I stood up and started to walk towards my bedroom when Ares walked into the dining room. He frowned and walked quickly to me, wrapping his arms around me. "What's wrong?"
I shook my head. "It's nothing, Ares."
He growled. "What did you two say to her?"
Koda said. "She asked us about why she was an outcast with the humans and what it would have been like to grow up around us."
Ares sighed. "Sorry, Koda."
Koda laughed. "Don't worry about it, Ares."
Ares pushed me back and said, "I'm sorry about your father. If I could change time for you I would."
I nodded and wiped at the tears on my face. "I know Ares. It's alright."
He snarled. "It's not alright. I'm going to find your father."
I shook my head. "You can't leave me again. Please!" I grabbed both of his arms and gripped as hard as I could.
Ares stared in shock at my face, and Matt cleared his throat, making me release my hold a little.
Matt said, "She is starting to show the symptoms, Ares."
Ares looked over my head at Matt. "Describe."
Matt said, "She started to panic when she watched you walk away from her and grew increasingly nervous when you were out of her sight. She had to have Koda hold her to stop her panic."
Ares looked down at me and asked, "Is that true?"
I felt the blush on my cheeks, looked down, and lied, "No."
"You have no reason to be embarrassed. It's part of what we are. It means that you are finally letting go and soon you and I will be fully connected."
I shrugged, still looking down. "So, I was a little nervous."
Matt gave a short bark of a laugh. "You were about to run after him."
"Shut up, Matt."
Ares shook his head, smiling. "It's really alright, Artemis. I promise I won't leave you unless I have to."
I felt my heart pick up and shook my head. "That's not a good enough promise." I growled. "I don't like this feeling."
Ares nodded. "I understand, Artemis. I feel the same way."
I stared at him and said, "You don't act like it."
He smiled. "I hide it. Wouldn't you think I was a little odd if I got all nervous when I walked away from you?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
He hugged me against him. "We'll get through this first part and get on to the easier parts soon. I came in here to get you, though. Will you come with me to speak with Victor and Maurice?"
I shrugged. "As long as I can touch you while I'm near them."
Ares nodded. "Deal. I'm not sure why you are scared of them though. Your werewolf side should make you feel safe around them."
I shrugged. "Maybe it's my other side."
Ares frowned. "Yes, probably. I hope Maurice and I are wrong about what you might be."
I frowned. "What is that?"
Ares shook his head. "I can't tell you right now. Come on." I let him lead me by the hand to the living room where Maurice and Victor sat in chairs facing the couch. Ares sat down on the couch pulling me down with him. I scooted as close as I could without being in his lap.
Victor smiled. "I promise we won't hurt you or Ares."
I nodded and licked my lips nervously. "Okay."
Maurice smiled, making his face look less frightening. "How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
He frowned. "How old were you when you stopped your first transformation?"
I shrugged. "I think ten."
His eyes widened a little bit, almost unnoticeable if you weren't watching for it. "Have you ever changed?"
I shook my head. "No, I almost did when Ares called to me or whatever, but my dad threw me in the creek and stopped it."
Victor asked, "Do you remember hearing Ares' call?"
"When he howled on TV? If that was his call, then, yeah."
Victor asked, "Do you remember answering?"
I shook my head. "No, I was watching the TV and thinking how gorgeous he was in wolf form and that it was strange that I wasn't afraid of him at all when I saw him killing people, then I started convulsing. Then my dad threw me in the creek and put me to bed. When I woke up, I felt something was wrong, no, I thought wrong, but it was more like I felt drawn outside and there was Ares and Koda and Matt."
Maurice asked, "Why don't you want to change?"
"I don't want to answer that in front of Ares." I said softly.
Ares groaned. "You might as well, because I'm going to be asking you anyway."
I groaned and scooted a little way away from Ares, not looking at him. "I don't want to change yet. If there is a chance that I could be human..."
Maurice interrupted me. "No. I'm sorry, child, but even if you don't change, you are still half werewolf and half..."
Ares cleared his throat stopping Maurice from finishing. I growled and glared at Ares. "Why won't you let him tell me?"
Ares smiled. "It is too dangerous for you to know."
I snarled at him. "Just tell me."
He snarled back. "No, and watch yourself. I will not allow you to challenge my authority."
I sighed and pushed down my anger, staring down at my hands. "Sorry, Ares. It's hard to control my anger sometimes."
He sighed. "I understand. If you would change it would be a lot easier."
I groaned. "I get it, alright? I need to change. Just give me some time."
Ares tilted my head up and smiled at me. "I'll give you however much time you need."
I smiled back at him and then looked at Victor and Maurice who were watching us intently. I pulled away from Ares and blushed. "Sorry. I forgot you two were here."
Maurice spoke softly, "She is delightful, Ares, but you must teach her how to act properly."
Ares nodded. "I'm sorry, Maurice. I didn't know you were coming otherwise I would have."
Victor laughed. "I think you should leave her be. It's nice to have someone not treating you differently."
Ares smiled. "She's good at it."
I stared at the three of them. "I think I missed something?" They all nodded, and I shrugged. "Whatever."
Maurice asked, "Do you remember your mother?"
I shook my head. "No, she left when I was five years old."
Maurice's eyes widened considerably from shock. "When you were five? Exactly?"
I nodded. "I remember it because it was the day before my birthday."
Victor asked, "Did your father ever tell you about her?"
I shook my head. "At first, he said she was going on a trip, but the more years that passed he just said that he didn't want to talk about it. I have seen a picture of her, but that’s it. I stopped asking Darren about her when I turned ten."
Victor asked, "When you started having the seizures?"
I nodded. "Yeah, but I guess that was really me trying to change."
Maurice nodded. "Yes, it was."
I sighed and said, "My mother left because of me, and I know that. I don't know why, but someday I will."
Maurice smiled. "I'm sure you will. Now, what did your father tell you about yourself? How did he explain your purple eyes?"
"I didn't know I had purple eyes until Ares came to get me. I always had contacts in and we didn't have a mirror in the house. He always made me change out my contacts in the bathroom, too. It's why Bret didn't know either."
Victor asked, shock evident in his tone, "You didn't have a mirror?"
I shook my head. Ares explained, "She didn't even know what she looked like until she came here and I made her look in the mirror."
Maurice rubbed his chin. "I'm beginning to understand Ares' desire to find your father. To not tell your daughter about her heritage or to let her meet others of her own kind is monstrous."
I looked at Maurice. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
I whispered, "What are you?"
Maurice smiled and looked at Ares. "May I?"
Ares nodded. "Yes. I was going to have Victor tell her
later anyway."
Maurice smiled and said, "Do not be frightened child, I will not harm you, alright?"
I nodded and moved closer to Ares. He held my hand and smiled. I watched as Maurice looked down at the ground and inhaled. I could feel a strange pressure, like the tide pulling at my legs, moving towards him. He looked up at me, and I gasped, jumping over the back of the couch behind Ares.
Maurice's eyes were solid black like Victor's and he smiled revealing long fangs where his small canines used to be. He said, "I told you not to be frightened."
I nodded and swallowed. "I know, but I couldn't help it."
Maurice smiled flashing his fangs again. "I will not hurt you; I have already eaten today."
I felt my heart speed up and asked, "Please tell me what you are."
He looked down and I felt that tide push past me, leaving his body. He looked back up and his face and teeth were back to normal. "I'm a vampire."
"Like Dracula?" I asked curiously.
Maurice groaned and rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Vlad was always looking for attention. That bastard."
I stared at him in shock. "Dracula was real?"
He nodded. "Of course he is."
I asked, "The fog that was killing people that was vampires, wasn't it?"
He nodded again. "Yes. We were trying to hide our existence."
"Why are vampires and werewolves working together? I thought they hated each other?"
Ares laughed and said, "That's a story we made up so the humans would not hunt us both at the same time."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
Victor smiled. "Vampires and werewolves have been allies since we found out about each other. The original vampires could not go out in the sunlight so the werewolves became our daytime bodyguards. It was mutually beneficial because they would protect us during the day and then the vampires would work at night and pay for everything for the werewolves. When the witch hunts of the seventeenth century and werewolf hunts of the eighteenth century happened, we decided it was time to go into hiding and wait for our chance to take over the world."
I nodded. "I understand about waiting to take over, but I had no idea about you guys being allies."
Victor laughed. "Neither do the humans. It really is a great plan. So far, the humans just think that the wolves are so fast that when a human walks in the fog, they just run over and kill them."
"I remember seeing the video. It was creepy to see the fog move." I stared at Victor for a second until all of the pieces clicked into place. "You can change into fog! You can shapeshift!"
Victor and Maurice smiled. Maurice said, "She is very smart."
Ares nodded. "Yes. Smart like a werewolf."
"Is that how he formed out of the shadow?" I asked curiously,
Ares nodded again. "Yes. They can shift to shadow, mist, wolves, fog, bat, rats and some others I don't remember."
My eyes widened at the extensive list. How would you even be able to tell the difference between a vampire in animal form and a regular animal? They could have been around me all of my life and I never knew it. "Good thing you are on our side."
All three men laughed, causing me to blush and looked down at my hands. Maurice asked, "Do you know what a vampire is?"
I shook my head. "Only what I’ve seen in movies."
Maurice said, "We are no more than a cursed soul. Like the werewolves are cursed with lycanthropy."
I looked up at him in shock. "So, you aren't a living dead monster?"
Maurice frowned, wrinkles appearing on his forehead. "Definitely not. I can't believe humans even believe that kind of thing."
Victor sighed. "It's not like they came up with it on their own. One of us told them that."
"Okay, so you just have a curse which gave you fangs and the ability to shapeshift and you have to eat blood to survive?"
Victor and Maurice nodded.
I shrugged. "Okay. So, is that all? Can I go eat?"
Ares raised one of his eyebrows. "You aren't scared, nervous or going to ask questions?"
I shook my head. "I can't be prejudiced. I mean it’s not like they chose it."
Ares smiled. "Well, that's refreshing to hear."
My stomach growled loudly. "Can I please get some food?"
Ares nodded. "Sure."
I stood and quickly walked to the kitchen.
Koda stood by the fridge holding a piece of steak.
I took it from him and threw it in the microwave turning it on for forty seconds. I watched as the steak rotated inside the microwave.
Koda cleared his throat behind me making me turn to him. "Are you alright?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
He frowned and started to reach a hand out towards my face. "You're pale."
I focused on my body and noticed that I was shaking. I held up my hands and felt my eyes widen as I saw them shaking uncontrollably.
Koda grabbed my hands and stared into my eyes. "What's wrong, Artemis?"
"It's that feeling again. Like the one I had when Maurice was at the door. I'm just suddenly terrified."
Koda picked me up in his arms and ran into the living room.
Ares snarled when he saw me in Koda's arms, but stopped when he saw my face. He asked, "What's wrong?"
Koda said, "She's scared. Her hands are shaking really bad, and she said it's the same feeling she got when Maurice was at the door."
Ares turned to Maurice. "Did you bring someone with you?"
Maurice stood and shook his head. "No." He inhaled and then spit. "That's not a vampire. It's an—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the wall to the living room smashed into pieces.
Koda turned his back to the wall and crouched down to protect me from the flying pieces.
I heard the popping and snapping of bones telling me that someone was changing into a wolf and tried to look, but Koda was suddenly running through the house.
I held on to his neck as hard as I could as he ran with me.
He turned his shoulder towards the bedroom wall and smashed through it.
I gasped as the sun shone in my eyes. We started running through town, in a blur of colors.
Koda kicked open the door to the concrete warehouse, never missing a beat. "Bret!" He yelled.
Bret appeared in front of us out of nowhere and stared at my face. "What happened?"
I tried to frown, but suddenly couldn't move. I gasped for air and stared at Bret's worried face.
Koda looked down and growled, "Shit!" He set me down on the floor on my back and ripped open my shirt.
I tried to protest, but couldn't do anything.
Bret held down my arms, although unnecessarily, and whispered, "This is going to hurt."
I tried to look down at what was happening, but my entire body was numb.
Koda inhaled then I felt something rip out of my chest.
I screamed in pain and then couldn't breathe again. I gasped for air and started to flail, but a short man with glasses squatted down beside me and spoke in a soothing tone. I stopped flailing and sat still as I felt him poking below my chest.
He pushed down on one spot, and I cringed, but still couldn't get any air. A sharp snap startled me, then I inhaled and air rushed down my throat and filled up my lungs.
I breathed in deep and held the air in for a second as my throat burned from the oxygen it finally received.
Bret stroked the side of my face as I relearned how to breathe.
Koda's face appeared above mine. He asked, "Are you doing alright?"
I whispered, "Better now. What happened?"
His face was guarded as he tried to hide his true emotions from me. "A piece of wood pierced your lung."
I blinked at him. "How am I breathing then?"
He smiled. "You aren't human, Artemis. We heal a lot faster than humans.”
"Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm not human then. Ares would be really mad at you."
Koda groan
ed. "Don't remind me. He's already going to be pissed that I let you get hurt at all."
I sat up and saw the children huddled in the back corner with two large wolves standing in front of them. I looked up at Koda. "What's going on?"
His lips twitched as he snarled. "Ogres are attacking the village. That's why you got scared, because you could smell them. Stupid creatures. Come on, we have to get you out of the village."
Large explosions and screams sounded outside of the warehouse. I stared at the children and shook my head. "Not if the children are staying here."
Koda groaned and bent down so that our cheeks were touching as he whispered in my ear, "They are not as important as you. We can make more children, but we cannot replace you."
I gasped and pulled away from him. "That's horrible! I won't leave."
Koda snarled and reached down to grab me, but Bret pulled me backwards and crouched down in front of me in an attack stance. Koda shook his head. "Back off, Bret. I'm not going to hurt her. I just want to take her to safety."
"She doesn't want to leave," Bret said with clenched fists.
Koda growled, his eyes turning solid black. "Do you want her to die, Bret?"
Bret slowly stood up and sighed. "No."
Koda nodded. "Neither do I. Now come on and help me protect her while we leave the village." The sounds of fighting continued outside as they talked.
Bret turned towards me, and I jumped up and backwards out of his reach. "No. I'm staying here. Someone has to protect these children."
Koda motioned at the wolves and children. "There are two guards in front of them already."
I shook my head fiercely. "What if that's not enough? If I leave and then find out later that these kids were killed, I won't ever be able to forgive myself."
Koda smiled, his eyes back to his natural blue. "You said you wouldn't forgive Ares for turning Bret, but you seem to be getting along just fine."
I snarled. "Only because Bret is okay with being a werewolf."
Bret laughed. "Okay? I'm ecstatic! These new abilities are amazing."
"Anyway, it's not fair to compare that to the current situation. It's almost impossible for me to harbor hard feelings for Ares. It's so frustrating."
Koda nodded and I realized that he and Bret had moved closer to me while I was ranting.
I started to jump backwards, but Koda grabbed my arm and held me against him. I struggled as hard as I could, but he held on to me.
Artemis Lupine- The Complete Series Page 16