The Half-Blood

Mates

Artemis kept thinking about what Luna had just explained to her: wolf instinct, the voice of its essence, as if it were a second consciousness. After all that information, she had run away, saying she needed a hot shower to relax. Why, if her wolf side was present, could she not control the transformation like the others?

With her hair still wet, dressed in a bathrobe, she stood still in front of the bathroom mirror in Mayson's room, not knowing exactly what to do. Luna Astrid had told her that the wolf nature comes to the surface with strong emotions. Some can control it like Caleb, others are more wild and instinctive, like Mayson and Jared. She tried to think about her wolf, her shift, her hatred for Pete. Her eyes did not change color. She opened her mouth: no fangs.

She felt overwhelmed by everything that was happening to her: not only Pete and the unexpected shift, there was also the mate-bond issue.

She had never had a real boyfriend before. Now she was about to have two of them at the same time. Her only experience with a boyfriend had been with a guy called Spencer: she was sixteen, he was eighteen and they dated briefly. He gave her the kind of attention she had never received from boys before, and treated her with a gentleness that was new to her.

After about a month of getting to know each other, he invited her to the lake for an evening with some of his older friends. Tara was unable to go because she was busy with her boyfriend at the time, Chase. A six-foot-two Redwood Pack cabinet.

After an immeasurable amount of beer and a few drinks, he took her by the hand and dragged her through the trees. He kissed her hard, growling. She liked Spencer, but when she felt his hand slip under her skirt, she pulled him away.

"Don't be a goody-two-shoes, witch," he told her. "We all know you've been waiting for one of us wolves to f**k you savagely."

Artemis was shocked, she realized that he had only been nice to her for s*x, he had lied to her from the very beginning. But that was not the worst of it. Soon three of Spencer's friends joined them, surrounded her and tore her shirt off.

I promised Uncle Pete not to use magic against werewolves. She repeated herself over and over in her mind.

The boys began exchanging jokes and giggles, pulling out their fangs and starting to growl to scare her. Spencer got closer and hugged her tightly and kissed her again. He grabbed both of her buttocks and squeezed them. She responded by biting his tongue and he recoiled, spitting blood. One of his friends slapped her hard across the face, Artemis fell to the floor, two pinned her hands and feet, and Spencer, still with blood on his mouth, climbed on top of her.

"Come on, show me your red bush," they all laughed. Artemis was forced to use her powers to save herself, but even that time she lost control. She focused on her desire to hurt them, and the four werewolves soon began to feel terrible pain in their heads and bleeding from their eyes and noses. They fled, and Artemis escaped the attempted r**e. When Pete found out about what happened, and although she explained that it was they who had attacked her and not the other way around, he punished her. As he beat her brutally, he challenged her to do the same to him. He had always been careful not to hit her hard in the face, to avoid leaving marks, but her body was scarred from chains, whips, and glowing coals. The bruises from that night's kicks healed quickly, thanks to an ointment her mother had taught her to make.

She heard a knock at the door. "Mis, are you okay?" Mayson asked.

She opened the door to find him inches away. "Sorry, this is a lot of new information for me."

"I know," he said, stroking her cheek. "If you have any questions, doubts, or just need to vent, I'm here."

She had total chaos in her mind, her world upside down. The obsessed thought and anger she felt for Pete was eating at her; she knew her wolf was itching to sink its teeth into his flesh. If he had left her with the Moonrivers, her life would have been more peaceful, maybe she would have gotten to know her werewolf side better. She would have had the twins all to herself long before that. Mates, the voice whispered.

"What promise did we make to each other? I don't remember, sorry."

Mayson smiled. "You don't remember because you were in a coma."

"So, I didn't agree to tighten that promise," she smiled at him.

"I was a stupid child. I asked you to promise me that you would wake up, and I would marry you, becoming your prince."

"That's the sweetest thing," she said, touched. The two exchanged a longing look. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him gently on the mouth. "Maybe I still want to be your prince," he whispered.

Mayson reached into Artemis' red hair and pulled her to him, kissing her passionately.

Artemis felt the warmth seep into her chest. Mark him, the she-wolf said. Make him yours. The voice sounded far away.

She brought her hands to her temples, "Shut up!" she said, pulling away from Mayson.

"What does she want?" he asked.

"She says I have to mark you."

Mayson smiled and licked his lips. "My wolf wants me to mark you too, as well as do many other things to you." Artemis blushed.

"We use more logic, telling ourselves we need to take our time. They know that as much as you find your mate, there is nothing more you will ever want in life, and they want to seal the union."

"Would the mark seal our union?"

"Yes. It would either activate a mental link, like the one we have with the Alpha, or the one I have with Caleb. We would both feel your emotions, and we would always know if you were in danger."

"We would have no privacy," she said, frowning.

Mayson laughed. "Mental connections can be closed, you just have to learn how." She thought back to the only experience she had with a psychic link: the one with Odette. She shuddered.

Mayson took her hands and pulled her to him. He kissed her with transport. Artemis felt her arousal rise.

"I've been waiting for you for years, Artemis," Mayson said, his canines bared and his eyes black with excitement. Mayson opened her robe and dropped it on the floor. It revealed Artemis' nude body, her firm, full breasts. Artemis stood motionless, watching him. He took a deep breath and smiled mischievously, sniffing her arousal. He caressed her breasts, gently squeezing her ni***es. "You're beautiful," he said in a raspy voice. Artemis' heart raced, her breathing became labored. Mayson carried her to the bed, and laid her down.

"Has anyone ever touched you?" He asked her. Artemis blushed and nodded no.

Mayson climbed onto the bed and stood over her, smiling at her. He began to kiss her neck, then the shoulder blade, between her breasts, the belly. "You are mine," he growled. He returned to her breasts and began to suck voraciously at one n****e. She moaned. He slid his hand between her thighs. Artemis winced.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked.

"No." She gasped.

Mayson touched her gently, slipping his fingers into her intimacy. He lowered his face between her thighs and began to lick her. Artemis panted at this new contact she had never experienced before. She became even wetter and Mayson growled, aroused.

Mayson continued to dance his tongue in Artemis' intimacy, gently moving a finger inside her while massaging one of her breasts with his other hand. Artemis noticed that he began to make a strange purring sound. He began to suck on her c**t, and within minutes Artemis was overwhelmed with pleasure, her body stiffening and then relaxing as she let out a cry of pleasure. She wrapped her thighs around Mayson's head and heard him giggle. He joined her at her side.

"You taste incredible," he whispered to her hoarsely, licking his fingers. Artemis turned to her side and brought her hands to Mayson's belt. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I want to return the favor."

"That's not necessary." He took her hand and kissed it. He held her close and dipped his nose into her now almost dry hair, scented with the inn's lavender shampoo.

"Why won't you?" she asked. She was close enough to feel his hard-on. Mayson swallowed and tried to control himself. "That's enough for today," he said with a hint of sadness. "We'll have a chance to do whatever you want when we get home." Artemis sighed and cuddled into Mayson's arms.