Taming Darkness: Artemis Lupine #4 (9 page)

She nodded her head. “It is Draco Blu’s blood to be precise.”

“The Draco of the dragons gave you his blood?” Victor asked in shock.

I smiled and felt extremely grateful for the friendship that I had created with him. He had given me many gifts and had protected me many times when I was Chandra. I would need to find a way to repay the large debt I now owed him. It would not be easy, but it was necessary.

Selene said, “She was the favored
hatchling of Draco Blu and his flight. It is a very rare honor.”

“She is very good at getting people to like her,” Victor said.

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I did not think he meant any disrespect so I let the comment lie. “Have you chosen a sacrifice yet?” I asked Ares.

He shook his head and Victor said, “We have one chosen for him.”

“Who?” Ares asked, obviously not happy with that news.

“A prisoner who was sentenced to be put to death, but whose sentence has yet
to be carried out. He committed violent crimes that are unforgivable and as such there is no reason why he should not be used for a sacrifice.”

“Will the death be painful?” Ares asked Selene.

Selene glanced at me and I knew as well as she did that sometimes sacrifices in spells were very painful. Often times the person would scream for the duration of the spell. “It will be painful, but will not last more than two minutes.”

Ares did not look reassured by that answer. “I will pick the sacrifice myself.”

“You had better choose in the next day or two,” Selene warned. “Artemis is getting worse and the baby is beginning to suffer.”

My hand instinctively went to my stomach and I felt
terror at the thought of my unborn child suffering inside of me. Ares set the vial of Blu’s blood in my hand and walked towards the door. “Victor, would you please protect Artemis for a few hours?”

“Of course,” Victor said and then stood up.

Ares shut the door behind him and I stared at it in shock. “What just happened?”

Selene stood up and smiled at me. “I will come see you tomorrow. We should be able to perform the spell then.”

She left and I looked at Victor who was frowning. “What just happened?” I asked again.

“Ares went to blow of some steam and then to find someone suitable for the sacrifice. Now that he knows the baby is in danger he will not hesitate in picking someone. Don’t worry. He will be back soon.”

I laid down on the bed and asked, “Why is he being so stubborn about choosing a sacrifice?” I really did not understand it. I would have chosen someone as soon as I found out about it if I had been able to.

“He does not like the idea of picking someone to die in his place. It is different when that person is attacking you and it is either them or you then it is to choose someone to be used in a spell. Many consider using a sacrifice to be a dark art and stay away from it.”

“Selene told him already that I would die as well as him and so would the baby. So why is he now going? Why has he been putting it off?” I asked angrily.

“I understand your frustration, but Ares is very old and is very set in his ways. He is not used to not being in control. He is used to taking care of everything himself, but now he cannot. He is upset because you constantly put yourself in danger and he is upset that you and your child are in danger and he is upset that he cannot rip off Death’s head in order to fix it all.”

“Artemis?” a soft male voice asked from outside my door. “Can I come in?”

“Who?” I started to ask.

Victor whispered, “Apollo. I do not think Ares would like it if…”

“Come in,” I called, not letting Victor finish.

Victor sighed. “Ares is going to have a brain aneurism when he learns that I let him in here with you.”

I smiled. “You’ll protect me if I need it.”

Victor rolled his eyes. “Don’t patronize me, Artemis. I am over a thousand years old.”

Apollo walked into the room and I was shocked at how similar we looked. His hair was incredibly blonde now though. It looked almost magical. “Hello, Apollo,” I said as I sat up.
He was wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He was a halfbreed like me so didn’t that mean that he could switch to a wolf form?

Victor set pillows behind me so that I was propped up
and discreetly shook his head at me. “What business do you have with Queen Artemis?” he asked Apollo when he turned around to face him.

“I heard that you were
not feeling well,” he said as he walked closer to the bed.

“Just a slight side effect to being pregnant,” I said with a smile.

He smiled back at me. “You lie very poorly.”

Victor stepped between Apollo a
nd the bed and said, “That is close enough.”

“Is he your bodyguard?” Apollo asked me. “I thought they said you were the prince or something?”

“He is a friend and yes, he is the Prince of Vampires,” I said before Victor decided to show him how strong he was.

“You have a lot of friends,” Apollo said. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of the bed and said, “I came to apologize to you.”

“Now is not the time for your apology,” Victor said angrily.

“Victor, it’s alright,
” I said angrily. I hated that everyone was babying me.

“No, he is right,” Apollo said. “When you are feeling better and your mate is back then I will come visit you again.”

“Apollo,” I called, stopping him. He turned around and faced me, waiting for me to talk. “Why did you surrender after the battle?”

“Another time,” he said with a shake of his head.
“We will talk about that at a later time.”

“Thank you for coming to see me,” I said with a smile.

He smiled back. “I am glad that you are alive. I felt…strange when you died and I did not like it.” He seemed shocked at what he had said and left without another word.

“I do not trust him,” Victor said.

“He saved me from my father and killed him for me. I trust him.” Plus Achilles had told me to make amends with him and I would.

“Artemis, it was not…” I glared at him and he stopped talking, raising his hands in surrender. “Alright.”

Koda came into the room with his mother behind him. She smiled at me and hurried over to put her hand on my stomach and whisper to the baby. It was strange, but I was not about to disrespect her by telling her I thought she was weird. Victor smiled and then sat down in one of the chairs to relax.

She stood up and asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Same,” I lied.

She tsked at me. “You cannot lie to me sweetheart. I am older than even Ares.”

“I’m scared,” I admitted. “I’m scared because the baby is beginning to suffer according to Selene. I am scared because my stomach is expanding very very quickly and I am scared because I have never had a baby and I’m afraid of what it is going to be like.” Tears filled my eyes and I wiped them away, hating that my emotions were getting the better of me.

She sat down on the bed beside me and put her arm around my shoulders. “It is alright to be scared sometimes. I was scared when I had Ares. I was terrified that Hera would try to kill him. I was even scared when I had Matt and Koda because I was huge with twins.”

“Will it hurt?” I asked her.

She nodded her head. “Yes, but you will survive. Our deliveries are usually very quick and although they are painful, our bodies repair the damage very quickly. You will be exhausted for the first couple of hours afterwards, but then you will be good as new.”

“Will the stretch marks heal?” I asked softly.

She laughed. “Yes, child. You will look like it never happened.”

I exhaled in relief and rubbed my stomach. “We haven’t even picked a name yet.”

“I believe the healer will be coming today to tell you the gender. I would wait until Ares is here though,” Koda said.

Of course I would wait for Ares. Why did he think I would do something so rude?

“Where is my eldest?”

“Seeking out a sacrifice?” Victor said from his chair.

“Good,” she said as she stood up. “It is about time he took charge of this.”

I laid down again and closed my eyes. “Why am I so tired?”

“You are growing a being inside of your body,” she said, “it takes up a lot of your nutrients and energy. In fact, Koda, would you get us some food?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said obediently and left the room.

She looked at Victor. “May I have some privacy
to speak with my daughter-in-law?”

Victor frowned. “Normally I would leave, but Ares asked me to protect her.”

“I am not going to hurt her,” she said angrily.

Victor shrugged. “I don’t know that for sure. Besides, I would rather not leave her alone with anyone but Ares. She is very vulnerable right now and needs as much protection as possible.”

“And you think that I would not be able to protect her? You forget that I am older than even you, Victor of the Vampires. I could be Alpha still, if I so desired.”

“I do not doubt your strength. I am simply refusing to leave Artemis without me as an additional defense,” he said adamantly. I had never seen him so serious about anything before.

She glared at him, but finally relinquished and turned to me. “The mind reading vampire already knows this so I might as well discuss it in front of him. Have you talked with Ares about Koda’s feelings for you?”

“I only found out about his feelings yesterday,” I said uncomfortably.
Was it just obvious to everyone that he had feelings for me or had he talked to his mother about it? Which was worse? “And I did not think it was a good idea to bring it up to Ares due to his recent mood.”

She sighed.
“My sons have mostly gotten along, but I fear this might ruin the bond they have formed. Koda looks up to Ares and loves him like any younger brother should. No I suppose he sees Ares more as a father figure truthfully, but his feelings for you have only escalated since your disappearance and then death.”

“He told me that it was enough just to be in my life,” I said. “I’m hoping that he keeps that mentality.”

“He might for a while,” she said, “But his jealousy might also grow and…” She stopped talking and then the door opened as Koda entered with food.

He smiled at me and set a tray of food on the bed beside me with a glass of water. “Sorry it took so long. I got sidetracked on my way to the kitchen.”

“Thank you,” I said and then picked up some food and started eating.

“You have always been the most polite of my sons,” she said with a smile at Koda.

He sat down in a chair next to Victor and then sat very still. It was weird looking and I was about to ask what he was doing when Ares flung open the door and charged inside. “Why do I smell Apollo?”

He was seething with anger and I could almost see a red cloud encircling him. “Ares, what’s wrong?” I asked as I stood up and started towards him.

“Get in bed,” he said. “Stop moving around,” he growled. He had never growled at me or been seriously mad at me before. I continued walking towards him and he growled. “I order you to get in bed,” he snapped, his order as alpha pressed against me like a net pulling me backwards.

I growled back at him and held my ground, trying my hardest to slide my feet forward.

“Stop, Ares. You’re going to hurt her,” his mother said.

“I wouldn’t be hurting her if she would obey,” he said. “For once in your life, obey.”

“Come here, Ares,” I ordered him in my best alpha voice and using as much of my dominance and power as I could.

His body jerked towards me and his eyes widened in shock. He apparently did not know that I could order him around
just as he could me. He held his ground and ground his teeth together.

“Even if you prove your point,” Victor said, “You will only feel bad about hurting her afterwards. We all agree that Artemis needs to start taking some orders.”

“I just want to touch you,” I said to Ares. He was being obstinate, but I was much better at it.

“Why was Apollo here?” he asked me again.

“He came to visit me,” I said. “He wanted to check on me because he had heard that I was ill.”

“Who let him in here?!” Ares screamed.

He was getting too worked up and soon would let his bloodlust take over if he was not careful. I had never seen him in such a fit before. I had to do something, but what could I do to diffuse the situation?

“Victor,” I said softly. “Teleport them out of here so I can speak to my mate alone.”

“No one is going anywhere until I get answers,” Ares said.

“I let him in,” I said. “Victor was guarding me so I was perfectly…”

“You let him in here with my sick mate?!” Ares screamed at Victor as he walked towards him.

Victor stood up and I could see the slight worry in his eyes and the tension in his body.
“Artemis allowed him in and I stood between him and her and forced him to keep his distance from her. She was not in serious danger.”