Chapter 3

CATALINA

“And what might that reason be?” Lucien asked, giving Jayden a sidelong glance as he wrapped his arms around me. From the look in his eyes, he was about two seconds from pulling me away.

“The gods that are hunting our untrained mate.” I narrowed my eyes at Lucifer. That last part was unnecessary.

Lucien’s demeanor changed at the mention of other gods. “You’ve received word about an attack then?”

“Not exactly.” Kol strode to the center of the room. I couldn’t decide who craved the spotlight more—him or Lucifer. It must be a demon thing.

“One god has arrived on Earth.”

I gasped. “Which one?”

“It seems Athena wishes to take a crack at you.” I racked my brain trying to remember what she was the goddess of. Jayden stiffened behind me.

“The warrior,” he said, his arms tightening around me once more. “Where is she?”

Kol clicked his tongue. “Squeeze my mate even harder and I’ll snatch her out of your arms.” His top lip curled into a snarl.

Suddenly, Jayden released me, gently pushing me in Mateo’s direction. I turned around to give him a disapproving look. So, we were back to denying then?

“Her last known location was New York. She seems to be making her way toward the school.” Lucifer, sitting in his throne, beckoned me over. I raised an eyebrow.

Lucien nodded. “Good, then she has no idea where Catalina is.”

“We’ll annihilate her the moment she gets there,” Jayden declared, his wings rustling behind him. I wondered why he never retracted them. Could he retract them?

I was almost certain Lucifer had wings, but he never showed them.

Kol laughed, the sound slightly unhinged. “I’m all for that idea, but sadly we don’t know what she’s capable of.”

“All the more reason to take care of her before she gets close to the human.” I snorted. Really? The ~human~?

Kol winked in my direction. “I’m pretty sure kitten can take care of herself.” I rolled my eyes at his nickname.

“Doesn’t matter, as her guardians your job is to make sure she doesn’t have to lift a finger,” Jayden deadpanned, looking each of my mates in the eyes. Guardians? What was this nutjob on about now?

“Why do you have such a problem with saying the word ~mate~? Deny all you want, Big Bird, but we all know she’s your mate.” Kol shrugged, walking over to the throne and sitting on the steps leading up to it. Lucifer lounged in his chair, watching me.

“Who cares about his performance issues?” Lucien sighed. “This meeting is about the safety of my mate. And it’s safe to say she can’t go back to the school.”

“Or perhaps that’s exactly where we should send her,” Lucifer taunted, a spark in his eyes.

Kol scoffed, stretching out on the step while simultaneously pulling a lollipop from his pocket. “And they say I’m the crazy one.”

Lucifer growled at the insult, flicking his wrist. Kol went airborne, landing on the floor across the room. Instead of getting mad, he laughed, blood dripping from his nose.

“Can’t you imbeciles focus for once?” Sebastian snarled. Always a ray of sunshine, that one.

“He’s right. Lucifer was clearly joking. But maybe that is the best plan? If Athena is going to the school looking for me, who knows what kind of chaos she’ll cause? Innocent lives may be lost.” I hadn’t thought about the safety of the other students until now. Damn, I was a terrible person.

“And why should we care about the lives of other people?” Kol asked from his spot on the floor. He didn’t bother getting up after being tossed over there, just set up leaning against the wall. The glare I threw his way only made him smile.

“She’s right,” my mate with the most common sense agreed. “Some of us have friends there.” He looked pointedly at Lucien. My lycan mate must’ve forgotten he had a pack. He arched an eyebrow at Mateo’s look.

“And some of us care more about their mate.” Sometimes Lucifer and Kol were like the same person.

I crossed my arms. “Says the guy who stabbed me.”

He smirked. “As the dean, I have no choice but to return. I’ll look after the students.” The look on his face said that’s the last thing he wanted to do. How could my mates care so little about the lives of others?

“I’m going back to school and that’s final.” I was, quite frankly, tired of hiding in Hell. Lucifer’s place was nice, but it wasn’t home.

Not that I had a home, but still. Could you imagine being stuck with only your mates for company for the rest of your life? With mates like mine, I was bound to die from a headache or something.

“You do know I can keep you here in Hell, right?” Lucifer challenged.

I stared flatly at him. “You do know I can destroy this whole place, right?”

“Can you? Last I checked, you could barely dodge a punch.” My eyes narrowed. He was right, but fuck him! My hands clenched into fists at my side.

“Show some respect when talking to my mate, demon scum.” Lucien parked himself in front of me, glaring at Lucifer. I was starting to think no one scared my lycan mate.

“And if I don’t?” The growl that left Lucien shook the walls and the floors. Fur started to sprout from his skin. I had no doubt he planned to fight Lucifer, even if he might lose.

“Enough!” Sebastian shouted, making me jump. “If she wants to go back to the school, let her. She’s stubborn and won’t change her mind on this. We all know that.” Was this insult your mate day?

“At least when Athena comes, we’ll have control of the situation instead of walking into something blindly,” Jayden said. He wasn’t thrilled with me going back to the school either, but at least he was trying to see the bright side. Or at least a side he could use to his advantage.

“You think we’ll have control? Athena is a goddess. The only ones in here on her power level are me and our mate. Who, by the way, has no clue how to use her powers anymore.” I was getting tired of his smug mouth.

“Oh, shut up already! All these excuses, Lucifer. One would think you don’t believe you can protect me from Athena.” I smirked.

He snarled, standing from his throne. My other mates closed in around me at the action. I rolled my eyes. But he didn’t attack. He turned and left the room. That was unexpected.

“So, it’s settled then,” I said, breaking the silence. “We’ll head back tomorrow.”