Chapter 55

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Her words make no sense to me, and I'm still not quite sure who she even is, until Cain's next words.

"What did you see, Katrina?" He asks, a dark shadow falling over his face.

It is only then that I remember that she has the Gift of Sight, and was the she-wolf who had assisted Cain in finding me in Wilson's cellar all those months ago. If not for her, I would be dead right now.

"Your Beta, Axel," She says breathlessly. "I don't know exactly what happened, but he's covered in blood, and he's not moving, you have to find him right now!"

I freeze. No, no, no! Axel was supposed to start his patrol shift in a few minutes, perhaps he already had, and I had no doubt that Katrina's vision was the aftermath of him running into the wolves.

"Katrina, I'll call you back," Cain says and hangs up abruptly. He mindlinks all of the guards on patrol, telling them to fall back and return to the Pack House, including Axel. He sounds calm, like nothing is wrong, but I can hear an almost unnoticeable pinch of distress in his voice.

Axel, are you alright? I mindlink him in panic, and almost immediately, he responds.

Yeah, why? I was about to leave my house for my shift when I got Cain's order. Did something happen with the rogues? He asks in confusion, and I exhale in relief.

Don't leave your house and lock your doors. Do you have earplugs, or something noise-canceling? I ask him, hoping that in case if for some reason, the rogues go to his house, he won't succumb to the rogue she-wolfs commands if he can't hear them.

He pauses. I can find something. What's going on, Ares? You're freaking me out, he says, and I can feel his anxiety through our pack link.

Don't leave your house, Cain and I will be by soon, I tell him, ignoring the question, and he reluctantly agrees.

Cain gets out of his chair. "Stay here, tell the guards what's going on. Your earplug idea is a good one, once they put them in, tell them to go in groups of four to patrol the outskirts of the territory," He commands, his eyes darkening as he heads towards the door.

"No, I'm going with you," I argue, and his mouth sets in a hard, straight line. "Lucas is already here, he can brief them. I need to make sure Axel is okay. You don't have time to fight me on this right now."

He grinds his teeth, and he knows I'm right. Time is precious, and we can't afford to get into a fight when Axel is still in danger.

"There's ear plugs in the garage," I add helpfully, and before we race out of the Pack House, we put them in.

While Cain and I run to Axel's house, I inform Lucas of the situation and give him the instructions to tell the guards. We get to his house, and when he opens the door, I almost cry in relief. I don't know if I would have survived his death too.

Once we're inside and lock the door behind us, we take out our ear plugs. "What the hell is going on?" Axel asks, his voice terse. "Why didn't you let me come to the Pack House?"

"Katrina," Cain answers solemnly. "She saw your death and warned us."

Axel's face twists. "She what?"

"She called. All she said was that she had a vision of you on the ground, covered in blood," Cain finally responds, and Axel's face softens.

"That was nice of her," He mutters, and gets a strange look on his face that I can't decipher. "What now?"

"We'll call her and let her know that you're safe. Your patrol duties are cancelled until further notice," Cain says firmly, and when Axel looks like he's about to protest, he adds, "That's an order, Axel. Not up for discussion.

Axel hesitates before nodding, unable to disobey the clear command of his Alpha.

"What about the rogues? They could still be somewhere on the border," He points out.

"The other guards will go in groups to do a perimeter sweep, I'll join them after I call Katrina," Cain answers.

I then remember my current predicament with a certain Sun God, and jump on the opportunity to talk to the Seer as he recommended. "I'll call her," I offer.

Cain looks at me in surprise. "Why? I can do it."

"You should go join the others. I'll call her, invite her to come to Blood Lake for a while," I try to sound logical, and like I don't have ulterior motives. "We don't have a Seer in the pack, and we could use the help finding the rogues. Axel and I will go back to the Pack House afterwards and wait for you to return."

Cain pauses, considering my points. "Fine. If she doesn't want to come, threaten Gwen," He advises before leaving Axel's house and warning him to take care of me, which makes me roll my eyes.

Cain had given me his phone, telling me that her name was already in his contacts. I call her, and she answers on the first ring. "Cain? Is the Beta safe?" She asks anxiously before I can say anything.

"It's Ares. And he's fine, we got to him in time," I assure her. "Thank you for the warning. I owe you."

"The Blood Luna, owing me a favor," Katrina muses. "Quite the opportunity."

Her boldness surprises me, though Cain had warned me that she was a strange wolf. "I'm going to need another favor," I say, already prepared to threaten Gwen if needed.

"I'm already packing my bags. Be there in a few hours," She says before hanging up on me.

I stare at the phone, completely mystified. "It's better not to ask questions when it comes to Katrina," Axel advises. "She almost makes Gwen seem normal."

"You need to pack your bags too," I tell him. "You're staying in the Pack House until we catch the rogues. Don't argue."

He rolls his eyes as he mutters, "You sound more like Cain every day."

He goes upstairs, returning in a few minutes with a duffle bag, and we leave his house.

"So how do her visions work?" I ask Axel curiously as we walk back to the Pack House.

He had more experience with her than I did, and I figured I could sheen some information from him.

He thoughtfully says, "I'm not fully sure how it works. Blood Lake has never had many Seers, and the only interaction I've ever had with one was when we were looking for you. It doesn't seem like she has much control over when she gets them. It's... bizarre to see. She just... knows things."

It wasn't very reassuring to learn that she didn't have control over her visions. I was on a very short timeline, and I needed her to tell me quickly how to cross into the other dimension so I could kill Selene. I also needed to figure out how to convince her not to tell Cain about this, since it seemed like she has a good enough relationship with him.

'Why are you so curious about her Sight?" Axel asks skeptically, somehow able to pick up on my deception. "You're not plotting something and hiding it from Cain, are you?"

"Stay out of it, Axe," I warn as we step through the doors of the Pack House. "Some knowledge... it's better not to possess."

He grabs my wrist. "Promise me you aren't planning something dangerous," He insists, his eyes blazing.

"I'm not," I lie. I need to come up with a better cover story, and fast, or I know he'll run to Cain. I make my face intentionally look sad.

"It's about my infertility," I whisper, knowing that he'll accept the excuse.

Technically not a lie, but also very much not the truth. Axel's face falls. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry Ares, I should have known. I hope she can help you."

I smile half-heartedly. "Me too."

**

A few hours go by, and Cain mindlinks me to let me know that he won't be back until late so he can thoroughly comb through the territory. He seems relieved when I tell him that Katrina will be visiting, and I almost find it strange how easily Cain trusts the weirdo she-wolf.

Gwen comes to the Pack House as soon as I tell her that her sister is coming to visit, but when she arrives, she seems different. I can't quite put my finger on why, but there's something... off about her. She doesn't even try antagonizing Axel.

"Are you okay? You're acting weird," I say to her, and Axel nods in agreement.

Gwen's eyes widen. "Just, you know, on my period."

"Werewolves don't get periods," I point out.

Gwen laughs nervously. "Just, you know, a period in every sense of the word except for physical. I hear humans use that excuse all of the time to get out of things."

I'm about to press her for more information when there's a knock on the door. "We'll talk about this later," I warn Gwen, and she averts her gaze.

I open the door to find a small, red-headed girl smiling eagerly, and she holds out her hand, which is gloved. "We haven't officially met yet. Y'know, since you were dying the last time I saw you. You look much better when you're not covered in blood, though I know that's like, your 'thing'," Her grin widens.

I shake her hand, trying not to crush her delicate fingers. Strange she-wolf, indeed.

"Congrats on the Alpha thing, by the way. I saw your Transformation. Didn't look too fun," She frowns, and I feel uncomfortable with how much she seems to know about me.

"Why do you get visions of me?" I ask in confusion.

She shrugs, pushing past me to get inside. "Sometimes I try to keep an eye out for certain people. If I've met them, my chances of having a vision involving them is much higher, especially if they have the tendency to engage in behavior that severely alters the course of history."

I'm about to ask her what she means when Gwen runs to her sister, squealing in excitement. "Kat, you're here!" Gwen cheers.

Katrina laughs, hugging her. She suddenly pulls away, frowning at Gwen. "There's something different about you."

Gwen's smile falters, and I can hear her heart beating faster. "There's something I have to tell you" She whispers. "I'm-"

Katrina suddenly starts coughing, covering her mouth with her gloved hand, and I smell blood. Sure enough, when she pulls her hand away, there's dark red liquid coating the glove. "Ugh, hold that thought," She mutters to Gwen.

Her eyes roll to the back of her head, and she collapses. I catch her, and ask Gwen in panic, "What the fuck is going on?"

Gwen looks unconcerned, but Axel rushes over and looks at the she-wolf in worry. "Just lay her down, she's having a vision," Gwen says dismissively, used to the effects of her sister's Gift.

I lay Katrina on the ground, confused when I see that her eyes are completely black, and blood is leaking from her nose. She's not moving, but I can hear her heart beating and hear her breathing.

"Should we call a healer or something?" Axel asks, leaning over her, his eyebrows furrowed.

Katrina suddenly gasps, sitting upright so fast she almost collides with Axel. "Not necessary," She says, pulling out a handkerchief and using it to wipe the blood from under her nose.

"What did you see?" I ask her, hoping it's not related to Helios, because I had no plans to tell Axel or Gwen about it.

I'm surprised when Katrina glares at me coldly.

"We need to talk. Alone."

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