Chapter 14

CATALINA

We piled into the dining area. Lucifer didn’t want to sit in the living room for obvious reasons. I sat on the right side of the table between Lucien and Nick, with Kol on Nick’s left.

Everyone else sat on the left side, excluding Lucifer, who sat at the head of the table. The room was so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife. Kol glared at Jayden from his spot, and Jayden glared at everyone.

“Do you have the tattoo or not?” I stiffened. Of course, Kol would cut right to it. I held my breath, waiting for him to answer.

Jayden sighed, his glare turning into a look of regret. It was one of the first emotions I’d ever seen on him besides anger and disgust. “I do not.”

Kol growled, launching out of his seat. “Sit down, demon. Let’s hear him out first,” Lucifer demanded, cutting his eyes to Kol.

“What’s there to hear out? He’s been lying to us this whole time. He’s not her mate.” Lucien stood from his chair, eyes darkening to a dark blood red.

“Shit.” Nick moved closer to me until our legs were touching. “I’ve never seen Lucifer lose his shit, but I know Lucien doesn’t have that much self-control.”

He had a point. Usually, Lucien just wolfed out when angry. What would happen now? I looked to Lucifer for answers. But he was watching the interaction with amusement in his eyes. Safe to say he’d be no help.

“It’s true I’m not her mate, but I’m here to protect her.” A dark laugh left Kol, making it obvious he didn’t believe a word he was saying.

Jayden glared at him. “You think the gods are just now finding out about her? You’re all so clueless.”

“Enlighten us then.” The smooth voice of Sebastian joined, capturing my attention. He was leaning forward on the table, hands clasped together.

For some reason, the sight of him made my mouth water; flashbacks of him biting me assaulted my senses. Then I frowned. He was no longer a vampire right now. So the biting would come from… My eyes snapped to Mateo, my cheeks heating when my eyes met his. Oh god, I hoped he hadn’t been listening to my thoughts.

Jayden shook his head. “My mission is to keep Catalina safe, not indulge her mates.”

A growl ripped through the room. “I’ll indulge on your guts if you don’t start talking,” Kol snarled.

“Listen to the demon,” Lucien bit out. I’d never seen him and Kol so in sync. They were more alike than I realized.

“Threats don’t faze me. I’ve been through more shit than the two of your lives combined.” It was true he didn’t seem bothered at all. If they had been giving me death looks like that, I would’ve tucked tail and ran.

A deranged smile formed on Kol’s face. That was the only warning we got before he shifted. Luckily for us, Lucien seemed to see it coming, which didn’t surprise me considering it was his wolf.

He threw out a hand, freezing Kol in midair while he snarled and kicked. “You have five minutes to explain to us what’s going on before you end up lying in a pool of your own blood.” I’d never seen him so in control. Why was it turning me on?

Jayden glanced around the room, eyeing my mates. He sensed that he was very much outnumbered. “There’s something far more dangerous out there than the gods.” My skin prickled with awareness, almost like my body knew that what he was saying was true.

“Are you talking about my mother?” My voice was hesitant, but I needed to know. My fathers mentioned she was looking for me, but they didn’t tell me why.

Nick grabbed my chair and pulled it closer to him, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. The small act brought me tons of comfort.

Jayden shook his head. “Not quite that dangerous.” His answer made me relax until he continued. “This entity was created much like you. But not with the blood of the gods. Your mother helped create him, but he’s not her son.”

This captured Lucifer’s interest. “Whose blood then?” he drawled.

“Create him for what?” I asked at the same time.

Kol snarled again. This time Lucien released him. With a huff, he shifted back, moving to his seat once again. I leaned around Nick to grin at him. He smirked. He was always making fun of Lucien for not having control of his lycan—now look at him.

“The blood of a Titan.” My eyes snapped to Jayden. “He was made to be her weapon.”

“A Titan? They exist?” I was embarrassed to admit my voice squeaked. Automatically, my hand fell to my stomach. Kol noticed and lost his cool. The lycan burst out of him again, and he howled.

Nick sighed. “If gods exist, why wouldn’t Titans? They had to come from something.” I didn’t like how calm he sounded.

“You’re telling me there’s a Titan-made ~thing~ after my mate?” Mateo hissed. I mean, a legitimate hiss slipped out of his mouth. I looked to Sebastian in surprise. Is that a vampire thing? He shrugged at my confused look.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” He looked around the room, staring us each in the eyes. “He’s made of darkness and chaos—more darkness than the devil himself has.” He shot a look at Lucifer.

More darkness than my mate? A chill went through me. My mother created this monster, and now he’s coming for me just like her.

“How did my father know he was coming?” Jayden had been with us for months. He’d known about this monster before I even knew who my mother was.

“Lucien, take Kol out of here until he calms down,” Nick said. “We can’t have this conversation over his growling.”

Lucien glared in his direction. “Why am I stuck mate-sitting?” A growl left Kol—not liking his words. But he was still too upset to take control back from the lycan.

“Because it’s your lycan.” The look he gave Nick would have the souls of Hell crying. Without another word, Lucien grabbed Kol by the scruff and hauled him out of the room—kicking and growling. I’d kill for a camera right now.

Sebastian snorted at my thoughts. “Your father, the one that sent me, has been keeping tabs on Nyx for years. He lost track of her months ago. Around that same time, her little pet changed course—suddenly leaving the village he had been terrorizing for years.”

I stiffened, knowing what he was about to say before he said it. He looked me dead in the eyes. “His course changed the day you enrolled.” My first shift, the day my powers were awakened.

“Shit,” Nick cursed, putting the pieces together as well.

“How do we know you’re not making this up? Just like you’ve been pretending to be her mate?” my dragon asked, finding his voice when I couldn’t. The thought of this thing coming after me had me terrified—more so than I’d been in months.

Because now, it wasn’t only my life I was fighting for. I wrapped my arms tighter around my midsection, as if the act alone could protect us.

Jayden gave him a bored look. “Pretending to be her mate was not my idea. It was her father’s.”

The few seconds I met my father’s, I felt genuine concern from them. Who knew they were manipulating me the whole time?

They spoke of my mother coming, but not the thing coming before her. And they sent this guy to pretend to be my mate. How did they do it?

I thought I felt a real connection to him. But there was always something holding me back. Perhaps my true bonds knew what I felt for him was false.

Lucifer stood. “I’ve heard enough. Mateo, take Catalina upstairs.”

I avoided his eyes. No doubt he could feel my fear in this moment. I’d always tried to be strong for my mates.

But this—this was something I couldn’t brush off. I was scared for the life inside me. A howl sounded from somewhere nearby.

Sebastian cleared his throat, standing from his seat. “I’ll take her.”

I didn’t bother asking why he volunteered, simply standing and moving into his arms. His large frame engulfed me as we headed toward the stairs.

Suddenly, my legs locked and I wheezed, falling to the ground. My hand flew to my throat, a searing pain traveling across it. I cried out, falling to my knees.

In a flash, I was surrounded by my mates.

“What did you do?” Lucifer demanded, a dark rage in his voice.

I didn’t hear Sebastian’s response, the pain blocking out my hearing and causing my eyes to water. I could feel it, wrapping itself around my throat—from the front of my neck to the back.

Was this my mother? Were we already under attack? I cried out again.

“Shit, shit, shit.” I wanted to make a joke pointing out that this seemed to be Nick’s favorite word today, but I could barely focus. The pain lasted for minutes, then it ended.

I gasped, taking in much-needed air and wiping my eyes. It took me a moment to realize my mates had gone deadly silent.

I looked up into the faces of mixed reactions. Nick was shocked, Lucifer was confused, and Sebastian—well, Sebastian wasn’t showing much.

“What?” I rasped, getting to my feet.

Footsteps sounded from behind me. I turned around, and Jayden’s eyes landed on me. They widened in shock.

“She has another one.”