~ Chapter Twenty-Seven - Part 1 ~

After the doctor did a quick check-up on Katalina, they moved on to an ultrasound. First, they used a blanket to cover the lower half of her body as they lifted her dress to the right under her breasts. Next, Nathan spread a bit of gel on her stomach and used the wand from the ultrasound machine to spread it over her belly. “Okay,” Nathan muttered. He moved the wand around until a clear image of one baby became visible. “Ah, there’s the little guy.”
Katalina shook her head. “No, there should be two,” she said softly.
Nathan nodded. “Jacques told us,” he said. “However, the second one doesn’t want to make an appearance.”
Katalina closed her eyes and focused on her twins. She lovingly whispered to them in her head. ‘Please. Let us see your sibling. We will protect both of you with our lives. We love you both so very much already.’
Katalina’s eyes fluttered open, and she stared at the screen. It took a few minutes, but finally, there was a second heartbeat. She gasped as a second child appeared behind the first. “Oh my,” she breathed as she watched the screen with tears in her eyes.
Damien couldn’t take his eyes off the screen. “They’re beautiful,” he said lovingly.
Katalina couldn’t say anything as her eyes were glued to the screen. “Well, this would be why the first child is so protective of the other,” Nathan said as he pointed at the screen. “The second child is significantly smaller than the first.”
“Is that bad?” Katalina asked in worry.
Nathan shook his head. “No. If I had to guess, the first child would turn out to be a boy, and the second will be a girl. Which is why it’s smaller,” he clicked his tongue. “They both look healthy, though. Despite what you just went through.”
Katalina sniffled. “Oh, they are gorgeous,” she said in awe.
Nathan gave them a polite smile as he shut the machine off and handed her a towel to wipe the gel from her stomach. “From this ultrasound, you’re about four weeks along. Our pregnancies don’t last nearly as long as mortals, so I’d say you have about four more months to go,” he clicked his tongue. “I’d advise you to be very careful. Rest as much as you can but make sure you do light exercise, like yoga, and a lot of walking.”
“What about magic?” Katalina asked in concern.
Nathan shrugged. “Be careful. Don’t overexert yourself. If you’re practicing and you feel tired, then stop right away. Don’t push yourself like you normally would. Do you understand?” He asked as he looked at both of them.
They both nodded as Damien said. “Don’t worry, doc. I’ll take care of them.”
Nathan nodded with a satisfied smile. “Come back in two weeks, and we should be able to tell the genders.”
“Thank you, Nathan,” Katalina said as Damien helped her sit up.
Damien helped Katalina off the bed, and they walked out of the office. “Okay,” Damien said softly. “Ben and Axel should be in the library at the pack house.”
Katalina nodded. “Let’s go then. Though we’ll have to bring Cerberus and Daemon with us,” she said as they started walking out of the pack hospital.
Damien chuckled. “Of course. Those two are like overprotective parents.”
Katalina giggled. “They just don’t want anything to happen to me.”
Damien sighed as he held her gently around the waist to support her weight. “I have to say that I am grateful that you have them. They’ll protect you no matter what.”
Katalina nodded with a small smile. “Plus, they’re nice to have around. They’re snuggly and sweet,” she sighed as she glanced towards the forest. “I will have to visit Orthrus and the other hounds soon. I can’t imagine they’ve been in a particularly good mood since I’ve been gone,” she bit her lip as she looked at the ground. “How long was I gone?” She asked quietly.
Damien shook his head. “You were only gone for about a week,” he said softly. “To me, it felt longer, though.”
Katalina leaned into him despite the pain. “I understand exactly how you feel, my beloved,” she whispered as they walked into their house.
As Damien closed the door behind them, Katalina blew a low whistle. Cerberus and Daemon came rushing down the stairs. Katalina giggled as she bent down enough to caress their heads. “Come on, guys. We’re going to the pack house to see Ben and Axel,” she looked between both of them and firmly said. “Do not attack anyone unless my life is in danger. Do you understand?” She demanded as she stood up straight.
Both creatures seemed to nod their agreement before standing in front of the door. Katalina smiled as Damien helped her outside. They walked to the pack house with Cerberus and Daemon next to Katalina. They walked inside and found Benjamin and Axel in the library, hunched over a table full of books.
Damien and Katalina walked up to the table and helped Katalina sit down as he said. “Hey, guys,” he sighed as he stood up straight. “Have you guys found anything?”
Benjamin nodded as he closely watched Katalina. “Are you alright, sweetheart?” He asked quietly.
Katalina shrugged but let out a soft groan of pain. “I’m okay,” she whispered. “I should be healed in no time.”
Benjamin nodded and looked down at the book in front of him. “I’ve found the perfect place for us to practice your magic so that no one learns of it until you are ready,” he said as he stood up with the book in his hands. He placed it on the table in front of her and pointed at a picture of the place. “It’s technically on another plane, so there’s no one there. So it’ll be empty except for us.”
Katalina nodded. “Good,” she cleared her throat before saying. “I spoke with Destiny while I was asleep.”
Everyone stared at her in shock. “What?” Benjamin asked in astonishment.
Katalina clicked her tongue. “She came to me while I was sleeping. She explained this new gift to me. She said I needed to master it, or it would take control of me. She told me that now that this new gift has awakened, I need to release just a bit of it every day so that it doesn’t build up and take control,” she tilted her head slightly. “She also told me something interesting about Jacques.”
Damien frowned. “What about Jacques?” He asked.
Katalina sighed. “Destiny said that Jacques was sweet and helpful. She said that she helped him quite often. Then, she told me to ask him about the rest.”
Benjamin chuckled. “Of course, Jacques knew her. Jacques knows everyone,” he sighed. “Alright. Well, we know how to teach you to master your gift. And we have found a place to practice. So whenever you are ready, we can start.”
Katalina sighed as she leaned back in her chair, only to hiss and quickly sit up. “Give me today to heal, and then we can start tomorrow,” she said once the pain subsided.
Benjamin nodded. “We’ll see you in the morning then,” he said with a knowing smirk.
Katalina grumbled about being up early as she stood up.
Damien held onto her gently as they walked back to their house to rest and heal for the day.