Lethal✔️

Chapter 66

"I can't go any further than this," Killian says as we stare at a large house in the middle of the woods.

I raise my eyebrows. "I'm sure the Seer is inside. I thought you would have liked to celebrate our victory with her."

Killian gets a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Don't worry about that. I'll see Katrina soon enough. For now, I need to stay away from Cain."

"Why?" I ask in confusion.

Killian quirks an eyebrow. "Because I'm complicit in taking you on your suicide mission."

"Still alive," I point out.

Killian laughs. "Yes, Ares, against all odds, you're still alive. But I helped you deceive him, and knowingly put you in danger. This is the stuff decades of rivalries are made of. Blood Lake and Crimson Shadow will not be allies again for a long while."

As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Cain wouldn't outright kill him, but he would never forgive him for his role in this, even though we won in the end.

"Until next time, Luna," Killian bows mockingly before disappearing in thin air. Freak.

As soon as he's gone, almost like she knew he was going to leave, and I'm sure she did, Katrina walks out of the house.

"You did it," She states, standing a few feet away from me, no doubt for her safety, though I'm sure I could kill her if I tried.

"Did you know?" I ask quietly. I have no rage left in me. I am exhausted in every sense of the word. I have been fighting for far too long.

Katrina looks at me sadly. "Only one could live, Ares. Just like Henry and Landon, only one was ever meant to survive."

"You chose Cain," I state.

The Seer nods slowly. "I told you. I protect the prosperous future."

"What would have happened," I can't help myself from asking. "If Cain went to war?"

"He would have taken the dagger for you," She confirms what I already suspected. "You would have been too heartbroken and too weak to defeat Selene. You would not have returned."

But Thane would be alive, is what she doesn't say, doesn't have to because I already know.

"He was relieved when it happened," Katrina says quietly. "He was grateful to be the one to ensure that you and Cain got your pups. He died feeling at peace with his role and himself."

Her words do nothing to ease the searing pain in my chest. I didn't know if it would ever go away. That kind of guilt never does.

"You stayed here," I tell her. "Knowing that I might kill you when I saw you."

Katrina smiles slightly. "No, Ares. You know I held up my end of the bargain. Cain is waiting for you inside. The two of you will have a happy, long life together."

I start walking to the door, to my mate.

"Ares," Katrina calls out, and I turn around to look at her. "There will come a time when I call on you for a favor. You owe me many. I will only need one."

I grind my teeth together. She wasn't wrong. I hate that she isn't wrong.

I ignore her and go inside the house. Axel sits on a couch talking to a small blonde girl. Based on the way he's looking at her, his mate. Good for him.

"Where's Cain?" I ask, my mind only focused on seeing him.

Axel gives me instructions, and I find him in a bedroom with trees painted on the walls, looking out the window.