Read Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine Online

Authors: Catherine Banks

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Vampires, #Adult, #Fantasy, #Magic, #Witches, #werewolves, #teen, #fairy, #Fairies, #Fae, #YA, #young, #sidhe, #dhampir, #ares, #artemis, #lupine

Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine (20 page)

BOOK: Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine
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Victor guided us through a back entrance and
then we were at the front doors. The guards opened the doors and
bowed as we walked by. Victor led the way through the giant mansion
and into a large ballroom. Crystal chandeliers hung from the
ceilings and made me feel as though we’d been taken back to another
time period.

“Greetings,” Maurice said. His voice sent
shivers down my spine and would have made me tuck my tail between
my legs if I was in wolf form.

Ares picked my hand up gently and his
reassurance gave me strength.

Victor walked forward and bowed. “Greetings,
Father.”

Maurice’s gaze never left mine as we walked
towards his throne. The throne was gold, seemed to be carved out of
a giant piece of gold actually, and glittered with gems. “I’m so
happy that you came.”

“Father, we have heard a rumor that the
vampires and dhampirs that have been hounding Artemis may have been
sent by you. Is this true?” Victor spoke in such a calm voice that
I almost believed he was simply asking about a rumor.

Maurice began speaking, but I realized he
was speaking to me. “I can give you anything in the world that you
want. I could let you rule an entire nation if you wanted. Whatever
you want, tell me and it’ll be yours if you join me.”

“I can’t join you. I can’t allow you to kill
off the entire human race,” I said angrily.

Maurice stood up. “Join me or those you love
die!”

I looked at Ares and then at Achilles who
were both smiling at me. It was then that I realized no matter how
much I wanted to keep Ares and Achilles safe, they would have to
fight beside me to accomplish our safety. I squeezed Ares’ hand and
looked back up at Maurice. “
Verus amor vincit omnia
. True
love conquers all. No, I will not join you. I will not leave the
ones I love. I will stand beside them and fight you and die if I
have to.”

Maurice’s face changed and I saw his true
face, his vampire face, and immediately my skin went cold. The King
of Vampires in battle mode was something no human should witness.
He was truly frightening.

The doors to the ballroom started to shake
and Victor yelled, “Get ready!”

Achilles’ body burst into bright color and
he raised his hand straight up over his head, shooting a blue
fireball through the ceiling.
That must be the signal.

Achilles smiled at me and then Erebus, Eros
and Heracles flew in through the ceiling. As soon as they landed
the fight began. Hundreds of vampires poured in through the
ballroom doors and headed towards us. Ares body rippled as he took
a half-shift and started attacking the vampires with Koda beside
him in wolf form. Achilles shot fireball after fireball at the
vampires, catching some on fire and tearing holes through others.
Victor and Dmitri pulled out swords as they fought against their
own kind. Erebus, Eros and Heracles fought in a small circle with
their backs together. I stood in the center of them all and smiled.
It was my turn to fight. It was my turn to prove my worth.

Closing my eyes I concentrated on the powers
that resided within me and focused on the plants outside of the
building and all of the living things nearby to draw on their
power. I summoned a portion of my energy, turned my hands into paws
with extended claws and opened my eyes. My body was glowing
brighter than anyone else’s, making the vampires shield their eyes.
I screamed my battle cry and leaped into the battle. Bodies fell
before my wrath as my primal fighting instincts took over.

I thought we were winning, but as soon as we
killed a portion of the vampires in the room, more would come in to
replace them. I started moving further away from my group when I
saw him…my dad. Darren was standing beside Maurice and looking out
over the battle. His eyes stopped on me and he growled, his lip
pulling up in a snarl. He moved away from Maurice and towards me. I
tried to head back towards Achilles and Ares, but the vampires had
clustered together to keep us separated. I couldn’t fight Darren. I
couldn’t win against him.

“Ares!” I yelled frantically as Darren came
closer to me.

Ares stopped his fighting and turned towards
me, his eyes widening when he saw Darren. Ares started to make his
way, but he was too far away and there were too many vampires in
his way. I turned around in search of Achilles, but I couldn’t see
him over the vampires standing in front of me. I clawed and slashed
and burned the vampires, but no matter how many I killed I couldn’t
get closer to Ares or farther from Darren.

Suddenly Darren’s hand grabbed me by the
hair and jerked me backwards. I yelled in surprise and he put his
hand around my throat. “I should have done this eighteen years
ago.”

I struggled against him. “Please, dad.
Please.”

Darren smiled. “Did you actually think I
loved you? Did you think I could love a halfbreed? You were nothing
more than a mistake. I wanted to mate with your mother, but I
didn’t want you. I never wanted you.”

His words hurt worse than anything I could
have imagined. “Then why did you raise me? Why keep me alive?” I
asked as tears leaked down my face.

“I was training you for Maurice, but then
you had to go and betray me by leaving with Ares.”

“I didn’t betray you. He’s my destined mate.
Please dad. Don’t do this.”

Darren laughed. “You’re pathetic.” His hand
tightened around my throat and my air cut off. I gasped for air and
clawed at Darren, but no matter how many gashes I opened, his grip
didn’t loosen. Spots covered my vision as I began to go
unconscious. Ares yelled and then I was on the floor, gasping for
air. I turned around and watched as Darren and Ares fought. I’d
never thought of Darren as terrifying, but as I watched him fight
Ares, he was one of the most terrifying beings on the planet.

Darren changed into his wolf form and jumped
a few yards away for a chance to recover. Ares changed forms as
well and charged after Darren. I wanted to keep watching, to help
if I could, but the vampires surrounding me had started moving
closer. Achilles yelled in pain at the same instant that Ares
did.

Maurice yelled, “Join me, Artemis, and this
can all end!”

White hot anger flowed through my veins.
Death. I wanted all of these vampires dead. Permanently dead. I
wanted my loved ones free. I wanted to be free. I closed my eyes
and prayed to whoever or whatever might be listening to help me. I
had to save them. Warm wind surrounded me in a mini tornado and
then power filled me. I’d never felt so much power before and it
made me dizzy. I stood up and whispered, “Kill the vampires.” I
felt as though my skin was going to burst and then all of the power
left me in a giant explosion. I screamed in pain as the rush of
power left me and fell to the ground on my hands and knees.

The room was eerily silent as I opened my
eyes and stood up. I soon realized why. Every vampire, except
Maurice, Dmitri and Victor were gone. Ash sifted through the air,
but no bodies remained.

Maurice yelled, “Now!”

I looked for Ares, but couldn’t see him. I
tried to stand up, but strong hands grabbed me.

Ares and Achilles screamed, “No!” in unison
and then I was traveling through a black spinning vortex I
recognized too well. The spinning stopped and my nausea quickly
vanished. I stared in shock at the house Darren had raised me
in.

I spun around and glared at Hera. “What are
you doing?!”

Her body was glowing and she never looked so
much like a goddess as she did then. She placed her hands on each
side of my head and whispered, “What is necessary for my son’s
survival.” She started speaking in another language and then pain
filled every cell of my body.

I started to scream, but then horror froze
my limbs as I realized what she was doing. She was stealing my
memories. The fight with Maurice. The last night that Ares and I
made love. Achilles telling me he loved me. The training with the
sidhe. Matt’s death. Victor. Matt. Koda. Achilles. Ares. I screamed
and fought against her, but she was too strong and I was too
weak.

Every memory that I cherished was pulled
from me and increased the hole I felt widening inside of my heart.
People’s faces whom I loved began to disappear. I couldn’t remember
my mother. I couldn’t remember what Koda or Achilles looked like. I
couldn’t remember Ares scent or his face.

“Ares!” I screamed as the memories of him
disappeared in a flash of painful magic.

Hera screamed and then released me as I
fainted.

 

~~~

 

Chapter Ten

 

The woman standing before me was stunning.
She was glowing as though an internal light was on. Part of me
wanted to call it her powers, but I didn’t understand what it
meant.

She smiled down at me and held out her hand
to help me stand up. “Are you alright, child?”

I rubbed my sore head and stood up on shaky
legs. “I…I think so.”

I looked around at the place I was in and
asked, “Where am I?”

She whispered, “You’re safe and so is
everyone else. That’s all that matters for now.”

“What do you mean? Who are you?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I cannot
tell you that.”

In a flash of light she disappeared and I
was alone. Had she been a goddess? Or perhaps a witch?

I rubbed my hands down my arms, realized I
was naked, but decided it wasn’t important at the moment, and
turned to look at everything around me. I was in front of a house,
but it didn’t seem particularly special to me. A town was near, I
could smell gasoline from vehicles, but I couldn’t smell people.
That seemed odd, but I didn’t let it bother me at the moment.

I smelled trees nearby and that drew my
attention. I stepped into the shelter of the trees and heard a wolf
howl in the distance.

A wolf. Yes, I was part wolf. A…a
werewolf.

I closed my eyes and willed the wolf side of
me to take over. My body changed and I ran deeper into the forest,
calling out to any of my brothers or sisters that might be nearby.
I felt lonely. So incredibly lonely that it hurt.

A pack of small wolves came from the shadows
of the forest and surrounded me. These were obviously not
werewolves like me, but I needed a pack to run with. I couldn’t
stand this loneliness anymore.

I dropped my head submissively and whined,
asking to join their pack. The alpha, a grey wolf with a large scar
down his throat, walked forward and growled at me. I dropped to the
ground and he moved forward to sniff my stomach. The rest of the
pack came forward and I was recognized as a friend. The pack ran
and I ran with it, now a member of it.

That was strange too. Why would the pack
accept me so quickly? So many strange things without answers.

There was something important I was supposed
to be doing, but I couldn’t remember what. I felt something missing
inside me. Two big things. Yes, there were two things missing
inside of me, as though pieces of my heart were gone, but I
couldn’t remember what to do to make me whole again.

I shook my head, cleared the human thoughts
and let the animal within me take over. I barked and ran after the
others, happy in the moment of the chase as we raced after a herd
of deer.

 

###

 

 

Connect with Me
Online:

 

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/catherineebanks

My blog:
http://www.catherinebanks.blogspot.com

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BOOK: Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine
9.48Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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