“I have to prove myself, Ares. Since I’ve met you, you all have been fighting for me and protecting me. It’s time that I protect myself and prove to the rest of the pack that I’m not helpless.”
Ares relaxed his grip and sighed loudly. “You could have just battled someone. You didn’t have to do a fight to the death that would result in forcing a new mate on me if you lose.”
“She challenged me, Ares. I couldn’t refuse. Would you have refused if it were a man challenging you for me?”
Ares laughed softly. “No, I suppose I wouldn’t have, but then again I’m a veteran at fighting. You aren’t.”
I rubbed my sore shoulders. “I know.”
Ares poked my shoulder making me wince. “Come on, let’s get you into the nice spa.”
“Mm, the spa sounds wonderful,” I said wistfully. Ares laughed and steered me towards the bathroom. He started the water while I stripped out of my dirty clothes. It hurt to raise my arms above my head, but I got my shirt off with only a little groaning. Ares tested the water in the giant spa and then stripped out of his own clothes. He climbed into the spa and held out his hand to help me in. I let him help me as I climbed into the hot water and then slid down against the wall of the spa, sighing happily.
Ares moved to sit down beside me and held one of my hands in his. “I love you, Artemis.”
I snuggled against him as the hot water relaxed my sore muscles. “I love you too. Have you thought of any ways to get Achilles to give up?”
Ares shook his head. “No. You?”
“No.”
We sat in comfortable silence as we enjoyed the closeness of each other and the pleasantness of our contact. My eyes started to droop closed when Ares leapt out of the spa and growled loudly. I spun around and stared in shock at a woman with a dagger pinned against the wall by Ares. She struggled against his hold, her eyes fixed on me. “Female! Female, look at me!” Ares yelled at her, but she didn’t take her eyes off of me or stop trying to get away from him. He closed his eyes for a second before shaking his head. “She’s turning.”
“Turning into what?” I asked.
“Turning rogue. Her wolf is taking control of her even in her human body. Artemis, run downstairs and stay there. Tell Koda to come here.”
I obeyed Ares’ instructions and ran down the stairs. Koda rushed up the stairs. “I just noticed the front door was open. We didn’t even hear it.”
I pointed up. “Ares has a woman who tried to stab me. He says she’s turning rogue.”
Koda cursed and ran up the stairs. Achilles walked towards me with a white robe in his hands. I quickly put it on. “They have to kill her, don’t they?” I asked Achilles.
Achilles nodded his head. “Yes. If you are of a foul mind and you let the wolf take over you will kill whatever is in your path. Your own children included.”
I looked at him curiously. “You talk as if you are one.”
He shrugged. “I lived among the wolves for a number of years. I’ve seen a rogue attack twice. It is not something you easily forget.”
The woman screamed and then the house was eerily silent. I shuddered at the knowledge that Ares or Koda had killed her. Even if it was necessary, it unnerved me. “Artemis, go in the kitchen and make us some dinner, please,” Ares said from the bedroom.
I knew he was just trying to save me from looking at the dead woman’s body and I was thankful for the diversion. I quickly went into the kitchen and started pulling out steaks and vegetables to make for dinner. I even managed to find potatoes so I could make mashed potatoes. I kept my concentration on the meal and only when it was completed did I let myself step back and admire my work. The steaks smelled delicious, the mashed potatoes were perfectly smooth and buttery, and the vegetables were the perfect consistency, not too hard and not too soft. I grabbed plates from the cupboards and hurried to the dining room, setting everything up. I could hear Ares and the others talking in the living room as I finished bringing all of the food into the dining room. I ran up the stairs and changed into sweats and a t-shirt and then called from the dining room, “Dinner’s ready.”
The men walked into the room, their somber faces changing instantly to smiles as they surveyed the food I’d made. Ares walked over to me, put his arm around my waist and kissed me on the lips. “It looks delicious.”
I noted the hint of surprise in his voice and asked, “Did you think I didn’t know how to cook?”
Ares laughed. “I was worried.”
We all sat down, Ares and I at the ends of the table with Koda, Matt and Achilles filling in between. Ares raised a hand as I started to reach for the food. I set my hand down and stared at him in shock as he closed his eyes, bowed his head and whispered, “Thank you, Mother of All, for keeping us alive and allowing such a great meal to be prepared for us. We, as always, are in your debt. We ask only that you keep our fur clean, our teeth and claws sharp and a meal in our bellies.” I looked around the table and found everyone, including Achilles, with their heads bowed and eyes closed. The others mumbled something and then Ares opened his eyes. “Now you may eat.”
It took a moment for the shock to wear off before I started putting food on my plate. They prayed? Who was the Mother of All? Was he referring to Asena, the mother of the werewolves?
The meal was eaten in relative silence, but even with Achilles and Matt there, it was comfortable silence. As soon as I filled my stomach, I started rushing around and picking up empty plates. Ares stood up and blocked my path to the kitchen. He gently took the pile of plates out of my hands and then nodded his head at the other men. As one, Koda, Matt and Achilles stood up and started clearing the table. Ares bumped me to the side with his hip and I stared in awe as four men, no four warriors did the dishes. Where’s a camera when you need one?
As soon as the men finished the dishes, they all walked out of the house. I followed them quickly as they made their way into the woods. Where the hell were they going? They all stopped in the training field and turned to face me. Uh oh. Ares looked grim as he stood in the center of the field. “Since you insist on fighting I thought it would be good for us to train you, all of us.”
Achilles took his spot on the grass and leaned against a tree. I looked back at Ares, Koda and Matt and felt a lump form in my throat. “I have to fight all of you?”
Matt laughed and then spoke in his British accent that I used to love, “We all specialize in different areas of fighting.”
I nodded my head remembering one of my kidnappers in France talking about Koda being really good at karate. “Okay.”
Ares exhaled and smiled. “Okay, come attack me.”
“Can I use my sidhe powers?” I asked.
Ares shook his head. “Nope, just your wolf ones.”
I didn’t want to fight Ares, the idea itself was ridiculous, but the wolf side of me was excited to play fight. I let my instincts propel my movements, but kept control of my body, not letting myself change. I punched at Ares, but he dodged. I kicked, but he pushed my upper body, making me stumble. The more I tried to hit him and the more he remained untouched, the angrier I grew. Soon I stopped trying to hit him and let my subconscious and the wolf take over. My fist grazed Ares’ cheek and a jubilant smile broke out on my face. Ares smiled back at me and began attacking, putting me on defense. His movements were too fast for me to track and soon I was surviving his blows by instinct. Matt jumped from behind me and started trying to fight me as well, causing me to move twice as fast. Koda jumped into the fray as well, kicking and punching. With the three of them attacking I was getting hit and kicked and left with no time to think. My fists hurt from hitting them, so I changed them to paws and began clawing at the men, opening a large gash on Matt’s arm. I started to get the upper hand until all three men changed their hands to paws as well.
My arms and chest stung with the numerous cuts from their claws and I lost my endurance. Slipping in the grass, I fell to one knee and then the flame of magic inside of me flared up and cover
ed me in a bright purple light. The men couldn’t get past the barrier of purple light surrounding me and were forced to stop their attack. Ares growled at me. “I said no sidhe powers.”
Achilles spoke before I could. “She did not intentionally use them. Her body recognized it was near losing and formed the ward for her.” He walked towards me and reached a hand towards my ward. Ares growled, but Achilles placed his hand on the ward anyways. His eyes widened in shock. “This is quite impressive. Most are not able to create a seamless ward as this.” He ran his hand along the ward making the purple light pulse everywhere he touched and making my body shiver as though he were touching my skin.
I pulled at the invisible force covering me and willed it back into my body. Slowly the light ebbed and then disappeared. I collapsed onto the ground gasping for air. Achilles squatted down next to me smiling. “You have to learn to pace yourself when it comes to magic.” Achilles stood up and turned to Ares. “I need to work with her on her magic. Whatever qualms you have with me and whatever disputes we have between us regarding her do not matter in this instance. If she is not taught she may cause a catastrophic event.”
Ares nodded his head. “I understand, but you are not allowed to touch her.”
Achilles smiled smugly. “It amuses me that you think one touch from me and she would run into my arms instead of yours.”
I growled loudly at Achilles, causing Ares and him to start in surprise. “I will never run into your arms. I am not yours. I am tired of you tormenting Ares. Why won’t you just leave us and let us be happy?!” By the end I was screaming even though I had not intended to.
Achilles looked hurt as he said, “Because you will see soon enough that I offer something for you as well.” He strode out of the field and into the darkening forest.
Ares helped me stand up and smiled down at me. “Well, that was interesting. You fought fairly well, but your reactions are slow. We’ll have to work on that.”
“Can we take a shower? My body is itching with all of the cuts and the grass covering me,” I said as I leaned against him. He started to pick me up, but I pushed him. “I’ll run.”
He didn’t seem bothered by my statement as I’d expected, but simply held my hand as we started running towards the house.
Koda and Matt were arguing angrily about something when we finally arrived at the house. People started coming out of the surrounding houses to see what all the commotion was about.
Matt growled loudly and yelled, “I challenge Koda for place in the pack and rights as second!”
I frowned. “Rights?”
Koda snarled. “I accept!”
Ares and Achilles were on the porch of the house talking quietly, leaving me alone beside Koda and Matt. “Hey, guys, let’s just calm down and…”
Matt and Koda started fighting each other, their snarls and punches almost defeaning me. I started to move forward, to stop them, but Darius grabbed my arm tightly. “You cannot stop a challenge once it has been accepted.”
I stared at the King of Werewolves and felt his power. He pressed it on to me and I realized I was staring into his eyes. I looked down and nodded my head in understanding and acknowledgement of my submission to him. He let go of my arm and I moved away from him as quickly as I could without running.
Achilles moved down the steps and lifted the sleeve of my shirt to expose red marks where Darius had grabbed me. Achilles skin glowed softly as he turned to Darius. “I believe the King may have forgotten how to handle the sidhe.”
Darius frowned in confusion. “Speak freely Achilles.”
Achilles pulled me forward and lifted the sleeve of my shirt. “You’ve marked her skin.”
Darius’ eyes widened in shock. “I did not mean to mark her. I was simply stopping her from interfering.”
Ares walked down the steps and stood beside us. “Be careful King. An offense such as this would have started wars not long ago.”
Darius glared at Ares. “Perhaps you should teach your halfbreed bitch our rules and I would not have to touch her.”
Ares growled at him and I felt his anger and Achilles’ anger rising at the same time. It was like they were feeding off of each other’s emotions. Ares whispered, “You should watch your tongue Darius. You aren’t as loved as you once were.”
Darius snarled. “Watch your words. There are many who do not love you as much either, Prince.”
Matt screamed in pain and I remembered why we were there. I scolded myself for being distracted and yelled, “Stop fighting! Please!” I pushed around Ares to see Matt bleeding from his arm and Koda smiling happily. “Koda, please!” I begged.
Neither seemed to hear me though and I watched in shock as Koda grabbed Matt around the throat and choked him. “Submit to me,” Koda growled.
Matt growled and struggled against Koda, refusing to submit.
“Ares, why are they fighting?” I asked.
Achilles whispered, “As second in the pack, if the alpha dies, the second in the pack becomes alpha and takes the previous alpha’s mate.”
Me. They were fighting for the right to take me if Ares ever died.
“You stupid, idiotic men! Stop fighting!” I yelled at them.
Koda punched Matt in the throat and Matt whispered, “Submit.”
The crowd clapped and cheered and Koda smiled happily. I shook my head and walked inside the house, ignoring both men. “Idiots.”
~~~
Chapter Six
For the next two days Ares, Koda and Matt trained with me. Soon I was able to keep pace with Matt and almost with Koda, but Ares beat me every time. I had no doubt that Natasha wasn’t as skilled as Ares, so I wasn’t worried.
I continued trying to half-shift, but every time I tried I only changed into my wolf, so we gave up.
As the sun rose on the day of my challenge, I felt my nervousness. I rolled over and snuggled against the front of Ares, who wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “You don’t have to do this. You could rescind your acceptance to fight,” he whispered into my ear.
I looked at his serious face in shock. He’d stay with me even if I backed out of the fight? He knew I couldn’t do that and keep face with the rest of the pack. He’d lose face as well for having a coward mate. No, I couldn’t do that. “Ares, you know I can’t back out.”
Koda whined. “Artemis, if you want, we’ll leave with you. We’ll run and make up some story that will convince the others we had to go.”
I rolled onto my back so I could look at each of them. “Stop this. I’m not going to lose. Everything will be fine.”
Ares and Koda nuzzled my neck and inhaled my scent at the same time.
My heart felt as though it were tearing apart. Tears trailed down my cheeks as I imagined life without my pack. Ares kissed my cheeks and whispered in my ear, “Artemis, please reconsider. I can’t bear to lose you.”
“I have to, Ares.” No matter how much I didn’t want to lose Ares, I had to finish the fight. With my mind made up I focused on the amount of training I’d had with them and felt sure I would win.
Ares climbed out of bed and stretched. “I’m going to make breakfast.” As he walked away, I noticed the tightness in his shoulders and back. Matt followed Ares out of the bedroom. It didn’t escape my notice that Matt had said nothing while Koda and Ares had tried to convince me to stay safe.
Koda sat up and looked at me. “Artemis, if you think you’re going to lose you can ask for mercy and she has to refrain from killing you.”
“And then be forced to have no Ares and no pack? No, I couldn’t do that. I’d rather die,” I answered truthfully.
Koda hugged me against him. “I can’t watch you die. If you ask for mercy, I’ll leave Ares’ pack and join you. I know I’m not Ares, but wouldn’t it be better than being dead?”
“You’d leave Ares’ pack to be my mate? To be the mate of a worthless mixed blood?”
Koda pulled away from me and smiled. “You aren’t worthless and I don’t care
what bloodlines you have. I love you, Artemis. You’re my pack mate and nothing will change that.”
I kissed his cheek and climbed out of bed, shocked by his offer. “I’ll consider it if the need arises.” Though, we both knew I wouldn’t. I couldn’t continue living if I wasn’t Ares’ mate. It would be like cutting out an organ.
We’d all chosen to sleep in shorts and shirts so I didn’t need to change before I went downstairs in front of Achilles. Ares and Achilles were both whispering angrily towards each other when I walked into the kitchen, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Achilles looked at me with glistening eyes. “Good morning, Artemis.”
I bowed my head at the neck towards him. “Good morning, Achilles.”
Ares set a plate of bacon, eggs and toast in front of me with a smile. I kissed his cheek and started eating. The men milled around the house in silence while I ate, a sense of doom clouding the air.
The time arrived and we set out for the fight. The walk to the town center was filled with worry and sadness. In my mind I was determined to win because I had finally found my pack, my family. But in my body only worry and fear resided, causing my hands to shake ever so slightly.
Ares squeezed my hand reassuringly and in an instant my worry was swept away and replaced with the knowledge that Ares loved me and no matter what, we’d always love each other.
Ares led us to a large grassy field where a large square had been marked out with white paint. It looked as if the entire town had turned out to watch my challenge, hundreds of people surrounding the square. Even the king and queen were sitting in chairs on the sidelines.
Koda stopped us at the sidelines and gave me a hard hug, whispering into my ear, “Remember what I told you.”
Matt hugged me too and then both walked a ways back in the crowd. Achilles looked at me with sparkling eyes and softly glowing skin. The blue vines on his arms glittered like sapphires. “Win this battle Artemis,” he said softly.
I nodded my head at him and he quickly moved through the crowd. Ares rubbed his cheek against mine and inhaled my scent. Without thinking about it, I’d inhaled his scent as well and felt his unease within him. “I love you, Artemis. You’ll win. I know you will.”
Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine Page 7
