Page 4 of Protected By Artemis
“For the last time. Leave. Me. Alone!”
Artemis clucked her tongue.Was everyone around here so rude and stubborn?
“You’re clearly in need of some help, I mean, look at this place.” She gestured around her, where only one side of the aisle had chairs unfolded and set up. Bundles of flowers and rolls of burlap were stacked in the corner, while two young teens were arranging a table with what appeared to be DJ equipment. Only half of the lights had been strung across the ceiling, the rest trailing down from the wooden beams above like limp spaghetti. “And, really, a wedding in a barn? This is like, so twenty-tens.”
After being unceremoniously kicked out of the kitchen, Artemis thought to make herself useful by helping with the decorations. After asking around, someone directed her toward the person in charge of the decor, a petite, brunette woman named Hannah.
But, much like Hank, she was not receptive to Artemis’s offers of assistance.
“I don’t want your help or need it.” Hannah waved her away. “We’re fine.”
“Surely we can come up with something better than this?”
Hannah’s head snapped up. “And what’s wrong with this?”
“Nothing’s wrong with them, of course. But it’s just so…” She wanted to saybasic, but it might sound insulting. “It’s not…him. My brother, I mean. I mean, this is his ceremony too, right?” While the flowers and decor would probably all look beautiful once everything was set up, it just needed somethingmore.
Something to make it perfect.
“I got it!” she exclaimed gleefully. “Wait right here!”
“What—”
With a snap of her fingers, everything and everyone around her—the barn, the roses, Hannah and her crew—disappeared, only to be replaced by a resplendent field of tall, bright yellow flowers stretching out toward the sky.
“Ah, there you go. Sunflowers.”
Reaching up, she touched one of the large, yellow blooms, caressing the soft petals and running her fingers over the textured center. She closed her eyes, thinking of a memory from long ago.
Artemis had been crying. Why, she couldn’t remember; it was thousands of years ago after all.
Actually, she could remember why. She just didn’t want to.
Because it was the day she found out the worst news of her life.
“And what are you doing, moping around here?” Apollo had asked as he appeared behind her. “If you wanted to be aroundthe sunall you had to do was come to me and—what the hell? Have you been crying?”
“Go away, Apollo,” she had snapped. “Leave me alone.”
Those words, as they always did, had the opposite effect. “No way.Pes mu, what’s wrong.”
“Nothing, I—” The sincerity in her brother’s eyes had broken something in her, and so she burst into tears as she crumpled in his arms.
And that day, in that field of sunflowers, even as she thought her life would be meaningless, Apollo had managed to make her forget her worries, not to mention, had her laughing in no time.
“It’s perfect. You’re perfect and whole,” she declared to the bloom. “Just the way you are.”
Smiling to herself, she picked several blooms, gathering them in her arms until she couldn’t carry anymore. Using her magic, she transported herself back to the barn.
“I’m back and—” She blinked. Hannah and the teens were nowhere to be found. “Huh? Where’s everyone? Hannah?”
Hearing no answer, she shrugged and trotted out of the barn.
The Alaska pack’s complex outside Anchorage was vast, covering acres and acres of lush, pristine forest, miles away from civilization. While members of the pack lived in cabins all over the land, according to Geri, most of the pack’s daily social activities revolved around the main lodge, a humongous log cabin structure in the center of their territory, and their community center. Thankfully, that meant she didn’t have to go traipsing around the forest, looking for Hannah. She quickly spotted the she-wolf walking down the path toward the lodge.
“Hannah!” She scurried toward the older woman. “Hannah!” She sped up, eventually catching up.
Hannah continued to walk, barely giving her a glance. “What now?”