—a sure sign that he was getting hungry. But how could he be hungry without his powers? Although today, something different shone behind the red.

“Is everything okay?”

I stiffened as his hand made contact with my cheek. But he was gentle and slowly pulled me closer to him.

“Everything is fine now.” Firmly but gently, he pressed his lips to mine. They were always a bit cold, which made the kiss hotter. I moved closer, wanting to deepen the kiss. But he pulled away.

“What?”

He didn’t respond right away, just stared at me.

“Is this about Olympus?”

“No.” I waited for him to elaborate, but he just stared.

“Okay, you’re starting to creep me out.”

He smiled and chuckled a bit. “I don’t know how to do this. Just give me a minute.”

“Do what?” I grabbed his hand under the cover, pulling it closer to me. It accidentally grazed my stomach, making his eyes widen. I blushed. “Sorry.”

“I didn’t want a mate. Was never planning to take one.” Now my eyes widened. I opened my mouth, but he put a finger to my lips. “Let me finish, little claws. Put the claws away.” My eyes rolled at his comment.

“The day I met you, I instantly knew you were my fated mate. I had no choice in the matter. And I rebelled against it, against my choice being taken away.” It made sense why he was always so cold to me.

“I’m sorry, you know I wouldn’t force—”

“Then I got to spend more time with you. Saw the fierce protector you are, how you don’t take anyone’s shit when it comes to your mates. How open you are about your feelings.” He moved our hands to my stomach. “How wonderful it feels to know you’re going to be the mother of my child.”

I bit my lip, trying to hold back the tears. Why was he being so sweet? This was so unlike my vamp. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” he sighed. “I know I don’t show it much; I’m used to being alone in this world. But I don’t regret having you come into my life.” That’s it, the tears were coming out. “I love you so much, Catalina, and no matter what happens, I want you to know that.”

“I love you too!” This time I was the one to smash my lips against his. Before I could climb on top of him like I was planning, he flipped me onto my back instead. I didn’t complain, as long as he was closer to me.

His kisses traveled to my neck, at the same time his hand worked on pulling my panties off. I shuffled my hips around to move it along faster. “Now take your pants off,” I breathed, tugging on his pajama pants.

His kisses got lower as he moved down my body. “Soon,” he said, leaving a hot kiss on my belly button. I watched as he parted my legs slowly, the cool air hitting my most sensitive area. Grabbing my legs, he pushed them up slightly so they were bent at the knees.

I prepared myself when he blew on me, inciting a chill. “Don’t tease me, do your duties.” I smirked at the look he gave me.

The smirk quickly dropped when his mouth made contact. He dragged his tongue from the bottom to the top, laying it flat against me. I couldn’t help the moan that came out.

Instead of continuing, he sat up, removing his pants. “What are you doing?” I breathed.

“I just wanted a taste.” Before I could voice my displeasure, he flipped me onto my stomach. I glared at his smug face right before he entered me hard.

My body jerked forward from the strength of his thrust. I reached back—to either push him away or pull him closer, I wasn’t sure—but he grabbed my hand, pinning it to my ass. “Sebastian,” I groaned, my head falling forward.

One hand gripped my hand while the other gripped my waist. He held me in place, thrusting into me deep. He wasn’t moving fast, and I felt every inch of him when he pulled out. Just like the rest of his body, there was a slight coldness to his cock, and it felt amazing buried in my warmth. “Oh, fuck.”

~Is the vampire railing my kitten right now?~

Kol’s words made me clench around Sebastian, and he grunted. “Not yet, little claws.”

How did he know I was close?

~Go away, Kol!~ Why was he always in my head during intimate moments? Little pervert.

I was knocked out of my thoughts when Sebastian once again turned me over. I’d barely adjusted to the new position before he was back buried in me, only this time my knees were touching my shoulders.

I cried out in pleasure. How was it that he was able to go even deeper?

He let most of his body weight fall on me, his stomach grazing mine every time he thrust. He held my legs while he brought us both to pleasure.

Although it felt amazing to have him so deep, he was still going so slow. “Faster, Bash.”

The nickname momentarily made him pause. “Don’t stop!” I almost screamed.

His eyes locked with mine and he licked his lips. I tilted my head, automatically giving him access.

He started to thrust faster the same moment his lips touched my skin. “Oh.” I reached for his ass cheeks, giving them a tight squeeze.

His teeth pierced my skin, and I knew I was done. “Your powers are back.”

I cried out, the force of my orgasm making my body shake beneath him. But he didn’t slow or stop as he fed, and I came again.

Finally, he grunted, gave three quick thrusts, then found his release. We were both breathing hard when he let my legs drop, sweat covering both of our bodies.

“I love you,” he said, some of my blood still on his lip.

We were still very much entangled, so I felt what effect those words had on him. He started hardening inside me.

“I love you too, but I need to sleep, Sebastian.”

He started moving slowly. “No, you don’t; you need to ride me.”

Gently, he turned us both over so I was on top. My hips rolled on their own accord. “Fine, then we sleep.”

There was no real fight behind my words, and he knew it. I’d go a hundred more rounds with him if he wanted.

He smiled, showing his sharp fangs. “Then we sleep.”