~ Chapter Twenty-Two - Part 1 ~

Damien couldn't wait for his little dove to get home so that he could surprise her. Katalina had been training herself ragged, both physically and magically. He wanted to cook dinner for her. Then run her a bath and give her a massage. He knew that she needed it. He could tell by how she sometimes moved that she needed the massage.
Damien was finishing some paperwork when his mother burst into his office in a panic. He could tell she was frantic and instantly knew something was wrong. He reached for the mate bond, but there was nothing. He felt his heart racing as he tried not to think of the worst. But his mother confirmed his fears. Atlas had gotten to his little dove, and he hadn’t been there to protect her. “When did this happen?” He demanded.
Autumn took a deep breath and let it out. “About twenty minutes ago,” she said in a trembling voice. “We were leaving the mall, and Katalina said she had to run to the restroom quickly. Katalina practically threw her things at me and ran to the restroom before anyone could say anything. We thought that she’d be fine,” she swiped at the tears sliding down her face. “When she didn’t come out immediately, I went in after her, but she was gone.”
Damien scrubbed his hands over his face as he felt his heart shatter. “Did you smell any specific scents?” He questioned as he felt his legs tremble under him.
Autumn nodded. “A vampire and a warlock.”
Damien placed a hand over his heart and again sat down in his chair. “It has to be Martin and Samson. Has to be,” he glared at the paperwork on his desk. “They must’ve teleported. And it has to have been quick if she didn’t even have time to call for help.”
Autumn nodded and sniffled. “I am so sorry, Damien,” she whispered brokenly. “I should have never let her go alone. I should have been with her.”
Damien stood up and walked to Autumn. He pulled her into his arms. “It wasn’t your fault, mom,” he said softly. “We’ll get her back.”
Autumn nodded. “Um,” she cleared her throat and held up the small bag they had gotten to surprise Damien. “This is what she was getting. I’m sure she would want you to have it.”
Damien frowned. “A gift isn’t important right now. We need to find Katalina.”
Autumn sniffled but gave him a small smile. “You’re going to want to open that one. I don’t know if it’ll make this easier or harder, but you need to know.”
Autumn left his office, and he sat in his chair once again. Damien stared at the gift bag in front of him, wondering what could be so important that his mother wanted him to open this now.
Damien stared at it for a few minutes as he tried to think of how to get Katalina back. Finally, when he couldn’t think of anything and felt hopeless, he opened the gift. He took out the small box and set it on the desk in front of him. Damien pulled the ribbon off and lifted the lid. He frowned when he saw a small piece of fabric. He lifted it and let it fall open. He felt his heart speed up at what it said. ‘Strong like my daddy.’ He looked in the box, and ultrasound pictures were at the bottom.
The tears started racing down his face as he picked up the pictures with quivering hands. It was his child. They were going to have a baby. It was too early to tell the gender, but they were pregnant. Katalina was pregnant. Damien felt his heart shatter even more at the thought of his pregnant beloved in the enemy's hands. He was supposed to protect them. He had promised her.
Damien wiped the tears from his face and gently caressed the ultrasound picture. “I promise that I will find you and your mommy. I will bring you both home.”
Damien gently set the pictures against the framed photo of Katalina that was always on his desk. Then, he stood up and stormed out of the house as he sent a message through the pack-wide mind link. ‘Pack meeting in five minutes. Everyone must attend.’
Damien cut off the mind link and went to the usual place for pack meetings. He stood on the stage and waited for everyone to arrive. Once he was sure that everyone was there, including the few allies that had come, he spoke in a rough voice. “I apologize for the urgent meeting,” he cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, I do not bring good news,” he took a deep breath as he willed the tears not to fall. “Our beloved luna, my darling little dove, has been taken from us,” he said hoarsely. “Atlas had her kidnapped while she was at the mall earlier today,” he sighed heavily. “He had sent a vampire and powerful warlock to teleport her to his dungeon. I’m sure Atlas has the worst in mind, and I do not doubt that he’ll be sending her to Tartarus, where he has been holding Jacques prisoner the last few weeks.”
“Do we know where Atlas’s base is?” Sebastian questioned from the front of the crowd.
“We do not,” Damien said. “However, I don’t think it matters. As I’ve just said, I have no doubts that he’ll be sending her to Tartarus.”
“How are we supposed to rescue her if she’s in Tartarus?” Lucas questioned with a frown.
Damien shook his head. “I don’t know yet. I will try to contact Artemis as soon as we've finished here. Hopefully, she’ll have some information that could help us,” he looked over the crowd. “Now, I know that we are all apprehensive about her, but she would want us to keep going with everything. So, we are going to continue building and welcoming our allies. I will do everything in my power to find our beloved Katalina,” he ran a hand through his way. “If you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to ask Sebastian or me.”
Damien didn’t wait for any response. He climbed off of the stage and started walking to his house. Everyone let him go without stopping him. They knew that Sebastian could answer all of their questions. Damien needed to focus on finding his little dove and bringing her and their unborn child home.