Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine (9 page)

Ares poked my shoulder making me wince.
“Come on, let’s get you into the nice spa.”

“Mm, the spa sounds wonderful,” I said
wistfully. Ares laughed and steered me towards the bathroom. He
started the water while I stripped out of my dirty clothes. It hurt
to raise my arms above my head, but I got my shirt off with only a
little groaning. Ares tested the water in the giant spa and then
stripped out of his own clothes. He climbed into the spa and held
out his hand to help me in. I let him help me as I climbed into the
hot water and then slid down against the wall of the spa, sighing
happily.

Ares moved to sit down beside me and held
one of my hands in his. “I love you, Artemis.”

I snuggled against him as the hot water
relaxed my sore muscles. “I love you too. Have you thought of any
ways to get Achilles to give up?”

Ares shook his head. “No. You?”

“No.”

We sat in comfortable silence as we enjoyed
the closeness of each other and the pleasantness of our contact. My
eyes started to droop closed when Ares leapt out of the spa and
growled loudly. I spun around and stared in shock at a woman with a
dagger pinned against the wall by Ares. She struggled against his
hold, her eyes fixed on me. “Female! Female, look at me!” Ares
yelled at her, but she didn’t take her eyes off of me or stop
trying to get away from him. He closed his eyes for a second before
shaking his head. “She’s turning.”

“Turning into what?” I asked.

“Turning rogue. Her wolf is taking control
of her even in her human body. Artemis, run downstairs and stay
there. Tell Koda to come here.”

I obeyed Ares’ instructions and ran down the
stairs. Koda rushed up the stairs. “I just noticed the front door
was open. We didn’t even hear it.”

I pointed up. “Ares has a woman who tried to
stab me. He says she’s turning rogue.”

Koda cursed and ran up the stairs. Achilles
walked towards me with a white robe in his hands. I quickly put it
on. “They have to kill her, don’t they?” I asked Achilles.

Achilles nodded his head. “Yes. If you are
of a foul mind and you let the wolf take over you will kill
whatever is in your path. Your own children included.”

I looked at him curiously. “You talk as if
you are one.”

He shrugged. “I lived among the wolves for a
number of years. I’ve seen a rogue attack twice. It is not
something you easily forget.”

The woman screamed and then the house was
eerily silent. I shuddered at the knowledge that Ares or Koda had
killed her. Even if it was necessary, it unnerved me. “Artemis, go
in the kitchen and make us some dinner, please,” Ares said from the
bedroom.

I knew he was just trying to save me from
looking at the dead woman’s body and I was thankful for the
diversion. I quickly went into the kitchen and started pulling out
steaks and vegetables to make for dinner. I even managed to find
potatoes so I could make mashed potatoes. I kept my concentration
on the meal and only when it was completed did I let myself step
back and admire my work. The steaks smelled delicious, the mashed
potatoes were perfectly smooth and buttery, and the vegetables were
the perfect consistency, not too hard and not too soft. I grabbed
plates from the cupboards and hurried to the dining room, setting
everything up. I could hear Ares and the others talking in the
living room as I finished bringing all of the food into the dining
room. I ran up the stairs and changed into sweats and a t-shirt and
then called from the dining room, “Dinner’s ready.”

The men walked into the room, their somber
faces changing instantly to smiles as they surveyed the food I’d
made. Ares walked over to me, put his arm around my waist and
kissed me on the lips. “It looks delicious.”

I noted the hint of surprise in his voice
and asked, “Did you think I didn’t know how to cook?”

Ares laughed. “I was worried.”

We all sat down, Ares and I at the ends of
the table with Koda, Matt and Achilles filling in between. Ares
raised a hand as I started to reach for the food. I set my hand
down and stared at him in shock as he closed his eyes, bowed his
head and whispered, “Thank you, Mother of All, for keeping us alive
and allowing such a great meal to be prepared for us. We, as
always, are in your debt. We ask only that you keep our fur clean,
our teeth and claws sharp and a meal in our bellies.” I looked
around the table and found everyone, including Achilles, with their
heads bowed and eyes closed. The others mumbled something and then
Ares opened his eyes. “Now you may eat.”

It took a moment for the shock to wear off
before I started putting food on my plate. They prayed? Who was the
Mother of All? Was he referring to Asena, the mother of the
werewolves?

The meal was eaten in relative silence, but
even with Achilles and Matt there, it was comfortable silence. As
soon as I filled my stomach, I started rushing around and picking
up empty plates. Ares stood up and blocked my path to the kitchen.
He gently took the pile of plates out of my hands and then nodded
his head at the other men. As one, Koda, Matt and Achilles stood up
and started clearing the table. Ares bumped me to the side with his
hip and I stared in awe as four men, no four
warriors
did
the dishes.
Where’s a camera when you need one?

As soon as the men finished the dishes, they
all walked out of the house. I followed them quickly as they made
their way into the woods.
Where the hell were they going?
They all stopped in the training field and turned to face me.
Uh
oh.
Ares looked grim as he stood in the center of the field.
“Since you insist on fighting I thought it would be good for us to
train you, all of us.”

Achilles took his spot on the grass and
leaned against a tree. I looked back at Ares, Koda and Matt and
felt a lump form in my throat. “I have to fight all of you?”

Matt laughed and then spoke in his British
accent that I used to love, “We all specialize in different areas
of fighting.”

I nodded my head remembering one of my
kidnappers in France talking about Koda being really good at
karate. “Okay.”

Ares exhaled and smiled. “Okay, come attack
me.”

“Can I use my sidhe powers?” I asked.

Ares shook his head. “Nope, just your wolf
ones.”

I didn’t want to fight Ares, the idea itself
was ridiculous, but the wolf side of me was excited to play fight.
I let my instincts propel my movements, but kept control of my
body, not letting myself change. I punched at Ares, but he dodged.
I kicked, but he pushed my upper body, making me stumble. The more
I tried to hit him and the more he remained untouched, the angrier
I grew. Soon I stopped
trying
to hit him and let my
subconscious and the wolf take over. My fist grazed Ares’ cheek and
a jubilant smile broke out on my face. Ares smiled back at me and
began attacking, putting me on defense. His movements were too fast
for me to track and soon I was surviving his blows by instinct.
Matt jumped from behind me and started trying to fight me as well,
causing me to move twice as fast. Koda jumped into the fray as
well, kicking and punching. With the three of them attacking I was
getting hit and kicked and left with no time to think. My fists
hurt from hitting them, so I changed them to paws and began clawing
at the men, opening a large gash on Matt’s arm. I started to get
the upper hand until all three men changed their hands to paws as
well.

My arms and chest stung with the numerous
cuts from their claws and I lost my endurance. Slipping in the
grass, I fell to one knee and then the flame of magic inside of me
flared up and covered me in a bright purple light. The men couldn’t
get past the barrier of purple light surrounding me and were forced
to stop their attack. Ares growled at me. “I said no sidhe
powers.”

Achilles spoke before I could. “She did not
intentionally use them. Her body recognized it was near losing and
formed the ward for her.” He walked towards me and reached a hand
towards my ward. Ares growled, but Achilles placed his hand on the
ward anyways. His eyes widened in shock. “This is quite impressive.
Most are not able to create a seamless ward as this.” He ran his
hand along the ward making the purple light pulse everywhere he
touched and making my body shiver as though he were touching my
skin.

I pulled at the invisible force covering me
and willed it back into my body. Slowly the light ebbed and then
disappeared. I collapsed onto the ground gasping for air. Achilles
squatted down next to me smiling. “You have to learn to pace
yourself when it comes to magic.” Achilles stood up and turned to
Ares. “I need to work with her on her magic. Whatever qualms you
have with me and whatever disputes we have between us regarding her
do not matter in this instance. If she is not taught she may cause
a catastrophic event.”

Ares nodded his head. “I understand, but you
are not allowed to touch her.”

Achilles smiled smugly. “It amuses me that
you think one touch from me and she would run into my arms instead
of yours.”

I growled loudly at Achilles, causing Ares
and him to start in surprise. “I will
never
run into your
arms. I am not yours. I am tired of you tormenting Ares. Why won’t
you just leave us and let us be happy?!” By the end I was screaming
even though I had not intended to.

Achilles looked hurt as he said, “Because
you will see soon enough that I offer something for you as well.”
He strode out of the field and into the darkening forest.

Ares helped me stand up and smiled down at
me. “Well, that was interesting. You fought fairly well, but your
reactions are slow. We’ll have to work on that.”

“Can we take a shower? My body is itching
with all of the cuts and the grass covering me,” I said as I leaned
against him. He started to pick me up, but I pushed him. “I’ll
run.”

He didn’t seem bothered by my statement as
I’d expected, but simply held my hand as we started running towards
the house.

Koda and Matt were arguing angrily about
something when we finally arrived at the house. People started
coming out of the surrounding houses to see what all the commotion
was about.

Matt growled loudly and yelled, “I challenge
Koda for place in the pack and rights as second!”

I frowned. “Rights?”

Koda snarled. “I accept!”

Ares and Achilles were on the porch of the
house talking quietly, leaving me alone beside Koda and Matt. “Hey,
guys, let’s just calm down and…”

Matt and Koda started fighting each other,
their snarls and punches almost defeaning me. I started to move
forward, to stop them, but Darius grabbed my arm tightly. “You
cannot stop a challenge once it has been accepted.”

I stared at the King of Werewolves and felt
his power. He pressed it on to me and I realized I was staring into
his eyes. I looked down and nodded my head in understanding and
acknowledgement of my submission to him. He let go of my arm and I
moved away from him as quickly as I could without running.

Achilles moved down the steps and lifted the
sleeve of my shirt to expose red marks where Darius had grabbed me.
Achilles skin glowed softly as he turned to Darius. “I believe the
King may have forgotten how to handle the sidhe.”

Darius frowned in confusion. “Speak freely
Achilles.”

Achilles pulled me forward and lifted the
sleeve of my shirt. “You’ve marked her skin.”

Darius’ eyes widened in shock. “I did not
mean to mark her. I was simply stopping her from interfering.”

Ares walked down the steps and stood beside
us. “Be careful King. An offense such as this would have started
wars not long ago.”

Darius glared at Ares. “Perhaps you should
teach your
halfbreed
bitch our rules and I would not have to
touch her.”

Ares growled at him and I felt his anger and
Achilles’ anger rising at the same time. It was like they were
feeding off of each other’s emotions. Ares whispered, “You should
watch your tongue Darius. You aren’t as loved as you once
were.”

Darius snarled. “Watch your words. There are
many who do not love you as much either, Prince.”

Matt screamed in pain and I remembered why
we were there. I scolded myself for being distracted and yelled,
“Stop fighting! Please!” I pushed around Ares to see Matt bleeding
from his arm and Koda smiling happily. “Koda, please!” I
begged.

Neither seemed to hear me though and I
watched in shock as Koda grabbed Matt around the throat and choked
him. “Submit to me,” Koda growled.

Matt growled and struggled against Koda,
refusing to submit.

“Ares, why are they fighting?” I asked.

Achilles whispered, “As second in the pack,
if the alpha dies, the second in the pack becomes alpha and takes
the previous alpha’s mate.”

Me. They were fighting for the right to take
me if Ares ever died.

“You stupid, idiotic men! Stop fighting!” I
yelled at them.

Koda punched Matt in the throat and Matt
whispered, “Submit.”

The crowd clapped and cheered and Koda
smiled happily. I shook my head and walked inside the house,
ignoring both men. “Idiots.”

~~~

For the next two days Ares, Koda and Matt trained
with me. Soon I was able to keep pace with Matt and almost with
Koda, but Ares beat me every time. I had no doubt that Natasha
wasn’t as skilled as Ares, so I wasn’t worried.

I continued trying to half-shift, but every time I
tried I only changed into my wolf, so we gave up.

As the sun rose on the day of my challenge, I felt
my nervousness. I rolled over and snuggled against the front of
Ares, who wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “You don’t
have to do this. You could rescind your acceptance to fight,” he
whispered into my ear.