He nodded. “She popped into our cells and took us to her Court.”
“Why would she help you when she was the one who repressed my memories?” I asked with a bit of an angry tone.
“Because I never intended to keep you separated for so long,” said a familiar female voice.
I spun around and before I’d even thought it, my wings were out, my skin glowed, and my hands became covered in flames. Every eye was focused on me as I floated above the ground and glared at the woman who had caused me so much pain and separated me from my pack and myself for so long. “What are you doing here?” I asked in a voice that boomed with power.
Victor circled me slowly while Ares and Achilles moved closer. “She really has grown in power. I thought she only meant that she had learned a new spell, but this…this is incredible.”
Hera kept her gaze level with mine, but for the first time, I saw fear in her eyes. “Artemis, please let me explain.”
Anger boiled inside me and in a millisecond, I moved across the room and had Hera up against the wall by her throat. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t rip your head off right here and now.”
“I only did it to save Achilles. Please, you must understand what lengths a mother would go to save her child.”
“I know nothing of a mother’s love!” I shouted at her. “Or have you forgotten that I was supposed to be killed when I was born?”
Ares and Achilles each touched one of my arms.
“Calm down, please,” whispered Achilles.
Ares whispered, “We believe Hera and have forgiven her. Please, let her go.”
My primitive side screamed for vengeance, but I subdued it and released her and my powers. “Fine, but if you so much as give me a cross look, I’ll kill you.”
Hera started to open her mouth and then thought better of it. “You’re more a queen now than you were before.”
I turned away from her and stomped to the other side of the room. “Why were you helping Maurice?”
“At the time, I thought he was the most powerful and couldn’t afford to lose my people in a fight against him. Had I known that you were indeed the prophesied one, I would have never agreed to assist him. But I didn’t follow his instructions exactly. You see, he wanted me to kill you, but due to Achilles binding you two together, that would mean killing my own son. I wiped your memory and sent you away from him so you would be out of Maurice’s view and thus, safe. I did the only thing that could keep you both alive.”
“Alive, but terrified,” I whispered to the fireplace mantle in front of me.
“I am sorry, Artemis. If I could find a way to make up for what I’d done, I would,” she whispered.
I turned back to Ares. “So, while you were locked up, Maurice took over the human world?”
He nodded. “He completed the take over and instead of being equal with the other races, the vampires ruled and he took over as king.”
“And then the reign of terror began.” I looked at Koda. “Why were halfbreeds being kidnapped?”
“The vampires kidnapped some in an attempt to find you and to build their army, but we also went to the already living halfbreeds we could find and asked them to join our pack. Each that we asked came willingly.”
I paced along the living room floor. “What’s our plan? How does this Apollo guy figure into it?” Hera’s body stilled and it looked like she wasn’t even breathing. I walked towards her. “Who’s Apollo?”
She swallowed and then her queen face was back on. “No one of consequence.”
Before I could say anything, she disappeared. I growled and punched the wall, which buckled under my fist. “Why does everyone always hide things from me?!”
A man that looked to be in his late teens ran into the house. “Ares!”
Ares rushed to him. “What is it?”
The man caught his breath and then noticed me. “Oh. Wow.”
I frowned at him and he started to move towards me, but Ares growled at him. “Speak!”
The man shook his head as though clearing it. “There’s a group of vampire hybrids coming this way. That guy is leading them.”
I rummaged through my bag until I found an open backed shirt which Selene made specifically for me to wear while my wings were out. All of the men looked at me questioningly as I stripped out of my current shirt, which was ripped since releasing my wings, and put on the new one. I shimmied out of my pants and put on a pair of short shorts and then put my fists touching in front of me. “By the power of the stars, grant me a weapon to fight this foe.” I pulled my hands apart and a sword of light appeared between them.
“Who taught you that?” asked Achilles as his eyes went wide.
I shrugged. “I dreamed the words and when I tried them the next morning, it worked.” I traced the outline of one of the vines on my face and whispered, “May the stars and moon aid me in my battle for peace.” My power as well as the power of the moon and stars made my body glow bright and my vines surged. I smiled at Ares. “See you outside.” I ran from the house and onto the beach where I could just make out the group coming my way.
Ares appeared at my side. “Artemis, please. Just wait in the house.”
I laughed. “That didn’t work before and it’s definitely not going to work now.”
Ares sighed. “Fine, but please, stay beside me.”
I kissed his lips and whispered, “Yes, Alpha.”
Ares kissed me a little bit longer, nipping my bottom lip at the end which made me growl in frustration. “Just think of that as incentive to stay alive for the private celebration afterwards.”
The rest of our group and pack joined us, standing behind Ares and me. The man Koda referred to as Apollo stopped across the beach from us with his vampire hybrids fanned out behind him. “Surrender the girl and we will leave the rest of you alone.”
Ares growled, but I laid a hand on his arm. “No, it’s alright. Let him have me.”
Ares gaped at me for a moment before he smiled, understanding that I had a plan. I walked slowly across the beach towards the stunned Apollo. He watched me in silence and then asked, “Who are you?”
I stopped walking and stared at his face. He looked like a male version of me. “I’m…Artemis,” I whispered.
Apollo blinked a couple of times and then shook his head. “I’ve been sent here to collect you.”
I scoffed. “I’m not a urine sample to be collected.”
The vampire hybrids behind Apollo shifted nervously as I walked closer to their leader.
I started to reach out towards him, but a sword appeared in Apollo’s hand, and I barely raised mine in time to block his strike. “Do not touch me,” he growled.
“You’re a halfbreed, like me,” I whispered as our swords ground against each other’s.
“I am nothing like you,” Apollo growled as he pivoted and sliced at me.
The moment broken, the hybrids rushed towards the halfbreeds and the battle truly began. Apollo matched me strike for strike. I couldn’t break through his guard, but he couldn’t break through mine.
Ares appeared at my side and slashed at Apollo with his claws, but Apollo jumped backwards, and his wings popped out of his back.
Achilles ran forward and jumped into the air, his wings extending and his sword appearing in his hand.
Apollo blocked Achilles’ attack, but fell to his feet on the ground.
Three hybrids rushed over to protect Apollo from us. I decapitated one and rushed around the others who were distracted by Ares and Achilles. Apollo was ready for me though, and blocked my attack easily. I shot fire at him, but he deflected it away.
“Who are you?” I screamed at him. “Why do you look like me?”
Apollo growled, but then Darren was suddenly running down the beach towards us. I gasped, and fear made me freeze. Apollo swung his sword at me, but stopped with the edge pressed to my throat.
I whimpered, “Darren.”
Apollo growled and pressed the blade h
arder against my throat, but still didn’t draw blood. “Why don’t I want to kill you? Is this some type of spell?”
Darren slowed and walked towards us. “Kill her, Apollo. Kill her now.”
“You’re my father! Why do you despise me so much?” I asked as tears leaked down my face. Due to my memory problem, I hadn’t had time to deal with the words he had spoken to me during the battle.
“What do you mean your father?” Apollo asked in shock, his sword pulling slightly away from my throat.
Darren growled at Apollo who shuddered. “Kill her, Son.”
“Son?” I gasped. I looked at Apollo and understood. “You’re my brother.”
Apollo shook his head. “No. That can’t be. You told me I was your only child.”
Darren groaned. “I thought maybe one of my twins could be a worthy child, but apparently, you are both worthless.” Darren reached for the sword in Apollo’s hand, but it disappeared into Apollo’s skin. Only another Sidhe could use the swords we possessed.
“Explain this!” Apollo yelled.
Darren struck Apollo so fast that I only heard the sound and then Apollo was on the ground. I started to move towards him, but Darren grabbed me by the throat and picked me up. “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”
I struggled against him and then relaxed. He was my dad and it hurt that he hated me, but I was a warrior. I was a powerful being and I would not be strangled by this man. I pulled my sword up and stuck it through Darren’s stomach. He looked down and laughed. “You think that little thing will kill me?” His grip tightened and black spots began covering my vision. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t call my power. How could this man have so much power over me?
“Ares,” I gasped with what air I had left.
I heard a responding snarl and then Darren was fighting with one hand while he choked me with the other. The power he possessed was like nothing I had ever encountered before. His aura was bright red and the sheer amount of strength frightened me. Darren tossed Ares backwards and then slammed me onto the ground. He touched the sword, making it disappear from his stomach and then changed his hand to a paw. He raised his three inch claws over my throat. “Time to finish your pathetic life,” he said with a snarl.
I closed my eyes and waited for death. I didn’t want to die, but Darren was too strong. He had to be close in age to Ares. His blood called to mine and I could not kill him. I opened my eyes a moment later to see his claws stopped an inch from my throat. I held my breath to keep them from getting closer to my skin and looked from Darren’s shocked face to the blade protruding from his chest, where his heart was. Darren’s body fell lifelessly to the ground.
I expected to find Achilles standing behind Darren, but it was Apollo. “None shall harm my sister,” he growled.
“You saved me.” I said through my hoarse throat. “Why?”
Apollo rubbed his temples and looked from me to Darren’s body and back. “I…I don’t know. I couldn’t stand by and let him kill you. I just…my body moved on its own.”
Ares growled from behind him and then Apollo took to the skies. “Fall back!” he yelled to what was left of the hybrids.
Ares started to go after him, but I grabbed his hand. “No! Let him go.”
The hybrids and Apollo fled down the beach, disappearing around the turn.
Achilles squatted down next to Darren and checked his pulse. “He’s dead.”
I frowned down at the body. “Apollo killed him.”
Achilles’ eyebrows raised. “He killed his father?”
I stood and shoved my finger in his chest, pushing him backwards. “You knew? You knew he was my brother!”
Achilles stumbled back a couple steps and then caught my hands in his. “Yes, but he’s our enemy,” Achilles said softly.
I pointed to Darren’s dead body. “Apollo saved me from Darren. Now, you tell me everything about him.”
Theseus trotted up to me in his wolf form and whined. I turned away from Achilles and scratched under his chin. “What is it?”
He rubbed his head against my hand and then trotted away. I sighed and followed him to find a young halfbreed bleeding from gashes with Koda by his side putting pressure on the wounds.
I pushed him away. “Stay still.” I put pressure on the wound and he winced. “It’ll be over soon.”
The boy nodded and then slowed his breathing as I closed my eyes. “By the blood in my veins, the power of the night, I call to the plants and ask for your help.” Little bits of glowing energy danced across the wind towards me and with some focus, I pushed them into the wound. Instantly the bleeding stopped, the internal issues sealed and healed and the skin was blemish free.
“How many other spells did you learn?” demanded Victor in a near shout.
I patted the smiling boy on the head and stood up to face Victor. “Enough for me to be sure that if we can get your father and his whole army on the battlefield, I can obliterate every single vampire there.”
Victor’s eyes widened before he turned silently away to walk back to the house.
Theseus rubbed his head against my shoulder and I turned to smile at him. “Yes, I’m alright. No one hurt me.”
Ares growled and Theseus whined in apology before backing away. I put my hands on my hips and glared at Ares. “He wasn’t being possessive or overstepping bounds. He was acting as any other wolf in a pack would.”
Ares’ shirt was gone and as he walked towards me, the hormones I’d worked so hard to keep in control the past one hundred years surged forward. He inhaled, and I knew he could smell my desire.
Achilles turned away from us and walked into the house.
My emotions warred with me as my desire to mate with Ares and my desire to heal the feelings I’d hurt with Achilles gnawed at me.
Ares stopped an inch away from me and nipped my chin. “He understands.”
My body wasn’t responding to any of the commands I gave it, my arms felt like jelly, so I just nodded and allowed him to pick me up and dash off to the woods. Ares didn’t stop running until we came to a densely wooded area where a bed of leaves awaited us.
I looked at it suspiciously. “Had this planned, did you?”
Ares smiled smugly. “It was only a matter of time before the need overcame your virtues. Besides, I am your mate.”
He laid me down on the bed of leaves and kissed me fiercely. Everything felt so different than the first time we’d kissed and yet the same. I ran my hands along his sculpted chest and abs and to his muscular back, now slick with sweat from the fight. He nipped my shoulder, making me moan, which made him growl.
I didn’t want to rush our mating, but I couldn’t wait to become one with him again. I pushed him down onto his back and he laughed softly. Though I saw his eyes glint with gold, he let me force him to submit. I stood back and admired him in all his glory. “It’s definitely been too long since I’ve seen you. I’d forgotten how magnificent you are.”
Ares pulled me down and flipped us over, cushioning my head with his arms. “You almost died again today,” he whispered softly as he kissed his way from my lips to my chin to my throat.
“No, I wasn’t bleeding to death like all the times before.”
Ares growled and nipped my chest. “If Apollo hadn’t stopped him, Darren would have skewered you.”
I arched up as he kissed his way down the center of my chest. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Say that again,” he said with a hint of a growl in his voice.
I met his eyes and felt tears sliding down my face at the same time I saw tears falling down his to land on my chest. “I’m sorry, Ares.”
He kissed me again and then made love to me until the sun rose above the trees.
14
Victor
Artemis was much different than the first time I’d met her. She was still naïve in many respects, but I could see that whatever she’d been doing the past one hundred years had definitely changed her.
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The most shocking change was her incredible power. I wouldn’t admit it to Ares, but if she and I battled it would be a very intense and catastrophic battle. I would win, but I would be terribly injured and drained afterwards.
I couldn’t outwardly choose sides, but I hoped Artemis continued to only mate with Ares. They belonged together and no matter what Achilles said, the two of them were not soul mates like Ares and Artemis were.
“Victor?” Koda asked softly, “Are you feeling alright?”
I shook my head and stood up from the couch where I sat. “I need to feed. I’ll return shortly.”
Koda watched me, not convinced that I was telling the truth and thinking those thoughts loud enough that I would hear even if my focus was elsewhere. I wasn’t telling the truth, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. We had known each other so long that he could tell when I was lying. I was not looking forward to the days when Artemis could read me as well.
I closed my eyes and focused on my favorite place to feed. The Red Bordello, a house of humans offering themselves for vampires to feed upon. Using my power, I shifted my body from one place to the other.
A woman screamed, and I opened my eyes, smiling. “Hello, ma chéri.”
“Sir, you startled me,” the doe-eyed petite woman said as she released her hold on her bed sheet. She had golden wheat colored hair and eyes the color of dark emeralds. Her negligee was white and she looked so fragile in the large, four poster bed.
The room was bare except for the large bed with extremely fluffy sheets and pillows. This room was where she slept so it was not as ornately decorated as the bedrooms where they entertained vampires when feeding them. I was the only one that I knew of who visited any of the feeders in their personal rooms.
I stood beside the bed, looking down on her. She had aged since the last time I was here and looked to have a bruise under her right eye. I picked her hand up and kissed it softly. “I apologize for startling you.”
She smiled sweetly at me and then scooted over, patting the bed. “Sit with me a moment.”
I obliged her and then turned her face to mine. “Who has harmed your lovely face?”
Artemis Lupine- The Complete Series Page 53