~ Chapter Fourteen - Part 1 ~

Damien was speaking with Roman when he heard a sudden thud behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Katalina on the ground. Damien rushed to her and moved her hair out of her face. “Little dove,” he whispered as he tried to wake her.
He frowned when he heard a muffled voice. “Katalina, are you still there?” Benjamin demanded in concern.
Damien found her phone and held it to his ear. “Benjamin?” He questioned.
“Yes. I’m assuming this is Damien,” Benjamin said through the phone.
“Yes. Something’s happened to Katalina,” he said as he held her in his arms.
“She was saying that you guys needed help,” Benjamin said in confusion.
“She was going to ask if you could teleport us home. We have Anna with us, but we also have five hellhounds. There’s not enough room in the SUV for all of us and the hounds.” Damien explained. “But she fainted. I don’t know what happened.”
“Alright. Send me your coordinates, and I’ll be right there,” Benjamin said.
“Okay,” he hung up and quickly sent Benjamin their coordinates. He stuffed her phone in his pocket and held Katalina close to his chest.
Within two minutes, Benjamin appeared in front of them. First, he looked down with a frown. Then, Benjamin knelt next to Damien. “I’m just going to check on her,” he explained, knowing how mates could be with each other when one was injured. “I’m not going to hurt her. I want to make sure that nothing serious is wrong.”
Damien gave him a single nod but refused to let her go. Benjamin closed his eyes and hovered his hand overhead. He slowly trailed his hand over her entire being from head to toe before pulling away. “She’s okay,” Benjamin said in relief. He meant what he had said when he told her that she was family because of Jacques. “She’s just severely exhausted. What the hell happened?” He demanded as he stood up.
Damien sighed as he felt his shoulders sag in relief. He stood up with Katalina firmly held against his chest. He laid her down in the SUV before turning back to Benjamin. “Artemis gave her the gift of shifting into any creature that's ever existed. She shifted into a pegasus and flew me above Chimera and a witch controlling six hellhounds so I could take them out. We would have never gotten past them unless she did so.”
Benjamin nodded. “I’ve heard of this gift. As much as it is a true gift, it takes a lot of energy. Of course, the more you use it, the longer you can withstand the exhaustion, but it’ll catch up to you eventually. The bigger the creature, the quicker the exhaustion hits. Be thankful she didn’t faint until you guys returned to the car.”
Damien nodded in understanding. “Alright. How do you want to do this?” He asked as he looked around. “I want to get her home as soon as possible.”
Benjamin looked at the hounds and the people that were with them. “Get the hounds to touch the SUV. They can lean against it. As long as they’re touching it, they’ll teleport with us. Then we can all climb into the SUV and be at your packhouse in no time.”
Damien nodded and quickly did as Benjamin instructed. Once all the hounds were in place against the SUV, Damien got into the SUV and held Katalina close. “We’re all set,” Damien said.
Benjamin gave him a nod and closed his eyes. Within the blink of an eye, they were in Damien’s garage. Damien climbed out of the SUV and pulled Katalina into his arms. He looked at James and Marcus. “Bring them and the hounds into the house and relax for a minute. I’m going to put Katalina into bed.”
James and Marcus gave him a nod.
Damien went inside and carried Katalina up to their room. He took off her clothes and shoes, leaving her in her bra and panties. Damien pulled the blanket over her body and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He sighed heavily as he gently moved her hair out of her face. Before returning downstairs, he lightly trailed a finger down her face in a caress.
Damien stood in the living room in front of their guests. “Okay. Seeing as this is my home, I don’t have enough rooms for everyone,” he sighed. “Let’s go to the packhouse, and we’ll introduce you guys to the others and get you set up in rooms,” he shook his head. “Feel free to explore where you’d like,” he looked at Daedalus. “I’m not sure when you wanted to get started on the security and traps, but whenever you’re ready, find my beta, Sebastian. I’ll inform him that he’ll show you the territories you’ll be setting up security for.”
Daedalus raised an eyebrow. “Territories?” He questioned.
Damien rubbed a hand over his forehead. “Yeah. Ours and Ryan’s. Right now, he’s our only close ally. He’s right next door. His territory borders ours. That’s how I met Katalina. I’ll inform him that you are willing to take care of the security and traps for us and that Sebastian will bring you over whenever you’re ready.”
Daedalus let out a heavy sigh. “I might as well get started as soon as possible. We never know what Atlas has planned.”
Damien nodded. “Okay. Let’s get to the pack house, and I’ll get you guys set up. Then we’ll talk to Sebastian and have him take you around the border.”
Everyone followed Damien outside. “Hold on,” he said. He turned towards the forest and let out a low whistle.
Orthrus came running toward him with both tongues hanging out of their mouths. “Holy hell,” Prometheus said in shock. “I see this is where Orthrus disappeared to.”
Damien chuckled. “Jacques had him, but as soon he met Katalina, he’s been staying close to her,” he shrugged. “Plus, Jacques is off to recruit the vampires right now,” Damien turned to Orthrus with a smile. “Hey there, buddy,” he said as he rubbed the two heads affectionately. Damien turned to face the hounds and only found four. “Where’s the fifth hound?” He questioned in confusion.
Roman shrugged. “Refused to leave your house. I guess he wants to stay as close to Katalina as possible.”
Damien let out a heavy breath. “Okay. Fine,” he looked at Orthrus. “These four hounds are a part of our family now. I was hoping you could take them into the forest with you. Show them where to get their food and how to hide and whatnot. Can you do that, buddy?”
At first, Orthrus just stared at him as if he were insane. “Katalina would want you to do it,” he said as he tried to get Orthrus to accept the responsibility. “If you do this, I’m sure Katalina will bring you two big juicy raw steaks when she wakes up,” he bribed.
Orthrus let out a bark before turning to the hounds. They seemed to communicate somehow because the hounds joined Orthrus as he disappeared into the forest.
Damien sighed as he shook his head. “I swear that two-headed dog will do anything for Katalina and steak,” he muttered as he started walking towards the packhouse.
It only took them five minutes to get there. They walked inside, and Damien cleared his mind to send out a pack-wide announcement. ‘I want everyone to know that we have some guests staying with us for a while. Prometheus, Lucas, Anna, Benjamin, Roman, and Daedalus. Do not attack them or harm them in any way. If you do, you will have to speak with me directly,’ he turned to the small group behind him. “Okay. Follow me. We’ll get you guys set up in your rooms,” he scoffed as he walked upstairs. “There are plenty of them in the pack house.”
Once he was sure that everyone had their room, he grabbed Daedalus. “Come on. Sebastian is in his office.”
They walked to Sebastian’s office and walked right in without knocking. “Hey, Seb,” he said as he sat down in a chair across from him.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “When did you get back?” he asked as he leaned back in his chair.
Damien chuckled. “About five minutes ago. It turns out that Katalina had a warlock uncle that she didn’t know about,” he shrugged.
Sebastian looked at him with questioning eyes. “Benjamin is an old friend of Jacques and considers him family. Since Jacques is like a father to Katalina, Benjamin is her uncle.” Damien explained as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Sebastian chuckled. “Sounds like a complicated relationship.”
Damien shrugged. “Anyway. Meet Daedalus,” he said, gesturing to Daedalus, standing by the door. “I need you to take him around our border so that he can figure out security and traps. Then once you’ve finished with that, take him to Ryan so that Ryan can have someone do the same. We want to get a headstart on this before Atlas figures out what we’re doing. He tried to have Katalina kidnapped while we were on our way to Adrestia.”
“That’s quite a bit of new information, but alright. I’ll take Daedalus around the territory and take him to Ryan's.” Sebastian said as he stood up.
“Thanks, Seb. I’ll take over the rest of the work for the pack,” he sighed. “Is everything on your desk?” He asked as he gestured to Sebastian’s messy desk.
Sebastian chuckled but nodded. “Yeah. Everything on my desk needs to be signed by you. Everything else has been sent to your email already.”
Damien nodded and started gathering the paperwork scattered all over Sebastian’s desk. He made sure that he had everything before he left the packhouse. Then, he returned to his house and went to his room to check on his beloved mate.