Artemis' Pov
Gasps fill up the entire room once I make the declaration, the rest of the elders rising to their feet immediately except for one. Annoying voice's eyes widen as he stares at me in shock, his lips trembling and heart pounding with fear.
I smile moving back to my position at the center of the room and clasp my arms behind my back, making sure to focus my attention on the stunned elders.
"You are such a badass." Selena's excited voice floats through the link and I look over my shoulder to see her giving me a thumbs up with a grin spread across her face and I smile, shaking my head.
"That's impossible." He whispers jaw still dropped and I shrug gesturing to myself.
"Well here I am."
The shock slowly turns to a glare, raising a shaky finger in my direction as he scowls. "Do you really expect me to believe that someone like you could hold up the Alpha position?"
I shrug again not bothering to acknowledge the blunt insult. "Better believe it."
"You--"
"Calm down Raymond." A smooth husky voice speaks and I snap my eyes to the voice, sitting calmly at the right end corner of annoying voice side.
He observes me with intelligent green eyes, tilting his head to the side before a slow smirk creeps on his face.
"Well I'll be damned." He mutters, staring at me before he chuckles. "This should be interesting."
I stare blankly at him, wondering what he means by that and he smiles, this time genuinely at me before rising to his feet. "Alpha Artemis right?"
I nod and he grins. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Abner, the first elder of the werewolves."
He is the first elder? Regarding him with a look that screams bullshit but then again he does look to be intelligent.
He raises his brow observing me for a minute and then smiles. "You don't seem to believe me Alpha Artemis. Isn't that so?"
I shrug. "Doesn't matter what I believe and I'm not interested in introductions. I came here for a reason and I wish to accomplish that."
Raymond growls causing a slight shake in the building. "The disrespect of this insolent girl!"
Red growls in my head and I take in deep breaths to calm myself and her so I don't do something I'll regret. Opening my eyes, I see Abner gauging my reaction but I ignore the look focusing my attention on the jerk.
"You called me here to find out whether the rumors of midnight fall pack having an Alpha is true or not and here I am. So now that I have shown myself can we discuss the attacks happening in the packs." I end making sure to fix him a hard glare, daring him to speak up and he purses his lips looking away from me.
This is a complete waste of time and if they can't get over the fact that I'm an alpha then they can suck it up.
Abner nods, a frown on his face as he takes his seat. "Very well then, please take your seat so the discussions can start."
Sending him a grateful nod, I look around to find everyone staring at me with shock, disgust, lust and other expressions that their dumb faces can make.
Once seated, the person next to me shifts around to face me, stretching out his hand for a handshake a cheeky grin on his face. "Hi, I'm Jeremy."
I stare at him and he gasps totally forgetting about personal space as he leans forward looking into my eyes. "Your eyes are so cool." And he pouts, lowering his head. "I wish I had some."
He is a pup. Judging from how young he looks I can say he was given the Alpha position just recently.
When I chuckle, he looks up brown eyes sparkling with excitement, his dirty blonde hair flopping onto his forehead which he pushes back but they end up flopping there again.
"It's nice to meet you Jeremy. What's the name of your pack?"
His chest puffs out in pride. "White moon pack."
I've heard of that pack before. Their pack has a lot of white wolves which is rare and they see it be a blessing from the moon goddess. I mean it just a colour, why do they have to always associate it to the moon goddess.
I smile and he smiles looking forward when a throat clears. Abner rises up, looking around his gaze lingering on me for a minute before he looks away.
"I welcome you all the the Alpha meeting." His voice booms pausing for a minute before he speaks up again. "I wouldn't want to waste much of your time so let's begin shall we."
There are murmurs of agreement and he raises his hand. "Very well then, if you have any concern just rise up and speak."
It's quiet until someone stands up, everyone looking in his direction. One look at his face and I know that what ever he is going to say will be about me.
"I am Luke, Alpha of Redwood Pack." He says and Red growls in my head.
I don't like him. I purse my lips, watching as his gaze lands on me a cocky smirk on his face.
Son of a bitch is going to challenge us. Red snaps and I sigh, this meeting is gonna last longer than I thought.
"Please speak up Alpha Luke." Abner says his eyes slightly narrowing before he regains composure.
Alpha Luke nods. "It's not a concern but rather a declaration."
Abner frowns but nods his head gesturing for him to speak up.
"I would like to Challenge Artemis for the Alpha position."
Murmurs break out in the room and Jeremy scowls at him. "I hate him so much." He mutters and I raise my brow at him.
"Why do you hate him?"
He scoffs. "He thinks he is the most powerful Alpha since he has lot of land, money, power and a werewolf army at his disposal but he is just a bald jerk who doesn't know when to shut up."
I giggle shaking my head. "I haven't had the pleasure of actually speaking to him but from what my beta told me and what you've said well I can agree with you."
Abner leans back in his chair, tapping his finger on the armrest as he observes him with a calm and collected look. "And why would you like to Challenge Alpha Artemis?"
He puffs out his chest in pride staring at me cockily, making sure to maintain eye contact. "No offence Artemis but you shouldn't be left with such power and to be honest I don't think-
"Did I ask for your opinion?"
He scrunches up his face. "I beg your pardon?"
I sigh giving him a flat look. "I said did I ask for your opinion?"
He presses his lips into a thin line, brows furrowed in concentration. "Well I see it fit that you should-
"Challenge accepted." I cut him off shifting back in my seat to face forward. Jeremy slaps his palm against his mouth, shoulder shaking in silent laugh.
I raise my brow at him and he shakes his head, dropping his hand to his lap. His face red from holding in his laugh and eyes crinkled as they stare at me amusingly. "You're one of a kind Artemis. Fuck you should have seen the look on his face."
Shrugging I look up to see Raymond watching me with keen eyes, the scowl still present on his face but looks away once Abner starts speaking.
"Well since Alpha Artemis has accepted the challenge, we shall first talk about what is happening and then the duel will begin after."
All the while speaking, he kept his gaze on me that same calm looking expression on his face which it's starting to irritate me a lot. It's as if he knows something about me that I don't know.
He probably thinks you look his dead relative or something.
Shut up Red.
"If I may interrupt but I'd like we do this immediately before any discussions can take place." Luke says and Jeremy scowls, scoffing under is breath.
Abner looks to me for approval. "Would that be okay with you Alpha Artemis?"
"Sure." I mutter and he nods, rising to his feet and the others follow.
"We shall meet at the arena in twenty minutes so that you can prepare." He adds and leaves the room, the others trailing behind him.
After they have left, murmurs break out in the room. Selena, Damien and Alex quickly rush to my side.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Alex snaps once he gets closer, his jaw tightening as he runs his finger through his hair.
I regard him with a cool look, raising my brow at him. "Is there a problem?"
He scoffs, glaring at me as he takes a step forward and Damien steps between us forcing him to stop in his tracks.
"It's alright Damien." I murmur patting his shoulder. He stares at Alex for a minute before stepping aside.
Alex sighs, bitting on his bottom lip. "You shouldn't have accepted the challenge Artemis."
I hum in response, walking out of the room, every pair of eyes following my movement, some even have the audacity to growl at me until I reach outside. The guards positioned at the gate immediately tense up when they see me, their eyes not daring to meet mine.
"Are you even listening to me!?" Alex snaps grabbing my wrist and I shift in his hold, quickly gripping his wrist and twisting it behind his back.
"I have told you not to touch me without permission." I grit out. My eyes shifting between red and violet. My mood is not okay and Red hasn't been much of help ever since Luke challenged us.
She is feeling disrespected and pretty much out for blood well to be specific out for two bloods; Raymond and Luke.
Selena takes hesitant steps forward, hands raised up. "Calm down Artemis."
I clench my fist to my side, applying pressure to the twisted wrist, making sure his fingers nearly touch his hair and Alex yelps in pain, his knees trembling as he tries to stay upright.
"Alpha Artemis." Selena repeats and I see movement from the corner of my eye. "I know you're angry- wait I know Red is angry right now and it's not helping your mood after what happened but you need to calm down before you hurt him."
"What's happening?"
"Who are you?"
"Oh me, I'm Jeremy, Alpha of white moon pack."
Red I need you to calm down.' I snap closing my eyes tightly to take back control.
No! She growls in my mind and I clench my jaw.
This is not the time for you to throw a tantrum so I am ordering you to calm the freak down!'
She whimpers quickly retreating back and I sigh finally letting go of Alex. Straightening up to find Jeremy and Selena staring at me in concern and I release a tired sigh turning around to face Alex.
"I'm sorry about that." I mutter and he raises his hand up, rolling his shoulder until it cracks and rubs his bruised wrists before he looks at me.
"I shouldn't have touched you but I need you to understand that Alpha Luke is not someone you should mess with."
I purse my lips. "Alex, I get that you're concerned but there's nothing you need to be worried about."
He shuts his eyes, groaning in frustration before opening them. "I know that but he plays dirty and unfair and even though you might have skills up your sleeves, he can still beat you."
I smile, nodding at him. "We'll see."
Selena brought a fresh change of clothes from the house. Finally I can move about freely, the dress was amazing but I need to be comfortable. We are standing behind the monument, what appears to be a huge stadium in front of us.
Jeremy along with Damien and Selena are beside me. The sun is almost setting and I sigh.
"You ready Alpha?" Selena questions, bouncing on her feet excitedly and I smile at her antics, nodding.
She giggles clapping her hands and Jeremy stares at her amusingly. "Why do you look so excited?"
She grins. "Because someone is gonna get their ass kicked to the moon."
He raises his brow, moving his gaze to me and I shrug waving it off. Taking one last deep breath, I step inside, the whole placed filled with excitement and tension that is so thick that it'd probably be difficult to cut through.
I find, Luke already there smiling cockily when he sees me approaching. His eyes raking over my frame, lingering a bit on my chest and he licks his lips, staring at me lustfully and winks.
Ignoring him, I face forward, my arms behind my back as the six elders sit at the podium, this time Abner in the middle and Raymond on his side.
He stands up, the same annoying calmness surrounding him as his eyes dart between the two of us. "Alphas are you ready?"
We both nod and he straightens up. "Very well. You choose whatever form you want to fight in and as we all know it's to the dea-"
"I'm not fighting to the death." I cut him off and Luke chuckles, glancing sideways to face me.
"Are you scared that I'm going to kill you?" He taunts and I shrug.
"I'm not fighting to the death and that's final." I say fixing them a meaningful look and Abner regards me for a minute, his lips tilting up in a small smile before it drops.
"Have it your way Alpha."
I send him a grateful nod, turning on my heels to face Luke. He stares at my stance for a minute before letting out laugh.
"This would be so easy." He mumbles smugly. Rolling my eyes at him, I remove the hair tie from wrist, tying my hair up in a secured ponytail.
"Ready?" Abner's voice booms. Everyone seems to be on edge, definitely thinking about the outcome.
"Luke is gonna crash her."
"She looks like a pup, I feel so bad for me."
"He's gonna choke on her fist." That one came from Jeremy and I smile. He's fun.
"Begin!"
I stand still, waiting for him to take the first step and he does, throwing a right hook in my direction and I step aside allowing him to punch the air. He looks at me, eyes narrowing into slits and raises his left leg to the side of my rib to which I block with my arm.
He growls and begins to attack, throwing precise punches to which I dodge them. This is wasting time and I need to finish so I can get back to Storm, I'm missing him already.
I'm done playing.
Sighing to myself, I quickly catch his fist in my hand and his eyes go wide. I smile,turning it around and using his own fist to punch him in the nose. The force cracks it and he yelps in pain, quickly grabbing it.
Jaws drops, the place deathly silent as they all stare at me.
He looks up, wiping the blood from his nose, a glare on his face as he clenches his jaw. "You're gonna regret that!"
I roll my eyes, yeah I'm done with the games. In a blink of an eye, I appear in front of him and his eyes widen but before he can get a word out from his mouth, I quickly grab his head twisting it and he drops to the ground.
"Well that was fun." I mutter wiping my palms. Looking up to find them staring at me in shock and I sigh pursing my lips at them, one question probably clear on their face.
Is he dead or not?
Stepping over his body, I stand in front of the podium. Raymond stands up, eyes ablaze with anger and points a finger in my direction. "You killed him!" He accuses.
I just want to rip that finger. Red snaps and I nod in agreement.
"He's not dead, just unconscious." I state flatly and he scoffs staring at me in disbelief.
"Do you think I'll take your word for it? You're nothing but an imposter who is claiming to be the..."
I zone out, my jaw clenching as he continues to disrespect me. My heart ringing in my ears as my eyes shift between violet and red.
".....your parents must have---"
"Enough!" Red snaps taking full control. The atmosphere instantly darkens as we emit our dominance over every single person. They groan trying to resist from baring their necks to me, even the elders find it difficult to sit still.
I snap my gaze to them and his face pales. Narrowing my eyes at how pathetic he looks right now.
"You pathetic little pup. How dare you disrespect me?"
He quivers in fear and I smirk to myself.
"Alpha Artemis." A voice I can remember as Abner speaks and I snap my gaze to him baring my teeth in his direction.
I now get why Artemis says his calmness is irritating because it really is. Heck I can't even smell an ounce of fear radiating from him.
Tilting my head to the side, I observe him curiously. " My name is Alpha Red ."
He nod his head at me. "Very Well Alpha Red."
"You don't seem to be afraid of me." I state and he rolls his eyes.
"Sorry but I'm not."
I smile nodding my head. "Well you should."
He sighs running his fingers through his dark hair. "Well I don't but the others do. You need to calm the hell down and let Artemis take back control."
I scoff, jumping up and landing next to Raymond, wrapping my hand around his throat and smirking in satisfaction once he starts choking. "This is exactly what I need."
"I get it, you're mad that he disrespected you and like you said he is a pup but trying to kill him is not the best option." He reasons.
Give me back control Red.
Ignoring her, I continue to squeeze tighter watching as he struggles against me, his breath coming out short.
Red! Don't make me do what I did the last time, now give me back control!
I narrow my eyes at him, clenching my fist to my side before finally letting go allowing Artemis to regain control and I retreat to the back of her mind.
Sighing in relief, I take in deep breaths bringing my gaze to Raymond gasping for air and I purse my lips shifting my gaze back to Abner.
He looks at me with a smile, shaking his head to himself before he points at something behind me.
Frowning, I turn around an irritated sigh escaping me once I realize the damage we've done. Every single person gathered have their necks bared to me with the heads lowered and knees to the ground.
"I think you should release them." He speaks up placing a hand on my shoulder and I sigh, reigning in my alpha power.
Their reactions are instant, a sigh of relief escaping them but what I did not expect was the terrified looks and growls directed towards me.
Thanks a lot Red.
She growls looking away from me.
Abner claps his hands together drawing their attention away from me. "Stop acting like idiots and let's go back so the meeting can start."
The growls stops and one by one they leave the arena. Some throwing glares at me, others staring curiously and Jeremy well he looks excited.
He approaches me pulling me into a side hug but quickly let's go, rubbing his neck nervously an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."
"It's okay." I mutter sending him a small smile and he perks up immediately.
"You are literally amazing! Wanna be best friends?"
I laugh, nodding my head and he fist bumps the air.
Selena rushes towards me, pulling me into a hug, a breath of relief escaping her. "I am so glad you're okay. They were both jerks and I wish you would have allowed Red to deal with them."
I pull back, shaking my head. "It's okay. I think the message was loud and clear to them and everyone else."
She smiles. "Well then, let's start the meeting shall we."
**********
The meeting definitely did not go anywhere because either certain Alphas had problems with the idea, fights nearly broke out and my personal favorite the glares sent my way anytime I contributed.
They really need to let go of their stupid pride and arrogance and accept the fact that the most dangerous pack in the world is led by a woman.
Selena and Damien left to the house according to my orders and now I find myself wandering in the halls of the elders.
Every elder looks different than the other but I can see some similarities.
I stop at the picture of the moon goddess, my mind blank as I stare at her.
"Is this how they think she looks like?" I mutter to myself, tilting my head to the side and folding my arms in front of her.
"Well how do you think she looks like?" A voice speaks from behind me and I shrug, turning around to face Abner. The same air of calmness surrounding him as he stalks towards me with grace and confidence, arms clasped behind his back.
He smiles once closer, gesturing his hand to the picture and I face it back again blankly. "I have not seen her so I wouldn't know."
He chuckles, nodding. "True but who knows maybe you have."
I raise my brow at him. "Have you seen her before?"
He remains quiet just staring at the portrait and sighs turning to face me, brows furrowed with lips pressed thinly. "Why are you here Artemis?"
I'm taken aback by his blunt tone, my eyes narrowing suspiciously at him. "I came because you guys insisted that I show myself."
He stares at me flatly. "You could have ignored the message."
"I could have." I say looking at the picture and twirling my hair around my finger and then turn to face him again. "But I didn't."
He sighs, something close to hopelessness in his eyes and I frown tilting my head in curiosity. "Does my presence bother you?"
"Yes it does and if my suspicions are correct you don't need to be here Artemis." He states flatly, giving me one last exasperated look and walking away from me.
I frown at his retreating figure, my eyes widening when it dawns on me. "You know my parents."
He stops but doesn't turn around, shoulders tensed up and gives me a nod before disappearing around the corner.
The walk back to the house was a blur, how does he know them and even if he does, why can't I remember him.
The light are off once I reach the house, I'm guessing everyone is gone to bed. I sigh sliding the doors to the patio, the cold air hitting my skin and the waves crashing against the shore.
Folding my legs underneath me, I look up to the sky, the stars didn't come out tonight just an endless expanse of darkness.
I miss mate. Red whimpers and I sigh nodding my head.
So do I Red, so do I.