Song of The Moon Artemis Lupine

by Banks, Catherine

  Koda walked back towards me and reached his hand out. I flinched away from him and he smiled. “It’s alright. They’re dead now.”

  I whispered, “You killed them. Why?”

  Koda squatted down and stared into my face. “Artemis, they were going to kidnap you. Do you know what they would have done between the time they took you and the time they got you to whoever wanted you?”

  I shook my head. “You didn’t have to kill them. Don’t you have werewolf prison or something?”

  Koda shook his head. “We kill men who are this dangerous to our packs or they will just come out of prison even angrier than before. If I hadn’t killed them, they would have come back for you. They wouldn’t have stopped until they had you, or they were dead. I couldn’t let them have you.” He extended his hand to me again.

  I frowned, but took his hand and let him lead me past the dead men. We were almost to the street when three more men stepped in our way, making us stop. I turned around and gasped. “Koda, there’s more behind us.” Koda turned to the three other men walking behind us. Matt came to stand beside me so that I was in the between him and Koda. I sniffed the air and frowned. “More wolves.”

  The men held long hammers with silver heads as they walked towards us. I grabbed Koda’s arm and whispered, “I don’t want you to die for me.”

  Koda shook his head. “I won’t let them take you, Artemis.”

  I shook my head. “No! Please Koda.”

  Matt grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back against him as the six men circled around us. Koda frowned. “State your intent.”

  The six men looked at each other for a few seconds until one of them finally stepped forward. He was tall and muscular and scary. A scar over his right eye made him look even tougher. “We are here for the girl.”

  Koda shook his head. “Not going to happen.”

  The man smiled. “We are here for the girl and your lives don’t matter. We will kill you and take her.”

  Koda leapt forward and began attacking the man. I watched as they punched and kicked and realized that Koda knew some type of martial arts. The other man however knew some as well. As Koda and the leader fought the other five men moved forward. Matt started to attack them, but there were too many and after a minute three of them were holding Matt down. Koda punched the leader as hard as he could knocking him back into Matt, but the leader had recovered and with one of the other men they grabbed Koda and tackled him to the ground. The last man took his hammer and held it up as if ready to kill them with it. I ran forward and held my hands up in front of them. “Wait!”

  The man put his hammer down and the leader asked, “What are you doing? Someone grab her.”

  I turned to the leader and spoke in a voice barely audible to human ears, “If I go willingly, will you let them live?”

  Koda thrashed on the ground. “No! Artemis! No!”

  The leader frowned at me then nodded his head. “We will knock them out so they can’t follow us, but we won’t kill them.”

  Koda got one guy off of him, but the leader pinned him down with a knee to his face. I cringed. “Please! Please don’t hurt them. I’ll go with you, but you have to promise that you will only knock them out and not kill them or hurt them severely.”

  The leader turned to the other men and nodded his head. They all stood up holding Koda and Matt who were trying to fight. I felt tears falling down my face and whispered, “Tell Ares that I’m sorry, but I can’t let you die.”

  Matt shook his head. “No! Artemis you don’t understand. You don’t know what they’ll do to you!”

  I wiped at the tears on my face. “You’ll be alive and that’s all that matters.”

  Koda snarled and his body started to twitch. “If you do anything to her I will find you all and kill you!”

  The leader smiled and shook his head. “We won’t harm a single hair on her head. Knock him out before he changes!”

  The man that was left took out a small black object and walked up behind Koda. He swung the object and hit Koda in the lower back of the head knocking him out instantly. Koda’s body slumped forward and they lowered him to the ground carefully. Matt trashed and snapped his teeth. “No! Artemis!”

  I smiled. “You’ll be alright Matt. It’s a small price to pay to keep you alive.”

  Matt began twitching and the man hit him with the black object making Matt’s body go limp. They set him on the ground next to Koda and turned towards me. With all of their eyes on me I suddenly realized that it may have been smarter to run, but it was too late. The leader grabbed my arm and led me from the alley towards a large black van with tinted windows. “Why do bad guys always drive vans to kidnap people?” I asked myself.

  I looked back once at Koda and Matt and let the tears fall down my face. They would live and that’s all that mattered. The leader opened the doors to the van and I climbed inside. After everyone was in they drove off in silence. I stared out the window, watching the scenery go by and hoped I might remember how to get back. The leader who was sitting next to me frowned at me. “Why did you come willingly? Did you believe they didn’t have a chance against us?”

  I frowned. “I don’t know if they could have taken you or not, but I don’t want their deaths on my hands. I’m not important enough to die for.”

  The leader shook his head and took out a black handkerchief. He held out the handkerchief to me. “Put it on.”

  I folded it and wrapped it around my eyes and tied it so that I couldn’t see anything but darkness. I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes, hoping that whatever was in store for me wouldn’t be as bad as I imagined. We drove for hours in silence and then finally stopped. I heard the doors opening and closing and then the blind fold came off. The leader stood in front of me. “Come on. Bathroom break.”

  I followed him out of the car and made sure not to make eye contact with any of the other men. They were all wolves and all dominant, which seemed wrong. We were at a gas station. I followed the leader to the side of the gas station building and walked into the bathroom. I shut the door and sighed. What had I done?! What are they going to do to me? I went to the bathroom then washed my hands in the sink. I stared at my reflection at the stranger in the mirror and sighed. Would Ares think I betrayed him? Would he even try to find me? I pictured his furious face when Koda and Matt came back without me. Would he kill Koda and Matt? I shook my head. No, he wouldn’t kill them because they had tried. Would he kill me if he found me? I saw the tears brimming in my eyes and quickly wiped them away. I inhaled deeply and walked out of the bathroom.

  The leader asked, “Better?” I nodded my head and followed him back to the van. He climbed in beside me and frowned. “What are you feeling?”

  I frowned back at him. “What?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t understand your feelings. They’re mixed.”

  I glared at him. “Why do you care?”

  He sighed. “I know you must think the worst of us, but I swear that I will not harm you. We are just taking you to the leader.”

  I frowned. “Who is the leader and why does he want me?”

  He shrugged. “We aren’t told those things. We just get our money, a person and instructions.”

  I sighed. “Great.” Could the vampire king be the one kidnapping me? These guys wouldn’t have been told that though. “What’s your name?” I asked the leader.

  He smiled. “Jesse.”

  “And you’re a wolf?”

  He nodded his head. “Bitten wolf.”

  I frowned. “A who?”

  He stared at me in shock. “You don’t know the difference?”

  I rubbed my temples. “I only found out that I was a werewolf a few days ago. I’m not really up on the details.”

  His look of shock increased. “How old are you?”

  I sighed. Why did I have to go through this all the time? “I’m eighteen and didn’t change until after…yes after my eighteenth birthday. I’m pretty sure I chang
ed part way when Ares called me, but we aren’t sure.”

  Two men up front gasped and spun around. “Ares?!” they exclaimed in unison.

  I frowned at them. “How did you know to get me and not know whose I am?”

  Jesse stared at me in shock. “What do you mean whose you are?”

  “You really should find out more information before you go on a mission. I’m Artemis Lupine, daughter of Darren, passt genau of Ares.” The van jerked to a stop and everyone stared at me in shock. I frowned. “Didn’t you figure out I was Ares’, when his two pack mates were with me?”

  Jesse groaned. “Dammit, no wonder he got the better of me at first. Koda’s a freaking martial arts nut. Shit.”

  The man in the front passenger seat asked, “What are we going to do Jesse? We can’t separate a match.”

  Jesse snarled. “It’s done. We can’t just go hand her back to Ares and hope he doesn’t kill us. You know him, he’ll kill us before he asks questions. He didn’t get the nickname, ‘God of War’, for being a sweetheart.”

  I asked, “Is he really that ruthless?”

  Jesse smiled. “You do not understand the ways of the wolf yet. He is ruthless because he must be. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be Prince, and if all of us weren’t we wouldn’t be alive.” I sighed and Jesse frowned, “We’ll need to find a place for the night and figure this all out.”

  I turned to him hopeful. “If you take me back I’ll make sure Ares doesn’t kill you.”

  All of the men laughed. Jesse shook his head. “No. He won’t allow us to live after this.

  “Then take me back close by and I’ll walk. I’ll say I snuck out and they won’t have to know it was you. I don’t even know you guys so I won’t be able to tell them who you are.” I pleaded.

  Jesse shook his head. “Koda saw us and Ares will smell us on you and his brothers.”

  The man in the driver’s seat said, “It’s probably a really good thing that we didn’t kill them. If Ares had found them dead he would have started the hunt immediately. Now he won’t know until Koda and Matt make it back after waking up.”

  Jesse nodded his head. “Let’s find a hotel.” The driver started driving again and then pulled into a motel a few minutes later. Two of the men went to the clerk and paid for a hotel for the night. We drove to our room and everyone piled out and into the room. Jesse held the door open for me and gave me a friendly smile. Aren’t kidnappers supposed to be mean and violent? My stomach grumbled and everyone looked at me. Jesse said, “Mark, go buy some food.”

  The driver of the van walked out of the room quickly and shut the door behind him. I turned to Jesse and asked, “What are you going to do?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not sure yet. For now you just go sleep on that bed.” He pointed at one of the two twin beds. I’m not tired yet and how could I sleep when my life was being discussed? I walked to the bed anyway and lied down on it. I could hear them whispering together, but they were too quiet for me to hear. A few minutes later Mark came back with five bags of fast food and drinks. He handed me a drink and two cheeseburgers before going to the other men and separating the food between them. I ate my food and stared at the men holding me captive. They were all scary looking and yet the fear that was painted on their faces made them seem less intimidating. I wondered if Ares was really so bad that they should fear him this much. They were still talking an hour later, so I curled up on the bed and went to sleep. If I was going to try to get away tomorrow I needed my sleep now. I closed my eyes and tried to get comfortable, but without my pack sleeping around me I was freezing.

  I awoke to find two hands on me. A small whimper escaped my lips before I could stop it and a man laughed softly. “I ain’t gonna hurt ya. I just wanted to ask if ya was cold?” I nodded my head, not looking at the man. He said, “I’ll get a blanket from the car. These hotels are nastay.” I heard the door to the room open and close, and then a car door and then the room again. I frowned. Had my hearing really improved that much? He shook out the blankets and then laid it on me. “There ya go. If ya need anything else, just ask.”

  I turned to look at him and asked, “Why are you being nice to me?”

  He frowned wrinkling his forehead and asked, “Why wouldn’t we be nice to ya?”

  I sat up. “You kidnapped me. Koda and Matt seemed to think I was in more danger of you all than anything else.”

  He smiled showing two identical dimples. “We’re hired help, but we aren’t scum. We were told to bring you to the leader alive and that was all. Why would we hurt ya?”

  I frowned. “So, you aren’t going to torture me?”

  He laughed loudly and shook his head. “Naw. We aren’t. Darn kids watch too much television.” He walked over to the other bed and lay down.

  I curled up in the blanket and closed my eyes. Maybe I could survive this. I had just started to fall asleep hearing the soft sounds of snorting when the bed moved. I opened my eyes, but stayed still. The bed groaned softly as someone climbed on to it next to me. I started to sit up, but a large hand covered my mouth and the man whispered in my ear, “Now you be real quiet, girl, or I’ll kill you.” I frowned. Hadn’t the other man just said they weren’t going to kill me? He ran his hand down my face and neck and towards my chest. I slapped his hand and he grabbed my wrists in one hand, keeping the other hand on my mouth. “It’ll be easier on us both if you don’t resist.”

  He kissed my neck and then licked my upper chest. He moved my knees apart and pressed himself against my jeans. I whimpered, realizing what he was doing. He rubbed himself against the front of me and I lost control. I reached my leg up and kicked him in the side. Sometimes being flexible is a great thing. He grunted, but didn’t release his grip. He slammed his lower body against mine and I started crying. I realized now that this was what Koda and Matt had been worried about. I felt my body starting to shake and welcomed my wolf. She glared at this man trying to take advantage of me and fury radiated from her as she took over my body. My mouth changed to teeth as he started to kiss down my chest again. I bit into his hand drawing blood and making him scream. I kicked him backwards and finished my change without any pain. I rolled over and snarled at him.

  He held his hand up and growled. “You dumb bitch! I’ll kill you for that!” The lights for the room turned on, temporarily blinding me, and the five other men stared at us in shock. I jumped forward and bit into my attacker’s crotch tearing through his jeans and into his flesh. He screamed in pain and tried to hit me, but I jumped back before he could land his punch. The other men rushed forward and grabbed him.

  Jesse glared at him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  The man whimpered. “She bit me.”

  I snapped my teeth at him. Jesse stared at me in shock. I jumped up on to the bed and sat down. Jesse asked, “Artemis?” I rolled my eyes and barked at him. The other men were staring at me with open mouths. Jesse shook his head. “Am I the only one seeing this?”

  Mark shook his head. “She looks like Asena.”

  Jesse smiled. “I knew I wasn’t the only one seeing it.”

  Someone knocked on the door loudly, making everyone jump. I glared at the man who had tried to rape me and smiled as he fell to the ground from pain and blood loss. This was one man I wouldn’t mind killing. I sniffed the air and snarled. Vampires. Two figures in black cloaks floated into the room and stopped in front of the bed. One of them spoke and I almost barked in joy. “Is this the girl?”

  Jesse nodded his head. “That’s Artemis.”

  The man lifted his hood back just enough for me to see his face and wink at me. Francois! He put his hood back down. “Why is she in wolf form?”

  Jesse looked nervous and started stuttering. “Www…well you see…”

  Francois held up his hand. “Enough. I see the wounded man on the floor. You are lucky that we are in a generous mood today.” Francois took out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and tossed them on the bed. “Change girl so that we may
take you.”

  I changed back to human form and pretended to be upset, putting on my clothes and glaring at the man on the floor. I asked, “Could I take him as a souvenir? I’m sure your leader will be hungry so early at night.”

  Francois nodded his head. “You were told not to harm her and so he will be the price.” Jesse started to move forward, but Francois held up his hand. “It is done.” The other vampire, who I guessed was Jean Pierre, picked up the man and carried him outside. I followed them out to their silver car and climbed into the passenger seat. The second vampire stuffed the injured man into the trunk, then climbed into the backseat.

  Once all the doors were closed Francois pulled his hood back and the other man did too. I stared at the other man for a second then asked, “Who is he?”

  Francois smiled. “An accomplice. Now you stay quiet and we can all stay pleasant.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean? Aren’t you taking me to Ares? How did you find me so quickly?”

  Francois drove down the road without another word. I watched where we were going, but had no idea where we were. After a few miles I asked, “Francois, why aren’t you talking to me?”

  He shook his head. “I am sorry for this Artemis, but I must obey my maker.”

  My mind clicked and it felt like liquid was in my brain. “You aren’t here to save me are you?”

  The other vampire laughed. “Save you? We are here to take you the rest of the way!”

  I glared at Francois. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

  “I told you that I must obey my leader. She is my maker and I can’t rebel against her. I’m sorry.” He said softly through gritted teeth.

  I frowned. “But you’re a born vampire, you went out in the sun just now. How can you have a maker?”

  He smiled. “You’re perceptive. I was on death’s bed, and she offered me her blood, but in doing so I became as enthralled to her as any made vampire.”

  I stared at the window letting my mind numb itself. “Am I going to die?”

  “No. She wants you alive.” We drove the rest of the way in silence and I found myself becoming more and more upset. I clenched my teeth to keep from flying off the handle and pressed my cheek to the cold glass. We stopped in front of a small cottage in the middle of nowhere and the two vampires got out. I climbed out with them and followed them to the house. It was fully dark now and I could feel the presence of a powerful dark force. I swallowed, as I stepped inside the cottage and saw Isabella.