Miles

Aphelion shoves me, angered that I have the audacity to slap Katrina. Any other day, I would be upset with myself, too, if it had been any other day. But it's the only thing I could think of to do. She's not responding to anything. We're all in distress, and normally, she'd try to soothe or calm us, but right now, there's nothing. Something or someone is inside her, controlling her, possibly poisoning her mind.

"Well, do you have anything else in mind, oh wise one?" I reply snarkily, furious yet terrified, all at the same time that I have no control over this situation. Terrified isn't an emotion I was familiar with until Katrina stumbled into our lives. Yet, it's an emotion I'm becoming increasingly familiar with. Terrified of what the other Gods will do to her once they find out she's not one of us, terrified of the precarious situation her birthright has put her in, terrified that we'll end up losing her, that we might've already lost her.

"What happened?" I asked, glancing over at Luka, "I need every single detail, no matter how minuscule it might seem."

Luka's face goes pale, a look of anguish on his face; he clears his throat as if there's a lump forming, opens his mouth to speak, and then closes it again as if not sure where to begin. It's Samael that speaks up first.

"I don't know what happened before I arrived, but Katrina came rushing out of Luka's office, looking sallow and brokenhearted. The grief and anguish on her face were clear to see. I tried to ask her what was wrong, but she continued to shake her head and just kept repeating that she needed to get out of there. We'd only walked halfway down the hall when she started hyperventilating and sobbing uncontrollably. Her legs seemed to give out from under her, so I grabbed her before she could come crashing to the floor. I walked into a nearby nook and tucked us in away from prying eyes. That's when she broke down even harder. I could barely hear what she was saying, her words were so drowned out by her tears, but it was something about..." Samael pauses and looks over at his other fated..."Luka and his student Kayla. From the way she was reacting, I could tell that whatever she saw, or at least thought she saw, was bad."

He sighed heavily, turning away from Luka and facing me again, "When Luka came bursting out of his classroom, Katrina must've been able to sense his presence even though he wasn't near us yet, because she kept muttering at me to make him go away. Luka tried to talk to her, but she took off running in the opposite direction, not wanting to speak with him. I stayed with Luka and told him to fix whatever mess he created, and then I left."

He runs his hands through his long black mane and glances over at Katrina, his eyes sparkling with guilt, "I should've known when she walked away that something was off. Katrina isn't a coward; she faces all of her problems head-on."

"This isn't your fault," I reply, reaching out and squeezing his shoulder, letting him know that I will not place any blame on him.

"So what the hell happened, Luka?" Beckett growls, steering his anger at the situation and focusing it on our professor. "What did Katrina see that had her so upset."


Luka steels his shoulders, taking his eyes away from Katrina and staring straight into Beckett's cerulean ones. Luka's eyes have gone pitch black, flickering every so often with grey smoke.

"That's not a priority right now," Aphelion states, giving me one final glare, before shoving his way between Luka and Beckett, "We need to get Katrina back."

Beckett huffs and crosses his arms, "Any idea how to do that?" His question is barely audible over Katrina's banshee-like scream.

I rub my chin, trying to focus on what we know so far. Katrina's under someone else's control. Her Succubus spirit is trying to fight its way out. Her angelic side seems either subdued or complacent, showing no signs of being affected by whatever was attacking Katrina.

"We need to find out who's controlling her. What side are they on? Are they light or dark? Once we figure that out, we can use Katrina's opposite side to dispel whatever's attacking her." I reply, nodding my head assuredly at my decision. It was our best plan of attack.

"Easy. It's obviously her Succubus. So how do we get her Angel out?" Beckett bypasses Aphelion, stepping toward me, eager to free our mate from someone else's hold.

"I'm not so sure about that." Samael pipes up, "Really, pay attention to her. Sure her Succubus is out, and it seems like she's fighting against us, but I think she's fighting to free herself. Look into Katrina's eyes; her succubus spirit isn't there; it isn't in control. If Lilith or someone similar summoned her, her Succubus would take full control; she would drain everyone around her to get to where she needs to be."

Every point he makes strikes true. Her Succubus has already proven to be strong and hard to control. If it were being summoned, there would be no subduing it. But who else could there be?"

"Braham." Aphelion whispers, his face paling with worry. "He's found another way to get to her."

"Shit!" I shout, slamming my fist into a nearby wall, red-hot rage rolling through my body. "I'm going to fucking kill him." I roar, the earth shaking beneath us.

"Calm down, Miles." Luka chides, sounding every bit the professor. "Acting irrationally won't help our situation. Now, how do we call out to her Succubus."

We are all quiet for a moment, thinking about the best way to draw out her dark side without causing injury or harm to ourselves. Normally I'd suggest doing something sexual and leaving her unsatisfied to bait it out, but something about Katrina being incapacitated makes me feel sick at the thought.

"It has to be you, Luka," Beckett states begrudgingly. "You won't be affected if her Succubus attacks, and you can draw her out with your darkness."

"I...I...I can't." Luka stutters, "What if I lose control?"

"You're older now. You have more control over your powers." I remind him, knowing he's thinking back to the only time he wasn't in control.

"I don't have control over them, though." He choked, "I've just managed to keep them buried deep down. They only started to resurface when Katrina came around."

"We will be here the entire time," Samael states reassuringly, running his hand up and down Luka's arm to calm him, demonstrating what love really is. He's still angry at Luka but still willing to be there for him and hold his hand when he's worried or afraid.