~ Chapter Nine - Part 1 ~

Damien was in a panic. He had been speaking with Katalina about starting a family when she fainted on top of him. Damien didn’t understand what was happening. He tried to wake her up, but nothing he tried seemed to work.
Damien picked Katalina up and carried her upstairs to their room. He laid her down on the bed and sat down next to her. Damien couldn’t find anything wrong with her. He pulled out his phone and quickly called his pack doctor. “Nathan, I need you in my room at my house. Right now.”
Damien didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he hung up and took Katalina’s hand in his. “Please, little dove. Come back to me,” he whispered.
Nathan, the pack doctor, walked into his room a couple of minutes later with his medical bag. “What’s the problem, Alpha?” He asked as he stood by the bed.
“My beloved mate fainted, and I need you to check on her,” he said as he stayed in his seat.
Nathan nodded and quickly got to work. “What was she doing when she fainted?” He questioned as he did his job.
Damien shook his head. “We were in my office just talking. Then, just before she fainted, she said the room was spinning, and then she was out.”
Nathan nodded and continued doing his check-up on Katalina. Finally, after about fifteen minutes, he stood up straight. “There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her Alpha. Everything looks normal.”
Damien let out a rough exhale. “Alright. Thank you, Nathan,” he said dismissively.
Nathan left him alone with his beloved. The doctor had said that he couldn’t find anything wrong with her. For about thirty minutes, Damien sat there, simply caressing her face gently and lightly, running his fingers through her hair. The longer he was waiting, the more concerned he got. Finally, after another five minutes, she shot straight up with a small gasp.
Katalina looked around the room until she found him and smiled brightly. “My love,” she whispered.
Damien quickly pulled her onto his lap and held her tightly. “Oh, my little dove. I was so worried,” he pulled away slightly to look into her eyes. “What happened?”
Katalina ran a hand through her hair. “The moon goddess summoned me,” she said softly. “She called me to her meadow because she needed to speak with me about something vital,” she smiled brightly. “I got to see my parents, though. I have missed them so much. Oh, and Artemis gave me my wolf,” she leaned into Damien as she softly said. “She won’t get any bigger than a husky puppy, but I have a wolf now.”
Damien stared down at her in shock. “When do you shift, little dove?” He asked once he cleared his mind.
“On the next full moon,” Katalina said as she laid her head on his shoulder.
“What else did Artemistell you?” Damien asked as he ran his fingers through her hair.
Katalina sighed heavily. “There’s a war coming,” she whispered without lifting her head. Then, before Damien could say anything, she started explaining everything Artemis had told her. Once she had told him everything, she shook her head. “I’ve already started thinking about a plan, but we’re going to need a lot of help,” she mumbled.
Damien groaned. It was just his luck. Just when he wanted to start a family, a war loomed over their heads. “What do you want to start with?” Damien asked her in a low voice.
Katalina clicked her tongue. “First, I need to call Jacques. He’s been around since the gods first came around. If anyone can tell me where to start looking for Adrestia, it’ll be him,” she sat up on his lap and gently took Damien’s face in her hands. “I know this isn’t what either of us wants. I know that with a war coming, it changes quite a bit,” she bit her lip as she closed her eyes for a minute before opening them again and looking into his eyes. “I know we just talked about starting a family,” she said softly. “Of course, I’ll still need just a bit of time, but I would still love to start a family with you.”
Damien opened his mouth to respond when Katalina pressed a feather-light kiss to his lips. “I know that trying to start a family during a war isn’t the best of ideas, and believe me, I am scared. Just thinking about something happening to our child brings pain to my soul, and we aren’t even trying yet, but I know that we will do everything to protect them,” she let out a small laugh. “I know deep in my soul that neither of us would let anything happen to any children we may have. So even though it scares me as much as it does, I still want to start a family with you,” she whispered.
Damien let a small smile slip onto his lips as he lightly caressed her face. “You are amazing, little dove,” he whispered as he pressed his forehead to hers. Damien pressed a light kiss to her lips before saying. “I will wait for you to be ready, but you have no idea how happy you just made me,” he chuckled. “For the second time today.”
Katalina giggled and pressed her lips to his. “As much as I would love to just sit here with you forever, we need to get started as soon as possible. Anna only has six days.”
Damien nodded as he let out a heavy sigh. “Alright. Let’s get started then,” he stood up with her in his arms.
Katalina giggled as he started carrying her to his office. “I can walk, you know, love.”
Damien shrugged. “I don’t care,” he mumbled.
Katalina laughed as he walked them into his office and sat in his seat behind his desk. She shook her head as he wrapped his arms around her and refused to let her go.
Katalina leaned into Damien as she picked up his office phone and dialed Jacques’ number. She held the phone to her ear as Damien pressed feather-light kisses to her face, neck, and shoulders. “Hey there, little Katalina,” Jacques answered happily.
“Hi, Jacques,” Katalina said as she let her head fall to the side as Damien continued trailing kisses over the skin that he could reach.
“Katalina,” Jacques said in that fatherly tone of voice. “Why does it sound like there’s something bad going on?” he demanded.
Katalina bit her lip as she laid her head back against Damien’s shoulder. “Something bad is happening, Jacques. The moon goddess summoned me for an important meeting,” she said quietly. “Some good came out of it, but most of what she told me was bad.”
“What’s going on, little Katalina?” Jacques questioned.
Katalina blew out a rough breath before explaining everything to him. Once she got everything out, Jacques swore in every language he knew. “Alright. Where are you?” He demanded.
Katalina frowned. “I’m at home with Damien,” she said in confusion.
“I’ll be right there,” Jacques said before hanging up.