An Unlikely Alliance

Chapter 5: You Again?!

Artemis sprawled out in the plush grass as she hummed quietly, flipping the page of her book with her thumb as her eyes skimmed across the paper. Birds chirped back in forth in the trees surrounding the field, the tall grasses swaying in the steady wind. She breathed in the fresh air, the sweet smell of the many wildflowers surrounding her with a gentle bliss.

It was so peaceful here. Quiet even. She would never in a million years find someplace like this back home. She closed her eyes, the image of the handsome young Alpha appearing in her mind exactly as she remembered him. His broad chest muscles rippled under his bandages when he laughed, and his bright white smile was so blinding that she could barely picture his face.

But then again, she also saw the loathing in his cold green eyes, his ivory-like fangs glistening as if blood were dripping from them. The first time he had laid eyes on her, she thought for she that he was going to kill her, and she would have been powerless to stop him. Artemis shuddered and set down the book, "I wish I knew him better than just his friends names. It's quite an awkward situation I've been put in....."

She heard the snap of a twig and her eyes shot open, sitting up in a flash. Before her stood the dark-haired werewolf himself, staring at her with a surprised look on his face. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, she thought to herself, Well, 'think' in my case. She closed the book under her hand, glancing up at the Alpha.

There was a moment of awkward tension, but he broke the silence saying, "So, what are you doing around here, Miss Bloodfang?" Artemis smiled, crossing her legs, "I guess I just couldn't stand being cooped up in a wooden cage on such a beautiful sunny day. Especially when there's a perfectly good meadow I could be relaxing in." She noticed him eyeing her dress, and she rolled her eyes, "What? I have casual clothes too, you know. I'm not a completely unholy Goth child."

He rubbed his neck, "Heh, sorry. I just don't think I've ever seen a vampire that looks so normal before. It's a bit unsettling." Artemis giggled, "Guess that's what sets me apart from the others, then."

He came over and sat next to her, flattening the grass underneath him. He propped his leg up and laid his arm across it, looking over at her, "You really are one mysterious girl, Bloodfang." She raised an eyebrow playfully, "Coming from the guy that hasn't even told me his name yet." He froze, "Oh yeeeeeeaaaah. Eh hem, sorry about that. I'm Luka. Luka Starwing." Artemis blinked, "Starwing?" Luka nodded, a bit sadly, "It's a lineage thing."

His ears perked up a bit and he reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a small black object no bigger than a bumblebee. Artemis looked closely at the small charm, "What's that thing?" Luka held it up, "One of the demon horns from the set you gave me. I miniaturized it." Her mouth dropped and her eyes began to sparkle, "Woah! How'd you get it to shrink like that?!" Luka grinned at her amazement, "One of my many known talents." He opened his other hand that was beside him to reveal a fine spider silk thread with a metal clasp at the end.

With a swift movement, he threaded the tip of the silk cord through a tiny loophole in the top of the horn, dropping it into her lap in seconds. Artemis just stared at it, glancing back and forth between it and him questioningly, as if her brain just couldn't register what just happened. Luka chuckled, "A gift. After all, you are the one who actually killed the bastard."

Artemis picked it up and fitted it around her neck, taking off her black lace choker. Looking down at it, she lifted the charm in her palm, "That's a pretty nifty power ya got there, if I do say so myself. What's the limit?" Luka paused, "What?" She stared at the charm, "Of what you can shrink."

His ears flattened and he went quiet, a shadow over his eyes. Artemis immediately felt bad, fingering the hem of her dress nervously, "I'm sorry, magic abilities are a personal thing. I shouldn't have asked." Luka crossed his legs, pulling his tail to the side, "It's fine.....it's just, bad things tend to happen when we use our kind of magic..." "Who's we?" she asked curiously. Luka looked up at her, "My family. We've been hunted by demons for it for as long as I can remember." She felt like she knew what was coming, but now she had to know for sure. "Where are they now?"

His eyes went blank, but he managed to keep his voice from cracking for her sake, "Presently six feet under, I suppose. Dad was killed by the Demon King when I was just ten years old. Mom disappeared a little over a year after that. Ever since then I went to make my own pack, and I've been hunting down and killing any demons that dare step foot outside of their little safe zone."

Artemis sat there quietly for a moment, pondering the entirety of what he'd just said with a calm innocence look on her face. "So.....I should probably feel depressed or guilty after hearing something like that.....yet I feel neither. And though I cannot possibly relate to the loss of a close family member, I feel like I know more about you than you're letting on." Luka slightly smirked, interested by her reaction, "Really now? Be my guest. What exactly have you learned about me from my pitiful back story?"

Artemis put a finger to her lips, "Obviously, the fact that your father caught the attention of the Demon King implies that he was of high standing and wielded considerable power. On the other hand, your mother had lesser strength and was therefore likely eliminated after the defeat of her mate. And what intrigues me more is that the word "Star" in your last name clearly indicates one of your inherited powers, as well as "wing" which describes a Guardian form for werewolves." She paused, considering her conclusion, "So, according to these observations, I have concluded that you, Luka Starwing, are in fact a Pureblood werewolf, known in the most ancient legends as an Ultima."

Luka was speechless, shocked that someone had actually figured out his only true secret. Artemis smiled and stood up, picking up her book, "Honestly, by now I realized that you could've killed me yesterday if you'd wanted to. I'm just glad that you didn't." She turned and walked away, her dress fluttering in the wind behind her. Luka watched as she disappeared into the trees, her words echoing in his head.