Natalia

Chapter 11 - The Third Task

The car that brings both Videric and Natalia stops at the most exclusive townhouses in London. Natalia looks outside of the car window but all she sees was rows and rows of townhouses.

"My wife used to love this place. Before she...." Videric seems to have a hard time mentioning about his late wife. 

"This used to be our vacation house when we had some business in town," Videric said.

"How did she died, my king?" Natalia asks.

"I thought vampires live forever." Videric opens the door and went out. He waited for Natalia to get out of the car. He walks towards the stairs and rings the doorbell. 

"She died giving birth to Arika. She's human. I did try to change her. But it was too late." Videric said while wait for the door to be open. A cripple man opens the door.

"My king.." he said and opens it wide enough for the king.

"Follow me, Natalia." The king said and walk towards the room that connected to the library.

"If this place is here when your was wife still alive, that's mean this house has been here for what? A couple of hundred years?" Videric nods.

"The very first luxury home in the city," Videric smiles and sat down on the leather armchair.

"Sit down. Don't be shy." Natalia looks around before sitting on the couch. 

"What are we doing now?" Natalia asks when she's bored. 

"We're waiting for someone that will accompany you to meet Freya Bell," Natalia sighs. Usually, it will be Arika and Ivy will do all of that. She still can't believe Arika did that. She sighs yet again before leans back.

"Quit sighing. It's annoying." Videric said. Natalia look up when she felt a presence. 

"Ah.. she's here. Open the door," Natalia stands up and open the door. She was speechless when she came face to face with a goddess. Natalia stares at the brown hair beauty which compliments her beautiful creamy face. Her brown eyes shine like a gem that decorates her whole feature. Videric clears his throat. 

"Let her through," He said. Natalia went back to reality before taking a step to the side for the brown hair woman to walks in. Natalia closes the door and watches the woman kneels in front of Videric.

"My king," She said with the softest voice ever. Videric motions for her to stand on her feet. 

"Katarina," Videric smiles. 

"At your service," Natalia was looking at her backside when she turns to face the newborn.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Katarina asks Natalia who's still staring at her from head to toe. She snaps her finger making Natalia flinch.

"You have no British accent. You're not from here huh?" Natalia suddenly asks. 

Katarina looks back at the king who only nodding his head. 

"I am not. I was ordered to be here by the king himself," Katarina turns to the king and reaches for something from her back pocket.

"A little token from my father, the alpha. He would like to thank you for your wonderful job." Natalia is confused when she said the word ‘alpha’. Videric politely accepted the gift from Katarina.

"Oh, amazing. I did mention to him that I want to get my hands on this," Videric smiles.

"Natalia, keep this safe for me." Natalia nods and keeps the gift in her front pocket.

"Katarina, did you do what I asked you days earlier?" The brown woman nod. 

"I did some digging on Freya, yes, she fits in the greedy category. She has some weird attachment with material things such as designer bags and shoes. She's hoarding them." Katarina finishes. Natalia seems to forget how greedy Freya was. All she remembered was how painful her slaps were. 

"Where is she right now?" Videric asks. 

"It is Wednesday night. So, the nightclub. One of the most exclusive's in London." Videric stands up.

"Bring Natalia to the nightclub. Let them see each other. If something went wrong, just get Natalia out of there and come back home. Don't kill her just yet. We need a couple of days for her to be alert. Then...." Videric traces his finger across his neck with a smile. 

"Follow me," Katarina said. 

Natalia turns to the king. He smiles at her, giving his approval to follow the werewolves and watches they both sidle out.

"Now that's she's on her mission, Denize, Juliet, get out from hiding," Two figures suddenly appears in front Videric.

"I thought she will never go away!" Denize whine. Juliet sniffs the air.

"You hired a werewolf to take care of her?" Videric smiles.

"I love how keen your nose picks up everything. Yes. She is from the Crimson Pack. That female werewolf is the alpha's daughter, Katarina Oasis." Videric stands up and motions for Juliet to do her thing.

"I've been waiting for you to do this." 

Juliet smiles before she takes the book of Thoth out of her jacket. 

***

Katarina was on the wheel while Natalia sitting at the passenger seat.

"Is it true? About what happened to you? When Videric met me at my and my father, he looks so worried." Natalia chuckles.

 "You need to be specific about it. A lot had been happening to me." Katarina turns the car to take the left lane. 

"Well, your task. And victims. Are they..." Katarina seems to have some trouble to complete her sentences. 

"Rejected me? Yes. They did. It just made everything easier you know. I hate them," Nataliachuckles.

"How can you simply laugh it off like that?" She asks while keeping her eyes on the road.

"If you have been in a shitty situation all your living life, you'll tend to laugh at it too," Natalia looks outside of the car when Katarina stops in front of a nightclub that seems to be quite famous.

"Are all these people planning to get inside the club? Geez," Katarina chuckles.

"Freya is one heck of a dancer you know. Everyone here came just for her. Man and woman alike," Natalia turns to meet Katarina's brown orbs. 

"Dancer? You mean Freya is a..." Katarina nods.

"She's the owner and dancer in her own gentlemen’s club," Natalia looks outside again before getting out of the car.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised. She does fall into that category. I mean she's been giving lap dances for the jocks every pep rally! She's completely perfect for it," Katarina chuckles. 

"Did she ever gave you a lap dance?" Natalia shakes her head. 

"She was never drunk enough to do so," Katarina laughs.

"Enough with the jokes. Follow me," Natalia follows her towards the bouncer. When Natalia was about to walk past the bouncer, he growls at her.

"Stand down German. She's okay," Katarina said. This guy named German let them through. 

Katarina heard series of the club-goers groans when they enter. She chuckles as she leads Natalia inside.

"Who was that?" She asks.

"My little brother. He's the Delta," Natalia didn’t understand what was Katarina trying to say to her.

"What?" Katarina gave her the 'are you serious look.' Natalia shrugs.

"In packs we have ranks. Alpha, Beta, Delta, Salutary wolf, Sentinel, Elder, hunters, scouts, guardian, omega or pups and last but not least, the rogues," Katarina turns to Natalia who try to process everything that was told.

"By the looks of that weird staring, I say the king never inform you about us?" Natalia slowly shakes her head. Katarina leads the way towards a sitting area. She orders some drinks before turning to Natalia again. 

"Let see. An alpha, my father,  is the leader of the pack, he tries his best to keep up with the going on within the pack. He is like someone who tries to keep everything together in a pack. A Beta werewolf holds second place in the packs ranking. They show commitment and loyalty to the pack also acting as a discipliner to reinforce the alpha's decisions. Beta is also the person who will be the next Alpha." Katarina explained. The waiter came back with their drink.

"You do drink wine right? Because they don’t serve blood here," Natalia chuckles and gives the werewolves a small nod. 

"Where were we?" Katarina asks.

"The beta." Natalia answers.

"Oh yes, after the beta, there is delta. The delta is in training for the beta position. They are third in rank from alpha and beta. Deltas do not hold the authority to be in charge of medium or large hunts. That is a privilege to only those who are alphas, betas, or hunters." Katarina took a sip of her wine.

"We also have a salutary wolf. Also, known as a healer. He or she heals and takes care of the ill and injured. No magic nor powers, just herbs and special medicines from natural resources surrounding the packs living vicinity. And then we have Sentinels. Their job is to ensure that the pack is safe by patrolling the territory and watching the movements of their surroundings. They are to make sure that no intruders enter the clearing at all." Katarina looks around the packed club.

"Then we have elders. An elder is a werewolf with great experience and knowledge of every werewolf history. In the past, they may have held such high ranks as alpha and/or beta. They are sometimes older members who have decided to make the pack their final resting place. An elder's opinion is greatly respected throughout the pack, is an advisor to both alphas and betas."

Katarina smiles at Natalia. 

"Then we have hunters. The hunters are those werewolves who are exceptionally skilled at tracking and hunting down their prey. The hunters make sure that the pack has a full abundance of food. After large hunts, the lead hunter will alert the pack of the food that they manage to gather." Natalia was intrigued to know more. 

"We also have scouts. Scouts are responsible for warning the pack of dangerous territory outside the clearing if any. Scouts are mainly werewolves known by neighboring packs and visit around often. They stay in touch with other packs and keep friendly relations. They are to report any important changes to the alpha and beta."

"Geez. That sounds fun. I mean to be in a pack. You guys working together like a unit," Katarina chuckles.

"We are a unit, Natalia. We helped each other. Now, a guardian is a wolf that shows interest and skill in caring for weakened pack mates. They also watch over the older or ill werewolves of the pack. The caretaker of the pack ensures when any werewolf is wounded, they recover properly not putting too much stress on their wounds. Like a nurse or some sort." 

"Now this is my favorite. Because the cutest of them all are in this category. An Omega and Pup. The omega of the pack is 2nd lowest ranking werewolf. The omega is usually a young werewolf that is very new to pack life and still learning, a wolf that has been lowered in rank due to wrong actions, or a re-evaluated werewolf. They are weak and always in trouble but we love them so dearly." Natalia can sense she likes to have that little bundle of joy herself.

"Last but not least, the rogues. The rogues are the werewolves that have either been kicked out of their old pack or their pack was destroyed. Some say they are bad wolves, others say some of them are nice. A wolf can also be a rogue if you were born packages,"

Natalia places her hand under her chin. 

"So which one are you?" Natalia asks out of whim. 

"I'm a beta." Katarina smiles proudly.

"I'm the oldest in my family and the next alpha of my pack," Natalia was surprised.

"So you will be one of the greats?" Katarina nods.

"Well, I hope so. My father, he's one of the exceptional alpha this realm has ever seen. I want to do greater things than him." Natalia didn't get to answers back when Katarina inform her that Freya just saunters on the dance floor with her overly clothing. The opposite s*x was screaming in joy for they just witnessed the most beautiful Godly made creature. 

"She's a w***e," Katarina added.

"You just said it right off my mouth," Jac chuckles. 

***

"Will your husband approve of how close we are right now." Katarina chuckles.

"I don't have any," Natalia raises both eyebrows.

"Wife maybe?" Katarina laughs as Natalia covers herself when Freya turns her head to them.

"We're divorce. That's what you get when you insist on marrying someone the goddess didn't choose for you." 

"The goddess?" Natalia asks. 

"My kind worships the moon goddess," Natalia nods and finally let go of Katarina's body.

"What a ride!" Katarina joke before giggling at how red Natalia currently is.

"Shut it. I'm sorry though." Katarina waves it off and turns to Freya.

"Let's show them huh." Natalia was confused.

"Show them what?" Katarina sighs. 

"Oh my God Natalia. Don't tell me you're a virgin?" Natalia recalls back to what she did with Arika and Ivy.

"No, but when I was human I was," Katarina wraps her arms around her and leads her to Freya's stage.

"Just allow me to do anything. Okay?" Natalia nods and follows whatever she's doing. 

Freya was dancing on the stage when her eyes landed on a familiar figure beneath her. She seems to lose her focus on her steps and her usual customer noticed it. Freya's heart was racing and her mind went blank. She doesn't know what to do except to thinking back where did she meet this person before. 

Suddenly she remembered something before she gasps. Her usual customer was curious as to why she's not acting like herself tonight. Freya ended her dance earlier than usual and ran towards the back room. Katarina sees this as an opportunity and drags Jac towards the backroom as well. 

Katarina used her strong sense of smell to search for Freya. It's one of the perks of being a werewolf.

"She's here. Get inside ad introduce yourself," Natalia stops herself from being shoves.

"How can you be so sure?" Natalia asks. Katarina once again gave her the 'are you serious' look. She points at the name on the door with a smile.

"To make sure, I can smell her inside this room. So go and do your job!" Katarina opens the door and shoves Natalia inside before closing it and stands on guard. Freya was so surprise, she nearly hit Natalia on the head with her baseball bat. 

"Wait wait wait!!!" Natalia said before grabbing the bat.

"Not the face. Not again." Freya recalls her memories. She heard that voice before. But where... where did she hear it?

"You don't remember me huh?" Freya slowly shakes her head no.

"Natalia Ambrose," Freya let go of the bat and falls to the ground as her legs betrayed her. She can't believe that this is happening right now.

"Wha.. how... you're dead! I came to your memorial service hosted by your family," Natalia smiles.

"Ta daaaaa." Natalia joke before giving her a serious look. 

"I came back from the dead to avenge my death. You know, it's fine to say no rather than slapping me multiple times," Freya looks up to Natalia with tears.

"Tears won't do you any good," Freya crawls to Natalia and touches her feet. Freya felt something is not right with Natalia.

"I'm sorry Nat. I never meant to do all those things to you. It's just a slap. And the money I took, I was looking after my mother," Natalia turns to a photo frame with a scoff. 

"You got yourself a club to run and your mother is skiing in the Alps! Do you know what happened to me before I was kidnapped?! I lost the only home I ever have! I lost my job because of a stupid thing I don't even do! While you're here enjoying life, drinking dry gin every single day, I was suffering! But not anymore!” Natalia removes her feet from Freya. 

"I'm tired of being the weak one. I'm tired of being the person who has to clean up your mess! It's time for me to wake up and deal with you all who destroyed my life!" Natalia yells before walking out of the door and hit Katarina's backside. 

Natalia grabs on her body before she falls on her front.

"Sorry," Natalia apologize.

"Let's go home." Katarina nod.

"We shall kill her tomorrow." Katarina turns on her engine and drives away from the club.

"I heard what you said. In the room. With Freya." Katarina was being careful with her words. 

"You heard everything?" Natalia asks. Katarina nod. 

"Welcome to my life," Natalia joke. But Katarina knows she doesn't mean it because her eyes tell her otherwise.

"Don't you miss your parents? Family?" Natalia shakes her head no.

"My parents disown when I lost the mortgage. I was homeless when those guys kidnapped me," Katarina stops at the red light. 

"What happened to them?" 

"Arika and Ivy killed them. They decapitate them as they did to me. I want to do it myself but I was just a newborn then. I was told to have a good rest while my body gets used to the venom,” Katarina drives again when the lights turn green.

"Venom?" Even Natalia doesn’t know what Videric meant by it.

"I'm not sure myself but my body isn't my body. It was given to me by the king. This venom keeps it alive. Now that Arika removed her mark from me, I can't walk under the sun. I am nothing,” She never understands how vampires could live like that. 

"An Akeldama can walk under the sun as they please. Videric too but he has his limits. Except if you’re the descendant of king Dracul himself, then yes, you can." 

"King Dracul? You mean Dracula?" Jac asks.

"No silly," Katarina chuckles.

"King Dracul. The very first king of vampires. The person who obliterated the whole army of rogues himself. Former queen Kora's father, Queen Thana's grandfather. You have no idea who I'm talking about huh?" 

"I've met queen Thana before," Katarina gasps. She steps on the breaks in the middle of a highway before turns her attention to Natalia.

"You've met Queen Thana Akeldama?! And her wife!" Natalia nods.

"You b***h!" She yells before stepping on the accelerator.

 "My father met her before. She's my idol. And Queen Essence, always so wise." Katarina dreamily admires the rulers.

"Someday you will meet them. Since you aim to be an alpha like your old man," Natalia states. Katarina gave her a loving smile. Natalia felt a tug on her dead heart when she did that. Katarina's brown eyes interlock with hers but were cut off when Katarina needs his full attention on the road.

Natalia looks outside with a smile plastered on her face.

"Not bad.. for a werewolf," She said mentally without knowing Videric could hear her thoughts. In the townhouse, Videric was just reading a book when Natalia’s thoughts echoing in his head. Videric looks up from his book with a smile. 

"Seems like the plan is working," He said to Juliet who's busy having s*x with Denize on the couch in front of him.

"Good... for... you... vi... deric..." Juliet said out of breath. Videric looks at them while pulling his glasses down.

"You should go deeper Denize. She loves it when someone in her deep," Videric nonchalantly said before continued to read his book.