We’d known each other so long that most times we knew what the other was thinking without the use of telepathic abilities so Victor’s abilities were not as intrusive as they once were.
Being one thousand years old made years seem like a human’s minutes, but the last one hundred years had felt like a lifetime. I had finally revealed myself to Artemis in Lyngvi, trying to claim her, only to come up against Ares and the bond they had already developed. Then, after many fights and binding her to save her from Hera, I had told her that I loved her and showed her my memories only to have her taken from my by my mother. I understand why Hera had done it, but it didn’t make the pain at being separated from Artemis any easier. Especially when we hadn’t been able to find her where Hera claimed to have left her.
And now Ares had been the first to find her, the first to make contact with her. I hated that he had been able to find her first, but I could not direct that hate at him. I’d watched him suffer each night with only Koda there to console him as he lost the ability to hold shape and turned into a wolf. Not being able to maintain shape was something very uncommon for the Prince of the Werewolves. Every night he dreamed of her being taken and then turned into a wolf, howling his grief until he passed out from weariness.
A wolf’s grieving howl was the most eerie and heart wrenching sound I’d ever heard. It made it that much worse to feel the same pain and sorrow echoed in my own heart. My soul howled right along with his as we ached to see and touch her.
The day Ares had come back from the town to confirm it was her he had seemed defeated instead of happy. Now, seeing her and knowing she did not recognize us, did not feel for us as she had when we’d last seen her, hurt incredibly. She had been the love of my life since I had first seen her and she had no clue who I was.
What had she been doing since we last saw her? Had she found a mate? Had she slept with someone else? What if she had a family? Could we really give her back her memories if she was already happy?
Theseus had said she was living in a witch’s coven and that she didn’t smell of a man, but it had been a hundred years; she could have mated with a human and had a family between now and then.
The thought of another man touching her made my fists clench and my skin start to glow.
“Achilles,” Ares said softly, “It’ll be alright.”
I turned away from the concern on his face and ground my teeth together. “You have already established a bond with her. Of course you think it’ll be alright. I am, yet again, left to wait.”
“Would you like me to answer the questions you were asking yourself a moment ago?” Victor asked me quietly. “I have seen some of her memories and know some of the answers.”
It was tempting, extremely tempting, but I shook my head. “No, thank you. I shall wait to hear them from her lips.”
Even if I hadn’t been bound to her and she hadn’t been my match, I wouldn’t have been able to leave her or forget her. She was perfect. She was the only woman I wanted. The only one I thought about. She was everything to me.
Ares rested his hand on my shoulder and then turned to Victor. “We need the dragon egg your father has.”
“That is the price the Council asked of you?” Victor asked in shock.
Ares smiled. “Yes, well I don’t think they knew that you could just pop in and get it and come back.”
Victor smiled. “Yes, translocation is a handy ability.”
It would have been a much handier ability if he had had it when we were captured one hundred years ago. Of course, we had all learned some new ability which would help us should we be captured again. None of us enjoyed being imprisoned.
Victor closed his eyes, chanted a few words and then disappeared. Ares turned and met my eyes. “She’ll remember you too, Achilles. She won’t get only the memories of me back.”
I sat down on the snow covered ground and exhaled. “I know, Ares. It’s just…”
“Painful,” Ares offered.
I laughed bitterly and nodded my head. “Yes, painful. I see the way she looks at you now, even without memories, and it’s like being back in Lyngvi again.”
Ares sat down beside me and sighed. “I hadn’t intentionally set out to find her first, to keep you second. I was just overcome with emotions when seeing her and her not knowing me. She looked so different, but then she yelled at me and I knew that she was still in there. I had to try.”
Victor appeared in front of us holding a large green egg. “Got it.”
I pointed at the small man latched onto his arm. “Someone grabbed on for the ride.”
Victor hissed and handed Ares the egg. “I hate stalkers.” He pried the other vampire’s teeth from his arm and then snapped his neck.
Ares cradled the egg like a baby and nodded his head. “Let’s go, Victor you come with us.”
Victor sighed. “I knew you’d get me in trouble at some point. You better hope they don’t try to kill me.”
Ares smiled. “That would be a shame.”
Victor smiled wide enough to flash all of his fangs and then changed into his bat form, squealing as he flew up towards the Lair’s entrance.
I extended my wings and smiled. “Life has been entertaining with you two around the last one hundred years. Losing Victor’s comedic relief might dampen the mood.”
Ares laughed. “Let’s hope the dragons don’t eat the winged rat before we get there.”
I jumped up into the sky, flapping my wings to propel me higher. “We’d better hurry then.”
~~~
CHANDRA
Chapter Six
I was really tired of sleeping so much. I woke up with Blu’s heavy head still on my chest. “Blu, I need to use the restroom,” I said as I pushed at his head.
Blu rumbled something incoherent and pulled his head out of my tent.
After freshening up, I walked outside to find the Council gathered around my two princes. I ran toward them and stared in shock at the vampire standing in between the them. He was tall with black hair and solid black eyes. I’d heard about him before, the vampire prince.
“Please accept my humblest apologies. I was a much more immature man then and very impulsive. I return what is rightfully yours in accordance with the agreement between you and the princes here. I hope you can heal her quickly for all of our sakes.”
“I know you too? What kind of woman was I? Do I even want to know about my former life?” I asked in shock.
The vampire prince turned towards me and I saw several emotions flit across his face before happiness settled in. “You are even more beautiful than I recall,” he whispered as he walked towards me, “and definitely more powerful.”
I stepped back from him and then ground my teeth together. “I don’t know why you are trying to frighten me, but if those two men are really tied to me in one way or another, then they will not allow you to harm me. Plus, I may seem fragile and damaged, but I still possess many powers.”
The vampire laughed and the tension eased. “Even without her memories she is still just as assertive and wonderful.”
“We are pleased with the return of our egg. We will now give you, Prince of the Werewolves, your final task,” said the Council.
“I am ready,” said the werewolf prince.
The Council stood in silence a moment and then said, “You must obtain approval from Rhea to continue being mated to this woman.”
I gasped in shock and horror.
“Very well. I accept the task,” said the werewolf prince without hesitation.
“No!” I yelled. The Council looked at me in shock. I ran to the prince and looked into his eyes. “You can’t do this. It’s suicide! Please, please don’t do this.”
“Seeing your worry for me and feeling it from you is greater than anything I’ve felt in the past one hundred years,” he said quietly. He picked up a strand of my hair and inhaled deeply. “I will return to you. Nothing will keep me away from you now that I have finally found you.”
“Don’t go. We can start a life together now. I don’t need my memories,” I pleaded with him. “I’m not worth anyone’s life.”
He hugged me against his chest and kissed me fiercely on the lips. My head throbbed, but I ignored it as I enjoyed the easing of the pain in my heart and felt his love. He pulled back from me and I swore his eyes were misty with tears. “I will come back to you as soon as I can. I’m very powerful so you needn’t worry.”
I sniffed and wiped at the tears falling down my face. “Your power means nothing against the Mother. I should go. I should be the one who has to risk my life. I should…”
He kissed me again and then rubbed his face against mine, marking me with his delicious scent. “You should stay here and rest. The Sidhe prince will stay here so you will not be apart from both of us.” He turned to the Council. “May I ask two things?” The Council nodded their heads. “May I take a helper with me?”
“You may.”
He nodded his head and I caught the vampire prince walking towards us. “My second request is to leave my younger brother here. I do not think it would be good for Ar…Chandra to see him, but I don’t want to take him with me.”
The Council said, “He may stay while you are on your journey and we will keep him separate from the hatchling.” They turned to the Sidhe prince. “In fact you will all be kept away from her so that she doesn’t have any unfortunate episodes while the werewolf prince is away.”
The Sidhe prince bowed, but I saw his jaw bulge as he ground his teeth together. “Of course.”
The vampire prince sighed. “We’d better not die. I want to live to two thousand years. If I stay your friend I may not live that long though.”
The werewolf prince smiled. “Oh come on. You know you’re excited to finally get a chance to meet Rhea. Besides, we haven’t had a good challenge in a while.”
“You’re lucky I’m so fond of the two of you,” the vampire prince said as he started walking away.
“Don’t let him fool you. He’s been worried about you as well. He was in an uncontrollable rage when we couldn’t find you,” the Sidhe prince said with a fond smile on his face.
“How long was I missing?” I asked curiously.
“One hundred and five years,” he said without hesitation.
I hadn’t known my eyes could open so wide or my mouth. “One hundred years?!”
The werewolf prince nodded his head.
“No wonder it was so hard to control my wolf when Selene found me. I was in wolf form for…” I tried to calculate how long I’d been a wolf, but it was all a blur now. “I was with Selene sixty years so that means I was a wolf for forty five years!”
The werewolf prince stepped in front of me. “I’m leaving now. I expect you to stay out of trouble.” He laughed and shook his head. “Saying that to you is like telling a vampire to stay away from the darkness.” He sighed and pressed his forehead against mine. “Stay safe until I return. Please. I could not bear to lose you again.”
I inhaled his scent and my hands found their way to his hard, broad chest. “I will be anxiously awaiting your return.” I leaned into him and inhaled his scent again, trying to hold it in as long as I could. I wanted some way to keep his scent with me, but before I could ask he was taking his shirt off and handing it to me. I held it away from my body and smiled at him. “Thank you.”
He kissed me quickly on the lips then ran after the vampire prince. “If I don’t leave now I fear I never will.”
The vampire prince put his arm around the shorter man’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, she’ll look exactly the same when you get back. That’s one of the many perks of mating with preternatural women.”
The werewolf prince laughed and shook his head. “Always looking on the bright side aren’t you?”
The vampire laughed and looked up at the dragons in their nests around the Lair. “When you’re a child of the darkness, that’s the only place you can look.”
I took a sniff from the shirt and exhaled softly. “Come back soon.”
~~~
KODA
Chapter Seven
Not only had I been forced to hide in this tent while Ares met with the Council and Artemis, but now I was being forced to wait while he went on a treacherous journey. I had been beside my brother since I was weaned and I did not like being away from him now. I trusted Victor to guard Ares, but was only seventy percent sure that he would give his life for Ares’. I would never even hesitate. Ares was my alpha, my brother and my only true pack mate since Matt’s death.
I had felt sorrow at Matt’s betrayal and death, but nothing compared to the pain at Artemis’ kidnapping. She was so pure and so sweet, the most perfect female in any race for a million years.
And yet she was not mine to have, except as a pack member. The one kiss we had shared resonated in my skull and burned my heart with longing. I knew she was Ares’ and even Achilles’ before she would ever be mine, but it didn’t stop me from wanting and wishing.
Once she had fully accepted Ares as her passt genau I had given up on thoughts of courting her and simply enjoyed her company as part of the pack. Then when she had accepted the challenge from Natasha, there had been a glimmer of hope for me. If she had lost and asked for mercy I would have left Ares’ side to be with her, but her love for Ares was too strong. She had basically died to protect her claim to him.
I wanted to touch her, inhale her scent, bury my nose in her hair and listen to her heart beat. I wanted much and was allowed nothing. It took all of my control not to leave the tent and walk the one hundred yards to hers. She was so close and still so far away.
I’d just received information from a credible source about the true reason of Matt’s treason, but had not been able to discuss it with Ares yet. I stared at the letter in my hands and wished Matt had thought higher of us and had confided his problem in us. Ares and I could have helped him easily and he never would have needed to betray us. Clearly he did not think highly of our skills, which is why he had given in and played the rat.
“What is that?” Achilles asked softly from the stool he was sitting on across the tent from me.
I tossed the note to him and whispered, “Information in regards to Matt’s treachery.”
Achilles read the note and then looked at me with his neutral face. “Did you tell Ares?”
I shook my head. “There was not an appropriate time to discuss it.”
“I am sorry that you have not been allowed to see her,” he said quietly as he watched me. “It was not Ares’ or my decision, but the Dragon Council’s.”
It bothered me that he could read me so well, but then again he had been the first to notice that I was in love with Artemis. “I know that,” I said as I exhaled and ran a hand through my hair. “I just wish the Council wasn’t making him go through all this bullshit.”
“And that you could have gone with him instead of being left behind,” finished Achilles.
I laughed bitterly. “You know me well.”
Achilles dipped his head slightly in acknowledgment. “Yes, but I also know that I am feeling the same way.”
This was why I liked Achilles so much. He was the heir to the Sidhe throne and yet he did not hold himself above anyone. Since I could remember he had been kind to me and had treated me with respect even despite Ares’ prior hatred of him. It made matters much easier on me now that Ares had forgiven Achilles and they had dissolved their issues. Although I do not think that would have happened if it had not been for Artemis’ kidnapping and our imprisonment together.
We’d had many prison brawls, together and against other prisoners, which had brought us closer together. Human women could not understand how fighting brought men closer together, but after a fight together, whether it be against each other or against a common foe, your friendship developed and strengthened. Victor and Ares’ relationship had strengthened, while Achilles and Ares’ had developed anew.
“I do not doubt Ares’ abilities, but I do not like n
ot being there to protect his back,” I admitted.
“Do you doubt Victor?” Achilles asked.
I smiled. “You know as well as I do that Victor will protect Ares as best as he can, but he looks out for himself first, something which I do not.”
Achilles nodded his head. “I agree.”
I looked towards the east, where I could sense Artemis. “It’s so frustrating to know she is so near and yet still out of reach.”
Achilles sighed loudly. “You’re preaching to the choir, brother.”
Only he would obtain more kisses from her and, given long enough, possibly even be allowed to mate with her. I would never. I would only be allowed the bond of pack mates and the bond of friendship. Something which I was grateful for, but I craved so much more.
The woman of my dreams was within reach and yet so far gone that I knew she could not be mine, even if she did regain her memories. I would forever be left wanting.
~~~
ARES
Chapter Eight
Leaving her side again after such a short and bitter sweet reunion was extremely difficult. If it were for any other reason, I would have stayed, grabbed her in my arms and never let go. She looked exactly the same, but without her memories she wasn’t the same woman. I could tell that she had the strongest connection to me still, but even after making amends with Achilles and letting myself love my half-brother again, I didn’t want to leave her with him.
“The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can be back in her arms,” Victor said from my side.
I turned and smiled at him. “I know. I just…”
“Don’t like leaving her with your half brother, especially since you can tell she has some of her memories? Achilles is the most moral Sidhe I know and he won’t make any advances on her while you are out risking your life. Besides, what you’re doing isn’t just for her to regain her memories. She is the key to everything.”
Healed by Fire Artemis Lupine 3 Page 6
