Artemis Lupine- The Complete Series

by Catherine Banks

Ares picked my hand up gently, and his reassurance gave me strength.

  Victor walked forward and bowed. “Greetings, Father.”

  Maurice’s gaze never left mine as we walked towards his throne. The throne seemed to be carved out of a single, giant piece of gold and glittered with gems. “I’m so happy that you came.”

  “Father, we have heard a rumor that the vampires and dhampirs that have been hounding Artemis may have been sent by you. Is this true?” Victor spoke in such a calm voice that I almost believed he was simply asking about a rumor.

  Maurice began speaking, but I realized he was speaking to me. “I can give you anything in the world that you want. I could let you rule an entire nation if you wanted. Whatever you want, tell me and it’ll be yours if you join me.”

  “I can’t join you. I can’t allow you to kill off the entire human race.” I frowned.

  Maurice stood up. “Join me, or those you love die!”

  I looked at Ares and then at Achilles who were both smiling at me. It was then that I realized no matter how much I wanted to keep Ares and Achilles safe, they would have to fight beside me to accomplish our safety. I squeezed Ares’ hand and looked back up at Maurice. “Verus amor vincit omnia. True love conquers all. No, I will not join you. I will not leave the ones I love. I will stand beside them and fight you, and die if I have to.”

  Maurice’s face changed, and I saw his true face, his vampire face, and immediately my skin went cold. The King of Vampires in battle mode was something no human should witness. He was truly frightening.

  The doors to the ballroom started to shake and Victor yelled, “Get ready!”

  Achilles’ body burst into bright color and he raised his hand straight up over his head, shooting a blue fireball through the ceiling.

  That must be the signal.

  Achilles smiled at me and then Erebus, Eros, and Heracles flew in through the ceiling. As soon as they landed, the fight began.

  Hundreds of vampires poured in through the ballroom doors and headed towards us. Ares body rippled as he took a half-shift and started attacking the vampires with Koda beside him in wolf form.

  Achilles shot fireball after fireball at the vampires, catching some on fire and tearing holes through others.

  Victor and Dmitri pulled out swords as they fought against their own kind.

  Erebus, Eros, and Heracles fought in a small circle with their backs together.

  I stood in the center of them all and smiled. It was my turn to fight. It was my turn to prove my worth.

  Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the powers that resided within me, and focused on the plants outside of the building and all of the living things nearby to draw on their power. I summoned a portion of my energy, turned my hands into paws with extended claws and opened my eyes. My body was glowing brighter than anyone else’s, making the vampires shield their eyes. I screamed my battle cry and leaped into the battle. Bodies fell before my wrath as my primal fighting instincts took over.

  I thought we were winning, but as soon as we killed a portion of the vampires in the room, more would come in to replace them. I started moving further away from my group when I saw him…my dad.

  Darren stood beside Maurice and was looking out over the battle. His eyes stopped on me and he growled, his lip pulling up in a snarl. He moved away from Maurice and towards me.

  I tried to head back towards Achilles and Ares, but the vampires had clustered together to keep us separated. I couldn’t fight Darren. I couldn’t win against him.

  “Ares!” I yelled frantically as Darren came closer to me.

  Ares stopped his fighting and turned towards me, his eyes widening when he saw Darren. Ares started to make his way, but he was too far and there were too many vampires blocking him. I turned around in search of Achilles, but I couldn’t see him over the vampires standing in front of me. I clawed and slashed and burned the vampires, but no matter how many I killed I couldn’t get closer to Ares or farther from Darren.

  Suddenly Darren’s hand grabbed me by the hair and jerked me backwards. I yelled in surprise and he put his hand around my throat. “I should have done this eighteen years ago.”

  I struggled against him. “Please, Dad. Please.”

  Darren smiled. “Did you actually think I loved you? Did you think I could love a halfbreed? You were nothing more than a mistake. I wanted to mate with your mother, but I didn’t want you. I never wanted you.”

  His words hurt worse than anything I could have imagined. “Then why did you raise me? Why keep me alive?” I asked as tears leaked down my face.

  “I was training you for Maurice, but then you had to go and betray me by leaving with Ares.”

  “I didn’t betray you. He’s my destined mate. Please dad. Don’t do this.”

  Darren laughed. “You’re pathetic.” His hand tightened around my throat and my air cut off. I gasped for air and clawed at Darren, but no matter how many gashes I opened, his grip didn’t loosen. Spots crowded my vision as I began to go unconscious. Ares yelled, and then I was on the floor, gasping for air. I turned around and watched as Darren and Ares fought. I’d never thought of Darren as terrifying, but as I watched him fight Ares, he was one of the most terrifying beings on the planet.

  Darren changed into his wolf form and jumped a few yards away for a chance to recover. Ares changed forms as well and charged after Darren. I wanted to keep watching, to help if I could, but the vampires surrounding me had started moving closer. Achilles yelled in pain at the same instant that Ares did.

  Maurice yelled, “Join me, Artemis, and this can all end!”

  White hot anger flowed through my veins. Death. I wanted all of these vampires dead. Permanently dead. I wanted my loved ones free. I wanted to be free. I closed my eyes and prayed to whoever or whatever might be listening to help me. I had to save them. Warm wind surrounded me in a mini tornado and then power filled me. I’d never felt so much power before and it made me dizzy. I stood up and whispered, “Kill the vampires.” I felt as though my skin was going to burst and then all of the power left me in a giant explosion. I screamed as the rush of power left me and fell to the ground on my hands and knees.

  The room was eerily silent as I opened my eyes and stood up. I soon realized why. Every vampire, except Maurice, Dmitri and Victor were gone. Ash sifted through the air, but no bodies remained.

  Maurice yelled, “Now!”

  I looked for Ares, but couldn’t see him. I tried to stand, but strong hands grabbed me.

  Ares and Achilles screamed, “No!” in unison and then I was traveling through a black spinning vortex I recognized too well. The spinning stopped and my nausea quickly vanished. I gaped at the house Darren had raised me in.

  I spun around and glared at Hera. “What are you doing?”

  Her body glowed and she never looked so much like a goddess as she did then. She placed her hands on each side of my head and whispered, “What is necessary for my son’s survival.” She started speaking in another language and then pain filled every cell of my body.

  I started to scream, but horror froze my limbs as I realized what she was doing. She was stealing my memories. The fight with Maurice. The last night that Ares and I made love. Achilles telling me he loved me. The training with the Sidhe. Matt’s death. Victor. Matt. Koda. Achilles. Ares. I screamed and fought against her, but she was too strong, and I was too weak.

  Every memory that I cherished was pulled from me and increased the hole I felt widening inside of my heart. People’s faces whom I loved began to disappear. I couldn’t remember my mother. I couldn’t remember what Koda or Achilles looked like. I couldn’t remember Ares scent or his face.

  “Ares!” I screamed as the memories of him disappeared in a flash of painful magic.

  Hera screamed and then released me as I fainted.

  Chapter Ten

  The woman standing before me was stunning. She was glowing as though an internal light was on. Part of me wanted to call it her powers, but I didn’t
understand what it meant.

  She smiled down at me and held out her hand to help me stand up. “Are you alright, child?”

  I rubbed my sore head and stood up on shaky legs. “I…I think so.” I looked around at the place I was in and asked, “Where am I?”

  She whispered, “You’re safe and so is everyone else. That’s all that matters for now.”

  “What do you mean? Who are you?”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you that.”

  In a flash of light, she disappeared and I was alone. Had she been a goddess? Or perhaps a witch?

  I rubbed my hands down my arms, realized I was naked, but decided it wasn’t important at the moment, and turned to look at everything around me. I was in front of a house, but it didn’t seem particularly special to me. A town was near, I could smell gasoline from vehicles, but I couldn’t smell people. That seemed odd, but I didn’t let it bother me at the moment.

  I smelled trees nearby and that drew my attention. I stepped into the shelter of the trees and heard a wolf howl in the distance.

  A wolf. Yes, I was part wolf. A…a werewolf. I could switch forms if I wanted to.

  I closed my eyes and willed the wolf side of me to take over. My body changed and I ran deeper into the forest, calling out to any of my brothers or sisters that might be nearby. I felt lonely. So incredibly lonely that it hurt. Not just emotionally, but physically as well.

  A pack of small wolves came from the shadows of the forest and surrounded me. These were obviously not werewolves like me, for one they were much smaller and didn’t exude the same presence werewolves should, but I needed a pack to run with. I couldn’t stand this loneliness anymore. I wouldn’t survive this loneliness.

  I dropped my head submissively and whined, asking to join their pack. The alpha, a grey wolf with a large scar down his throat, walked forward and growled at me. I dropped to the ground, and he moved forward to sniff my stomach. The rest of the pack came forward and I was recognized as a friend. The pack ran and I ran with it, now a member of it.

  That was strange, too. Why would the pack accept me so quickly? So many strange things without answers. So many questions. So many unknowns.

  There was something important I was supposed to be doing, but I couldn’t remember what. I felt something missing inside me. Two big things. Yes, there were two things missing inside of me, as though pieces of my heart were gone, but I couldn’t remember what to do to make me whole again. I didn’t even remember what had happened to cause the emptiness.

  I shook my head, cleared the human thoughts, and let the animal within me take over. I barked and ran after the others, happy in the moment of the chase as we raced after a herd of deer.

  Healed by the Fire

  Artemis Lupine Series, Book Three

  Healed by the Fire by Catherine Banks.

  Copyright © 2010 Catherine Banks

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Covers by Combs.

  Logo by Avery Banks.

  Published by Turbo Kitten Industries.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of the book.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized printed or electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  www.CatherineBanks.com

  Turbo Kitten Industries

  PO Box 5012, Galt, CA 95632

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  1. Chandra

  2. Chandra

  3. Chandra

  4. Chandra

  5. Achilles

  6. Chandra

  7. Koda

  8. Ares

  9. Chandra

  10. Ares

  11. Chandra

  12. Artemis

  13. Artemis

  14. Victor

  15. Artemis

  16. Artemis

  17. Artemis

  18. Artemis

  19. Achilles

  20. Artemis

  21. Artemis

  22. Ares

  Acknowledgments

  Mom and Dad, thank you for your endless support. You mean the world to me and your support means even more!

  * * *

  Lea, thank you for your PA-ing help and beta assistance on this series. You are a wonderful person and a great friend.

  1

  Chandra

  The sun was just cresting the mountains as I walked down the concrete sidewalk towards Preternatural Potions, the best magic shop within one hundred miles of the coven where I lived. I admired the buildings around me that still looked freshly painted even after thirty years, and I wondered which spell was used to protect the paint from dirt and sun bleaching.

  I didn’t remember what the human world looked like before the uprising, but from the pictures I’d seen I agreed with Selene that the preternaturally run world was definitely better looking. The leaders, however, were not better for the world. Now we not only had monarchs heading each of the races, but we also had a dictator who was worse than any human politician could have been.

  A tall, light-skinned, red-haired dhampir stepped out of the store in front of me. I forced myself to lower my eyes respectfully and move out of his way instead of reacting as I desired. If only I remembered who I was, what my name was at the very least, it would help me understand more about my reactions.

  “Good morning, miss,” the dhampir said kindly.

  “Morning, sir,” I replied as I continued past him.

  I snuck a glance back, but thankfully he was still rooted in the spot, following me only with his eyes. Only a few more blocks and then I’d be safely at my destination.

  The sun rose and the true beauty of the town was revealed. Every vampire noble was given executive rights to decide what their territories would look like, except for specific restrictions that the Vampire King, the dictator of the world, gave. The buildings were constructed from wood and painted in what looked like a light blue color at night, but when the morning light hit the buildings it revealed its gorgeous bicolor. The paint was actually a dual tone of blue and purple, which changed continuously depending upon the way you looked at it.

  “Owner?” asked a short, burly goblin at the crosswalk in front of me.

  The goblins had been in the deserts of the Middle East and Northern Africa during the human reign. I wasn’t sure if their resilience had come from living in the deserts for thousands of years or if their resilience had allowed them to adapt to living in the deserts, but the fact remained that they were a preserving and strong race which could adapt to any climate quickly. Once the preternaturals had taken over, the goblins spread out from the deserts to the more temperate climates around the world, mainly living in the Northern Hemisphere.

  “Selene, leader of the Western Coven of Witches,” I answered automatically.

  The goblin, an enforcer for the vampires, nodded and waved me across the street.

  How nice of you to let me pass. I continued on my way. Little did the goblin know that I could toast him out of his boots faster than he could yell for his mother. I was glad that he hadn’t asked to see my brand since the one I had tattooed on the back of my neck wasn’t the witch’s. I actually didn’t know whose it was.

  I finally arrived at the store and pushed the do
or open. The scent of jasmine flooded my nose and the sounds of a rainforest inundated my ears. For a moment, I was teleported to a tropical forest where animals much different than the ones I was familiar with ruled and where humanity hadn’t been able to overwhelm. The door closed behind, me and the spell broke slightly, allowing me to regain my senses while still being able to relax. It was one of the best spells I had ever encountered, and it did its job of allowing shoppers to browse stress-free.

  The large store seemed small due to the wall to wall, floor to ceiling shelves. Various sized glass vials, bags, boxes and cages which held everything from toad tongues to herbs to test rats lined the shelves. Each had elegantly written labels hanging from them with product descriptions and prices. In the center of the store was a large circular wooden table which had sale items as well as the most commonly purchased potions, charms, crystals and other magical artifacts. I knew this was only a sampling of what Preternatural Potions offered and you only had to ask the clerk to run to the back for other items.

  I looked towards the front counter, which was nothing more than a white elm trunk shaved into a rectangular shape. Not surprisingly, there was no one behind the counter. The clerk, Dionysus, had a drinking problem and was either drunk, crabby because he needed a drink, or passed out in the back of the store. I was actually pleased that he wasn’t there to pester me. He was constantly toying with me and hiding ingredients that I required on a weekly basis so that I had to ask him, and ask him politely, for them.