It wasn't long before they were alone and Viktor was escorting his mate to their hole in the ground. He jumped down in the pit and spread out the blanket he'd brought for them before removing his sweater. Helping Katarina down into the space beside him, he watched her as she looked at the dirt walls and the blanket on the ground before taking a seat. Turning, he grabbed the blanket he would cover them with and sat beside her.
"You know I keep forgetting to ask you about the tattoo on your back. Well, if I'm being honest, I usually lose my train of thought when you take your clothes off but anyway, I noticed all of you have it. What does it mean?"
Viktor chuckled as he explained, "It's not a tattoo, or at least not like you think of one. We each received this mark on our back after emerging from our graves as a King. The sword that begins at the base of my neck and runs down my spine signifies my willingness to fight against evil. The eagle wings on either side of the blade just under the handle that span across my shoulder blades are in honor of Zeus and signify the sky he has dominion over. Finally, the letters running down the blade are my name in ancient Greek so that I never forget where I came from or who I truly am."
"That is amazing," Katarina whispered, her eyes opened wide in awe.
"You also will receive a marking, but much smaller and more befitting the keeper of a King's heart." He turned her hand in his until it was palm up. Gently stroking the inside of her wrist with his thumb, he looked into her eyes and described what she would see when she awakened. "You will have a very small representation of the Tree of Life in full bloom, right here, under your palm. It will have vines intertwining around it's trunk and up into its branches, one with your name and one with mine, representing our long life together blessed by the Father of the Gods."
"I never imagined..."
"Neither did I, amica mea, neither did I."
A flash of light from above signaled the beginning of their mating rites.
Meeting Katarina's eyes, he held her gaze with his heart, mind, and soul wide open to her and asked, "Are you sure, Katarina? Is this truly what you want?"
Smiling that smile that outshined all other, Katarina answered, "Yes, I am sure. I want to be with you more than I want anything else." Then winking and giving him a cheeky grin, she added, "Let's get this show on the road, old man."
"As you wish, my love. Let us say the words that will bind us together, forever."
While he spoke the words Zeus had placed on his heart, Viktor listened intently, moved by the depth of emotion in Katarina's voice as she recited her own vows. "On this day I give my life to the King of my Heart. I pledge my love, body, and soul to the one Destiny has created for me. Together, we will uphold the law of the Father of the Gods. I will be faithful and true to the one whose heart I hold dear and forsake all others for him. It is with all that I am, all that I will be, and all that we are together that I commit myself to you, my semper amare."
Gazing into her eyes, Viktor closed the distance between them and laid his lips to hers. He kissed the keeper of his heart for the last time of her original life. It was an enraptured kiss born of the ages and blessed by the Pantheon of the Gods. It was the last step toward bringing Katarina completely into his world...into his soul.
Kissing along her jaw to her ear, he whispered how much he would always love her in the old language. Moving down her neck, he smiled against her skin as she let her head fall back, giving him full access. Paying special attention to her pulse, he slowly let his canines extend and gently scratched against her tender skin.
Katarina moaned low in her throat and clung to his shoulders as Viktor let his canines sink into her vein. Filling him as nothing had before, her life's essence flowed freely into him. Her grip on his shoulders loosened and she leaned more heavily against him as her blood flow slowed to mere drops on his tongue.
Before he was completely prepared, Katarina lie lifeless in his arms. For the first time in as long as he could remember, a single tear slid down his cheek. Lightning bolts streaked through the sky as the voice of Zeus rang loud in his mind. "Fear not, Viktoras, your custos animae is within my grasp. She will return to you during the next new moon. Rest now, great warrior, and remember...to have the one you love, you must be willing to lose the one you love."
Viktor gently laid Katarina on her side then laid behind her, holding her as close as possible. As he pulled the cover over them, Zeus filled the air above them with the earth his comrades had earlier removed.
With his last breath before entering his healing sleep, Viktor uttered, "Te amo, amica mea, te amo saecula."
Chapter Nine
There was no bright light. Her parents weren't beckoning her home. She didn't see the pearly gates or God forbid, the fiery pit. All Kat saw was disconcerting...nothing at all, not even sure her eyes were open...pitch black.
So this is what it feels like to be dead. Pretty uneventful.
As if that wasn't bad enough, she couldn't feel her hands and feet, or for that matter, any part of her body. She had no idea if she even had hands and feet wherever she was. All Kat knew for sure was that she felt floaty and wondered how long she'd been this way.
It darn sure feels like forever.
A flash of light and the rumble of thunder preceded a voice so commanding it actually made waves in the nothingness around her. "Katarina, custos animae of Viktoras, I come to ease your transition into immortality. You were created by the gods themselves to stand beside one of our fiercest warriors. Your destiny is one of greatness, for no man can battle all the evils of the world alone. He needs more than his sword, more than his army, more than the depth of his conviction...he needs a mate. The one person in all the world who sees him for what he is and what he's had to do and accepts him, unconditionally.
"You see, Katarina, you are the one person who can restore his humanity with a single kiss. You are his anchor, the light that guides him home after the battle, and the love that nurses him back to health. Viktoras will forsake all others for you and protect you with his very life. You must do the same.
"Your title, custos animae, is not in name only, for without you our great Supreme Commander would succumb to the darkness he has vowed to conquer. He would be hunted by his comrades and dispatched to the lowest level of hell. You hold his heart in your hands and keep his intentions pure.
"Heart to heart, soul to soul, you and your King shall live out your days, the perfect pair. The Fates smile upon your union . Clotho has spun the thread of your life with Viktoras' since the beginning of time. It is so long it may last forever and never know the cut of Atropos' shears. Your names were removed from the lots Lachesis draws and Athena herself has blessed your love. Know that Destiny is on your side. Now go, my child, and begin immortality with your King."
The voice of Zeus echoed in her mind as the darkness receded. Gradually, she felt Viktor's arms around her. Felt his breath on her neck. He had wrapped her in a cocoon of his warmth and affection and had done as he promised...protected her while she transformed. Even made sure the dirt was removed from above them so they awakened to the beauty of the night sky.
Rolling over in his arms, she gasped as his lips took hers in their first kiss as true mates. It was overwhelming. Her newly formed senses enhanced every touch, every breath, every nuance of what she and Viktor were together. Her body responded to her mate's attention as never before. Kat was on fire from the inside out. She needed her King more than she needed her next breath. Sex and hunger and love grew within her until she was forced to take control of their kiss.
He felt her need and she felt his. Viktor used his amazing speed to remove all their clothing in the blink of an eye. Blessedly naked in the arms of the man she loved, Kat wrapped her legs around Viktor's waist and rolled them over until she was sitting atop her mate, the proof of his excitement rubbing the inside of her thigh, so close to the ache inside her that only he could soothe.
She needed his blood. She needed his love. She needed to feel him moving inside her.
Rising up, Kat placed her hands on Viktor muscular chest and looked down at the amazing man Destiny had seen fit to make her mate. She hardly recognized her own voice as she moaned, "I love you more than life itself, Viktor."