~ Chapter Two - Part 2 ~
Jacques laughed. "Well, after that, I joined Atlas. I ensured that I was a part of every single one of his plans. I made sure that I became his number two no matter what I had to do. That's what I did. I made sure that he trusted me. So I would pass any plan that he came up with to the gods so they could stop it. I knew I was alone and that if Atlas caught me, I'd die, but I knew my brother would take care of my daughter. Michael adored his niece and had promised me that he would take care of her if anything were to happen to me. I knew that being a spy would eventually lead to me being killed or worse, but I also knew that it'd mean Atlas would be recaptured and put back under Uranus. Ana wouldn't have to worry about him. At least until she was much older," he shrugged. "Things were working out well for quite some time. With me feeding the gods all of the information that they needed, all of Atlas' plans were ruined. He couldn't get anywhere with his plan to rule the world. He even lost a lot of men because of it."
"Did he ever find out that you were a spy?" Katalina asked as she moved closer to him excitedly to hear the story.
Jacques chuckled. "Let me finish my story, little one," he said softly.
Katalina pouted but held her hands up in surrender. "Alright. I'm sorry," she waved at him with a wide smile. "Please finish your story."
Jacques chuckled again as he shook his head before continuing with his story. "As I was saying. Things were going well for quite some time. No one suspected me. No one questioned me. Everyone knew that there was a spy in the camp. Since I was the second in command, I could draw Atlas's attention to other people. I wasn't proud of it, but they were all there to destroy the world with Atlas," he shrugged. "So I didn't feel too bad about it. Over time though, he started to get suspicious. None of the people I had said were the spy gave him anything. So he started to suspect me. He got smart. I should have seen it, but I thought I was too smart for him. I thought that I had it all figured out," he shook his head with a frown. "How wrong I was," he cleared his throat. "He wanted to be sure that I was the spy, so he started feeding me false information. He started being smart about how much he shared with me. While he was doing that, he had someone looking for my daughter," he looked to the ceiling as he felt his emotions eating away at him. "I should have hidden her better. I should have gotten a witch or warlock to help me hide her. I should have done something more to keep her safe. Michael had gone out because they needed blood. They had run out and were both hungry. So Ana was left alone. While he was gone, Atlas himself went after my Ana."
Katalina let out a gasp as tears gathered in her eyes. She knew what was coming next. Nevertheless, she kept quiet as he took a minute before continuing.
"The things he did to her," Jacques whispered. "I barely recognized her when he brought her body to me. When he laid her in front of me, my world ended. She was the other half of my soul. With her gone, I was lost. I was enraged. I was a broken man. I had lost everything because of him. So I attacked him," he sighed. "Or I tried to anyway. He had so many soldiers that it was almost impossible to get to him. They threw me in the cells and had his pain manager torture me for my betrayal. One night I managed to find a way out. I discovered a set of secret tunnels connected to the cells. They led me outside of his base. So I ran. I couldn't even give my daughter a proper burial because I had no choice but to leave her body behind. Ana's body had already been burned to ash, knowing how Atlas was. So I ran. I went into hiding until I was strong again. A warlock found me and agreed to help me recover. Of course, he disapproved of my one-person revenge plan against Atlas, but he helped me anyway. Once I had regained my strength, my anger came back tenfold. I wanted Atlas dead more than ever. I wanted him to pay for taking my family from me. So I started small. I started hunting down his men. His soldiers roamed the world freely until he needed them. Once he caught on, he started sending teams to search for me. Safe to say they never returned to him. When I wasn't taking out his men, I was training. I became faster. Stronger. More vicious in my attacks. More powerful. I killed anyone he sent after me. Soon enough, I had taken out most of his army. He had sent a majority of his men after me because he knew that if I were around, any plan Atlas made would fail no matter how hard he tried. It was his mistake. I left him with little to no army. Once I learned this, I told the gods. They went after him and within no time got him back under Uranus," he sighed heavily. "Those were the worst years of my life. I lost so much during that time. Once Atlas was back where he belonged, I left my clan. Michael took over in my place. I traveled the world to try and find my peace once again. I only found a semblance of it. I knew I would never find peace as I did with my wife and daughter. I did gain a friend, though," he chuckled. "During my travels, I ended up in Erytheia. Orthrus was there protecting Geryon's cattle, if I remember correctly. He seemed to like me, and when I left the land, I brought him with me. He's been with me ever since."
Katalina looked at him with those same wide eyes. "I am so sorry. You have been through so much pain, and you've been so alone," she said softly.
Jacques sighed as he looked at her. "It's alright, little one. At first, I wanted to be alone. There was a lot that I had to deal with and think through. Then the only one I needed was Orthrus," he shrugged.
Katalina gave him a smile that brought light to his soul as soon as he saw it. "Well, now you also have me," she said happily. "We're going to be awesome friends."
Jacques smiled. "Thank you, little one. That does mean a lot to me."
Katalina leaned up on her knees and gave him a tight hug. "I know I'm young, and things could change, but I promise I will never leave you alone. I will always be with you."
Jacques grinned. "You are such a sweetheart. Thank you, little Katalina."
"Can I meet Orthrus?" Katalina asked with a bright smile.
Jacques chuckled. "Of course," he let out a whistle, and they both listened as Orthrus answered his call.
Katalina giggled as the big, two-headed dog came running into the room. "Awe, he's so cute," Katalina squealed as she moved to the edge of the bed.
"Come meet Katalina, Orthrus," Jacques said softly.
Orthrus walked up to where she was sitting on the edge of the bed. As soon as he was used to her smell and touch, she was able to hug him. "Oh, you are just so sweet," Katalina squealed happily.
Jacques watched in shock as the two-headed dog surprised him. Orthrus didn't move. He let Katalina hug him, and when she pulled away, he licked her face. She giggled and squealed until he pulled away from her. She wiped her face with the end of her shirt and smiled brightly. "Oh, you just want all the attention and love," she pressed a kiss to both of his heads. Katalina pulled away and scratched both of Orthrus's heads.
Jacques shook himself out of his shocked trance. "He has never done that before. He must like you," he said with a smile.
Katalina gave him a bright grin as she continued petting the dog. "I love him. He's so sweet and loving."
Jacques shook his head with a small smile. "Alright. It's time to get you back to your pack house. It's already dark outside."
Katalina nodded with a pout. "Awe, okay."
Katalina stood up and took a step away from the bed. Orthrus let out a slight whine as he nudged her now-healed leg. Katalina looked down at it and reassuringly ran her hand through the fur on one of his heads. "I'm alright. Jacques already healed me."
Orthrus made quick work of licking the blood clean from her calf. Katalina giggled at the feeling before pressing a kiss to his head. "Thank you."
Jacques cleared his throat as he cleared his mind. "Oh yeah, he loves you," he said with a chuckle.
Katalina gave him a bright smile as they made their way outside. "Come on, little one," he said as he knelt in front of her. "Hop on. We're a decent ways away from your pack house, and it's already late."
Katalina squealed in joy. "I love to get piggyback rides," she said as she hopped onto his back and wrapped her arms and legs around him.
Jacques chuckled. "Hold onto me tightly, little one. We're going to be moving very fast."
Katalina closed her eyes and held on tight as he said. Within no time, they were at a small clearing close to her pack house. She slid off his back and tumbled into Orthrus. She giggled as he licked her face. She kissed both of his heads before turning to Jacques. "It was a pleasure to meet you, and I want to repeat it. Thank you for saving me from those hellhounds. I look forward to spending more time with you."
Jacques leaned over and pressed a featherlight kiss to her forehead. "You will always have me by your side, little one. Always. "Run along," he said, gesturing towards her pack house with his chin.
Katalina stuck her tongue out at him before running towards her home.
Jacques and Orthrus stayed with her until they were confident she was safe inside. Once she was, they made their way back to their home with their hearts feeling a bit lighter than before. They finally found a light to keep them grounded in the world. It was a surprise that it came in the form of a fourteen-year-old girl, but they were more than happy to have her in their lives now.