~ Chapter Fifteen - Part 1 ~

Katalina moaned as her phone ringing woke her up. She reached over to the nightstand and grabbed it. “What do you want?” She demanded as she answered the phone.
Jacques chuckled. “Decided to take a nap, did you, little one?” He asked.
Katalina sighed. “It wasn’t by choice,” she muttered. “It seems that Aita and Amarinthia have given me a gift. I can shift into any animal or creature that's ever existed. But, because it was the first time we defeated Chimera and a witch to save Anna, it took all of my energy. Ben says that I need to practice, but it’ll still make me exhausted every time I use it,” she explained.
Jacques knew what Artemis had gifted her. “Hmm,” he said curiously. “I’ve only ever heard of Poseidon’s demigod children having that gift,” Jacques clicked his tongue. “I suppose Amarinthia wanted to give you every advantage she could,” he said softly.
Katalina sighed as she pulled the blanket over her head. “Have you gotten to the vampires yet?” She asked as she closed her eyes.
Jacques chuckled, knowing that she had pulled her blanket over her head. “Yes. I went to my brother, Michael,” he said softly.
Katalina frowned. “I thought you never wanted to return to that mansion,” she said quietly.
Jacques sighed heavily. “I never wanted to come back, but I will do anything to help you. I have to do this because I’m no longer the clan leader. I don’t have the allies or connections that Michael does.”
“Oh,” Katalina said softly. “Are you alright?” She asked quietly.
“I’m alright, little one,” he said with a small smile.
She sighed as she shoved the blanket off her face. “So what did your brother say?”
Jacques chuckled. “He’s making some calls now. So if you get any calls from unknown numbers, it’s vampires calling to speak with you.”
“And what am I supposed to say to them?” She demanded as she sat up.
“You’ll have to convince them to join our army. They’ll be the ones that are uncertain about joining us.”
“Alright,” Katalina frowned as she looked outside. “Shit. How long was I asleep?” She murmured.
Jacques laughed. “Well, I’ll talk to Michael some more while you figure that out. As soon as we figure out when we’re leaving, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Jacques. I know how hard it was for you to go back there. I promise I’ll make it up to you,” she said softly.
Jacques scoffed. “No need, little one. I want to help.”
Katalina smiled. “I’ll talk to you later, Jacques.”
They hung up, and she looked around with a frown. Katalina was alone in the room she shared with Damien at their house. She got out of bed and made her way downstairs. Her frown deepened when she saw that the house was almost empty. Only the runt hellhound remained in the living room. She knelt in front of him and caressed his head. “You need a name,” she mumbled. She thought for a minute before smiling. “How about Daemon?” She asked as she looked at the hound.
The hound seemed to like the name as he wagged his tail. Then, she let out a giggle. “Daemon it is then,” Katalina sighed as she looked around the room. “Do you know where Damien is?” She asked Daemon softly.
Daemon let out a bark and started walking toward the hallway. Katalina stood up and followed him to Damien’s office. She walked in without knocking and smiled at Damien, sitting behind his desk while signing paperwork. Then, she softly closed the door and walked over to him. She leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead. “Hi, love,” she said softly.
He grinned as he set his pen down and turned to her. “Hi there, little dove. Are you feeling better?” He asked as he pulled her onto his lap.
Katalina giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes, I am feeling much better,” she laid her head on his shoulder. “How long was I asleep?” She asked quietly.
Damien kissed her temple. “For about four hours,” he murmured against her hair.
Katalina groaned. “Where is everyone?” She questioned.
“I took everyone to the pack house and got them set up in their rooms. We only have one spare room here, and we both know who that’s for,” Damien said playfully.
Katalina giggled as she looked up at him. “And the hounds?”
“I called Orthrus out of hiding and had him take them with him,” Damien chuckled. “You owe him two steaks, though.”
Katalina laughed. “Of course. I’m not surprised that you had to bribe Orthrus. He prefers to be alone most of the time.”
Damien pressed a firm kiss to her lips before resting his forehead against hers. “Have you heard from Jacques yet?” He asked softly.
Katalina let out a small huff of a laugh. “Yeah. Jacques's the reason why I’m awake. He called me and told me that we had vampires on our side. Most of them anyway,” she shrugged slightly.
Damien nodded. “That’s good. I had Sebastian take Daedalus around the territory to get an idea of the security and traps he’ll have to set up. Then once they’ve finished with our territory, they’ll speak with Ryan and do the same thing.”
Katalina grinned. “Thank you. The sooner we get all of that setup, the better. We never know what Atlas has up his sleeve.”
Damien chuckled as he gently ran his hands down her body. “For right now, we can just relax.”
Katalina sighed as she closed her eyes and pressed her body into his. “I don’t want to be stuck on the sidelines,” she whispered. “I want to fight with everyone else,” she looked up and into his eyes with determination in her own eyes. “Will you train me, love?” She whispered against his lips.
Damien groaned as he squeezed his eyes shut. “As much as I don’t want you out on the battlefield, I know how you are. I know that you want to fight alongside everyone else. So I will train you. In every single type of fighting, weapons, and hand-to-hand combat, even in wolf form, even though your wolf is small. It still might come in handy,” he said softly.
Katalina grinned brightly. “Alright. We can start tomorrow,” she whispered against Damien's lips.
Damien smiled and pressed his lips to hers. Katalina kissed him with a fierceness that surprised both of them. Then, as she pulled away, she grinned. “I’m going to find your mom. I want to run to the store and grab some things for dinner tonight,” she said as she stood up and glanced at his desk. “It also looks like you have quite a bit of paperwork to get through.”
Damien chuckled as he shook his head. “Little minx,” he whispered. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. “Make sure you take some guards with you, little dove.”
Katalina smiled. “Of course, my love.”
Katalina leaned down and pressed a feather-light kiss to his lips. Then, she left his office and called Autumn to go shopping with her.