I am belligerently drunk.
You know what that means.
#DoubleUpdateBitches

It feels like someone pulled the rug out from beneath my feet.

I shake my head slowly. "No... No, you're wrong!" I hiss, my body filled with anger.

He was wrong, he had to be wrong. Cain is my mate. I love him, more than I have loved anyone. The only person I truly love.

Helios looks sad as he speaks. "I'm sorry, young one. I know this is hard to accept."

"How?" I spit out venomously. "How is that possible?"

Helios sighs. "As previously mentioned, Selene was infuriated after losing the bet. Even after she trapped me, her anger did not subside, and I was not the only one who suffered from her wrath. She felt betrayed by Lucille, and punished her descendants. All of Lucille's descendants were cursed with two mates. One for their human side, one for their wolf. Thane is your true mate, because he is the mate that shares your human soul."

I shake my head again. "That's... not possible..." I don't know what to say, I refuse to believe it. "Thane already has a mate! Onyx is his mate."

Helios sighs again. "When Selene decided to curse Lucille's bloodline, she set off a series of events that she did not anticipate. Think of it as a series of intricately woven threads. When one unravels, there are others affected. By splitting the human and wolf soul, she accidentally created duplicate mates. Not everyone was affected by this, and most wolves are with their true mates, and only have one. Cain is your wolf side's mate, Thane is your human mate, the true mate. Onyx is Thane's mate for his wolf side, not his true mate, which is why they didn't work out. You may be interested to know that Onyx is already in love with her true mate."

"I am not interested in knowing that," I grind my teeth. "Who the fuck is Cain's true mate, if it's not me?"

"Cain of Blood Lake doesn't have a true mate," Helios answers, and I exhale in relief. Not that it really mattered, I would have killed her anyways.

"The true mate is based on a werewolf's human soul. Cain doesn't have a human soul. Remember how I said that Selene favored Blood Lake? She increased the Blood Alpha's wolf side to the point where they didn't have a human soul to match. Haven't you had that thought to yourself many times, young one? That Cain of Blood Lake is more wolf than human?" He asks, cocking his head to the side.

"But... The dreams. Why am I having them? Why are there sparks with Thane too?" I demand.

Helios smirks. "It all comes back to the knife. When a child of Lucille kills with the dagger, it serves as a sacrifice to me, and increases my strength. Not enough to get me out of the dagger but enough for me to regain some of the abilities I lost. Like projection," He gestures to himself. "And showing you alternate realities."

"Alternate realities," I repeat.

He nods. "The dreams you and Thane have are visions of what would have happened if I was in control of the mating process, and you were to be with your true mate. You would have fallen in love, had many pups, and lived happily ever after."

My stomach turns. "Why can't I have pups with Cain?"

Helios glances to my stomach. "Because I made it so that you couldn't."

I freeze. "What the fuck did you just say?"

"Ares, Cain is not your true mate! You are destined to be with Thane. After enough kills with the knife, I had enough power to control your fertility. You cannot be with Cain of Blood Lake. With Thane, you will become the best version of yourself. You and Thane will cancel each other's bloodlust, and you will no longer possess the need to kill. With Thane, you will know true love. With Thane, Blue Moon and the continent will flourish," He explains.

"And with Cain?" I spit out.

His eyes darken. "You two will burn the world down."

"I don't believe that," I say, but my voice falters.

He shakes his head sadly. "If Cain is fire, you're napalm. You two are far too corrosive, far too explosive to last. Mark my words, if you choose Cain over Thane, you will shake the earth and there will be aftershocks."

"I love him," I tell him, and my voice cracks.

He looks at me in sympathy. "Not as much as you would love Thane. Thane understands you in ways you don't understand yourself. Thane puts out your flames, Cain fans them. Thane was made for you, and you him."

My fist tightens around the dagger. "Shut the fuck up. Cain is my mate and I do not want Thane. End of discussion. Give me back my fertility or I throw his cursed dagger in Blood Lake and never look back."

His eyes narrow. "Do that, and you will never have pups. As soon as I'm freed, I will give you all the pups you desire."

I grind my teeth together. "Even when I choose Cain?"

He rolls his eyes. "When you free me, if you choose to ignore my advice and not go with your true mate, I will still grant you pups. Despite what a horrible, horrible choice that would be."

I hate him, the God standing before me. But if he was my only chance at having pups, I had to do as he says, with the exception of leaving Cain. "Fine," I speak through clenched teeth. "What do I have to do to free you? You said something about a total eclipse in two weeks?"

Helios looks pleased that I'm agreeing to aid him. "Yes, young one, there is a total eclipse. It will occur two weeks from today. You will have to traverse through the dimensions and stab Selene with her own knife. It won't trap her, but it will free me, and once I'm freed, I will stab her with my own knife made of sunstones, and she will be trapped in there forever, just as she had done to me."

I stare at him in bewilderment. "Why do you say that like it's simple? Traverse through the dimensions? What does that even mean? And what, it'll be easy for me to kill a fucking Goddess?"

Helios frowns. "Well, I'm not too sure about the dimensional travel. Go to a Seer, ask for advice on that. As much as I wish I knew everything, my powers are too diminished to know what's going on in every corner of the world. A Seer can help with that, a skilled one will know what to do."

Great, just great. "And killing the Moon Goddess?" I scoff.

Helios smiles slightly. "Ares, you are fated to free me. It is written in the stars. Your Gift has made you an incredible warrior- the strongest one who has ever lived, and who ever will live. It is your destiny. You will free me," He says darkly, and I'm not dumb enough to miss the clear threat.

He continues, "The stars have aligned perfectly for you to free me. Everything you have been through happened for a reason. I have no doubt that Selene has tried sabotaging your journey, but destiny is funny like that- you can't fight it. It is why you will end up with Thane, one way or another," He warns. "The stars will not allow for any other outcome."

"You're wrong," I insist, anger coursing through my blood. Cain is mine- and I am his. Stars be damned.

He just shakes his head and smiles sadly. "Oh, to be young and mortal," He pauses, and the light around him flickers. "I do not have much strength left, and I won't be able to project for much longer. You must visit a Seer. They will guide you."

After considering his words, and before he disappears, I dare to ask another question.

"Lucille mated with the Landon. What happened when the Alpha returned to find out his mate slept with his Beta?"

More shadows circulate around Helios' face.

"He killed him," He answers darkly, and disappears.

A shower of gold glitters in the light in his wake, the only evidence of his visit. And after a few seconds, that's gone too.

I stare at the dagger, and the H, which I now realize was for Helios all along. I shove the knife in my cloak, disgusted by everything it encompasses. I look over the cliff, down at Blood Lake. Cain once told me long ago that the lake was put there by the Moon Goddess, and if any rogues or members of other packs swam in it, they would perish. At the time, I thought he was full of shit.

But I was wrong about many, many things.

The only thing I knew for certain was that Helios was wrong about true mates. Cain is my other half, regardless of what alternate realities may show. They were insignificant in this lifetime, in my lifetime. I would prove Helios wrong about everything he warned me about.

Gods could be wrong.

"Well, well, well," A female voice sneers from behind me, and I turn around to see a small dark-haired female standing next to a black wolf. "We found the Luna. Just the person we were looking for."

I summon a sword, ready to decapitate them both. These must be the bastard rogues hunting my pack. They will suffer for it.

I'm about to charge at them, when the female raises a single hand. "Don't move," She commands, her voice deep and alluring. I try to move, but I'm paralyzed.

What the fuck?

"Summon the moonstone dagger," She commands, and my head is spinning. "I know you have it. Take it out."

I clench my fists, and shake as I try to fight the command. She must have some kind of mind-control Gift, because every nerve in my body was fighting to do as she says.

"Summon the dagger now," She commands, and the wolf next to her growls.

I can't fight the command anymore. I have to take out the dagger, and I do.

But before she commands me to give it to her, I throw it off of the cliff, sending it sinking to the bottom of Blood Lake.

"No!" She bellows, looking over the cliff, and pulls out a knife. "I hope that knife was worth dying over."

She takes a step towards me, and I hear Cain's voice call out, "Ares!" I look to the side, and see that Cain is running towards us.

"Fuck!" The girl swears, and nods at the wolf once. "Don't move," She commands, and I freeze.

She throws the knife at me, impaling me in the stomach. The knife is deep inside my flesh, but I can't rip it out. Based on the excruciating pain, it was a silver dagger.

"Better go save your mate before it's too late," She taunts Cain, before turning around and shifting into her wolf. Cain throws balls of fire at them, but they dodge it.

Cain turns his back on them, ripping the knife out of my stomach, and blood pours out. Since it was a silver blade, it doesn't heal, and even I can tell that the wound could easily be fatal.

"What are you doing?" I groan as I collapse to the ground, pressing my fingers into the wound to staunch the bleeding. Her Gift must have a time-limit, because I was no longer affected. "Cain, you have to go after them!"

My vision blurs slightly and I stumble, but Cain catches me and pulls me into his arms, and carries me while sprinting back to the territory.

"Cain, I'm fine," I insist, but blood is pouring out so rapidly it's making everything fuzzy. "You have to go get them!"

Cain ignores me, continuing his pursuit of a healer.

And before I black out, all I can think about is the dagger, sunken somewhere in the cursed lake.

**

"Cain, he said I'm fine," I insist.

The healer has wide eyes. "I mean, whatever you think is best for your mate, Alpha," He says quickly when Cain glares daggers at him.

"My wound is all stitched up, Cain. I'm not killed that easily," I joke, but close my mouth when Cain's black eyes focus on me.

"Leave us," He tells the healer, who looks relieved to be dismissed alive.

Cain crosses his arms, and even without the bond, I can feel his anger. "You were supposed to stay inside the house," He growls, his eyes as black as the night.

I sigh. "I know, I'm sorry. But hey, no harm no foul. I mean, a little bit of harm, but no death, so that's something at least."

Cain snarls loudly. "This is now the second time in a week you have almost died right in front of me. You aren't leaving this house until your hair is grey and your skin is wrinkled."

I roll my eyes. "That's a tad bit dramatic, wouldn't you say?"

Fire engulf Cain's hands, and for a minute, I could swear I see flames in his eyes. He takes a few deep breathes, closing his eyes, and when he reopens them, the fire is gone. "If you argue with me about this, I will lock you up in the prison again. And this time, you won't escape."

Always the dramatics with him. "Fine, fine, I'll lay low for the next week or so," I say dismissively, and get out of the hospital bed where I slept the last night. I had no doubt Cain was there the whole time, though I was too unconscious to remember.

Cain doesn't ask for my permission before taking me in his arms, and his demeanor is so frightening, I don't dare to argue with him. Another fight for another day.

I thought he would be taking me to our bedroom, but instead, he drags me to his office, and places me down on a small couch on my back. "I'm not letting you out of my sight," He says gutturally, and I'm once again reminded of Helios' words. He's more wolf than man.

I nod, lowering my eyes. Now is not the time to fight him for dominance, because for once, I know I would lose. Especially with the gaping wound in my stomach.

Cain sits in his chair and goes through paperwork, looking up at me every few seconds. I sigh. This was terrible timing for imprisonment, what with needing to sneak away in two weeks to kill a fucking God.

His phone rings, and he frowns. If a phone rings, it's someone from another pack, since anyone from Blood Lake would have used mindlink.

"Cain," He answers shortly.

I can't make out what the person on the other line is saying because they're talking too fast, but I can tell that it's a female voice. She sounds panicked.

Cain cuts off her incomprehensible babbling. "Katrina, slow down. I can't understand a word you're saying."

"Axel," I hear her breathe out. "He's in trouble."