~ Chapter Twenty - Part 1 ~

When he heard it, Damien was sitting in his office, getting some work done and trying to figure out several battle plans. Plates crashed to the floor, followed by a loud thud that could only be a body. He jumped to his feet and rushed towards the kitchen. He stood frozen when he came across Katalina’s unconscious body in the middle of the hallway.
Damien rushed to her and tried to shake her awake. He groaned when he realized that she had most likely gotten summoned by Artemis. He sighed as he picked her up and carried her to their bedroom. Damien gently laid Katalina down and took off her shoes before he covered her up and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He returned downstairs and cleaned the broken glass and food off the floor.
Once Damien ensured no more glass was on the floor, he returned to his office to get more work. He never knew how long Artemis would have her in the realm of the gods. He just hoped that nothing terrible was happening right under their noses.

It had been two hours since Katalina finally walked into his office. Damien sighed in relief as he clambered to his feet and rushed to her. “Are you alright, little dove?” He questioned as he gently caressed her face. “You didn’t get hurt when you fell, did you?”
Katalina let out a rough giggle before rubbing her throat, which she had wrapped a lace scarf around. Finally, she cleared her throat with a wince and quietly said. “No, the fall didn’t hurt me.”
Damien frowned as he watched her continue to rub her throat. “What’s wrong with your throat, dove?” He asked as he lightly touched the scarf.
Katalina sighed heavily before looking at the ground as she slowly took the scarf off.
Damien let out a dark growl as she revealed the bruises around her neck. “What happened?” He managed to get out through his clenched teeth.
Katalina sighed as she moved to sit in the window seat she always sat in when she was in his office. “Artemis summoned me. First, it was to tell me that Atlas had trapped Jacques in Tartarus. He’s had some warlock put an impenetrable spell around the area so that no one can get in except the warlock, Atlas, and me,” she shook her head. “Then she was summoned to a council meeting with many other gods and goddesses. Artemis thought that it’d be a good idea for me to explain to them what we were doing for this war. So I did. I explained everything. Ares got mad when I told them Adrestia had taken Anna’s place. He said it was my fault that she was now underneath Uranus.”
Damien let out a menacing growl as he paced in front of her. “I swear I will kill him for putting his hands on you.”
Katalina quickly rushed to her feet and gently grabbed onto his arms. “Sh, my beloved. You can’t go against Ares. You know that.” she caressed his face and pressed a light kiss to his lips. “I’m okay. The bruises will fade within the next couple of hours. There's no lasting damage,” she sighed as she looked into his eyes. “You would have done the same thing if it were our daughter,” she whispered against his lips.
Damien let out a shaky breath as he calmed down. “You’re right,” he said after a minute.
Katalina smiled as she kissed his lips again. “Now we need to go and talk to Benjamin because it seems that I have potent magic flowing through my veins, and I need him to start teaching me.”
Damien looked at her in shock. “What?” He questioned.
Katalina giggled at the look on his face. “Hecate told me during the meeting with the gods. She said my ancestors must have been witches or warlocks because my magic is ancient and very powerful. She said that I could do every type of magic.”
“That’s amazing,” Damien said in awe.
Katalina kissed his cheek before dragging him out of the house and to the packhouse. They walked in to find Benjamin sitting in the kitchen. “Hey, Ben,” she said happily.
Benjamin turned to them and frowned when he saw the bruises around her throat. “What the hell happened to you?” He demanded, causing others to look in their direction.
“Shit," Katalina softly swore as she pulled her hair forward to cover her throat. “Let’s just say that Ares wasn’t too happy when he found out that his daughter was now underneath Uranus,” she whispered to him. “That’s not why we’re here, though.”
Benjamin cleared his throat as he rubbed the back of his neck. “What is it?” He asked after a minute.
“I need you to help me with my magic,” she said quietly.
Benjamin raised an eyebrow. “How do you have magic?” He questioned. “I thought that both of your parents had been wolves,” he said in confusion.
Katalina nodded. “Yes, they are. Hecate says that my ancestors must have been powerful warlocks or witches because it’s in my blood.”
Benjamin was shocked, but he nodded. “Alright. We can get started tomorrow after your training session with Damien. I’ll teach you what I can, but there are some types of magic that I don’t know. So I’ll have to call in a favor or two to get someone up here to teach them to you,” he explained.
Katalina nodded in understanding. She turned to walk away but quickly turned back to him. “Oh, I wanted to know if you could recruit some other witches and warlocks to our side. The more that we have, the better we’ll be.”
Benjamin groaned. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do, but most witches and warlocks are hard to find. They’d rather be left alone.”
Katalina gave him a small smile. “It’s alright. Just try and get as many as you can.”
Benjamin pulled her into a quick hug before glancing at the clock on the wall. “I’ll go and get started now. I know a couple I can get to know, but they move quite often, so the sooner, the better.”
Katalina nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Be careful.”
Benjamin chuckled. “Always am, little one.”
Katalina giggled as he disappeared.
Katalina turned to Damien. “Let’s go home and relax for the rest of the day.”
Damien nodded and pulled her into his arms. “We also need to figure out what to do about Jacques.”
Katalina nodded as she grew sad. “Yeah. I’m sure Atlas will be calling with some creature that can copy Jacques’s voice. He’ll try to lure me to him so that he can most likely torture me and then send me to Tartarus.”
Damien blew out a rough breath as they walked back to their house. “I don’t like it,” he said.
Katalina leaned into him as she let out a long exhale. “I know, but I’m the only one that can get him out.”
“Fine, but I’m going with you,” he stated, leaving no room for argument.
Katalina looked up at him with a smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, my beloved.”
Damien pressed a kiss to her temple before they went home and spent the rest of the day together.

The next day they called a pack meeting. Everyone was to attend, including the children. Everyone had to know why they were training. They had to know why there was so much security. Once everyone gathered, Damien let out a booming shout that gained their attention. “Now, I’m sure you're all wondering why we have called this meeting,” he started as he held Katalina’s hand. “We will explain everything. All I ask is that you don’t ask any questions or interrupt until we fully explain the situation.”
Damien looked at Katalina and nodded. Katalina sighed as she took a small step forward and started explaining everything happening. As soon as she finished explaining, everyone started shouting and demanding answers. Katalina ran a hand through her hair before letting out a loud whistle. She waited until everyone was quiet before speaking. “Now I know that this is happening very suddenly. I know it’s also frightening, but I can promise you that we are doing everything we can to ensure everyone is safe. Of course, there will be a fight, but that is why we have everyone train. The younger kids will not be fighting, but we want them to train alongside everyone else. I want everyone to be able to protect themselves no matter what. We will ensure that the kids, elders, and anyone else who can’t fight are very well protected and safe, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Katalina sighed as Damien continued for her. “We have recently learned from the gods that Katalina is a mighty witch. Her ancestors must have been mighty because she has raw power. She can use every type of magic there is. She will ensure that the house those who aren’t fighting in is very well protected, and we will also have guards outside and inside. So nothing will happen to those that won’t be fighting.”
Everyone started murmuring and talking amongst themselves. Katalina shook her head. “This is going to be difficult,” she mumbled as she watched their pack and family speak, slightly panicked. Katalina let out another whistle. “I promise that everything is going to be fine. We have the help of the gods, and we’ve already begun gathering our allies. We are also going to be gaining new allies. These new allies will be different creatures. Creatures that we have only ever heard about in myths and legends. Yes, they will be frightening, but we all must remember that they are on our side," she gestured to the titan in the back of the crowd. "Like Prometheus over there,” she said with a smile.
Everyone laughed as they calmed down. “We can promise you that everything is going to be fine. I promise I will do everything I can to protect you guys. I will also be fighting alongside the warriors when the time comes. That’s all we know for now, but we will ensure that everyone is updated once things progress. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask eighter of us,” she said as she gestured between her and Damien. “Or Sebastian.”
They stepped off the stage they used for meetings and talked with everyone who came up to them. Katalina knew they were frightened, but she also knew they felt safe with them. That they knew their alpha and luna would protect them.