~ Chapter Thirty-Three - Part 1 ~

Katalina went upstairs and stared at her twins for a few minutes. She finally sighed and gently caressed their heads before lying down and closing her eyes. She thought of Artemis and sent out her message. ‘Please, Thia. I am in desperate need of your help once again.’
It didn’t take any time for her to be summoned to Amarinthia’s sacred meadow. Katalina spun around in a panic and only slightly calmed down when she spotted Artemis and Apollo. She rushed to them and almost fell to her knees in front of them. “Please,” she begged. “We need your help.”
Artemis shushed her and gently wrapped her arms around Katalina’s shoulders. “Please calm down, Lina. Explain to us what’s happening,” she said softly.
Katalina took a few deep breaths before nodding. “Okay. So, we had a scout watching Atlas’s fort, and he just informed us that Atlas and his army are on the move.”
Apollo nodded. “But we were expecting that,” he said gently. “Something else has you freaked out like that.”
Katalina roughly scrubbed her face before saying. “Atlas has seven giants in his army,” she said in a trembling voice.
Artemis froze. “What?” She questioned in shock.
Katalina sighed. “Scott said he had seen seven giants in Atlas’s army.”
Apollo shook his head as he looked at Amarinthia. “We need to speak with father about this. The gods need to help them fight now more than ever. They can’t defeat the giants alone.”
Katalina did sink to her knees, with tears rushing down her face. “So, if Zeus refuses to help us, we’re doomed?” She questioned in a hollow voice.
Artemis glared at her brother as she knelt next to Katalina and pulled her close. “Sh. It’s okay. We’ll speak with Zeus and persuade him to let us fight.”
Katalina looked up at her with terrified eyes. “What’s going to happen to my twins?” She asked in a broken voice.
Artemis sighed as she glared at Apollo again. “Everything is going to be fine, sweetheart,” she promised.
Katalina shook her head as tears poured down her face. “I don’t know,” she said sorrowfully.
Artemis helped her stand up. “Come with us. We’ll go see Zeus right now.”
Katalina nodded and went with Artemis and Apollo. They teleported to Zeus’s castle. “Oh, he is not going to be happy about this one,” Apollo muttered as they climbed the steps to the palace.
Artemis shrugged him off as she led Katalina through the vast, golden double doors. As they walked up to the throne at the far end of the room, there was a crashing boom of thunder followed quickly by lightning and then Zeus. “How dare you bring a wolf here?!” Zeus’s deep voice boomed from the throne.
Artemis bowed her head. “I’m sorry, father, but please hear us out,” she pleaded as she kept her head low.
“Why would I do that?” Zeus demanded as he sat down on the throne like he owned the entire world.
Before Artemis could explain the situation, Katalina took a small step forward. “Please,” Katalina said softly. “We desperately need the gods' and goddesses’ help. Atlas has seven giants in his army, and we cannot defeat them without your help,” she swallowed past the lump of emotion that was suddenly clogging her throat as she fell to her knees in front of the throne. Katalina took a deep, shaky breath as she looked into Zeus’s eyes. “My precious twins are only a week old. Please help me save them. Please,” she pleaded with tears rushing down her face. “Please help me protect them.”
Zeus watched her for a few minutes before he sighed heavily. Then, finally, he stood up and walked over to her. Zeus knelt before her and gently put his hand on her head. “We will help you, nearós (young one),” he said gently. “Every one of us will be there to help you and your army defeat Atlas and his. Then, when his army approaches your order, we will be there to help you,” he promised.
Katalina sobbed as she threw her arms around the king of the gods and hugged him tightly. “Oh, thank you so much,” she said through her sobs.
Zeus hugged her back for a minute before helping her to her feet. “We will keep an eye on Atlas and his progress so we can be there on time,” he said gently.
Katalina sniffled. “Thank you again,” she said in a rough voice.
Zeus nodded. “Now go home to your family and prepare your army,” he said softly.
Katalina smiled in gratitude, said goodbye to Artemis and Apollo, and closed her eyes as she was sent home.
Katalina’s eyes snapped open, looking at the twins’ cribs. They were empty, so she figured they had to be downstairs with Autumn. She couldn’t stop the sob of relief that came out as she curled onto her side and stared at the cribs. Finally, she could help the relief that was flowing through her veins and had to let it out.
That was how Damien found her a few minutes later.
Damien rushed to her side in a panic, thinking the worst had happened. “What’s wrong, my dove?” He asked as he sat on the edge of the bed next to her. “What happened?”
Katalina shook her head as Damien pulled her into his arms. “They’re going to be okay,” she whispered while sniffling. “Our babies are going to be okay.”
Damien frowned as he looked down at her. “What are you talking about, dove?” He asked.
Katalina wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. “I spoke with Zeus, and he said that the gods and goddesses will help us with the giants in Atlas’s army. So we’re going to be able to defeat Atlas and his army.”
Damien sighed in relief as he hugged her tightly. “Oh, thank the gods, they’re willing to help.”
Katalina sniffled as she looked up at Damien. “I’m going to owe Zeus big time,” she said with a humorless laugh.
“I’m sure he’s doing this out of the kindness of his heart,” Damien said softly.
Katalina shrugged. “He was so kind and gentle when we spoke.”
Damien smiled and kissed her. “Now we have a lot of work to do, so let’s get you cleaned up, and we can get started.”
Katalina kissed him before they stood up and went to the bathroom. Damien wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Everything is going to be just fine,” he said comfortingly.
Katalina smiled as she rested her forehead against his chest. “Yeah. Everything is going to be fine.”
Damien kissed her again before stepping away from her. “I’ll wait in the bedroom. Take a minute to collect yourself and freshen up. Then we’ll start preparing the safe houses.”
Katalina nodded and gave him one more lingering kiss.
Once Katalina was left alone, she washed her face and collected her thoughts before returning to the bedroom. Damien proudly smiled before they left the house to prepare for the battle that was finally coming their way.