Nathan was in his office staring out the window. He watched the tree line day and night, looking for movement. Hoping Katia would come home. However, she didn’t. She had not been seen by anyone except Bryan, Tiger, and Jake. That was two days after he had broken every promise he had made to her. Nathan was terrified for Katia and her wolf. When the three spies he had sent to Lucifer’s camp came rushing in and yelling, their Luna had walked into the camp and requested to see her grandfather. Nathan’s heart stopped. He knew what she was going to do because it was what he would do to protect his sister. The question was would the grandfather take the deal and who would ensure he did not go back on his word once he killed Katia.
No one had seen or heard from her since then. Kalen had heard nothing from Aza after she had reached out to him the morning after the incident. Nathan stood staring out the window replaying all he had done and said to his mate that day. He only wanted her to be more cognizant of her and the children’s safety. He did not listen to anyone trying to stop him, including his wolf. Now Kalen barely spoke to him. He just laid curled in the back of his mind waiting for the pain of the mate bond to break, telling them of Katia and Aza’s death. Nathan didn’t want to think about it. He wanted to believe it would not come to that, and he would have a chance some day to apologize. To make things up to her. He wanted to have hope. He felt the tear run down his cheek and wiped it away. What his mate must have felt to push her to make a deal with the man that had been killing her and her sister for centuries.
Katia and her wolf so easily accepted their own death. It spoke volumes of what they have been put through. The way his mate’s little wolf attacked and the strength she had in that little body was simply amazing. Had she always been that strong or had the nutrients, rest, exercise, and his blood helped to develop her strength more? Could she take on her grandfather and win with surprise on her side? Is that what she was planning? Or was she simply giving up now that he had destroyed her dreams?
Nathan’s office door slamming open against the wall, had him spinning around to see what danger was coming his way. It was his father-in-law. He was red in the face and screaming, “What did you do to my daughter? Why has she turned herself over to her grandfather?”
Katia’s mother came in slower and cried, “What did you do? Why is she not here and safe?” Selene Katia’s sister stood behind her mother, quietly staring at Nathan. She said quietly, “the only message Katia sent was that she had not forgotten and made sure she had mated me to a wonderful wolf. She said he deserves a second chance and for me to give it to him. She did not say who he was, and I do not know anyone I need to give a second chance. The only other thing in the message was to look out for him at the New Year’s ball.”
Her father had flown across the room and grabbed Nathan by the neck. He was pinning him against the wall when his beta and gamma arrived. Nathan raised his hands, telling them to stop. He listened to his father-in-law next. “Lucifer took great delight in letting us know that she had shown up asking to be escorted to my father. He said she looked defeated and barely registered anything or anyone else around her. He said her wolf was just as passive and defeated.”
Selene asked in her quiet way so much like her sister, “Nathan, what happened? How did she end up walking into Lucifer’s camp alone? Did she run away to be a hero?”
Nathan shook his head no and Kane spoke up, telling them what had transpired and why. The whole time Kane spoke, Nathan did nothing to defend himself. He just listened and prayed that Hyperion would make his death quick. Kalen said, “You do not deserve to die. You do not deserve the easy way out. You need to pay for what you have done to our mate. Then you need to find her, rescue her and Aza, fix the damage you have done. I want my mate back.”
Nathan told Kalen he did not think he could fix it. Just as Hyperion raised his fist to strike him on the head, Theia grabbed his arm and said, “Mate, let him go. He is not defending himself. He is beating himself up and must live with what he did. Killing him will not make the situation better. Your daughter may live through this and not forgive you for killing her mate. She may some day forgive him.”
Hyperion was in berserker mode and needed to release the violence from within. So, he threw Nathan across the room and through the glass window while yelling, “She should have been mated to a full-blooded god-not some half-breed of Zeus'.”
Nathan was climbing back through the window when he heard what Hyperion said and looked at Kane, stunned. Kane was just as surprised at his uncle’s remark. Theia drew in a loud breath and said, “Shut up you idiot. Now look what you have done. The boy was not supposed to find out his heritage.”
Nathan finally found his own voice, “Excuse me? I think you are delusional. My parents were wolves, not gods.” He spat the last word as if it was distasteful.
Hyperion grinned, saying, “Oh my boy, your mother was a wolf, but, your father was a god. Do not blame your mother, she did not know, as was Zeus’ way.
“What do you mean my mother did not know?” Nathan inquired. “How can a woman not know she is not sleeping with her mate?”
Theia calmly explained, “Because Zeus has a love for humans, wolves, vampires, faeries, any female really. He disguises himself to look like the males or to look like their mates if need be. He has sex with them, and they never know the difference. He then plants the memories into the male's head and leaves. The next day they both believed they were together, and no harm had been done. If a child is created, it always has the appearance of the mother and the body type of Zeus.”
Nathan staggers back landing in his chair saying, “Zeus is my father?”
To which no one really says anything until Kane says, “Welcome to the Effen family. Now what are we going to do about my cousin?”
Hyperion spoke sounding choked up, “We can do nothing. Katia has put herself in Uranus’ control, and we can only hope that he imprisons her instead of killing her.”
Katia’s sister, the other half of the moon goddess team, said, “Uncle Cronos is going to see if he can find out what grandfather has done with her. Nathan, do you feel anything through the bond?”
Shaking his head, no, Nathan told them, “He had not felt anything from her since he awoke in the forest and found out she had left. No one has heard a word from her since she linked Kane, telling him she was not returning.”
Selene asked, “What about your wolf? Has he heard from Aza?”
“Not since the morning after when she let him know they were okay but would not betray Katia.” Nathan informed them.
She then asked Kane, “Cousin, has my sister contacted any of her Moon Touched pack?”
Kane replied, “Not since the day she walked into Lucifer’s camp. She contacted Mark and Kelp to let them know what had happened and what she had decided to do. She told them goodbye and that she loved all of them.”
Dalia walked in crying, “She did the same to me that same day. I begged her to come back and to not do what she planned. I told her she could live with the Moon Touched pack and that my brother would leave her alone. She didn’t believe me.”
Nathan asked his sister and Kane, “Is that why Kelp, Mark, Doc, Coral, and Eric have not been around lately?”
Kane nodded his head yes, saying, “They do not want to offend another Alpha but do not know how to act in your presence, knowing how badly you hurt their Alpha Luna. Yes, they know you made fun of her and the title because you do not understand it and, as they said, never will.”
Nathan wondered how long he had before he felt the pain of her death. Selene answered that question for him, “Katia has obviously blocked us all and unless uncle can find out what grandfather has done with her, we may never know for sure if she lives or not.”
Nathan questioned, “She can block the mate bond?
"Not precisely, she can block the bonds she converses through. Uranus can block the mating bond if she should ask him to. He would think it is a great strategy to keep us from knowing her fate.” Her mother answered, smacking Hyperion in the back of the head and muttered once more about boys and their egos. Nathan thought he heard his name there too.
One more question, Dalia said, “How long until we know if Cronos can find out any information?”
Hyperion squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger, “I don’t know.”