Wolves of Artemis

“You okay?” Rowan asked, nudging me lightly and cocking her head to the left.

“Fine.” I groaned before turning to face the she-wolf and her pup.

She stood protectively in front of the pup, blocking it from my view. Her fiery red fur stood on end, making it difficult to see where she was bleeding from. The snarl she gave me was forced and weak. Her tiny body trembled, adding to the illusion of flames.

Suddenly her legs seemed to fail her, and she fell to the ground. I lowered my head in a gesture of submission as I stepped forward with a soft whimper. I wanted her to know that we were here to help.

She snarled weakly in response. With more effort and time than it should have taken, she managed to force herself back to her feet. She stood, trembling and terrified, and I knew that once she went human, she wouldn’t be strong enough to shift for quite a while.

“She’s hurt bad. What’s with her fur? I have never seen anything like it,” Rowan said carefully.

“I don’t know,” I responded, fighting the urge to get closer.

I didn’t know why I wanted so badly to help her. She pulled me in, similar to how family members pulled you to them. It was stronger, though, as if she were the sun, and I had fallen into her orbit. I felt like my life had just been altered drastically.

“She’s scared of us. Mate is scared of us,” Brooke whined.

I froze and stared into her bright red eyes. I was sure I looked as confused as I felt. If we were mates, then why was she still snarling anytime I moved?

“Mate?” I asked him, watching as she shied away from me again.

Brooke only whimpered softly in response. I had so many questions I wanted answered, but I had to do what I could for her first. I could see the energy draining out of her as we spoke. Even staying in wolf form was too much for her just then.

Also, I trusted my wolf enough to believe that she was my mate. That very fact made me more eager to calm her and get her to shift back. I could only think of one thing to do, despite knowing that I would never risk it with anyone else.

“I’ll be right back. Stay there.” I nodded at Rowan before backing behind a tree.

I quickly changed back into my human form, throwing on my cutoff jean shorts and white T-shirt. Shock flashed through my mate’s eyes as I returned in my weaker form. Her head cocked slightly to the side, her guard dropping slightly.

“Shift,” I said calmly.

She whimpered, fighting my command. I wasn’t an alpha but as the beta in this territory I had a certain amount of authority. Every wolf in the territory, aside from the alpha, had to respect that.

A sudden realization struck me—that she didn’t know the customs of our pack, nor did she have anything to cover up with. In our pack, we had been taught to show each other as much respect as possible when shifting around the opposite sex. So I quickly pulled my shirt off and tossed it toward her, hoping that it would make her more comfortable.

“Shift now,” I commanded again, my deep voice echoing with an authoritative ringing tone.

I glanced away as her fur started to ripple and she shifted. I listened to the fabric as it slid over her body then turned back. My breath was suddenly trapped in my throat.

My shirt hung to her knees and already had splotches of blood staining the white fabric. Her long, strawberry blonde hair hung in loose waves down her back and was matted with mud and blood. Her warm brown eyes stared at me, terrified. Her fair skin was several shades lighter than my own almond skin tone.

“What’s your name?” I asked calmly, hiding the internal fight against the desperate pull I felt toward her. She was definitely my mate.

“Myra.” Her bell voice chimed quietly as she bowed slightly to my authority.

I frowned to myself. I wasn’t commanding her; I didn’t want her to feel she had to submit to me. Why would she bow?

“What’s your business in the New Moon territory?” I asked robotically.

“I…,” she started, then froze, staring at Zane as he walked back up next to me.

“He’s long gone,” Zane said calmly.

I nodded my thanks, then gestured for him to join Rowan a bit behind me.

“How about you guys go get lemons for Trish. Looks like I won’t be getting to a store today.”

“You sure you’re okay? Should we chase them off as well?” Zane asked curiously.

“Mine!” Brooke snarled in my head.

“Finally!” Rowan shrieked excitedly as Zane flinched at my tone.

Rowan took a step forward and Myra tensed. A low, threatening snarl rose from her throat and she stepped back, reaching behind her protectively. In response, Zane growled at her in warning. Myra’s eyes grew panicked, and she instinctively looked to me as Rowan froze in place.

“Go!” I snapped, glaring at Zane.

Zane’s head bowed in an ashamed stance as he stepped backward. Rowan nodded, then nudged Zane’s shoulder playfully before loping into the trees. Zane rolled his large eyes, following with a raspy, barking chuckle. Before he disappeared completely, he stopped and looked back.

“I’m sorry, it was instinctive,” he thought, then he was gone.

I, of course, already knew this. Rowan was Zane’s mate; of course, he would step in if she was threatened at all. That didn’t stop the anger I felt toward him for threatening my mate though.

I turned back to Myra, smiling patiently. “My apologies. Continue, please.”

“I didn’t know we were… I was just running…” She flinched as she said the word we, before glancing over my shoulder to where the other wolf had vanished.

“Zane said he’s long gone,” I said comfortingly. After a couple seconds, I added in a disbelieving tone, “You didn’t smell the borderline?”

“Well, yes.” Her cheeks flushed red as she shifted her weight, staring intently at the ground. “I hoped he wouldn’t follow us here.”

Suddenly the child’s face appeared for a moment at her side. He peeked out with his dark-green eyes wide, but not with fear. He stared at me in awe, his black hair poking out at odd angles. He looked to be about five or six, which shocked me.

Since she was my mate, she had to be my age or less than a year younger. So, Myra had to be twenty-one or twenty-two. She hadn’t been even old enough to have a mate when she’d had a child?

Despite the different hair color, he was clearly her child. It was like someone had copied and pasted her facial features onto him. His eyes were the same almond shape, he had her nose, and he stared at me with the same cautious, untrusting expression.

Myra crossed her trembling arms, sidestepping to block my view of the child again. I watched as she winced at the movement and listened to her heart as it raced.

“You were injured. Are you healing?” I asked, suddenly concerned. I stepped forward, reaching out to help.

“I’m fine,” she snapped, limping backward.

Brooke whimpered in the back of my head. I tried to ignore the metaphorical knife she had just driven into my ribs. This wasn’t how it was meant to be. Werewolves didn’t have to earn the trust of their mate. We automatically knew that hurting them would be like hurting ourselves.