Of Gods and War - Book 3

Chapter 1

Kaiya – 14 years old

“Kids, come on down, your breakfast is ready,” mom called out to us. It was the middle of summer vacation and my twin brother, Kellan, and I were starting high school in a month. I stepped into the hallway out of my bedroom at the same time as Kel. 

Where I already fixed my hair, and at least put on some shorts and a shirt, my brother came out in his superhero boxers and nothing else. 

I looked at him, scrunching my face, “you look like a little kid. You should get dressed.”

Kel rubbed his eyes and looked at me frowning, “shut up.” Shut. Up. That was all he could muster up. He had no cares for how he looked and wanted to act like it all the same. Alright, Kellan, we will see how this plays out. 

Callum followed him out, but at least he put on some sweats and a shirt. At least he has dignity, whereas my brother was about to lose his. Cal smiled, and looked cute, even with that messy mop of hair on top of his head. His hair was dark like his father’s. But where the Alpha maintained a clean look, Cal was trying to pull off some sort of grungy long-ish hair. It’s cute. Suits him for being fourteen. “Hey, Kai,” he rubbed his eyes, “sleep okay?”

I nodded my head, “yeah, you guys look like you were up late.”

“Just playing some games.”

“Mhmm,” I rolled my eyes and bit my lower lip. Cal patted my shoulder and headed downstairs behind my practically naked brother, for a seat at the table. I could hear mom scolding Kel for showing up to breakfast in his underwear when we have guests over. He waved her off saying Cal wasn’t a guest, he practically lives with us. I heard mom scoff and put plates down on the table.

I leaned into my room, “hey Katelyn, you almost dressed?” We were heading out on our bikes today after we ate so we could go to this cave we found a few weeks back. We decided last night we were going to go before school starts. And since her mom left for a work thing pretty late, my parents picked her up and brought her over while the boys were in Kel’s room. 

“Yeah, coming,” she came out in a pair of denim bermuda shorts and a plain white t-shirt with a black and grey checkered flannel tied around her waist. She fixed her blonde hair into a ponytail. Aside from the flannel, we almost look like we’re matching.

“By the way,” I whispered into her ear, “my brother doesn’t have any pants on, so, I’m sorry you have to see that. He thinks that the peach fuzz on his chest is actual hair so…feel free to make fun of him.”

I watched her cheeks tint into a light shade of pink while she held back her giggles. She’s so in love with him, I would be grossed out, but, I actually think they would be cute. We walked downstairs to the table while Kel and Cal had their backs to us. I cleared my throat to announce myself and while Cal turned, my brother ignored me. 

Call me an asshole, but I think this it’s funny to embarrass my brother. I mean, we pull stuff on each other all the time but hardly ever actually fight. “So, Katelyn,” I pulled out a chair across from Cal, leaving the only other seat to my friend. “what do you want on your pancakes? Syrup?”

I watched Kel’s face drop, eyes widen, and face pale the second she sat down across from him. Cal and I both held back our laughs. Kel was stuck between get up and she sees me in my underwear, or stay here until she leaves. My mother, bless her heart, stood in the kitchen watching the whole exchange.

“Oh, Kel, is that actual chest hair?” Katelyn asked. 

Kel is used to Katelyn being around. We’re all friends. But last year, his feelings about Katelyn started to become all too obvious. “Uh…yeah,” he looked down at his chest, trying to play it off, “yeah, that’s me.” He dropped his voice way too low, “just becoming a man, Katelyn.”

Cal and I both lost it and snorted, watching one another laugh we ended up throwing our heads back in laughter. 

“Hey Kellan, dear,” mom called, “come get the condiments for the pancakes.”

“Mom, why can’t you have Kai do it?”

“Because you gave me attitude and I’m your mother who just asked you. Now help me!”

“Um, Katelyn? Do you mind looking away for a second?”

She tilted her head, “why?”

“Uh, I don’t….have…pants…on.”

“What, are you afraid I might see a little something?”

I threw my hand to cover my mouth. I love my brother, but goddess is he stupid. 

“No, I mean, you shouldn’t subject yourself to a man’s body, you know?”

“What?” 

“Just look away,” he got up and dashed around the counter to hide from her. “Cal, catch!” he tossed the syrup our direction, and Cal caught it, setting it on the table. Kel looked at me with those pleading eyes to save him. I rolled my eyes, “fine.” I got up and ran to get him some shorts. I think it paid off. Witnessing their awkward exchanges is one of the highlights of my days. 

The rest of breakfast went fine, the guys decided they wanted to come with us to see this cave. We had heard about it before, but never had the chance to explore it. Supposedly, it’s just dark inside, but we’re taking flashlights. 

“What if there’s bears in there?” Katelyn asked, as we rode up the dirt path past the training ground. The sign says it’s for paintball and other outdoor recreational activities, but we all know that it gets most of its use for training the warriors. 

“There won’t be any bears,” I tell her. I mean, even if there are, we could outrun a bear, even if we have to carry Katelyn. We’re not scared of anything. 

“There it is,” Cal points out. Coming around the final bend, we can see the giant rock formation leaning against the edge of the hill, surrounded by the trees. If we climbed to the top, we would be able to see the pack. Everyone’s homes, the community centers, everything. From a distance, yes, but our vision is heightened anyway, so we could still see a lot more than normal. 

We dropped our bikes on the outside and grabbed the flashlights out of our backpacks. Stepping up to the entrance, I try to sense anything inside. Not hearing or smelling anything, the three of us are at ease, while Katelyn just grabs my hand. In reality, she’s safe with me, but if I was a human, I would think she would cling to my brother or Cal, since they’re both pretty strong and big for their age. 

“Whoa, this is sick,” Kel says. “Look at all the initials carved into the stone,” he points at all the lettering on the walls. We’ve heard lots of mates come here to carve their names into the walls, but no one has actually ever talked about what is at the end. 

“When I find my m—” my brother stopped himself, “my wife we’re going to come here and do that.”

“Yeah, that would be nice,” I look over at Callum for a beat. Both of us look at each other quickly then avert our eyes. Everyone thinks Cal and I will end up as mates, and honestly, that would be the best-case scenario, in my opinion. We’ve known each other our entire lives, and I can’t say I haven’t thought about kissing him before. Just to know what it feels like. 

“You think so, Kai? When you find your husband,” Kel enunciates the word as though he’s teaching someone how to actually say it, “you two can come here too.”

“Is anybody else freaked out about possibly dying in this place or are you all just reminded of weddings when you walk through a scary black hole of darkness?” Katelyn wrapped her arms around one of mine. 

“Katelyn, we’re fine,” my brother reassured. “If anything were to happen, I would protect you.”

We continued walking down into the darkness, until we heard the sound of water running through something. Could be a storm drain or something.

“That sounds like a waterfall,” Cal said, stretching his neck out. He picked up his pace, walking ahead of the rest of us. “Guys! It’s a waterfall! There’s like a pool in here!”

We quickly hurried to meet him. When we rounded the last corner, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. “This doesn’t make any sense. Is there something that feeds into the water here?”

“Who cares,” my brother said as he pulled his shoes off and tugged his shirt over his head.

“Kellan! You don’t even know if that water is clean! There’s probably bacteria in it or something,” Katelyn scolded.

“What’s wrong, Kay, you scared, girl?”

She crossed her arms, “yep.”

Kel laughed, “don’t worry so much, Kay. The water smells fresh.”

“How can you even tell?”

“Come over and I’ll show you,” he grinned.”

“Kai, you want to put your feet in? It doesn’t smell like anything, it actually does smell clean,” Cal offered. 

“Maybe my feet first.”

“You guys are crazy,” Katelyn rolled her eyes. “Especially that one,” she pointed to my brother while he jumped into the water. “Plain stupid.”

“Come on,” Cal chuckled, walking over to the edge with me. When we took our shoes off, we slowly dipped our toes in, feeling the cool water. 

Kel popped his head up, from the water. “This water tastes so freaking good! It’s so clean!”

“Ew, Kel! You can’t taste water you can barely see! Plus, what if there’s something in the water?”

“Like what? A shark?”

“Just…something!”

“Katelyn, the water actually does feel good and it doesn’t smell so bad,” Cal offered. “You should try it.”

“Yeah, no thanks.”

“I’m gonna try it,” Cal said leaning into my side, “you should come too.”

“Um, I’m not wearing a suit and I’m not undressing in front of you.”

Cal’s face dropped, “oh, I didn’t mean—Kai, that’s not what I meant.”

“I know, but maybe next time.”

Cal stripped his shirt off and shoes. “Hey, Kel, how deep is the water?”

“I haven’t felt the bottom, so pretty deep, I guess.”

“Good,” Cal stepped back then ran and jumped into the water in front of me, effectively creating a splash zone right where I was sitting. When he popped up, he ran his fingers through his hair, and grinned as he swam toward me. “Oh no….did you get wet?” 

“Don’t try to act all innocent, you did that on purpose!” 

He kept that smug grin on his face, “Kai, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you wet.” He stretched his hand out for me to help him back up on the ledge. I should have known. It’s the oldest trick in the book. He yanked me into the water.

“CAL!” I laughed. A loud splash behind me forced us to turn around, but we didn’t see my brother or Katelyn. “Where are they?”

Cal chuckled, “wait for it.”

Katelyn shot out of the water, gasping for air, “you’re such a jerk!”

Kel came out from the water, “oh, hush, you’re fine.”

Cal grabbed my hand under the water, “come on, let’s go see what’s behind the fall.” We ventured across the water, leaving the other two to bicker. “Wonder where it comes from. There’s no opening or anything at the top. Like it comes out of thin air.”

“That’s not possible.”

Cal stretched up as we got closer, “there’s nothing behind the waterfall, just the wall of the cave.”

“This is the weirdest thing, right?”

Cal came back over to me, licking his lips. “I think it’s pretty cool. We’re the only ones to make it back here. It’s like our own place.”

“It would be an awesome place for a house. You could see the entire pack from up here.”

“Yeah…but it’s pretty far. What if something happens down there?”

“We’re going to be fast in our wolf forms, Cal, it wouldn’t take very long to get down there. But if you’re worried, you could always find a sorcerer to make a way for you to get there faster.”

“No sorcerer has ever held respect for a wolf. They think they’re better than the rest of us.”

“Never know, Cal. People can surprise you.”

“Whatever. But you’re saying if you could, you’d live up here?”

“Did you see the views? It’s beautiful all around.”

“I think I would build it if my mate wanted to live up here.”

The words gave me butterflies in my tummy. The day is only a couple of years away, but I’ve been counting down to Cal’s seventeenth birthday for about two years. The idea of being with anyone else doesn’t hold any interest. Cal’s perfect in every sense of the word.

“Come on,” he gave me a smile and laced his fingers with mine under the water. “Let’s go freak out Katelyn.”