Chapter 24

CATALINA

Lucien watched as I packed a travel bag with all the necessities I thought I’d need. “Should I bring a toothbrush?” I asked, holding two in my hands, trying to decide.

“This isn’t a vacation, pup,” he mumbled, pulling my washcloth from the suitcase.

“Hey!” I snatched it out of his hand. “I might need that.”

He gave a loud sigh, sitting on the bed. “For what? The moment we step foot in the Underworld, your father will know. I can guarantee he’ll have you staying with him, where they’ll have unlimited amounts of washcloths.”

“How do you know? Been to the Underworld much?” I sassed. Although there was a chance he had been there, I didn’t know much about his life before me.

“No, but you’re his daughter, Princess of the Underworld, some would say.” Holding up a pair of my thongs, he smirked. “We’re definitely taking these.”

“No one would say that.” Flopping down on the bed next to him, I kicked the suitcase away. “I’m nothing but a science experiment.”

He shrugged. “Either way, his sperm made you.”

“Just like mine made the bundle of evil you’re carrying,” Kol stepped out of his shadows in front of me, grinning like a maniac, a bag slung over his shoulder.

I pointed it out to Lucien. “He packed!” He ignored us both. “And he’s not a bundle of evil.”

“Kitten, our baby has demon and vampire in its veins. There’s bound to be a bit of evil.” Pulling his backpack around, he held it out to me. “Add what you want.”

Jumping up, I grabbed the things I tossed to the side. “See? This is why you’re my favorite.”

“I thought Mateo was your favorite,” Lucien said, not even arguing that he’s the favorite. I really needed to talk about this soul thing with someone.

“Don’t take this away from me.” Kol stepped in front of him, glaring down. “For now, I’m the favorite.”

Putting my things aside, I grabbed Kol’s arm, pulling him out into the hallway. “Put your shadows around us to muffle our voices,” I whispered.

He did it quickly, raising an eyebrow. “Are we keeping secrets from the other mates now? I’m in.” Rolling my eyes, I pulled him closer.

“I think there’s something wrong with Lucien.”

“Besides the obvious human part… what else is there?” Maybe Kol wasn’t the best option to confide in. I should’ve gone to Mateo.

“Without his lycan, he thinks he’s beginning to lose his soul. And recently, I’ve noticed changes in him.” How didn’t I notice them before? I sucked as a mate.

“Like what?” He sounded intrigued. I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

“Not reacting to stuff like he used to.”

Kol placed a hand on my shoulder, looking into my eyes. “That’s called growing up, kitten, even I know that.” I smacked his hand off me with a glare.

“I’m serious, Kol! I think he might be right.” And that scared me. What would I do with a soulless Lucien? Would that no longer make him my soul mate? These questions worried me.

“Don’t stress yourself; it’ll stress the baby.” The shadows faded away the same time he pulled me into his arms. “We’ll help your wolf, and he’ll go back to his normal annoying self.”

I sniffed, not realizing I had started crying. I buried my face in his chest. “I don’t want to lose him, Kol.”

He held me tighter. “And you won’t. I promise I’ll kill him myself before I let him lose his soul.” Wait, what?

Surprisingly, I chuckled. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“It doesn’t matter; I’ll do anything to keep my kitten happy.”

“Do these nicknames give you guys some kind of ego boosters?” They all had a unique nickname for me. Lucien’s was pup, Nick’s was little wolf, Mateo’s was cat, Kol’s was kitten, Lucifer’s was luv, and now Sebastian’s was little claws. Honestly, I should’ve known Jayden wasn’t my mate when he never gave me one.

“What happened to Jayden?”

“Your mate has him locked in the dungeon.” I pulled back to look at his face, wondering if he was joking. He wasn’t.

“What?”

“Right before the prison break bonding moment—which worked out well, I may add—Lucifer had him locked up.” I couldn’t say I agreed that the bonding moment went well, but some of my mates did get their powers back.

“Should we bring him with us? He is working with my father, after all.” I thought he would be a great guide to have in the Underworld.

“No.” I jumped at the new voice. Luce was coming up the steps, heading down the hallway toward us.

I smacked Kol’s chest. “Why didn’t you keep us muffled?”

He grinned. “I thought we were done with secrets?”

“Lucien was right, Mateo is my favorite,” I said, pushing out of his arms and meeting Luce halfway. “Why can’t we bring him?”

He stopped in front of me, his eyes roaming my face. “He’s not your mate, luv. Therefore, no matter what, he’s not to be trusted. I don’t care who sent him.” I scratched the back of my neck at his words. Speaking of mates…

“Should we find the new guy first?” Kol voiced what I was thinking.

“We’ll find the items first, then find this mystery mate.”

“What if he doesn’t want to be my mate? We can’t force him to be a part of this.”

Kol cackled. “Kitten, if he’s your mate, it’s already too late for him.”

I frowned at his words. “What does that mean?”

Luce pulled me into his arms. “It means even the devil can’t resist you.” Leaving a small peck on my lips, he continued on his way. “You guys leave in twenty minutes.”

With a sigh, I followed Kol back into the room to finish my pointless packing, according to Lucien.