Artemis' Gift

PENNY

What an arrogant bastard, I thought while tightly gripping my brother’s thick, silky fur. ~But his wolf was so beautiful… The most beautiful I’ve ever seen.~ I sighed, contemplating. He truly was.

His wolf’s shade of gray had been dark in the moonlight, but I knew it was a dark gray, almost black, with mixed shades of white and black without ever being entirely one or the other.

Really interesting to me.

I found myself wondering again what he looked like underneath all that fur. I’d never actually seen the king in human form. I bet he was big and muscular.

I bet he had the perfect treasure trail.

And I bet he had the perfect… I felt myself going pink.

“Thank you. I thought I was your favorite,” Jake said, getting me out of my reverie.

I chuckled before stroking him. “You’ll always be my favorite. You’re my brother. Get me far away from that prick.”

~

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled.

He ran to our house, and he let me down before shifting. I was used to seeing my brother naked, so I didn’t even mind anymore. He was invisible as a man to me. I’d always considered him my brother.

We entered the house, and I turned to him, concerned for him suddenly, remembering that he’d left the party to help me. Dad wouldn’t like it, and maybe the king would pick on him too.

It certainly looked to me like he was the type to bully my brother because he hadn’t respected protocol or something.

“Won’t Dad be mad at you for not going back to the party?” I asked anxiously.

“Nah. I’d rather stay with you anyway. The other wolves are all fawning over the royals,” he said, dismissing my question.

“Aww. The females don’t care about you, so you run to your sister?” I teased.

He blushed, and I burst out laughing. I hugged him tightly because I was thankful he’d stay with me.

I was lucky to have a brother like him. He’d always make sure that I was okay. He’d really been a mother hen to me since we were kids.

Obviously, because werewolves were so strong, as a human, I could get hurt pretty easily. No fast healing for me, sadly.

“First, to the shower. I have to clean the places where that moron touched me,” I said cheerfully.

“He’s our king, you know,” Jake chuckled.

“What kind of king treats his subjects that way? I know I’m not technically one of you, but…”

Jacob put his large hand on my shoulder, and he was serious all of a sudden as he looked into my eyes.

“You are one of us, Penny. Never doubt that.”

I smiled at him and kissed his cheek. He was the best. I was really lucky to have him as a brother. I could never say that enough.

“Thanks, but I’m still going first.”

He chuckled and cursed before releasing me. I climbed the stairs to my bedroom and the shared bathroom.

It was painted in blue with white tiles, and I’d actually painted wolves on the white tiles on the wall. I undressed before letting the water run.

I made a mental note of what had happened earlier while I was under the water. I’d survived my encounter with the lycan king.

He was so beautiful. I could remember every detail vividly. I needed to draw it.

That was usually my answer for everything that bothered me. Drawing was cathartic, and I knew that it would help me sort out my feelings since I was so torn about him. He was a huge moron, but…

There seemed to be more to it. I knew how much the wolves loved and respected him. Plus, it had felt good when he’d touched me.

I’d only seen him for a few minutes, and I already had mixed feelings about him.

I made quick but thorough work under the shower, then put on my pajamas and went to my room. I sat at my window and gazed at the moon before I started drawing the lycan’s marvelous wolf.

Yeah. He was as beautiful as he was an ass, so definitely a good subject for my art.

I drew until late, and I decided to go to bed. I could hear my brother snoring in the room next door. I chuckled and dove into my bed. I dreamed that night.

I dreamed of the beautiful lycan king, and he was a lot nicer to me in a weird, romantic kind of way that let me know it was a dream for sure.

I woke up early because it was duty day today. I had to help the wolves to do the laundry. I didn’t mind the work.

I loved it, actually, because I got to listen to music and chat with my friends. It was always pleasant to work together for the pack.

I left my room and saw through the gap in my brother’s door that he was still sleeping soundly. He was always such a mess. I entered the room and put the sheet back on him before exiting his room.

As future alpha, his duties were other than doing laundry or cleaning the floors of the pack house, so he could sleep in on duty day.

I grabbed fruit in the kitchen downstairs and said a small prayer that I wouldn’t see the king before going to the pack house’s laundry room.

I didn’t want to ruin my morning by seeing his scowl or hearing his rude words.

Everyone greeted me on the way to the pack house, and I waved back while eating my fruit.

As I neared the pack house, I saw that Kyle was waiting for me at the entrance, and he waved at me as soon as he spotted me.

His dirty-blond hair was shining in the light of the morning sun. He looked good. He wasn’t as muscular as my brother, but Kyle was just an enforcer, so he didn’t need to train as much as my brother.

He had mischievous blue eyes, and that made him almost as popular with the ladies as my brother, except he truly didn’t care about them.

I’d asked if it was because he didn’t like females in general, but he’d just shrugged and said that he wasn’t interested in romance.

I never understood that because my heart lived for romance. I was a twenty-four-year-old virgin, so sue me.

Finding a mate was the ultimate goal for a wolf, but he didn’t care. He’d always say, “I have time, Penny.” It was true, but I sometimes felt like an obstacle.

He never wanted me to be out of his sight, and that could ward off his potential mate. I didn’t want to be the one to get in between him and his mate. That would hurt me.

“Ready for a hard day’s work?” I asked when we were on the same level on the porch of the pack house.

He grimaced and I giggled. I knew Kyle hated duty day, but he was doing it for me. We always wanted to spend time together. It was never enough. We really were best friends.

We entered the house and walked straight to the laundry room on the ground level. I put on our favorite playlist, and Britney Spears’s “(You Drive Me) Crazy” sounded.

The she-wolves helping us giggled as I took the iron and started dancing and singing in rhythm. I loved those moments, and they almost took my mind off the rude lycan king. Almost.

But then I thought about his rippling muscles. His snarl.

A shiver ran up my spine.

A shiver of fear.

And of something else, too.