Chapter 26

CATALINA

We ate in silence for a while until Lucien broke it. “How did you return my lycan to me?”

Kol and I remained silent, also wanting to know the answer.

“Simple,” Hades began, taking a sip of his wine. “It was there the whole time, just floating alongside you. I simply merged it back within you.”

The three of us stared, our mouths hanging open in shock.

“Now my question for you: how did that happen?”

Kol sighed. “Someone kidnapped us, and a strange man put some kind of spell on the bars.”

Hades looked at me, shock written across his face. I took him as the kind of man that didn’t get shocked often.

“You let your mates get kidnapped?” he asked.

I flinched at his words.

“It wasn’t her fault,” Lucien came to my defense. “She was home; we were at school.”

“Do you remember what this man looked like?”

Kol shook his head. “I try to forget that part of my life.” He looked to Lucien, who shrugged.

“He masked his appearance in your minds. I’m surprised you remember him at all,” Hades stated.

“You guys mentioned a creepy guy before, when you first got back. You don’t remember what he looks like now?” I pointed out. They mentioned seeing a man, but now they forgot what he looks like? Did the others forget too?

Kol looked confused. “Really? Now it’s just a blurred figure in my mind when I think about the encounter.”

“The misplacement of powers could have also messed with your memories,” Hades pointed out. He had an answer for everything, didn’t he?

He stood from the table, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I’ll give you a map for the direction you need to go.” Then he grinned. “And provide you with the gear you’ll need for protection.”

“Is it just me, or was Hades smiling a little too much when we left?” Kol questioned, smacking a branch out of his way. We were currently following the map Hades gave us. It led us to a small forest not too far from the castle.

Lucien grunted. “He did seem overly happy about something.”

I dodged a suspicious-looking leaf while passing a bush. “Maybe he was just happy to help his daughter?”

Kol scoffed, pulling me aside just in time to avoid a branch. “Thanks,” I mumbled. I swear this forest was ~trying~ to hurt us.

Lucien growled at a large plant up ahead of us. “Why is everything in this damn forest so big?”

Kol snickered at the comment. So mature.

“Maybe because we’re in the Underworld. Different rules apply.” And different species too. A four-legged critter ran across the path. It looked like a mix between a horse and a caterpillar. “I think we should take another look at the map. I’d hate to get lost in here.”

Kol stopped so I could grab the map out of the backpack he was wearing. I opened it, scanning for any landmarks we might’ve missed. “This makes absolutely no sense.”

Lucien took the map from me. “That’s why you leave the maps to the men.” He smirked, then looked it over. “This makes no sense.”

Kol scoffed, snatching the map from Lucien. “Because I’m truly the only man here.” He stared at the map, humming to himself occasionally. “Yup, just as I thought.”

“What?” I leaned closer to peer at the map again.

“I got nothing.”

I sighed. I was stuck with two idiots. “How do we know if we’re going the right way then?” We could’ve been going in the wrong direction this whole time. We’re probably not even close to our item! Did you guys forget we’re on a timeframe here? This is not helping!”

“Shh!” Lucien stilled, eyeing the forest around us.

“Don’t you tell my girl to—”

“Shut the fuck up!” he hissed. “Something is out there.” His gaze was focused on a certain area. Kol placed himself in front of me, blocking my view.

I clenched the back of his shirt, staying still as a mouse. Even though I couldn’t hear anything, I trusted Lucien’s instincts.

“Run!” he hissed suddenly, taking off in the opposite direction.

Kol grabbed me, hauling me into his arms bridal style. Lucky for me, he had his powers back. If anything were to get too close to us, I knew he’d use them. “What the fuck is chasing us, wolf?”

Lucien took a moment to glance over his shoulder, ensuring my safety. “I didn’t see, but the smell…”

“Does it smell worse than you?” Kol laughed, not seeming at all out of breath while carrying me and running. I couldn’t help but wonder how many times he’d been in a situation like this.

Lucien didn’t respond. His focus was seemingly on getting us out of here. This wasn’t the route we took when we came in. I was hoping he knew where he was going, considering we were following him blindly.

My thoughts were interrupted by a snapping sound. I looked over Kol’s shoulder, my eyes widening. A massive beast was chasing us. It was the size of a building, covered in black fur with saliva running from its mouth. It looked hungry. “Oh my gosh, Kol! Run faster!” I smacked his shoulder repeatedly in a panic.

“We can’t outrun him. He’s toying with us,” Lucien announced from the front, slowing down to run beside us. “I can sense him. He’s enjoying the chase.”

“If you can sense it, then tell me how to kill it,” Kol suggested, not slowing for a second.

“Something is off. I sense more than one being,” Lucien said, looking over his shoulder again. I didn’t dare take another peek. “But I only see one.”

Kol grunted. “Could they be hiding in the forest?”

Lucien shook his head. “No, all the energy is coming from him.”

“Great, we’re dealing with the Avengers in one.” Kol snickered at my joke, and I grinned at him.

“We have to stop running.” My smile dropped at his words. Was he crazy? Stop running? I was starting to think it was his lycan that made all the bad decisions for him.

Kol snorted. “No way in hell I’m leaving my baby to the mercy of that monster.” Did he mean me? Or the actual baby? Either way, swoon.

Pup, you have to throw yourself out of his arms.

I looked at Lucien, and he arched a brow at me.

Why?

It’s the only way he’ll stop. We have to stop running, pup. I groaned, throwing my head back. He was right; we couldn’t run forever. We still needed to find that item.

~What if I hurt the baby? Kol will kill me!~ First, he’d kill Lucien for the idea, and ~then~ me. And probably finish off the rest of my mates just for fun.

~You’ll be fine.~ He didn’t sound very convincing. ~Just do it, pup!~

I looked at how far the drop was, guessing maybe four feet. Kol was rather tall. It shouldn’t do much damage, though, right?

Gathering all my strength, I hauled myself out of his arms.

“What the fuck?” He reached for me, but I was already too far gone.

I hit the ground with a groan. Kol tripped over his own feet to avoid stepping on me, landing himself in a pile of grass. Yup, he was going to kill us.

Lucien wasted no time offering me his hand to help me up. I looked in the direction the beast was coming from, only to see nothing.

“Where’d he go?”

“Surrounding us.” Kol got up from the ground, dusting off his clothes. “We’re the mouse and he’s the cat.”

Shadows formed around his hands, preparing for a fight. Rustling sounds came from the bushes nearby, then quickly from somewhere else seconds later.

“We’re fucked,” I groaned. For such a huge monster, it sure did move fast.

Both my mates formed a circle around me, protecting me as best as they could.

“What’s the plan?” Kol asked, looking to Lucien for leadership. That was a first. Maybe he figured a beast would understand another beast better?

I snickered at my thoughts.

“Wait for him to make the first move. Move quickly to find his weaknesses, exploit them, and hopefully kill him.” It sounded easy enough.

The three of us focused, waiting for the moment the beast decided to show itself. We didn’t have to wait for long.