Song of The Moon Artemis Lupine

by Banks, Catherine

  I shook my head. "He explained about Asena and Lycaon, but said it was your choice to tell me about how you became prince and how that works."

  Ares smiled and extended his hand to me waiting for me to take it. "I'll explain everything back in the house."

  I took his hand reluctantly, but once our skin touched I felt much better. We walked in silence back to Gregory's house and into my bedroom, so Jason could sleep. I sat cross-legged on my bed, with my back against the headboard, as Ares closed the bedroom door. He sat down cross-legged facing me and smiled. "Alright, here it is. I come from a family of kings and queens who ruled humans in Europe. Of course, my ancestors are from Asena and that is where my slanted eyes are from.” He noticed my shocked face and whispered, “Yes, I saw you looking at them.” He shifted on the bed before continuing.

  “Anyway, I technically was a prince in Europe, but in the order of werewolves to be king or queen is by fighting. I fought my way up to Prince one hundred years ago and have stayed there because no one has tried to fight me for that place. Darius just became king a few years ago after defeating our old king.”

  “His wife, who happens to be my mother, got her place because her husband, the old king, made a decree that a king could choose his own queen or have the queen he wanted kill the old one or keep the current queen. Unfortunately for my mother Darius chose to keep her." Ares snarled as he finished his explanation.

  I gaped at him, "Darius killed your step-dad and is sleeping with your mom?"

  Ares snarled. "No one said they were doing anything like that. Although, sometimes the ruling pair do end up becoming a breeding pair. That is not the case with my mother and Darius."

  I shrugged and couldn’t help smiling a little. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

  Ares sighed. "Anyway, I killed Darius' son to become prince and I think that was his motivation to become king."

  I asked, "Are you going to fight him to be king?"

  Ares laughed bitterly. "Someday, but not anytime soon."

  I stopped talking and stared at his thoughtful face. "Have you ever done modeling?"

  Ares smiled and nodded his head. "I actually did. When I lived in London, I did some modeling for money. Why would you ask that?"

  I blushed. "Don't make me say it."

  Ares crawled forward on his hands and knees until his face was just in front of mine. "I love that you blush for me."

  I looked up slowly and my breath caught in my throat. He is too handsome. I reached out slowly and stroked the side of his face with my hand. His muscles were hard as he clenched his jaw. I smiled. "Why are you clenching your jaw?"

  He slowly relaxed his jaw and whispered, "I am trying to hold myself back."

  I shook my head. "From what? I don't understand." I ran both my hands down the sides of his face and felt him clench his jaw again. I leaned forward and kissed the right side of his jaw softly. "Stop clenching your jaw."

  He relaxed his jaw then leaned forward kissing me on the lips. His lips were burning hot and all I wanted was to kiss him back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back letting him feel how much I wanted him. He grabbed my legs and uncrossed them pulling me down the bed so that I was lying under him. Our lips melted together as we kissed. I felt his joy and it was suddenly my own. Why had I been so reluctant to give into him? I heard the door open, but did not stop. Ares tried to pull away, but I held him in place kissing him harder and flicking my tongue across his lips. He groaned and pulled away from me jumping off the bed. I smiled at him then turned to the door. Bret stared at me in shock and I watched as the hurt sank into his eyes. I sat up quickly and shook my head. "Bret. I...I didn't know you were there."

  Bret shook his head looking at the ground. "I should have knocked, I'm sorry."

  He turned away to leave and I jumped off the bed running to him. "Please don't...I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me."

  Ares sighed. "I'll leave you two to talk." He started to walk past me, but I saw the sadness in his eyes.

  "Ares, what's wrong?" I asked.

  Ares shook his head smiling. "I know you are young and inexperienced, so I won't hold tonight against you."

  I groaned. "What did I do?"

  Bret sighed. "You are trying to please both of us and can't Artemis. You tell me that you don't know what came over you, that you weren't in your right mind, but that means that you are telling Ares that what happened wasn't what you wanted. Either way you are hurting one of us. Just tell us the truth, don't try to please us."

  I groaned and turned away from both of them. "I don't know what to say. Did I enjoy kissing Ares, yes, but I didn't want it to happen in front of you Bret."

  Ares cleared his throat. "I know that you want to talk, but I can't let you two be alone while he is still adjusting to his instincts."

  Bret growled. "I would never hurt her."

  I scoffed. "No, not hurt me, just eat me."

  Bret stared at me in shock then turned to Ares. "Did I try to eat her?"

  Ares shook his head. "No, but you were saying that she smelled like food and that you were going to eat her. You didn't hurt her or touch her though."

  Bret grimaced. "And that's because you protected her, right?"

  Ares nodded his head. "Yes, but you were not in your right mind."

  Bret sighed. "I don't want to talk to her in front of you."

  I turned to Ares. "Can we use the same deal that I had set up with you before?"

  Ares groaned. "I don't know why you are trying to be secretive with me, but I'll agree to it. KODA!"

  Koda appeared in the doorway without making a sound. "Yes?"

  Ares smiled. "These two need to talk, but they can't be alone so you are going to stay here and make sure he doesn't try to eat her again." I cleared my throat and Ares sighed. "And whatever they say you can't tell me."

  Koda frowned. "Are you sure about that last one?"

  Ares looked at me and smiled. "For her I'd do almost anything." He walked towards me then looked at Bret and sighed. "Good night Artemis."

  I kissed his cheek quickly. "Good night Ares." He smiled and walked out of the room towards his bedroom. Koda sat in the chair which was beside the bed.

  Bret walked towards me slowly with his hands out, but when he was close enough to touch me he dropped his hands. "I'm sorry I tried to eat you."

  I laughed. "It's alright Bret. I know it wasn't really you. I'm sorry I got you into all of this and you ended up becoming one of us."

  Bret shrugged. "There are a lot of upsides to being a werewolf especially since they are taking over the world now."

  I groaned. "Don't remind me."

  Bret laughed. "I know. I’m torn about how to deal with it as well. At least our town is okay."

  I nodded my head. "Yeah." I looked up at his face and realized that I no longer thought of him as very attractive. I guess when you have to compare him to the God of War he isn't really that handsome. Still attractive, but no contest. Okay, Ares isn't the mythical God of War, but he is very handsome. I groaned. "I'm sorry about everything Bret. I didn't want any of this to happen. The plan was that I would leave and the town would go on like normal while I started my new life with Ares. You would stay home and fall in love with one of the local girls and live happily ever after."

  Bret shook his head smiling. "I already fell in love with one of the local girls."

  "Bret, I can't be with you. Whether I like it or not, Ares and I do have a connection. I can't explain it, but I crave...I...uggh! I don't want to talk to you about this, but I want you to know."

  Bret sighed. "I can see how you two look at each other. I know you have feelings for him."

  I shook my head. "It's deeper than that. We are connected so much that when he feels sad I feel sad. It's why I could feel him yesterday. He was worried and I started getting worried. I thought he was in trouble and had to find him." The truth to that statement shocked me. Until then I hadn’t even been aware of that fact.

&n
bsp; Bret stared at me in shock. "That's not possible to be like that."

  Koda scoffed. We turned to look at him and he shrugged. "Sorry, but you two do not know about the connections our kind can have. If Artemis's father had taught her, she would have felt similar to that with Darren. She could have been connected to him like Ares, but obviously not the physical attraction part."

  I shivered in disgust. "Thanks for that visual."

  Koda rolled his eyes. "Don't you understand? If you form a connection with another werewolf you feel what they feel. Now of course you and Ares' connection is a lot different because your ties are like when you bind yourself to someone, but without the death factor. What I'm saying is that although Ares and Artemis's connection is very unique, you can have a much smaller version with any werewolf you wanted."

  I nodded my head. "I understand."

  Bret shrugged. "Whatever you say. The point is that I love you Artemis and that won't change. I know you are with Ares and can't be with me, but I want to be close to you. I want to stay with your group."

  I asked, "Even if that means having to see me with Ares?"

  Bret sighed. "Yes. I will have to deal with it."

  I smiled and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for staying with me."

  Bret hugged me back and kissed the top of my head. "Anytime."

  Koda stood up. "Alright, time to go."

  Bret kissed my cheek quickly then walked out the bedroom door. Koda smiled. "Good night, Artemis."

  I smiled back at him. "Night Koda." I waited until Koda closed the door to throw myself on my bed burying my face in my pillows. Why me? Why do I have to deal with two men? What happens if I start to develop feelings for Bret? Oh God! I shook my head and started thinking about Darren. I tried to focus on my thoughts, but sleep overtook me.

  ~~~~

  Chapter Five

  I woke up slowly, although I wasn't sure what had woken me up. I tried to roll over, but something held me down around my waist. I started to panic and looked down to see an arm lying over my stomach. An arm? I rolled over and bumped noses with Ares. I jumped out of the bed and snarled. "What are you doing?"

  Ares woke up and smiled at me. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

  "Ares what are you doing in bed with me?"

  He whispered, "I heard you crying and you sounded scared, so I came in here to check on you. You wouldn't stop shaking and I was worried that you were going to shift for the first time so I laid down next to you to take the transformation from you. When I laid down you stopped shaking and crying and went quiet. I was too worried about you changing though so I stayed with you."

  I stared at him in disbelief. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

  He smiled. "If I wanted to sleep with you I wouldn't sneak in here. You know that I have been behaving myself and letting you decide what happens between us."

  I sighed. "I know that. I'm sorry. You just caught me off guard. And how can you take my transformation?"

  "Only those with enough power can take someone's transformation. It's one of the ways I became prince. I took my opponent's transformation from him and changed myself when he couldn't to kill him. We are a lot easier to kill in human form."

  I stared at him in shock. "You killed to get to your spot?"

  He nodded his head. "I had to. I have to take the throne away from Darius and free my mother. I already told you that." -

  I sighed and nodded my head. "I know."

  He patted the bed. "Come back to bed, it's still too early."

  I shook my head. "No. Get out."

  He groaned. "You were fine just a minute ago."

  I snarled. "I was asleep and didn't know you were there."

  He smiled. "You said my name."

  I gasped. "No I didn't. You're lying."

  He held up three fingers in a boy scout salute. "I swear on my mother's grave that you did."

  I blushed. "Great." I turned away from him and heard the bed move as he stood up.

  He wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his face next to mine. "It was very sweet to hear you say my name in your sleep."

  I blushed deeper and tried to pull away from him, but he just spun me around to face him. He kissed my lips softly and crept backwards towards the bed. "I promise I will do nothing, but cuddle with you while we sleep."

  I blushed a shade darker. "Alright, but if you try anything you have to leave."

  Ares smiled widely and nodded his head. "Promise." He lay down and scooted back so there was plenty of room for me to get on. I climbed into the bed and laid down facing away from him. He spooned his body to mine and sighed in contentment. "It's no different than you sleeping in the same bed with Bret."

  I closed my eyes and relaxed against him as our bodies warmed up the covers again. "It is much different than sleeping with Bret." I whispered.

  He kissed the back of my head then wrapped his arm back around my waist pulling me tighter against him. I tensed for a second, but then relaxed. I felt safe again and fell into a deep sleep.

  Ares shook my arm. "Artemis get up."

  I groaned and sat up. "What? I'm up."

  He pulled me back off the bed holding me in his arms. "Someone is here."

  I opened my eyes and stared at a dark shadow in one corner of the bedroom. "What is that? Why is that shadow so strange looking?"

  Ares snarled. "Why are you here? And why sneak in?"

  I watched in amazement as a man stepped out of the shadow making it disappear. I gasped. "Holy shit. How did he do that?"

  The man bowed at the waist and smiled at me revealing fangs. "My apologies for sneaking in Ares. I wanted to see your passt genau while she was not hiding her feelings for you."

  I snarled. "Word travels fast I take it."

  Ares sighed. "Victor this is Artemis. Artemis this is Victor. I almost killed you before I smelled you, you know?"

  Victor laughed and it made me shiver, thinking of sexual things. Ares snarled. "Knock off the voice powers."

  Victor bowed at the waist again. "My apologies. Your pass...Artemis has an aura I seem drawn to test."

  Ares sighed setting me down on my feet beside him. "I know what you mean."

  I stared at the two of them and asked, "Why are we suddenly friendly with the weird guy with fangs who appeared out of a shadow?"

  Victor blinked then asked, "She does not know about us yet?"

  Ares shook his head. "I have much to tell you old friend."

  I gasped, "Friend? This freak...no offense...is your friend?"

  Ares snarled. "Be nice Artemis. He is not a freak, just a jerk. And yes, he is my friend."

  "Great. Well I need breakfast." I said.

  Ares nodded, "I'm hungry too."

  Victor smiled flashing his fangs again. "I could eat."

  Ares snarled. "You be nice too Victor. She knows nothing of you, so stop."

  Victor sighed. "Very well, but I really could use something to eat."

  I walked from the bedroom with them following me. Koda, Matt and Gregory stood at the end of the hallway ready to attack. I smiled. "Sorry boys, but it's a friend of Ares apparently."

  Koda and Matt smiled at Victor as he walked out. Victor shook their hands. "Hey Matt and Koda. How are my favorite twins doing?"

  I stopped walking and turned back. "Twins? You guys never told me that."

  Matt shrugged. "You were a little preoccupied with Ares to notice Love."

  I stared at Matt's face and his blue Mohawk then turned to Koda and gasped. "Holy shit! You guys are identical twins minus the different colored Mohawks!"

  Koda smiled shaking his green Mohawk. "I was the first one to do the Mohawk, but he had to copy me."

  Matt rolled his eyes. "I didn't even know you had one. I was in London while you were in Germany with Ares. There's no way for me to have known."

  I shook my head at the siblings and walked to the kitchen where Gregory had started taking out food. I saw a bag filled with red liquid and asked, "What is
that?"

  Gregory smiled. "Food for Victor."

  I frowned. "What the hell is it?"

  Gregory shook his head smiling. "I'm not spilling the beans on this one."

  Ares and Victor walked in whispering, but when they saw me they stopped. I scoffed. "Real subtle, I have no idea you were talking about me just now."

  Ares smiled and walked towards me. "What else should we talk about?"

  I shrugged and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "Whatever you want great Prince."

  Ares laughed. "You're a smart ass? Great."

  "I was raised by a man." I said with a smile.

  Victor frowned and asked, "How long have you been together?"

  Ares kissed my cheek then went and grabbed food from Greogry. "Two days."

  Victor's eyes opened in surprise. "Then she really is your passt genau."

  Ares took a bite out of the piece of raw steak he was holding and nodded his head. "I wouldn't lie about that. She answered my call from a state away."

  Victor turned to me and for the first time I noticed his eyes, solid black like the pupil had taken over. Victor asked, "Is it true that you haven't changed yet?"

  I nodded my head and licked my lips. "Can I ask you something?" He nodded his head. I cleared my throat, "Why are your eyes black?"

  He laughed making me moan in pleasure. Ares growled loudly and rushed to stand between me and Victor. "Knock it off! You are my friend, but don't push me too far."

  Victor bowed at the neck. "I apologize to you both."

  I grabbed Ares' arm and pulled him back to me. "I'm sorry to cause drama between you two."

  Victor smiled. "It's not your fault. And I'll let Ares explain my eyes later."

  I groaned. "Why is it that everyone makes Ares tell me things? I'm not going to freak out and run away if one of you tells me."

  Ares frowned. "What else are you waiting for me to tell you?"

  I pointed to the bag of red liquid. "What that is?"

  Ares' eyes widen and he turned to stare at Gregory. "You didn't tell her?"

  He shook his head. "Nope, I thought you should be the one to explain about Victor. She obviously has no clue."

  I snarled. "I'm not stupid."