After the meeting is over, we have dinner in the dining hall, which is large enough to fit all the wolves. Leo returns halfway through dinner, but Gwen never comes, and I wonder what they decided to do about the situation.

Katrina doesn't come to dinner either.

Cain seems significantly more relaxed about the war, and I realized that most of his stress over it the past week was linked to me. He wasn't nervous about losing the war. He was worried about losing me.

Now that Killian offered to conceal me during the war and I wasn't putting up a fight, he was much more at ease.

But Thane wasn't.

He watched every movement I made, and hung on to every word I said, giving a suspicious look to Killian and I anytime we said something. I didn't know how he picked up on Killian and I conspiring together, but then again, Thane always seemed to know when I was lying, even since we first met.

Your little tricks may work on Cain, but I know better, he had said to me after one time I tried tricking him. If he found out what Killian and I were up to, he would certainly try to put a stop to it, starting with telling Cain.

If Killian noticed Thane's skepticism, he didn't show it. Killian was relaxed as ever, telling war stories that him, Thane, and Cain shared.

"I remember in the last war, Cain ripped apart wolves so badly we couldn't ID any of the bodies," Killian says with a laugh, and I smile at my mate. "He almost tried tearing me apart for a second there."

Cain chuckles. "I always wondered how you seemed to be everywhere on the battlefield at once, Killian. It's good to know it's just your Gift and you're not faster than me."

Killian laughs boisterously. "Oh, I don't know if I'd agree with that, Alpha. You're getting old. Want to put that to the test?"

"Let's go for a run then," Thane suggests, and I narrow my eyes at him, wondering if he himself is cooking up a plan. "Just the three of us, just like the old days."

"If the Alphas are racing against each other, then Ares should come," Killian says, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I, for one, am exceptionally curious to see if the rumors are true."

I need to find Katrina, and Cain being occupied is the perfect time to do so. "Sorry, Killian, I'll have to kick your ass another day," I say smoothly. "I'm exhausted. Early morning training."

Thane's eyes narrow at me. I can almost hear him thinking: You're never tired.

Worry floods the bond. Cain.

"I'll put my mate to bed and then we'll go," Cain tells him, swooping me into his arms, and Killian smirks at me, almost like he's saying: You're welcome.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Cain asks in concern once he tucks me into bed. "We can just go to sleep right now and I'll tell Killian we'll reschedule."

I let out a fake yawn. "No, I'll be fine. I'll probably be asleep before you even leave the house."

Cain hesitates. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Plus, Killian would think you're scared of losing the race," I add, appealing to his heightened Alpha sense of pride.

It works, and Cain quickly leaves to defend his honor. A few minutes later, I look out the window and see them shoving each other before shifting into their wolves. I get dressed, pulling on a warm cloak.

I'm able to sneak out easily, since all the Blood Lake, Blue Moon, and Crimson Shadow wolves either went to bed or are still in the dining hall swapping war stories.

Luckily, despite the cold weather, it hasn't snowed, and I'm able to track Katrina's scent deep into the woods. To my surprise, she went to Blood Lake itself.

She sits with her back turned to the woods, sitting on the edge of the cliff, her feet hanging over the ledge.

"If someone pushed you in, you know you'd die right?" I ask, taking a seat next to her.

She smiles half-heartedly. "It's a good thing I'd know they were coming."

We sit in silence a few moments longer. "No," She says suddenly.

My head snaps to look at her in confusion. "What?"

"You were going to ask if I've spoken to Gwen or Leo. The answer is no," She says, her voice monotone.

God, something about this girl really freaks me out. Starting with how she seems to know everything.

"It's really creepy when you do that, you know," I tell her.

She smiles slightly. "Too bad my Sight doesn't seem that willing to give me a fair warning on something like my mate getting my sister pregnant. It's fickle like that."

"I'm sure she's sorry, you know," I say awkwardly. Relationship advice isn't really my specialty. If I were Katrina, I would have just murdered Gwen.

"She is," Katrina says without hesitation. "She's baking a cake to give me tomorrow. A cake," She laughs, slightly hysterically. "Like, you got pregnant by my mate, but thanks for the cake, that really makes it all better."

I join her laughter. "So, what are you going to say to her? To Leo?"

"I have nothing to say to him," She sneers the last word, before making her face blank. "I'm going to give her my blessing."

"Your blessing?"

Katrina nods, but conceals her emotions. "Leo is planning on asking her if he can Mark her so they can become mates and raise their child together."

My mouth drops open. I couldn't imagine what I would do if Cain got another she-wolf pregnant and then wanted to mark her. Actually, I could, but the answer isn't PG.

"I'm sorry," I tell her honestly.

Katrina shrugs. "Gwen genuinely loves Leo, which is a miracle after her bastard mate screwed her so badly. He loves her, too. They'll have a very happy life together. I have no desire to break up a family. So, come tomorrow, I'll take the cake and tell her to be with her son's father. It's a boy, by the way," Katrina laughs slightly, her eyes shining.

"Do you know if I'll get pregnant?" I ask her suddenly.

She glances warily towards me. "Too many factors up in the air right now to tell for sure. The future I see is based on decisions people have made so far. As soon as someone changes their mind, those visions are useless and everything can change. At any given moment, I can see hundreds of different futures dependent on one single choice."

"But you have seen a future in which I do get pregnant?" I repeat, annoyed with her inconclusive Seer-talk.

Katrina hesitates. "I have. Doesn't mean it will happen. There are many more futures in which you have no children."

Her words make my heart sink, but also give me hope. "How do I make sure that the future with me having pups is the one that comes to fruition?" I press on.

"You'll have to trust me," She says lowly. "I'm going to have to do something you won't like and will try killing me for. You have to swear not to try to kill me for it."

"I swear," I say quickly. "What is it? What happens in that future?"

Katrina is silent for a moment, and her eyes dart back and forth, as if she's reading a book in the air. "I can't tell you that. You'll try to stop it and end up making things worse."

I consider her words. "Someone is going to die, aren't they?" I ask quietly, my stomach turning.

She pauses. Then nods.

"Who?" I ask, though I'm certain she won't answer.

Katrina's eyes dart back and forth once more before she closes them for a few seconds. "Someone dies in every future I've seen. That much is unavoidable. It's just a matter of who."

"You've seen visions of me dying, haven't you?" I realize. "That's why you were concerned when I said I wasn't worried about fulfilling the prophecy and seeing Selene."

Katrina squeezes her eyes shut before reopening them. "I have seen many futures in which you die, Ares." She looks away, avoiding my gaze.

"Promise you'll save Cain," I say quickly, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Promise you'll do your best to make sure the vision that comes true is one where Cain lives. I can deal with anything else, just promise me that."

"You won't like what happens in those," She warns. "For Cain to live, people must die. I can't even guarantee your survival."

"I don't care."

Katrina sighs, rubbing her temples. "Things are going to get very ugly," She mutters.

"How do you decide?" I ask suddenly. "I mean, you have the power to stop people's deaths before they happen, completely alter the fate of entire packs. How do you decide what people to save?"

Katrina's eyes turn very, very sad, and she suddenly looks much older than she really is. "I choose the future that ensures prosperity for decades," She says softly. "People die. That's natural. Especially in our world. I stay out of it when I can, unless their death would mean Hell on earth."

"You saved Axel," I pointed out. "You could have let him die, but you warned us."

Katrina nods slowly. "It was imperative for the future that he lives for now."

"For now?" I ask, feeling my stomach turn.

Katrina's nose starts bleeding. "Fuck," She swears, and scoots back so she's far away from the edge of the lake. Her body starts convulsing, blood seeping from her nose and purely black eyes. After about a minute, she starts coughing up blood, and her eyes return to normal.

"Are you okay?" I ask in concern. Jesus, that would never get less freaky.

"Fine," She answers shortly.

"What did you see?" I ask nervously.

Her stare is hollow. "You don't want to know."

She's probably right.

"Why does that happen to you when you have a vision?" I ask, deciding not to interrogate her on whatever she saw. "Is that normal for Seers?"

Katrina nods. "If you use your Sight too much, push it too far, then it will push right back. Everything requires balance. Take advantage of your Sight and you will pay the price. I've already altered the future too much, there will come a day when I pay the ultimate price."

Her words make my blood run cold. Did she just foreshadow her own death?

"You should go," She says suddenly. "Cain is going to return to the Pack House soon. You'll want to be there when he does."

Having a Seer sure comes in handy for evading my mate, that much I'll admit.

I get off the ground, but before I leave, she grabs my wrist. "Killian is going to come to me tonight and want to set up a meeting for tomorrow to talk about our plan for Selene. We'll meet here at noon tomorrow."

Her words confuse me. "I thought you couldn't see anything about Killian."

Katrina nods. "There's gaps in my Sight, blank spots where I can't see anything at all. When I come back to the Pack House and go into my room, my Sight goes dark, which can only mean he's going to be there. It also goes blank around noon tomorrow once I reach Blood Lake. Some gaps are easier to fill than others."

The more I talk to Katrina, the more confused I get. The more answers she gives, the more questions I have.

"Go," She says emphatically. "Cain will be furious if he returns and you're not there, and the meeting won't happen."

I nod, leaving her staring into Blood Lake, and I wonder if she knows that the dagger is still down there.

That's not the only thing I wonder if she knows.

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