The Prophecy Of The Wolves I - The Beginning
~ Chapter Twenty-Six ~

After the doctor did a quick check-up on Liliana, they moved on to an ultrasound. First, they used a blanket to cover the lower half of her body as they lifted her dress to the right under her breasts. Next, Nathan spread a bit of gel on her stomach and used the wand from the ultrasound machine to spread it over her belly. “Okay,” Nathan muttered. He moved the wand around until a clear image of one baby became visible. “Ah, there’s the little guy.”

Liliana shook her head. “No, there should be two,” she said softly.

Nathan nodded. “Jacques told us,” he said. “However, the second one doesn’t want to make an appearance.”

Liliana closed her eyes and focused on her twins. She lovingly whispered to them in her head. ‘Please. Let us see your sibling. We will protect both of you with our lives. We love you both so very much already.’

Liliana’s eyes fluttered open, and she stared at the screen. It took a few minutes, but finally, there was a second heartbeat. She gasped as a second child appeared behind the first. “Oh my,” she breathed as she watched the screen with tears in her eyes.

Cayden couldn’t take his eyes off the screen. “They’re beautiful,” he said lovingly.

Liliana couldn’t say anything as her eyes were glued to the screen. “Well, this would be why the first child is so protective of the other,” Nathan said as he pointed at the screen. “The second child is significantly smaller than the first.”

“Is that bad?” Liliana asked in worry.

Nathan shook his head. “No. If I had to guess, the first child would turn out to be a boy, and the second would be a girl. Which is why it’s smaller,” he clicked his tongue. “They both look healthy, though. Despite what you just went through.”

Liliana sniffled. “Oh, they are gorgeous,” she said in awe.

Nathan gave them a polite smile as he shut the machine off and handed her a towel to wipe the gel from her stomach. “From this ultrasound, you’re about four weeks along. Our pregnancies don’t last nearly as long as mortals, so I’d say you have about four more months to go,” he clicked his tongue. “I’d advise you to be very careful. Rest as much as you can but make sure you do light exercise, like yoga, and a lot of walking.”

“What about magic?” Liliana asked in concern.

Nathan shrugged. “Be careful. Don’t overexert yourself. If you’re practicing and you feel tired, then stop right away. Don’t push yourself like you normally would. Do you understand?” He asked as he looked at both of them.

They both nodded as Cayden said. “Don’t worry, doc. I’ll take care of them.”

Nathan nodded with a satisfied smile. “Come back in two weeks, and we should be able to tell the genders.”

“Thank you, Nathan,” Liliana said as Cayden helped her sit up.

Cayden helped Liliana off the bed, and they walked out of the office. “Okay,” Cayden said softly. “Kaine and Axel should be in the library at the pack house.”

Liliana nodded. “Let’s go then. Though we’ll have to bring Cerberus and Daemon with us,” she said as they started walking out of the pack hospital.

Cayden chuckled. “Of course. Those two are like overprotective parents.”

Liliana giggled. “They just don’t want anything to happen to me.”

Cayden sighed as he held her gently around the waist to support her weight. “I have to say that I am grateful that you have them. They’ll protect you no matter what.”

Liliana nodded with a small smile. “Plus, they’re nice to have around. They’re snuggly and sweet,” she sighed as she glanced toward the forest. “I will have to visit Orthrus and the other hounds soon. I can’t imagine they’ve been in a particularly good mood since I’ve been gone,” she bit her lip as she looked at the ground. “How long was I gone?” She asked quietly.

Cayden shook his head. “You were only gone for about a week,” he said softly. “To me, it felt longer, though.”

Liliana leaned into him despite the pain. “I understand exactly how you feel, my beloved,” she whispered as they walked into their house.

As Cayden closed the door behind them, Liliana blew a low whistle. Cerberus and Daemon came rushing down the stairs. Liliana giggled as she bent down enough to caress their heads. “Come on, guys. We’re going to the pack house to see Kaine and Axel,” she looked between both of them and firmly said. “Do not attack anyone unless my life is in danger. Do you understand?” She demanded as she stood up straight.

Both creatures seemed to nod their agreement before standing in front of the door. Liliana smiled as Cayden helped her outside. They walked to the pack house with Cerberus and Daemon next to Liliana. They walked inside and found Kaine and Axel in the library, hunched over a table full of books.

Cayden and Liliana walked up to the table and helped Liliana sit down as he said. “Hey, guys,” he sighed as he stood up straight. “Have you guys found anything?”

Kaine nodded as he closely watched Liliana. “Are you alright, sweetheart?” He asked quietly.

Liliana shrugged but let out a soft groan of pain. “I’m okay,” she whispered. “I should be healed in no time.”

Kaine nodded and looked down at the book in front of him. “I’ve found the perfect place for us to practice your magic so that no one learns of it until you are ready,” he said as he stood up with the book in his hands. He placed it on the table in front of her and pointed at a picture of the place. “It’s technically on another plane, so there’s no one there. So it’ll be empty except for us.”

Liliana nodded. “Good,” she cleared her throat before saying. “I spoke with Destiny while I was asleep.”

Everyone stared at her in shock. “What?” Kaine asked in astonishment.

Liliana clicked her tongue. “She came to me while I was sleeping. She explained this new gift to me. She said I needed to master it, or it would take control of me. She told me that now that this new gift has awakened, I need to release just a bit of it every day so that it doesn’t build up and take control,” she tilted her head slightly. “She also told me something interesting about Jacques.”

Cayden frowned. “What about Jacques?” He asked.

Liliana sighed. “Destiny said that Jacques was sweet and helpful. She said that he helped her quite often. Then, she told me to ask him about the rest.”

Kaine chuckled. “Of course, Jacques knew her. Jacques knows everyone,” he sighed. “Alright. Well, we know how to teach you to master your gift. And we have found a place to practice. So whenever you are ready, we can start.”

Liliana sighed as she leaned back in her chair, only to hiss and quickly sit up. “Give me today to heal, and then we can start tomorrow,” she said once the pain subsided.

Kaine nodded. “We’ll see you in the morning then,” he said with a knowing smirk.

Liliana grumbled about being up early as she stood up.

Cayden held onto her gently as they walked back to their house to rest and heal for the day.

Martin gulped down the lump of fear in his throat as he stood in front of Atlas. “Excuse me, sir,” he said as he tried to keep his voice firm and calm.

Atlas frowned. “What is it, Martin?” He demanded.

Martin cleared his throat a couple of times before speaking. “Um, we just learned that Liliana and Jacques escaped from Tartarus,” he said as he took a couple of steps away from the desk.

Atlas’s head snapped up, and he glared at Martin. “What did you just say?” He demanded slowly.

Martin gulped past the lump of fear that had lodged itself in his throat. “Liliana and Jacques escaped from Tartarus,” he repeated as he practically pressed himself against the door.

Atlas stood up and swept his arm over his desk with a glass-shattering roar, causing everything to scatter across the floor. “How is that possible?” He demanded furiously.

Martin cleared his throat. “Um, it seems she has a very ancient gift that everyone thought disappeared eons ago,” he shook his head. “She used it to destroy the barrier. Then a son of Hades teleported them out.”

“Son of a bitch!” Atlas roared as he threw his chair at the window, shattering it on impact. “I want them found, and I want them dead,” he said in a deathly calm voice as he turned to look at Martin.

Martin nodded. “I’ll take care of it,” he said before rushing out of the office.

Atlas turned and glared at the now broken window. The only thing that he could think of was killing Liliana with his bare hands. He let out a growl as he picked up his phone. He sent a quick message to Martin. ‘I want Liliana alive. She’s mine.’

Atlas tossed his phone on his desk and started thinking of all the ways that he could torture and kill the little wolf that was becoming such a pain in the ass.

Liliana rested for the entire day, which was the next day. Then, it was time for her to start her training. Her back was still a bit sore, but it was nothing that she couldn’t handle. So she met Kaine and Axel in the library that morning after Cayden kissed and licked every inch of her body. Before he let her go, he demanded that she at least take Cerberus and Daemon with her, even though they’d be in a different dimension.

Liliana met Kaine and Axel in the library that morning. “Are you ready?” Kaine asked her.

Liliana nodded as she reached down to pet Cerberus’s center head. “Yeah, we’re ready.”

Axel chuckled. “I see Cayden still wants you to have protection even though no one will be there,” he stated.

Liliana nodded. “I don’t mind them coming with us, though. They’re adorable.”

Kaine chuckled as he stood next to her. “Alright. I’ll teleport us to where we’re going because you don’t know where we’re going.”

Liliana nodded and held his hand while her other hand gently rested on Cerberus’s head. Axel ensured that Daemon was touching Liliana’s legs before putting his hand on Kaine’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Kaine teleported them to the abandoned dimension, and soon they started practicing her new gift.

They spent most of the day practicing her new gift. When Kaine teleported them home, she was almost dead on her feet. Kaine had teleported them to Cayden’s home office. Cayden jumped to his feet when he saw Liliana swaying on her feet. He rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her. “What happened?” Cayden asked as he looked at Axel and Kaine.

Axel waved him off as he practically threw himself on the sofa in the corner. “She’s fine. Just exhausted. We were practicing her gift most of the time that we were gone. I don’t think I saw her eat anything either.”

Cayden growled low in his throat as he held her tightly. “Damn it. She needs to eat. You guys know that.”

Cayden picked her up and carried her to their bedroom. “We’re sorry, man. She refused every time. She only wanted to practice her new gift,” Axel said as they followed him.

Cayden sighed heavily. “Alright,” he looked at Liliana. “You stay put. I’m going to go and make you something to eat, and you will eat all of it.”

Liliana rolled her eyes. “You know I will,” she said with a laugh.

Cayden grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead before rushing downstairs. He made quick work of making her some food and rushed it up to her. Cayden sat in front of her and held the tray between them. “One of your favorites, my dove,” he said as he set it on her lap once she was situated.

Liliana grinned as she started eating. Cayden watched her until her entire plate was empty. Then, she pushed the tray away and leaned back with a hand on her full belly.

Cayden grinned and took the tray from her. “You know I had to make sure you ate everything before going to sleep,” he smirked. “I know how you get when you’re exhausted.”

Liliana stuck her tongue out at him before lying down and getting comfortable. Cayden set the empty tray on the desk in the corner and joined Liliana in bed. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his hand over her belly. “I promise I will do everything I can to keep you three safe,” he whispered into her ear as he slightly tightened his arms around her. “All three of you are precious, and I will love and treasure you for eternity.”

Liliana smiled and snuggled into him. “I love you, Cayden,” she whispered. “And I will for eternity.”

Cayden pressed a kiss to the mark on her neck and nuzzled against it. Then, with them embracing each other, they fell asleep.