Artemis Lupine- The Complete Series

by Catherine Banks

  The hallway ended at a large metal door, and Death pushed it open. The wailing grew incredibly loud as I stepped through the door to stand on a stone balcony overlooking a black river. Glittering silver specters swirled around inside the river and I realized that’s where the moaning was coming from. “The river Styx?”

  Death nodded. “Some of the beliefs of each religion are true. It is unfortunate the humans could not come together to understand the complete truths of each.”

  A young girl, no older than seven years old, walked across the bank on the opposite side of the river towards the water. Her eyes were lost and full of fear as she stepped into the water, but as soon as it closed over her head her fear evaporated and a smile spread over her face.

  I stared at the writhing black water a moment longer before asking. “Why did you bring me here?”

  “There are some who would die to see this,” Death quipped.

  Death was trying to joke with me. At another time I might have laughed, but there was no humor in my heart at the moment. “Are you going to make me swim through it to find my mate’s soul?” I asked.

  Death laughed. “You would not survive the waters. The others would eat you alive if the water did not take you first. No, Ares Lupine, I have brought you here to see the truth of fate. There is no heaven or hell. Your soul simply glides around the waters until I release it to disappear and let you rest.”

  That was partially reassuring since I’d always assumed I was going to Hell for all of the beings I’d killed, but also slightly disheartening to know we simply vanished.

  Death walked back to the first room and sat on the throne. “Why have you come to me?”

  “You know the answer to that question,” I growled.

  “Yes,” Death said with amusement in its voice, “But apparently, you do not.”

  It waved a hand and Artemis appeared in human form beside Death. A light pulsed where her heart was, her soul, but a second light pulsed in her stomach as well.

  “I’m surprised that you would so easily give up the soul of your unborn child,” Death said mockingly.

  I gaped at the small pulsing light in my mate’s stomach as Death’s words sunk in. Artemis was pregnant. That’s why she had thrown up. I’d thought it had been nerves, but obviously, it was more than that.

  “What price would you pay for your mate and your child’s souls?” asked Death as it ran a hand along Artemis’ side.

  I did not like it caressing my mate in such a manner. I tried to rein in my anger so as not to upset it. I couldn’t afford to piss it off and lose my mate and my child. How could I have been such a fool? How could I have let this go unnoticed? “I have given you thousands of souls and I will give you thousands more for their lives. Give my mate and my child back to me!” I commanded, losing control at the sight of it continuing to touch Artemis.

  “Only gods may command me, Ares of the Werewolves,” Death answered slowly. The taste of its fear tickled my tongue and excited the wolf within me. How long had it been since Death had been afraid? I wasn’t naive enough to assume I was the first to frighten it, but I was angry enough to want to be the last to. It grabbed its scythe, standing up and blocking my view of Artemis.

  My body began glowing as my anger grew and my Sidhe powers released. I moved faster than a human eye could track, stopping inches from Death. I had no fear of this thing and I had no fear of death. It had angered me, and I was tired of its games. I yelled, “I am the God of War! Give them to me!”

  Battles of the Night

  Artemis Lupine Series, Book Four

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  1. Victor

  2. Koda

  3. Zeus

  4. Victor

  5. Ares

  6. Artemis

  Day Two

  Day Three

  Day Four

  Day Five

  Day Six

  7. Artemis

  8. Artemis

  9. Artemis

  10. Ares

  11. Artemis

  12. Artemis

  13. Victor

  14. Selene

  15. Artemis

  16. Victor

  17. Ares

  18. Artemis

  Epilogue

  Battles of the Night by Catherine Banks.

  Copyright © 2019 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

  Acknowledgments

  RJ, thank you for all of your help, insight, assistance, guidance, and most of all, thank you for being my friend.

  * * *

  CR, thank you for your PA-ing help and all of the other things you help me with. You are amazing and I’m so lucky to have found someone like you to help me.

  1

  Victor

  I was over one thousand years old and felt as helpless as a newborn human.

  There were few people whom I truly cared for. Ares was one I unashamedly loved. I stared at his lifeless body and hissed at my uselessness. Here I was, the most powerful vampire in the world, and I could do nothing, but wring my hands and pace.

  I turned from Ares only to have my eyes come to rest on Artemis’ body, which lay next to Ares’ on top of the sarcophagus that should have been for Dmitri, had my father not made him an immortal vampire.

  Artemis was small, beautiful, and enormously powerful. When I had first seen Ares and Artemis together, I was not sure what to make of the awkward, shy girl, but she soon proved that she was just as loyal and good hearted as the prophesied savior of the world should be. She was certainly capable of killing, but she had a good soul and most importantly she made Ares happy.

  Ares and I had been through many battles and he had saved my life numerous times. He had also put my life in danger just as many times, but no matter what we encountered, he never backed down and he constantly proved his loyalty to me. I wanted to prove my loyalty to him, to repay him, but I could do nothing.

  “Any change?” asked a deep, growling voice from far away.

  I walked out of the room and down the dark catacombs until I reached the stairs which led up into the cathedral where we were currently taking our refuge. A dark blue dragon’s head snaked through the doorway of the cathedral and wound his way as close to the catacomb stairway as he could.

  Draco Blu, leader of the dragons, had come an hour after Artemis’ death demanding to know what had happened and seeking blood.

  It was a good thing that Apollo, Artemis’ twin brother and cause of her death, was locked deep within the catacombs or the dragon might have torn him apart and I did not think I would have been able to stop him. Draco Blu and Artemis had developed a friendship, which had shocked the entire world since the dragons had previously only kept to themselves. Knowing Artemis though, I felt that many would change their views after meeting her.

  I met t
he dragon’s eyes and shook my head.

  He growled in frustration and asked, “How much longer can Hades hold him?”

  Hades yelled, “Not much longer. I’m not strong enough to hold him more than another hour at most.” Hades was a full-blooded Sidhe who had the unique power of being able to send people into Death’s realm and bring them back…usually. He was currently the only thing keeping Ares alive, and the only link that would bring Ares back to the living realm.

  Of course, that also depended on Death as well. If Death decided that he wanted to keep Ares’ soul with him, then there was nothing any of us could do.

  Draco Blu pulled his head out of the cathedral and then returned only a few seconds later with one of his scales between his teeth.

  I stared at it a moment before taking it from him and returning to the room where Hades was bent over Ares. I set the scale in Hades’ hand and he gasped as the power flowed out of the scale and into him.

  Hades blinked at it several times and then spoke to Draco Blu as I walked back to the stairway, “Why would you do this? Giving me some of your energy is an extreme gift, but you do not know me.”

  He simply said, “She is my friend.”

  I stared after the leader of the dragons.

  In one thousand years, the dragons had not been friends with anyone. Now, the leader was giving his energy, his essence, to strangers to try to save a girl he viewed as his friend.

  Times were definitely changing.

  The dragon withdrew from the building and I returned to the room, leaned against the wall, and watched Ares again.

  Koda walked into the room, still in his wolf form. Most werewolves were clean in their wolf forms because they switched forms a lot, but his fur was matted and looked oily and dingy. His eyes were glued to Artemis’ body as he walked, as if she were the only thing in the room. The usually joyful and teasing man who always had a mohawk and crazy hair color had transformed with Artemis’ death. As soon as Artemis had died, Koda shifted forms and refused to change back. I was slightly worried that he might go rogue, but more importantly, this was not like him.

  He walked past me without even an acknowledgment and sat on the floor beside Artemis. He put his nose against her hand, inhaling her scent, and shuddered. He rubbed his face against her palm and then walked to Ares’, repeating the movements. There were other wolves around, so he was not a lone wolf, but he had lost his brother Matt when Ares had had to execute him for being a traitor. To lose Artemis and Ares was too much for Koda to handle as a man, so he chose to stay a wolf. He jumped onto the stone, curled up at Artemis’ feet, closed his eyes with a sigh, and fell asleep.

  I left the room to find food before I lost control. Sidhe and wolves moved out of my way as I walked down the underground passageways. I realized after a moment that there was no food here, and I needed to teleport somewhere to find some. I closed my eyes and began to gather my magic to teleport to my favorite girl when a hand came to rest on my arm. “Victor,” Dmitri whispered. “Take me with you please.”

  I opened my eyes and saw his pinched eyes and slightly elongated fangs and realized that I was failing as his leader. “I apologize. I should have remembered that you would need food as well.”

  I closed my eyes again and teleported us both to Las Vegas, not wanting to tell even Dmitri about my favored female. Vegas was one of the only areas that my father had not changed. For some reason he liked the bright lights and busyness. It was now home to hundreds of shapeshifters and vampires.

  Dmitri smiled as we started walking and asked, “Are we going to get in a fight while we are here?”

  I shrugged. “It depends on my father’s minions. Most should know to steer clear of me and let me do as I want, but perhaps some will try to gain favoritism by attempting to capture me.”

  “Attempt would be the main word in that sentence,” Dmitri said with a smile.

  We walked down the sidewalks, passing by potion shops, clothing stores, strip clubs, and restaurants. The patrons of the town veered out of my path, which made me smile.

  Or perhaps it was Dmitri they were avoiding. He was known as Fear and had been my father’s right-hand assassin until I had freed him from my father’s grasp.

  With him beside me, I doubted we would have any trouble in this town, but one could always hope.

  I stopped in front of a ten-story building with no markings on the front except for the address. “Here we are,” I said with a smile as I pushed open the door.

  A tall woman with exotic eyes sat behind a counter with a bored expression on her face. As soon as I entered, she stood up and smiled pleasantly at me. “Prince Victor. It has been too long since I have seen your handsome face.”

  “Alexandria, I have missed our meetings,” I said with a bit of purr and sexual innuendo added along with some power in my voice.

  Her body tightened in response to my power and she stepped around the counter to place her hands on my chest. She was slender and had thick blonde hair down to her butt. “What can I get for you?” she asked with heat in her eyes.

  Dmitri rolled his eyes.

  I smiled. “I need two donors for each of us. We are very thirsty.”

  She nodded and walked to an intercom, speaking in Russian and bending over just enough to make her skirt inch up her long legs. She motioned for us to follow her with a flick of her finger and tongue.

  Dmitri shook his head at me, and I followed him without reading his thoughts, knowing well enough what he would be thinking.

  Alexandria stopped at the first door and pushed it open. “Dmitri, you will feed here.”

  Dmitri stepped into the room and two beautiful Asian women stepped out from behind a curtain. “Hello, Dmitri,” the identical twins said.

  “Come, Victor,” Alexandria prompted.

  I waved to Dmitri and followed Alexandria to the room directly next to his. Alexandria pushed open the door and waved me in. “I hope you enjoy your meal.”

  “I appreciate your hospitality,” I said and then picked her hand up and kissed the back of it.

  She flushed and quickly turned away, retreating out the door she came through.

  I opened the gate which I kept closed over my mind and focused on the two women sitting on the couch in front of me. I was strong, but even the strongest could fall prey to a trap and be killed. Women were often used as traps for men because we so often forget that women could be just as deadly. If men would only think about the lion and the fierceness of the lioness, the hunter of the pride, they might not forget to keep a knife nearby after lowering their defenses for a woman.

  I never forgot.

  The female vampire was just as capable at killing me as a male vampire. That was part of the enticement for me when mating with vampire women. They could turn from giving you sweet kisses to tearing open your throat with their fangs in a millisecond.

  He’s scary. I hope he isn’t a messy eater.

  Oh, he looks powerful. Look at those black eyes. I hope he chooses to feed from me first.

  The humans who became cattle for vampires, were not usually the brightest, but I was surprised at the fierce look in the second’s eyes and her desire to be fed from first.

  I sat down on the couch between them and turned to the second girl. “I think I will start with you.” I let my fangs extend fully, and she turned her neck to the side, presenting me with a perfect angle to puncture her neck. It was nice to have such pretty food sometimes.

  2

  Koda

  Miss Alpha.

  Miss Alpha female.

  Want pack back.

  Lonely. So lonely without.

  Need to eat. Need to rip into something’s stomach. Mm, fresh liver. Blood smells good in forest. Blood. Want blood.

  No. Alpha and Alpha female not happy if I kill.

  Want her back. Want her warmth back.

  Whine.

  Pain. Hurts. Need her back.

  3

  Zeus

  This battle had n
ot gone anything like I had thought it would. My youngest son, one of the strongest of the Sidhe, lay on top of someone else’s grave, cold to the touch. My other son lay on another grave in Death’s realm trying to retrieve his mate’s soul. Poor Artemis, who had been through more than one being should be forced to go through was dead just like Achilles, her death caused by their bond which he had created to save her.

  Hera, my wife, still sat beside Achilles, holding his hand as if she expected him to awaken and sit up from a dream. How I wished this was all a dream! In one day, I could lose both of my sons and my daughter-in-law. It was too much for a parent to bear.

  I should have been strong enough to take out Maurice myself, but the sad fact was that I had lost most of my magic when I had battled Goliath, the former Werewolf King and Beatrice’s father, and he had torn one of the wings from my back. My wing had regenerated, but my magic was a quarter of what it had been.

  None of this was right. Achilles was supposed to live thousands of years after I died. He was supposed to rule over the Sidhe with Artemis at his side.

  Achilles had always been a loving and caring child. I had been proud to see him carry that on into his adulthood. He had been shaping up to become an amazing king.

  Despite all of the issues surrounding Ares, Achilles had always loved and looked up to him.

  Hera and I had caused the rift between the brothers. I had caused my sons so much pain during their lives.