Artemis Lupine- The Complete Series

by Catherine Banks

  Matt picked up the microwave and followed me into the house. I walked to the bathroom and pointed at the plug. "Plug it in there please." He did as I asked and opened the door to the microwave. I pushed the meat inside and shut the door and turned on the microwave to heat up the meat. I waited anxiously shifting from one foot to another as the meat twirled inside the microwave. The "ding" of the microwave made me jump, and I hurried to grab the meat out, shoving an entire steak in my mouth and chewing. I moaned in pleasure and talked around my full mouth of food, "This is so good."

  Ares walked into the bathroom and stared at the pile of meat in my arms. "Hungry?"

  I snarled as much as was possible with a full mouth. "Don't make fun of me."

  His lip twitched slightly as he tried to hide a smile. "Sorry. Can I have a piece?"

  I grumbled, but handed him one of the smaller steaks. Matt laughed. "At least she is generous."

  I snarled and swallowed the piece of meat that was in my mouth. "You shut up." I plopped down on the closed lid of the toilet and ate my meat quickly. Matt and Ares walked away sharing the piece of meat I had given them.

  Victor walked in and smiled at me. "Hey." I frowned and continued to eat my meat without saying anything. He laughed. "I can see that you are eating, but I just wanted to formally introduce myself now that I am going to be joining your little faction."

  I nodded and pushed the food in my mouth to the side. "Nice to meet you. I'm usually not this rude, but I'm really hungry."

  Victor nodded. "I understand completely. It must take a lot out of you to stop your changes."

  I shrugged. "Don't know. Just always do it."

  Ares came back in. “You need to rest.”

  I nodded and kissed Ares’ cheek as I walked to my bedroom and laid down on the bed, rolling on my side to face away from the door. I heard the door open and someone come in and assumed it was Ares. I ignored him, closing my eyes. I started to fall asleep when someone grabbed my arms and forced me on my back with my arms stretched and held above my head on the bed. My eyes snapped open. Gregory stood over me with a knife in his hand. I swallowed hard. "What's going on?"

  Gregory snarled, "I'm doing what should have been done the night you were born, but your father was too much of a coward to do it."

  I stared at the knife in his hand and asked, "Are you going to kill me?"

  He smiled. "Yes, and I’ll love every second of it. If that boy hadn't been here before, you would already be dead."

  I looked backwards and saw a man I had never seen before holding my arms. "You both know that Ares will kill you when he finds out, right?"

  Gregory laughed quietly. "He won't know who did it because we are going to take your body out in the woods and make it look like suicide."

  I rolled my eyes. "I would never kill myself. He won't believe it."

  Gregory smiled. "Oh, I think he will." He raised the knife and started to plunge downwards towards my chest. I rolled to the side of the bed tearing my arms out of the other man's hold. Gregory snarled, "Grab her!"

  I ran around the bed and towards the door, but Gregory grabbed me. I screamed, "ARES!!!!" as Gregory threw me back on to the bed and picked up the knife he had dropped. I kicked as hard as I could at Gregory, but he moved out of the way. The other man grabbed on to my arms again, and I screamed as loud as I could.

  The wall beside me burst into pieces as Bret ran through it. He grabbed the other man and threw him out of the room and against the house across the street. Ares ran through the bedroom door and tackled Gregory, pulling the knife from his hand and stabbing it into Gregory's stomach. I jumped off the bed and ran to Matt who had come into the room behind Ares. He held me against him, his muscles strained as he fought to control himself. Ares grabbed Gregory's throat and squeezed then pulled backwards ripping his throat out. Blood sprayed over Ares and the bedroom. Ares tossed the piece of Gregory’s throat outside the bedroom and into the street then grabbed Gregory’s head and twisted and pulled, ripping his head off his body. Ares threw Gregory's body and head out of the bedroom and into the street next to his piece of throat.

  Ares turned to me, and his eyes were amber wolf eyes. I felt no fear though he was covered in blood and I had just watched him rip Gregory’s head off. I pulled away from Matt and walked towards Ares. Ares took a step back from me and shook his head speaking in a voice which was more of a growl than natural. "If you touch me you'll change. I have no control over my power right now."

  I shook my head and continued to walk towards him. "I won't change." I reached out and touched his face and felt my body twitch hard once. I groaned and fought to control myself.

  I stared into Ares' eyes and felt lust, admiration, and...love. My body cooled and released its tension. Ares eyes cleared as I felt power flow into my body.

  He stared in awe at my face and whispered, "I knew you were perfect, but this is remarkable. Even I do not have this power."

  I stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips softly.

  He kissed me back and whispered, "I will protect you at all costs."

  I smiled. "I know you will."

  Bret growled. "I saved you, too! Why does he get all of the attention?" He squatted down, and I saw his body beginning to change.

  I walked to him, and he snarled at me.

  Ares started to come towards us, but I held up my hand walking towards Bret. "You are not my alpha, Bret. You cannot snarl or growl or try to show dominance that you do not have. If you try to attack me, I will hurt you. Friend or not, I am your alpha."

  Bret snapped his teeth at me and started to change. I reached into him with my power and felt the power of the moon and wolf in him. I pulled those powers into me absorbing them.

  Bret fell to the ground completely human and asleep.

  Matt whistled. "Wow. I've never seen anyone but Ares do that."

  I smiled then felt exhausted. I put my hand out for the bed, but missed and started to fall.

  Ares caught me and picked me up in his arms. He whispered, "You have to learn to pace yourself. Using too much magic too quickly will drain you."

  I shrugged. "I'm a newb, what can I say?"

  He tilted his head to the side in confusion, reminding me of a canine once again. "A newb? What is that?"

  "It means I'm a newbie. Some of Bret's nerdy friends used to say it when talking about video games." I said quietly.

  Ares shook his head. "The humans have used a lot of different slang over the years. Most of it I think is ridiculous. Like groovy. What is groovy? Stupid, that's what it is."

  I giggled and asked, "Where am I going to sleep now?"

  He winked. "How about my room?"

  I blushed, and Ares smiled. "I was just teasing. We'll put you in Koda's room and make him sleep on the couch."

  Koda groaned. "Why me?"

  Ares snarled. "You kissed her, remember?"

  Koda rolled his eyes. "Fine, if that's my punishment, then alright."

  Ares shook his head. "That's only the beginning of your punishment. You still have lots of punishing left."

  I sighed. "It wasn't his fault, Ares."

  Ares shook his head again. "Spells like that can't put thoughts in people's heads. They can only intensify what they are thinking."

  I looked at Koda and blushed. I turned my face into Ares' neck and said, "Okay, take me to his room."

  Ares walked quickly to Koda's room and laid me down on the bed. "I know this must be hard, but I assure you that I will do all that I can to make you happy." He bent down and kissed my cheek then hurried out, shutting the door behind him.

  I groaned and rolled on to my side closing my eyes.

  Great, I am falling in love with him at a ridiculously rapid pace. Of course, my life would be complicated like this.

  Chapter Seven

  Two knocks on the bedroom door woke me from my peaceful sleep. I groaned and stood up from the bed, walking clumsily towards the door. I reached for the light, but couldn't find the switch.


  The person knocked again, louder this time.

  "Hold on, I'm trying." I groaned. I finally opened the door, no longer trying to find the light. The light from the hallway blinded me for a second, and I had to wait for my eyes to adjust. I blinked three times then finally saw who was there. "Bret? What's wrong?"

  Bret walked into the bedroom, flipping on the light switch and closing the door.

  I glared at the light switch, angry at not being able to find it.

  Bret turned to me and demanded, "Why did you humiliate me yesterday?"

  I stared at his face as I tried to remember what he was talking about. It was odd to see his face, the one I had seen for years and thought handsome and now I thought was only average. I smiled.

  I guess when you are dating the God of War that it's hard to compare anyone else to that.

  Bret snarled. "Why are you smiling?"

  I sighed. "Look, Bret. In the world of werewolves, you have to have a pecking order. Sure you can be friends and lovers, but you have to keep the order and you tried to break it. I didn't mean to humiliate you, but you challenged me in front of others. I had to remind you who your alpha is."

  Bret growled. "You aren't alpha; you are just screwing the alpha."

  I growled back at him shoving my finger in his chest. "You don't know anything! I'm not screwing anyone and I am your alpha. Do you need a reminder?"

  Bret snarled. "Try it and see who the real alpha is."

  I felt my body temperature rising with my anger and felt my body starting to twitch. I looked at Bret's body and saw him beginning to change as well. I groaned, "Fuck it!" I let my body take over and transform. I could feel the bones popping and sliding around to change my shape. My skin split apart, making a disgustingly wet sound as it ripped into pieces and then started falling below me. I closed my eyes and inhaled, holding my breath as I finished the transformation. I slowly re-opened my eyes and looked out with much clearer, much sharper eyes with a muzzle between them that surprisingly didn't interfere with my view. I picked each foot up and wagged my tail and then pulled my lips up in a smile.

  I shook my body and turned to look at Bret. He was bigger than me in height, width, and weight, but I knew I could still defeat him. It was too cramped in the bedroom to move around easily though. He snarled at me, and I snarled back. I sighed in happiness, finally finding a body that felt right.

  This body was like home for me.

  I no longer cared to school Bret, I just wanted to run. I ran through the bedroom door, breaking it into pieces and continued down the hallway.

  Bret barked and growled as he ran after me, but I didn't care.

  As I turned from the hallway towards what used to be the living room, I saw Ares, Koda, and Matt in the kitchen. When they saw me, their mouths dropped open in shock. Ares ran towards me, but I couldn't wait for him because Bret was right behind me.

  I ran through the giant opening and towards the closest stand of trees. The early morning air was crisp and clean as I breathed through my new mouth and nose. I ran faster into the trees, dodging and weaving through them. I could feel the energy in the trees and plants and asked their permission to frolic among them. The trees seemed to anticipate my moves, leaning out of the way to give me more room to run faster and enjoy my newfound freedom. I could hear the others running after me, and it made me smile. For once I was in charge. I ran through the forest and inhaled the smells for what seemed like the first time.

  I could feel Ares gaining on me and turned to watch him. His black fur glistened in the dawn light as his muscles bunched and stretched to run and catch up to me. He was truly magnificent, and I knew he was alpha. He was much larger than Bret and huge compared to me. His majestic head tilted to the side as he caught my eye.

  I lolled my tongue out in a playful show.

  His voice whispered through my head. Why are you a wolf?

  I snapped my tongue back inside my mouth and stopped running, staring at him. How can I hear you in my head?

  He snorted. All wolves can communicate through mind-to-mind telepathy. Some, like me, Koda, and Matt can do it while in human form.

  I sighed. Bret was challenging me again, and I decided to let myself…

  Bret slammed into my side, sending me head over heels.

  My head missed a nearby tree by only a few inches. I wasn't sure if the trees had moved or not, but I thanked them anyway. I jumped up and snarled, but Ares already had Bret on his back on the ground.

  What is your problem, Bret? She didn't do anything to you.

  Bret snarled. She humiliated me yesterday. He turned his head to look at me. And I'm right about the alpha thing.

  I snarled and launched myself so that I pushed Ares off of Bret and took his place above Bret, snarling with my teeth by his throat. Do you want to die Bret? I will kill you if you don’t stop trying to fight me. I am alpha as much as Ares.

  Bret snorted. Ares is alpha, but you are just his bitch. The only reason no one will challenge you is because of him.

  I shook my head. I am alpha with or without Ares. I don’t want to kill you Bret, but you are leaving me little choice.

  Ares, Koda, and Matt surrounded us.

  Matt growled softly. Don't kill him. Let the loser go back to the village and live there with them. He is only pissed because you chose Ares over him. And he doesn’t believe you aren't screwing Ares because what other reason would you chose Ares over him? Right Bret?

  Bret snarled, and I bit down into his throat. He yelped loudly as blood began to leak down his coat. You better knock it off Bret. I don't care what you think, because I know I am alpha. With or without Ares, I am your alpha.

  I released my hold on his neck and stepped backwards to join Koda, Matt, and Ares.

  Bret rolled up to his feet and shook his head. You are definitely not the same girl I fell in love with.

  I snarled. Because you fell in love with a lie my father had set up. This is the real me, and if you don't like it then too bad. I'm already taken anyway.

  Bret coughed. Yeah, good luck being his slut. Although you seem pretty good at it so far.

  Ares charged forward, knocking Bret to his side. Enough! You cannot talk to her that way. She is not a slut, and she is your alpha. Now go back to the village before I kill you.

  Bret stood and ran back to the village without another word.

  I walked forward and turned around so I could look at the three wolves with me. I giggled internally at the thought that they were wolves now and not men. I could see Koda, Matt, and Ares having some type of dialogue among them, but had no idea what about. I snarled, making them all look at me. It's not nice to talk about me when I can't hear you and am standing right here.

  Matt tilted his head to the side. You should be able to tap into our conversation if you want to.

  I shook my head. Nope, I can't. So, what are you talking about?

  They looked at each other and Ares finally turned to me. We were discussing how beautiful you are in wolf form and how much like the Mother you look. You are exactly as she is drawn and described, except for the purple eyes.

  I frowned. I still have purple eyes? I thought your eyes were supposed to change to wolf eyes?

  Koda nodded. They're supposed to, but it may have something to do with you being half.

  I nodded and looked around the forest. I wished the moon was out, but it was my own fault for not changing sooner. We walked back to the house in silence, or at least, I was in silence. I waited while the others changed and walked into the house. I was about to start to change when Ares walked back out wearing a pair of pants. He smiled at me. “You alright?”

  I nodded, feeling my ears flop as I did. I sat on my haunches and pictured my human self. My bones popped, and I shrank in size until I could feel the cold wood porch beneath my butt. I curled into a ball, trying to hide my body as Ares handed me a large blanket. “It’s all I could find quickly.”

  I wrapped my self up in it and stood. “Thanks.”
/>   Ares smiled. “You need to put some clothes on though, because we’re leaving.”

  I frowned. “Where are we going?”

  He shook his head. “It’s a secret.”

  I sighed. “Like everything else in my life.”

  Ares took a step towards me, and my heart beat instantly picked up speed. I swallowed, and he smiled. He reached out slowly and stroked my cheeks softly. “I’m very lucky to have gotten you as a match.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but Ares stopped me with a kiss. My legs felt like jelly and Ares wrapped his arms around my waist to keep me from falling. I pulled back from his kiss and whispered, “It’s not fair that you make me feel this way and I have no effect on you.”

  Ares laughed and shook his head. “You have a great deal of an effect on me. I’m just better at hiding my emotions.”

  Koda cleared his throat, making us turn towards him. “Ares, we should get back soon.”

  Ares sighed and nodded. “Right.” He pulled away from me, and it felt like a scab being pulled off.

  I bolted inside to Koda’s bedroom where a pile of clothes lay on the bed. I changed faster than I ever had before and walked out to the porch where Ares, Koda, Matt, and Victor were talking. I leaned against the porch railing and stared out at the abused town knowing it was my fault.

  Matt walked to stand next to me and smiled. “How are ya doin’, Love?”

  I shook my head. “So much fighting and death and damage all because of me? It doesn’t make sense. I’m not special.”

  The other men stopped talking, and I turned around to face them.

  Ares shook his head. “You are special. You and I are special together. There are going to be people trying to get you and use you for themselves, but you must never think it’s your fault.”

  Two black SUVs pulled up in front of the house and Koda smiled. “Time to go.”

  I walked towards the SUVs, ignoring Ares and Victor as best as I could. They were both whispering too quietly for me to hear their conversation, but obviously they were talking about me. I climbed into the first SUV and crawled into the center seat, looking out the side window.