Artemis' Pov
Storm was immediately rushed to the pack hospital once we got back and went into a coma after that, since then I haven't left his side. It's been a month and half since we rescued him and I sent out Damien and a few other people to find clues on where Arson could be but they always came back empty handed. Apollo has also been a frequent visitor and I tried to sack him to go back home but he refused giving the excuse that he wants to be there for me but I know the reason why he hasn't left. He wants to make sure Red doesn't do something crazy which in actual sense he's not wrong to think that way.
She has been deadly silent ever since we came back from Pennsylvania, she doesn't respond when I call her or try to talk to her. Her silence can mean one thing, she's out for blood.
I stare at Storm's body on the bed. He looks so pale, the bruises on his skin are slowly fading but still visible and my blood that is following through his system is not providing me with the results I need. I grab his hand and it feels so warm, squeezing it gently and raising it to my lips, giving each knuckle a kiss.
"Please wake up Storm." I plead silently hoping that he will actually wake up. My face falls when nothing happens and I look away, closing my eyes tightly to prevent the tears from falling. How long will I have to endure not hearing his laugh, or seeing his grey eyes light up anytime he talks about something passionate.
I miss him so much.
The door opens and I don't even have to turn to know who it is.
"How is he?" My brother says, stepping closer to the bed and laying a hand on my shoulder. I shake my head and he sighs squeezing my shoulder. "Don't worry he will come back."
I bite hard on my lips, my heart clenching in pain as I continue to watch his unmoving body. The only thing that is comforting me right now is his heartbeat.
"I know he will." I whisper still staring at him. "But I just want him to wake up Apollo, I want him to hold me and tell me everything will be f-fine." My voice cracks a little as I speak, the tears I tried so hard to keep at bay start falling freely. He immediately lifts me up, turning me around and crashing my face against his chest as his other hand cups the back of my head keeping my face buried.
"Let it go Artemis." He whispers pulling me closer to him and I don't know if it's his scent or the way he said it but I find myself sobbing uncontrollably, every bottled up emotion, the guilt that I couldn't save him faster, the anger at both Arson and myself all comes out and my body shakes.
"It's all my fault." I cry out clutching his shirt tightly in my fist. "If I had told him the truth, if I had done that from the beginning none of this would have happened."
Apollo sighs. "Maybe but I think it would have still happened because Arson knows how much mates mean to werewolves and he knows how much you love him so one way or another he would have still hurt him."
I can't deny the fact the he is not wrong but I still blame myself for it and Apollo knows that, so he pulls back gazing into my eyes deeply. "Stop blaming yourself. I don't think Storm would like that."
I nod and he gives me a small smile, wiping the tears from my face and he chuckles shaking his head at me which causes me to frown, face scrunching up in confusion.
"What's funny?"
He chuckles again. "I thought girls look beautiful when they cry but you just look plain ugly with the snort dripping from your nose." And proceeds to use the sleeve of his shirt to wipe my nose, staring at it in disgust.
My jaw drops in surprise, eyes wide and I open my mouth to protest only for the door to bang against the wall and Ollie stepping in with a grim look on his face.
"We found the mole."
Those words pull me out of from myself pity, and I clench my fist to my side, jaw tightening as I stare at him coldly. "Take me there."
He nods leaving the room and I turn to face Apollo but he gives me reassuring smile. "It's okay, I'll watch him. Just do what you have to do."
I nod in appreciation, my face softening when I look at Storm and I lean forward, placing a kiss on his forehead. "I'll be back soon." I mumble, straightening up myself and giving him one last look before the coldness seeps in again and I walk out of the room.
Ollie leads me away from the pack hospital, immediately shifting into his wolf and heads deep inside the forest. I don't even bother shifting, just running alongside him till we reach the deeper part of the forest where we keep prisoners. It's been quiet empty for some time until now. He stops in front of the huge metal gates, quickly shifting before putting his clothes on.
He turns to face me, lips pursed before he sighs running his fingers through his hair and looks back at me blankly. "Try to control Red." Is the only thing he says before opening the gates and walking in, his shoulders tensed and fist clenched tightly to his side.
His statement causes a slight stirring in my mind and I know Red is coming forward. I take deeps breaths, wiping every emotion before passing through the gates. The moment I step inside, a growl threatens to escape me once I capture the scent of who the person is.
It is at this moment Red finally comes in, growling loudly in my head and I have to close my eyes to prevent her from taking control. She's been dormant ever since we got back and now that she knows who is behind this, she's out for blood and quite frankly so am I.
Let me handle this.
She only growls in response. I sigh, walking down the silent hallway, my shoes can barely be heard and I let go embracing my power as an Alpha and a goddess and suddenly the place is filled with the stench of fear.
I follow the scent till I reach the cell, where I find Ollie, Selena, Samaria and Damien all waiting for me, their expression unreadable but I can tell they are trying really hard not to show how much they are scared.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit Alpha?" I hear the mockery in the voice once he calls me Alpha and I can't help but smile.
"How are you Ace?" I question politely still keeping the smile on my face. Ace, one of the people I trusted with Storm. He watched over him when I wasn't able to do so and I should have noticed it sooner but I guess I didn't and I will forever blame myself for putting him right into the enemy's hand.
He shrugs, relaxing his back against the wall. "I'm good Alpha. What about you? Are you okay?" I ignore the meaning behind his words and just nod my head.
"I'm great thanks for asking." I reply watching him carefully. He watches me without a care in the world and I tilt my head to the side, staring at him from top to bottom before another amused smile appears on my face and I clasp my hand behind my back to prevent him from seeing the trembling of my fists, just wanting to pound it repeatedly in his face.
He looks up, a smile on his face. "Aren't you going to ask why I did it?"
I know why you did it and I'm going to make sure that I send you back to wherever you came from, I mentally say to myself.
I shrug, staring down at him on the ground. "I won't but you can tell me the reason yourself."
He laughs loudly, slapping his knee and all before he rises to his feet walking close to the metal bars separating us. Damien and Samaria immediately step forward, obscuring his view and he tilts his head, amusement in his eyes as he stares at them.
The Ace I know and the Ace standing in front of me aren't the same people. This Ace looks sinister, calm and completely not caring about what will happen to him. He steps closer again and Damien glares at him.
He raises his hand in surrender, taking a step back before pointing to them. "You have loyal followers but it doesn't matter anyway since they will all die alongside with you."
I raise my brow. "Oh Really?" I state calmly and he nods his head quickly, eyes lightening up.
Ollie steps closer to me but I keep my gaze focused on the person in front of me. He is so lucky that I'm so patient and mentally prepared myself else if Red was in control, he wouldn't be grinning so smugly right now.
"We need to know what they have planned so do your thing." Ollie whispers in my ear and I shake my head, clenching my fist tightly behind me as he grins in my direction.
"It won't work." I reply and Ollie frowns.
"Why won't it work?" Selena pipes up, glaring at Ace and he blows air kisses to her.
I continue staring at the familiar person in front of me, my eyes glancing at the black veins on his on his neck that are really not noticeable from afar but once closer you can see them. I lift my gaze to him, tilting my head to the side and he copies my action. Within that movement, his eyes turn black before it goes back to it's original colour of brown and it's then I notice exactly who the person is and I clench my fist tighter.
"Because Arson took his wolf away and made him something else. Isn't that right Ares?" I question calmly, the air suddenly charges, Ollie and Selena quickly stand by me, their shoulders tensed, and eyes glowing as their wolves comes forward.
Red growls loudly in my head, trying to break free from the control I have on her but I hold still because if she does, there's gonna be a blood bath.
Ares shakes his head, a quiet chuckle escaping his lips. "When my son said you were smart, I didn't believe but now you have impressed me Artemis, just like your mother."
At the mention of my mother my composure nearly crumples but I straighten up, tapping Damien and Samaria on their shoulder, signaling them to move.
Samaria turns to me with a worried look on her face. "Are you sure?"
I smile nodding my head and she sighs, stepping aside hesitantly.
"Damien."
He tenses up before also sighs, stepping aside. I unlock the cell, stepping inside and closing it behind me.
Ares chuckles again, staring at me. "You must be stupidly brave to come here."
I should have known Arson will do something like this, placing the soul of his father into someone that was a willing participant. I know Ace is still there because I can sense his presence but just not as strong as the person currently occupying his body. If that is the case, then it's possible to bring him back.
As if knowing the train of my thoughts he licks his lips, a charming smile on lips. "I wouldn't even bother but how is your mate, did my son do well? I think he got his skills from me."
The more he speaks, the more I'm tempted to crush him but I can't do that because this is Ace's body. I need to save him somehow.
"You tried." I say stepping close to him, my arms still clasped behind my back. "But you failed."
The god of war narrows his eyes at me and there's a sudden gush of wind. I bow my head, turning around to give my brother a bored look only to freeze when I find his eyes turning sliver.
"Ares." He grits out menacingly taking a protective step in front of me. Looking behind me, I find the rest on their knees, head bowed as a result of Apollo's dominating presence. The difference between Apollo and I is that while I ended up being half of everything, he full is a werewolf and a god, no trace of human in him.
My father was human and my mother was a werewolf and a goddess. If part of me dies, I will still have the others supporting me but the same cannot be said for my brother even though he is immortal.
"Apollo!" Ares chirps up excitedly staring between the two of us. "I didn't know you were around. If I did I would have met you first."
Apollo remains silent, a murderous glare on his face and Ares pouts looking down dejectedly.
"I thought you would be excited to see me, after all you tried to kill me which you did but here I am."
"I should have crushed your soul as well." Apollo replies calmly but I can tell he is fuming from the inside. The air in the room is tensed, all the power being emitted is suffocating as well.
A god doesn't full die unless their soul is destroyed but in the case of my mother because she ended up sacrificing her whole self, she destroyed her soul as well.
Ares lips tugs up in a slight smirk as he brings his gaze to mine. "This reunion has being lovely but it will even be better once you finally join your parents." And before Apollo can reply to that he suddenly disappears.
Apollo releases a thunderous growl, the ground beneath us shaking and the rest shiver in fear and if possible even go lower than they already are to the ground and he disappears from the room.
Deciding that I can't let him do this, I quickly chase after them, catching up within seconds as I find Ares ahead of us. He looks behind, grinning smugly before jumping on a tree. Apollo growls even loudly causing the birds to come out from the hiding place, disturbing the once quiet forest.
I jump over a log, quickly catching up to him but then my eyes widen, stepping behind a tree as an arrow pierces the place where I was standing.
Where did he get that?
I step out a little, only to hide behind again when it grazes the tree. Well they don't call him the god of war for no reason. I look over to see Apollo also hiding behind a tree as well, his gaze sharp as he looks around.
"You can't beat me!" His voice rings out loudly and I clench my fist tightly, eyes glowing as Red struggles in my head trying to take control.
Apollo looks over to me, eyes narrowing slightly in question as he scans me up and I give him a reassuring smile letting him know I'm okay. His tensed shoulders relaxes for a bit before he becomes rigid when Ares jumps to the ground.
"Come out." He commands and Apollo is the first to step out eyes narrowed into slits, a dark aura surrounding him. I follow suit, my fist clenched as I glare at him.
He darts his eyes between the two of us, a dark look on his face. "This reminds me of when you both came up there to fight me, a ten and an eight years old." He says before laughing to himself.
Ares straightens up, one arm behind his back and crooks his index finger beckoning us to him. "Let's see if there is an improvement."
And just like that, the battle begins. Apollo appears in front of him, grabbing his arm but Ares sidesteps him using his other hand to punch his side but my brother sees it early and grabs his wrist before raising his knee to his groin.
Ares steps back, eyes narrowing as he glares at Apollo but his expression remains deathly calm. Realizing that it might be difficult than he thought he runs and Apollo meets him halfway, giving him an uppercut.
Ares grunts, eyes blazing in anger and before Apollo or even I can see what is happening, he grabs the side of his head, bashing it hard against a tree causing it to snap in half and before my brother can recover from that he raises his leg to his gut but I immediately rush forward, grabbing his leg and flipping him but he lands on his feet, raising his head to look at me.
"Artemis shall we dance." He says and before he can even move, I stand in front of him grabbing a fistful of his hair and raising my knee to connect with his jaw. His head flies back and he staggers a bit. Using that I step behind him, grabbing his head from underneath his chin and throwing him over my shoulder.
This time he falls to the ground but Apollo catches him, giving a swift punch to his chest, the sound of something cracking resonates loudly through the forest. Ares rolls onto his side, coughing out blood, rubbing his chest lightly.
He coughs one last time, raising his head, a sinister look in his eyes as his lips tilt up in a slow smirk in my direction.
I should have noticed it, should have seen the evil look in his eyes when he put his hand in his boot but I didn't and neither did Apollo because it all happened to fast even for me as he threw the knife in my way.
I couldn't move, just stuck staring at it coming towards me. My heart pounding fast in my chest, I could hear the faint shout of my brother telling me to move out of the way but for some reason I couldn't and just when I thought it was going to hurt me, a sudden gush of wind passes by me and I shut my eyes tightly waiting for it to pierce my chest but nothing happens.
So ever so slowly, I open my eyes, my heart beating fast in my chest, my senses coming alive as I breathe in the scent of the person, the only person who can make me feel this way.
"Storm." I whisper and he turns around, grey eyes shining brightly as a small smile makes way to his face brightening up his whole features.
"Hi Artemis."
A/n : Storm has woken up and a new character has been included. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
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Peace out ;)