Artemis Lupine- The Complete Series

by Catherine Banks

  All of the men stared at me in shock then started laughing loudly. Matt said, "Koda, she beat your burp like you were still a pup."

  Koda smiled. "Looks like we may have a good burping contest with her around."

  I blushed and looked down at my hands.

  Koda groaned. "You embarrass, too easily. I know you don't know us, but we really aren't bad, and we aren't trying to embarrass you. Just treat us like we're your friends.

  I stayed looking at my hands, no longer embarrassed, but now sad.

  I wonder what theory Ares has about why I didn’t have any friends.

  Koda sighed. "What did I say wrong?"

  I looked up at him and smiled. "Nothing, Koda. I just didn't have any friends besides Bret, so I don't really know how to act around a group of people."

  Koda frowned. "But your friend was the all-star football player. You would go everywhere with him."

  I furrowed my brow. "How did you know that?"

  Koda smiled. "I can recognize the type."

  "Sure, I went with him everywhere, but he was the only one that wanted me there, and no matter how hard I tried to fit in, it never worked." I laughed bitterly. "I'm sure they are ecstatic that I'm gone."

  Ares shook his head. "They might be, but Bret won't be."

  I smiled. "I wish I could see their faces when they make a comment, and he tears their heads off. Well, for the next day or two, until he leaves." I sighed. "He was always sticking up for me." I looked at Ares. "It wouldn't be possible for me to go back and explain everything to him, would it?"

  Ares smiled. "Maybe someday, but not soon. You are in for a long couple of weeks of dealing with the transformation and the new things that come with it.

  I nodded. "Sure. Will you explain everything now?"

  Ares nodded then looked at Gregory. Gregory asked, "What do you know about werewolves?"

  I shrugged. "Only what I've seen in movies."

  All of them groaned. Gregory shook his head. "I don't understand why your father was so stupid not to tell you about what you are. Alright, I'll explain from the beginning. There are three ways to become a werewolf. One is to be bitten, which injects the Lycanthropy disease. The second is to be cursed by a witch, which sort of implants the disease in your body. The third is genetic, where you receive the disease from either the sperm or egg."

  I stared at him as he continued his editorial. "You were born which means that either one or both of your parents were werewolves. We obviously know your father was one, but aren't sure about your mother what with your purple eyes and all." Ares cleared his throat, and Gregory continued. "Werewolves are special from humans not only in the fact that we can change shape, but also that we move fast and heal much faster than humans. We don’t live forever, but if we find someone who will tie themselves to us, then we will live an endless number of years. Basically, if one of you dies, the other dies, too. Luckily, it’s difficult to kill us. It's really the only drawback."

  I felt my jaw drop open and looked around at the men around me. "You...you're all old, aren't you?"

  They all frowned at me as I looked at all of their handsome faces and sculpted bodies. I looked at Ares last and asked in a voice barely louder than a whisper, "How old are you?"

  Ares smiled. "I honestly don’t know how old I am. I tried once to go back and figure it out, but I always lose count around the time of the Battle of Actium in Greece. I was old by human standards then, though."

  I felt my jaw drop open. "Why are you interested in a seventeen-year-old then? Isn't that kind of like being a pedophile?"

  Ares frowned deep, his forehead furrowing together and anger stretching his eyes tight. "I am not a pedophile! The rules are different when you live for hundreds of years. I am technically only in my mid-twenties. And besides, you are the one who answered my call. No matter what your age, you would be the only one for me. If you had been an infant, I would still have taken you and cared for you until you were old enough to truly love me like we are meant to."

  I felt my face fall. "Love?"

  What the hell is he talking about?

  Ares sighed. "You don't get it. You and I are destined to be together for eternity. We are the only couple that does not have to be bound to live forever. You and I will live an endless number of years and if one of us dies the other will not."

  I stared at the ground. "I did not mean to upset you, but fifty was old to me. How can you not expect me to be upset that you are over two thousand years old?"

  Koda cringed. "Don't tell her my age. I may be younger than Ares, but not by her standards."

  "You might as well tell me. If I am really going to live for eternity, I will find out later," I said.

  "Later. Keep going, Gregory," Koda said.

  Gregory smiled. "When someone is bitten, they change at the next full moon, the same as with being cursed by a witch. But when you are born, you don't change until you hit puberty."

  I stared at him and shook my head. "That's wrong. I hit puberty at thirteen."

  All of the men turned and stared at me. Ares asked, "Thirteen? Have you ever stopped your transformation before?"

  I thought about it and shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't know I was a werewolf until you came, remember?"

  Ares snarled. "I'm really starting to dislike your father more and more. Have you ever had an instance where you thought you were having a seizure or heart attack or something?"

  I thought back through my childhood and then remembered everything. I felt my eyes widen and said, "Shit. You've got to be kidding me."

  They all stared at me, waiting for me to answer.

  I groaned. "When I was ten, yeah ten, I had what appeared to be a seizure at school. My dad refused to take me to the doctors though, which pissed off the town. Then I kept having them. Not every day or anything, but once every few months. The last three years I’ve had them about every month, sometimes three times a month. Like once when I was thirteen, when I hit puberty, I started getting the shakes really bad. Darren kept me home from school and I fought my body to stop the shaking. Then when I was fifteen, I had another seizure episode at school in the middle of the cafeteria, but obviously it wasn't a seizure. One time I was at the lake with Bret and this girl slapped me in the face. I punched her back, but then fell on my hands and knees and started seizing."

  Gregory's eyes were wide as I continued.

  "Yesterday I started seizing, but Darren threw me in the creek, which stopped it."

  "Holy shit," Koda said.

  Matt nodded. "Love, you are amazing."

  I looked at Ares who was smiling happily at me. "What does this mean, Ares? That I have been fighting my transformation since I was ten?"

  Ares nodded. "I believe so. I don't know why you started before you hit puberty or why you were able to stop them for so long. No one has ever stopped their first transformation before. And it is very unheard of to stop any of them."

  I asked, "Can you stop them?"

  He nodded. "I can, but not all of the time."

  I shivered. "Oh, God. Why didn't Darren tell me this before? I felt like I was handicapped or something with the seizures."

  Ares snarled. "I think you may get your wish to visit your town. I need to speak with your father."

  "You aren't going to hurt him, are you?" I asked nervously.

  Ares smiled. "Not if you don't want me to."

  I shook my head. "I don't. So, when we go back, do I get to speak with Bret?"

  Ares snarled. "With supervision."

  I snarled back. "I don't need supervision."

  Ares shook his head. "I won't let you see him alone."

  I stood up, glaring at him. "You cannot tell me what to do. I may be stuck with you the rest of my life, but I don't have to bow to you just because you have some stupid title among the werewolves."

  Ares stood and growled at me. I flinched, but didn't take a step back. I felt something pushing at me and looked around, but there was nothing. I felt a thick substa
nce, like mud, spread around me seeping upwards until it covered me and I couldn't breathe. I fell to the floor gasping for breath as Ares stood over me.

  Was he pushing his power over me? I looked up at his eyes and if I had had any breath would have gasped.

  His eyes were completely black, like the pupil had expanded to cover everything. He snarled. "I am dominant to you and although you do not understand our ways, you will not try to belittle me."

  I began to see grey spots as my body tried to black out with the lack of oxygen. I shook my head and rolled over on to my stomach. I felt a flame flare inside my core and focused on it. It flared higher and higher until it filled my entire body up. I looked up at Ares and smiled as I realized I had my own magic. Ares stared down at me, eyes widening, as I pushed with my hands and the internal flame at the invisible mud covering me. The internal flame extended past my hands and pushed the mud back enough for me to breathe. I gasped for breath and pushed harder with my power. Ares shook his head, and I watched in amazement as his eyes cleared back to normal. The invisible flame from me snapped back inside and only a small flicker like a candle flame stayed in my reach. I collapsed against the ground and closed my eyes in exhaustion.

  No one spoke or moved for ten minutes. Ares finally cleared his throat and spoke. "Well, that was interesting."

  "Did she just use magic against you?" Koda asked.

  Ares laughed. "Yep. Darren has been holding out on us. I thought he had been bitten, but apparently, he comes from a line that was cursed, or he was cursed. That bastard. Now I really have to speak with him."

  I sat up slowly and looked up at Ares. "What just happened?"

  Ares smiled. "When you are cursed by a witch, or come from a line which is cursed by a witch, you gain magical powers. Apparently when I used my powers on you it let yours emerge."

  I shook my head and laughed. "Werewolves, witches and now magical powers? You've got to be kidding me."

  Ares frowned. "You've seen us change and you felt what just happened. You can't honestly think I am making this up?"

  I sighed. "No. It’s just a lot to take in. Are there any more mythological creatures I don't know about?" Everyone nodded, smiling. I groaned. "Great. So, when do I get to know which ones are real?"

  Ares shrugged. "When we come across one."

  I sighed. "Okay, fine. Look, I'm tired. Can I go to sleep?"

  Ares smiled. "Of course. I'll show you to your room."

  Ares extended his hand to me, and I took it, following him past the bathroom and into one of the four doors down the hallway. He held the door open for me, so I could walk in. The room was small, just big enough for a bed and a dresser, but it was inviting. I sat down on the bed and smiled at the feel of the soft mattress. Ares closed the door behind him and turned to me. I felt my heart speed up as I realized that we were alone in the room together. He smiled at me and shook his head. "Don't get nervous; I just want to talk."

  I slowed my breathing down and crossed my legs on the bed. Ares leaned against the door and frowned. "You really have to watch how you act. I know I told you that I was going to give you slack about treating me as Prince, but I am dominant to you. If you had been any other werewolf, I would have punished you severely for what you did."

  I sighed. "I'm sorry, but I have to speak with Bret, alone."

  Ares shook his head. "It is out of the question, Artemis. I can't allow you to be alone with that human. If he hurt you, I would never forgive myself."

  I frowned. "Bret would never hurt me."

  Ares sighed. "You may think that, but when humans find out what we are, they turn into different people. It makes me wonder who the real shifters are," he said almost to himself.

  "Bret would never hurt me. He has always been my protector. It would be kind of hypocritical to protect me from everything then hurt me himself."

  Ares frowned. "You'd be surprised."

  "Can't we at least try to compromise?"

  Ares smiled. "Alright. What do you propose?"

  "Well, since you won't let me meet with him alone, can I choose who goes with me?" I asked.

  "Who did you have in mind?"

  I shrugged. "Koda or Matt?"

  He nodded. "Koda."

  I smiled victoriously. "And he stands in the back of the room while I talk to Bret."

  Ares shook his head. "No. We may be fast, but I won't take the chance on him hurting you before Koda can get there."

  "Fine, after I tell Bret what I am, and Koda sees his reaction, he will stay in the back."

  "Only if Bret's reaction is decent."

  I nodded. "Fine."

  Ares nodded. "Fine."

  I raised my pointer finger. "One last thing."

  Ares groaned. "What?"

  I stopped smiling, keeping a serious face. "Koda won't repeat what is said to you or anyone else. Everything that is said stays in that room."

  Ares snarled. "What is it that you will say that you don't want me to hear?"

  I looked at the ground. "Just agree."

  Ares sighed and rubbed his face. "Fine."

  I smiled at Ares and wondered if things would work out.

  Could I be happy with him? They seemed okay so far, but it takes a while to find out how people really are. Can I really believe that there are other mythological creatures running around?

  Ares sat down on the bed beside me and smiled. "I promise that I will work my hardest to make you happy. I know that this must be hard for you."

  I rolled my eyes. "No, learning that I'm not human and that I was destined to be with a man I don't know and having to deal with the fact that I'm going to have to stop my transformations all the time because I'm a werewolf isn't hard at all."

  "If your father had done the right thing and told you about us, this wouldn't be that difficult for you. He and I are going to have a long talk when we go visit them."

  "Fine, but if you kill him, I won't forgive you." I said with as much anger as I could muster.

  Ares smiled. "I won't kill him. Promise." I smiled back at him and tensed as he leaned towards me. He lifted his hand, and reached towards my face, causing my heart to speed up even faster. His hand was an inch away from my face when someone knocked on the door twice. I stood up quickly, moving to the window which looked out at the village. I felt the blush on my cheeks and shook my head so that my hair fell around my face. Ares sighed. "Come in."

  The door opened and Koda said, "Ares, the King is here."

  Ares groaned. "What is he doing here?"

  Koda laughed. "Not sure, but he is requesting to speak with you."

  I continued facing the window, not wanting to go anywhere or talk to anyone. Ares stood up from the bed and walked to stand behind me. "I know you are tired, but I would like you to meet the King."

  I sighed and asked without turning around, "Will you keep your agreements about our visit?"

  Ares laughed softly. "Yes."

  I turned around slowly and nodded. "Alright."

  Ares smiled and kissed my cheek. "Thank you."

  The blush erupted on my face before I could even blink. Ares walked out the door leaving me alone with Koda. He smiled and shook his head.

  I held up my hand at him. "Don't even say anything."

  He held his hands up in surrender. "I wasn't."

  I growled and walked past him out of the bedroom. When I got down the hallway, Koda started laughing in the bedroom. I blushed darker and walked faster towards the living room. Matt stood by the entrance and smiled at me. "Ready, Love?"

  I shrugged. "What's one more werewolf?"

  He frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  I shook my head. "Nothing. Forget about it." I squared my shoulders, and walked past Matt, to stand beside Ares, but stopped halfway when I saw the man he was talking to.

  To say he is a large man is a lie. He's ginormous. At least six and a half feet tall, he towered over Ares’ five-foot-seven frame easily. His body looked like a professional wrestler and I wa
s just waiting for him to yell, “I’ll crush you!”. I had never been intimidated by anyone before, but he definitely intimidated me. His dark hair hung to his shoulders, and his beard hung to his belly. I instantly thought of a biker and wondered if he had been living here this whole time as one. Ares turned to me, smiling reassuringly, and reached his hand out to me. I thought about rejecting his hand, but knew I would feel safer if he held mine.

  How childish is that?

  I walked quickly to Ares, taking his hand and pressed myself against his side.

  Ares cleared his throat. "Darius, this is Artemis, my mate."

  Darius smiled, but it didn't make him any less menacing. "Your mate? I thought you said you were waiting for the one who would answer your call?"

  Ares nodded, looking down at me with gentleness in his eyes. "I did."

  Darius stared at me for a second then his eyes bulged in surprise. "This child answered your call?"

  I glared at him. "I'm not a child."

  Ares nudged my arm to quiet me. "Forgive her, Darius. Her father decided that he was not going to tell her about us until she changed for the first time, so she knew nothing of us until I came to get her."

  Darius stared at me in wonder. "She answered your call without having her first change?"

  Ares nodded. "We have learned that she has actually been fighting her changes since she was ten years old."

  Darius shook his head. "Impossible. No one can fight their first change."

  Ares shrugged. "Apparently, she can. She has done it numerous times already. Tomorrow will be the ultimate test though."

  I rolled my eyes. "I keep telling you that I will not change tomorrow. Why won't you believe me?"

  Darius snarled. "Because it's impossible."

  I shrugged. "We'll see. I'm still going to try."

  Darius laughed. "She does seem to be a perfect match for you Ares."

  Ares nodded, smiling at me. "She seems so, so far."

  I tensed beside them, unsure of what they meant, but Ares rubbed his thumb across my knuckles, calming me.

  Darius sighed. "Well, I am just on my way through. We are going to the meeting place."

  Ares nodded. "I have one stop to make after tomorrow night, and then I will be through. We should probably be there in three or four days, depending on how things go tomorrow night."