~ Chapter Thirty-Four - Part 1 ~

Damien and Katalina were awoken by a loud bang coming from outside. They shot up in bed and glanced at each other before grabbing their weapons and racing out of the house. Several traps were being tripped from the left side of the pack house, and they were so close that it felt as if the very earth was shaking.
“I guess it’s a good thing we had our weapons close by,” she muttered as they rushed over to the group of warriors flooding out of their houses.
Everyone was armed and ready to fight. When almost everyone was outside, Katalina stood in the very center of the group. “Alright, everyone!” She shouted so everyone could hear her. “Atlas is here, but we are ready. We will defeat him and his army. Why?” She shook her head. “We don’t fight for ourselves. We don’t fight for the power it might give us. We fight for our families and our loved ones. We fight to protect the next generation. We fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. Even though most of the world won’t even know they were at risk, we fight to save all those innocent lives. We fight to keep our homes!” Everyone cheered and roared their battle cries as she shouted that final sentence.
Katalina made her way through the crowd toward the left side of the pack house, where the traps were still going off. She took her bow off her back and nocked an arrow as she got to the front line. Katalina raised her bow and aimed, ready to fire at the first enemy that came through the trees. Even if she nicked them, they’d die because her arrows were poisonous.
Just as Katalina saw the first peek of an enemy, lightning and thunder roared above their heads. Then the gods and goddesses appeared next to her in the very center. Katalina bowed to Zeus and smiled at Amarinthia. Artemis grinned as she also got her bow ready. “Let’s give them hell.”
Katalina wickedly smiled as she turned her attention back to the forest. Then, the battle began as the first enemy came running through the trees.
Katalina and Artemisstuck with their bows until they ran out of arrows. Then they switched to their long swords. “We must stick together,” Artemis said to Katalina as they fought back. “To kill a giant, a god or goddess must team up with a mortal or another being. So we have to kill them together.”
Katalina nodded in understanding. “Let’s get to them and take care of business then.”
Artemis grinned. “I love how you think,” she looked around. “How about a wall of flames to help get us through these assholes?”
Katalina grinned with a wicked fury. “Oh, I’m so glad you asked.”
Katalina summoned her fire gift and created it so their enemies would be the only ones harmed if they tried to approach them. Katalina gave Artemisa a nod. “Let’s go. If any enemy approaches, they'll go up in flames.”
Artemis smiled proudly. “Brilliant.”
They ran through the gory battle until they got to their first giant. “Do you think you can go high while I go low?” Katalina asked as she glanced at Amarinthia.
The goddess laughed before disappearing. Katalina watched the sky and smirked when she saw Artemis land on the giant’s shoulders. Katalina used her gift over the air to lift herself high enough to stab the giant in the heart. Katalina glanced at Artemis, and together they stabbed the giant in the head and the heart. The giant collapsed and turned to dust. Katalina panted as Artemis landed in front of her. “One down. Six more to go,” she muttered.
Katalina and Artemis made their way through the battlefield, taking out any enemy that got in their way. They managed to take down three more giants and moved on to the fourth. Katalina could feel the exhaustion tug at her body, but she had to keep moving. She panted as she looked at Artemis. “How are we supposed to kill the other four giants?” She demanded.
Artemis took several deep breaths. “We just have to push forward.”
Katalina groaned as she continued moving toward the fourth giant. “Great,” Katalina muttered as they got closer to the giant. “He’s a smelly one,” she mumbled as she gripped her short swords in her hands, having switched to them when her longsword had become too heavy.
Katalina shook her head as they went to work on the giant’s legs, cutting him down to his knees. Then, Katalina used her power over the air again to force the giant onto his back. When he was fully down, Artemis and Katalina quickly climbed on him and simultaneously shoved their blades into his chest — causing the giant to turn to dust.
That was how it went until they got to the final giant. Then, finally, Katalina was so exhausted she could barely stay on her feet. Not only had she been fighting in the battle for how long, but she was also using her magic to keep the barriers on the four safe houses strong. As a result, she was panting as they approached the last giant. “Let’s get this over with,” Katalina muttered.
Katalina and Artemis went through the same routine they had done with the other giants, cutting the giant’s legs to knock him down before Katalina used her power over the air to knock the giant onto its back. Then she and Artemis quickly climbed onto the giant and stabbed it through the heart.
As the giant turned to dust, Katalina knelt on the ground and tried to catch her breath.
“You have to get up,” Artemis said as she knelt in front of Katalina.
Katalina panted as she looked at the goddess. “Easy for you to say, Artemis,” she said as she struggled. “You seem to have unlimited energy.”
Artemis giggled. “It’s a godly thing.”
Katalina rolled her eyes as she looked around. She turned back to Artemis when she spotted Damien from the corner of her eye. She fully turned toward him and froze. Damien was in his wolf form as he faced off with a cyclops. The cyclops swung a massive club around, aiming for Damien with each swing. Katalina watched in horror as the club caught Damien in the side and sent him sailing through the air until he hit a pair of vampires finishing off a couple of enemy warlocks.
The cyclops stomped toward Damien with a clear purpose in its eyes. As the cyclops stopped before Damien, Katalina didn’t spare Artemisa a glance and raised its club over its shoulder.
Katalina teleported onto the cyclops’ shoulders as she sheathed her short swords. Then, she pulled out her long sword, and with one brutal thrust, she stabbed her sword through the cyclops’s brain.
Katalina tried to teleport but found that she didn’t have enough energy. She knew the fall would hurt, so she did her best to control her landing as the cyclops turned to dust and blew away in the breeze that had started to pick up.
Katalina let out a loud cry of pain as she landed harshly on her arm. She gasped in pain as she struggled to pull herself closer to Damien. She panted heavily as she somehow managed to find the strength to roll Damien onto his back. She gasped in horror when she saw his side. Damien wouldn’t survive a nasty wound, even with a doctor’s help. So, she did the only thing she could do. Katalina forced herself to sit up and placed her hands on his side. She closed her eyes and let herself flow into him. She poured the rest of her energy into him, giving him everything she had left to keep him alive.
Katalina sagged in relief when she saw Damien’s side heal within minutes. Then, when she completely healed the wound, she fell to the side as her world faded to black.
Damien gasped as his eyes snapped open. He knew that he was still on the battlefield. The last thing Damien remembered was being hit with a club by a cyclops and then flying through the air. He could have sworn he had seen Katalina appear on the cyclops’ shoulders, but his world had faded to black before he knew for sure.
As he sat up with a groan, he wondered how he could even move with only a bit of soreness in his side. He looked down at his side that had been hit with the club and frowned. Someone had wholly healed his wound. He looked around and felt his heart freeze in his chest when he saw Katalina lying next to him, completely unconscious.
As Damien gathered Katalina in his arms, he noticed that Atlas and his men were retreating. He sat in shock for a minute as he watched Atlas and his army retreat into the forest.
Damien stood up with Katalina in his arms. He headed straight for the pack house, knowing she wouldn’t want to go to their home because she would miss the twins even more than she already was. Jacques rushed over to them when he noticed them. “Is she okay?” He questioned in concern.
Damien shook his head. “I don’t know. I just woke up after being clubbed by a damn cyclops, and she was there next to me, unconscious.”
Jacques looked around but frowned when he couldn’t find a doctor. “I’ll find a doctor. If not, then I’ll find Benjamin or Axel,” he didn’t wait for a response as he rushed away.
Damien took Katalina to the hospital wing and laid her down on the nearest cot. Damien gently moved the bit of stray hair that had escaped Katalina’s ponytail out of her face. He leaned over her to press a kiss on her forehead. “Stay with me, my dove,” he pleaded as he rested his forehead against hers. “Please stay with me.”
Damien sat with her until Jacques rushed up with Nathan and Axel behind him. “Oh shit,” Axel swore as he rushed to Katalina’s side. He quickly rested his hands on her forehead and stomach and closed his eyes as he let his energy flow into her.
Axel quickly checked Katalina’s body and felt relief flow through him. He pulled his energy back into his body and sighed as he looked at Damien. “She’s okay. She has a broken arm, and she’s completely exhausted, but she’s okay. But, of course, her being exhausted isn’t a surprise. After taking down the seven giants with Artemis and using so much magic to defend herself and keep the multiple barriers up around all four safe houses,” he clicked his tongue. “I’m surprised she made it as long as she did.”
Damien sagged in relief as he took Katalina’s hand in his. “Thank the gods.”