The Half-Blood

I Will Be Your Prince

Artemis' scent changed the moment she became a wolf. Mayson was the first to smell it, it washed over him like a tsunami; his senses went crazy. He kicked a vampire in the face, pushing a couple of his own away to reach for the shreds of the dress he had given to Artemis. He grabbed one of the torn sleeves, brought it to his face and took a deep breath. His eyes darkened, his body shaking with excitement. Mate, he thought. He shared this thought with Caleb.

The Beta had rushed to Alpha's aid, pinning him against the wall, pale and trembling. He was torn between his duties to the pack and his instinct to run out in search of Artemis. Her scent was dizzying, confusing him. Mayson had told him his theories about it, but he had no proof; Caleb was convinced that his twin was just infatuated with Artemis. But he knew his brother, and he knew he was not the type to be easily infatuated, and this thing had been going on for years. Now, everything seemed to make sense and no sense at the same time.

Brother, I have to stay with Jared, he can't even stand up. Bring her back to us. Caleb told him telepathically.

Mayson rushed out of the house. He stripped off his clothes, tucked the tulle sleeve into one of his jeans pockets, and transformed into a large white wolf. Her scent was unique. He continued thinking about his little Artemis and her magnificent red she-wolf; he purred. He picked up the scent and began to run after his beloved.

He was also curious about his twin's feelings after that night. They had grown up knowing that there was a high probability that they would one day share the same mate because they were twins. In the werewolf world, this was not unusual; in fact, it was rare for twins of the same gender to have different mates. To Caleb, Artemis was just a little girl he had met years before, with a terrible story behind her. They would talk about all that in the days to come. Now the priority was to find his she-wolf. He did not like the idea of having to share her.

Mayson was not only the best warrior in the pack after the Alpha, he was also an excellent tracker, but the further he ran, the more the scent of Artemis faded. How could he have gone in the wrong direction? He stopped, wondering if he should turn back to look for more tracks, when he saw her. She was back in human form, lying naked under a tree. He approached her. She seemed unconscious. He sniffed her hair, howled. The intense, overwhelming smell was gone; it was back to normal. He licked her face and examined her: she was lying on her stomach on the ground, he studied her snow-white skin, the roundness of her buttocks, noticed the presence of several scars on her body. He licked her face again.

Artemis opened her eyes and found a wolf's muzzle in front of her face. She snapped to attention, startled, and looked at the wolf, who had a shiny white coat and two beautiful, differently colored eyes. "Mayson?"

A glow surrounded the wolf, and he returned to human form. Artemis turned her head in embarrassment as she saw his nakedness and realized that she was naked as well. She huddled against the tree and tried to cover herself with her arms.

"Mis, are you okay?" She nodded. Mayson sighed with relief. He knelt beside her. He had thousands of questions bouncing around in his head and just as many images of what he wanted to do to Artemis right now.

He stroked her cheek. "Did you feel it too?" he asked. Artemis looked at him in confusion.

"When you turned, did you smell me?" Artemis nodded.

While killing Odette, she had smelled a very strong scent that had attacked her. She had realized it was coming from the twins; confused by the sudden urge to go to them, she had decided to flee from the scent. When she was far away enough, the wolf calmed down and became human again.

Now Mayson stood naked in front of her. His scent no longer stunned her; she noticed that he smelled different than other wolves, like a wet dog with a fruity scent.

Mayson looked at her curiously. He came closer, sniffing her hair, her neck, her face. She smelled good, she was attractive, but nothing compared to what he had smelled just before. He could not understand what had happened. He felt Artemis' heartbeat quicken. He cupped her cheeks. "Are you sure you're ok, darling?" Artemis looked into his eyes. She felt safe and everything went dark.

She woke up in an unfamiliar bedroom and saw Mayson sitting in a chair next to the bed. "Good morning, darling," he said.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired. How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost a full day." Artemis relaxed and lay back down.

Mayson knew exactly why she had asked that question. After her parents had died, Artemis was found unconscious. His father took charge of her care, and he had her admitted to the best hospital in the state, which had a special ward secretly dedicated to werewolves. Mayson's father was the Alpha at the time, and he managed to make arrangements with the humans, to better control everything.

The day after she was admitted, his mother took all three of them to see Artemis. They went every day for about a month, but Artemis remained asleep. Over the months, they ran hundreds of tests on her and found nothing. Finally, they all became convinced that she had been cursed by one of the witches and would probably never wake up again. Mayson remembered the promise he had made to her the last time he saw her, when he was 11 years old.

He snuck into her room while his parents were talking to the doctor, squeezed her hand and said, "Promise me that you will wake up, Artemis. I promise that when you do, we will be married and I will be your prince," he kissed her on the forehead and left the room with tears in his eyes.

Artemis pulled up the sheet, afraid that she was still naked, but she realized that she was wearing a long t-shirt and a pair of black shorts, both too big for her. She sniffed the shirt; it was Mayson's. She looked at him and blushed.

"Tara dressed you," he said, almost to justify himself.

"How is she? And how is your brother?" She asked worriedly.

"Tara is almost completely recovered. She even offered to get your suitcase. Alpha is recovering," he said with a worried look.

Artemis remained silent; she wondered if Jared had participated in her journey into the past, since he was also somehow connected to Odette's mind. Maybe she would find the time to ask him.

"You were beautiful the other night. A princess..."

"I'm sorry about the dress. I'll pay you back."

Mayson smiled, "It was a gift. You don't have to pay me back. I'll find a nicer one, hoping you don't want to shift in it."

"I thought I couldn't shift," she said with tears in her eyes.

"And yet you did. A beautiful red she-wolf."

"But how is that possible? Isn't the first transformation supposed to happen on a full moon?"

"Well, sweetheart, you seem to be able to twist all the rules and beliefs of werewolves."

"What are you referring to?"

"You know that every werewolf has a mate chosen by the Moon Goddess." She nodded. "And you know that when that mate appears, you can tell instinctively, by the smell, by the feel." Artemis understood what he meant.

"I don't really know what I felt."

"I do. Your scent changes when you are in human form. It is less overpowering, but still wonderful. Do you remember what you were thinking when you were in wolf form? What did you want?"

Artemis tried to remember. She remembered the desire. Her mind slipped further back. Odette, the witches. A sharp headache erupted. She let out a groan of pain.

"Hey, sweetie..." Mayson said softly, sitting on the bed by her side. He stroked her right cheek. Artemis looked into his eyes, smelled his strange scent; she felt a warmth and desire wash over her that she had never felt before. Thoughts of the wolf came back to her. God, how beautiful he was. He was irresistible. She threw herself at his mouth. Mayson was caught off guard but returned the kiss immediately.

I can tell by your thoughts that Artemis is awake, Caleb said through the mind-link.

Mayson pulled away from Artemis' mouth. "If something is wrong, you must tell me."

She did not answer, resuming the ravenous kiss and jumping onto his lap. He narrowed his eyes. He thought maybe it was the wolf instinct taking over. He let her have it, enjoying her passion.

A few seconds later, the door opened. It was Caleb and Tara.

"Oh holy s**t!" exclaimed Tara.