Chapter 1: Artemis

Higanbana pack, the special force of wolves dedicated to protecting the kingdom of werewolves. The pack members came from the bloodline of Fenrir, the guard of Selene. It said they were skilled in any fight in both human and werewolf form. They were the warriors that once fought the hunters and vampires that wanted to eliminate werewolves. They were the most respected pack even if their existence was purely kept hidden. Only when the king summons them do they answer in secrecy.

What made the Higanbana pack strong? It was because their blood was pure and never mixed with any other werewolf blood. They never had a mate. Moon Goddess made sure of that. For warriors like Higanbana wolves, mate was the last thing on their minds.

But for the last twenty years, Higanbana never produced male offspring even the Alpha.

And that’s why, I, Artemis Knight, the next Alpha was being paired with an outsider.

“Dad, this is unfair!” I screamed at him. “Do I not have the right to choose my pair?” I confronted my father as soon as I heard about the news.

“Little pumpkin, you are at the right age and we need a strong bloodline to continue our pack. You know we are not just a simple pack.”

I heaved a sigh.

“Dad, you do realize I’m just twenty,” I said, frustrated.

“Yes and like I said, you are at the right age. You’ll meet him later. You have to mate with him.”

Ugh. Damn.

I brushed out my long brown hair again, searching for other distractions to keep me busy. My caramel eyes were not betraying my inner turmoil. Dad has paired me with a male from the king’s side.

“You realize we might meet him today, right?” my wolf said.

“It’ll be good if we never paired at all. Damn it. Why would father go and pair me with someone I don’t even know.”

I never wanted to find a pair. Not yet. If I was honest with myself, I'd admit that I’m not ready and afraid to be rejected once my pair found his own mate. All I wanted was for him to love me for ME, not because of my rank.

I straightened her spine. With one last look at myself in the mirror, I steeled myself to walk down the staircase of the pack house. My parents were there somewhere, Alpha Ryan and Luna Michelle. She loved my father but their relationship has been strained for a while now.

Mom disagreed with several of his decisions about the pack and was vocal about it. Most of their arguments surrounded how he, and the pack, treated the females as second-class citizens. He tried using his Alpha power to make her submit but it never worked. Mom was a direct bloodline and was the strongest female Alpha warrior. She was not born as Alpha but she was amazing. I was the first female born in the Alpha family. And currently the bearer of Fenrir’s legacy.

I was treated well by everyone, but not because I was the Alpha's daughter and the next in line. I could take down every wolf in the pack. If my father allowed it, I would be the top warrior of the pack. The only wolf I hadn't beaten in a fight was my father. He refused to spar with me, no matter how much I tried to provoke him.

The main floor was crowded with all the unmated male wolves in hopes of being my pair. The aroma of many wolves reminded me of being in high school. School starts at age four for my pack and the surrounding packs because at eighteen werewolves can find their mate. Well if only my pack was blessed with mates.

"Hi baby," the voice sent chills down my spine before he came around the corner into the light spilling from the windows.

"AXELL?" The disbelief dripped from my voice. “You are my father’s chosen pair for me?”

"The one and only baby. Come hug me!" He opened his arms but I eyed him warily. Axell was an average-height male wolf at six feet one inch, lanky with dirty blond hair that always seemed to need a cut and brown eyes that always seemed cold and calculating.

Axell Black from the Blueprint pack, the beta's second son was twenty years old and a man whore. His elder brother Seth will take over as beta when his father retires in a few years. Axell hasn't made a position for himself, he trains with the warriors but he lacks the brute strength to be a warrior.

Axell had a reputation for fucking every female human who he went to school with, regardless of her age. I had she-wolf witnesses who told Alpha Ryan that Axell sexually assaulted them, raping them of the virginity saved for their mate. Without concrete 'proof' my father dismissed the claims. By the time I had been alerted the rape happened, the she-wolf had healed, leaving only testimony. And worst, I was paired with him!

“He’s unworthy of us!” my wolf growled.

“I know.”

While communicating with my wolf, I didn't notice him getting closer until I felt something on my arms where he touched me.

My wolf growled. She hated Axell. I was about to give him some of my peace of mind words until a familiar scent hit her nose, causing her to push him away.

"Why do you smell like Charlotte?" I growled at him, at my height of five-nine I didn't have to look up much.

Charlotte was my friend and a special child. Her wolf was incomplete, that's why she was human with werewolf traits. She can't shift and because of this, her ability to think was like that of a child and sometimes an old woman. I constantly look after her.

"What are you talking about?" His words spoken lightly with confusion didn't fool me.

I snarled at him, pushing him against the house, "Don't lie to me. What did you do?"

"Who is Charlotte?" He played dumb and I grabbed his throat.

“She's in the woods, Artemis. She needs us NOW!" my wolf reported me.

I pushed forward and punched Axell in the face, knocking him out, before turning towards the dark forest. I finished shifting into my true form, a black wolf with hints of blue in the sun.

I finally caught a faint trail of Charlotte's scent ten minutes into the search. My wolf could sense Cora, Charlotte's wolf but she wouldn't respond to our call. Sounds of whimpering reached my sensitive hearing and I followed the smell and sounds.

"OH, my goddess Charlotte!" I shifted back to gather my friend in my arms.

Charlotte's blonde shoulder-length hair was a tangled mess, dirt, leaves and twigs littered her normally glossy tresses. Her dress was torn away from her breasts, red scratches marring the porcelain skin. I could see bruises on Charlotte's wrists, neck and legs.

Charlotte cried into my shoulder, shaking with the force of her sobs. "I'm here now, you're safe. I'm sorry Char. I'm so sorry." My tears mixed with her friends, guilt pressing on her chest.

"You didn't do this," sniffed Charlotte, "You have nothing to feel guilty about. If I hadn't been hiding from everyone. It's not your fault," Charlotte insisted again but I knew it was, however, arguing about it now was pointless. Char needed help, not my apologies.

I picked up Charlotte, carefully arranging the ripped dress to cover her butt and her front pressed against me to hide the exposed skin.

"Don't take me to Doc Howe," Charlotte whimpered.

I suppressed a growl, "I would never subject you to that incompetent ass. He's as egotistical as my father. I've tried to get Dad to replace him for two years. He treats the female pack members like shit. I'm taking you to the human hospital."

If Dad passes me the title, I’ll reshape my pack.