Luna's POV
It was the last day of my high school career. I was going to miss this place to be honest. I'd miss my friends, our adventures, all the sports teams especially the lacrosse and soccer team (I played on both of those teams.), the horrible cafeteria food, the bitchy teachers and administrators, even our crappy school mascot, the chinchilla.
Of course, the seniors had pulled the annual senior prank. This year, they stuck plastic utensils in the grass outside of the building. They also messed up some of the sports equipment. The administrators didn't care much for this year's prank. Probably because it wasn't as bad as last year's senior prank. Last year, the seniors had stink bombs all over the school, released one of the science teacher's pet snake into the building, and three seniors went streaking during the Homecoming football game.
Math class wasn't the same without Tina. I couldn't help but to miss my Math buddy, and how she'd always throw random objects at me, or how we'd write pointless notes to each other and get in trouble in the process. When the bell rang, everybody ran out the door, except for me. I slowly walked out, took one final look at the classroom, then made my way out in the hallway. I saw my usual friends hanging by my locker.
"LUNA! OH MY GOSH, I'M GOING TO MISS YOU SO MUCH!" Rachel ran over towards me, picked me up, and spun me around. The girl was tiny, but she was pretty damn strong.
"I'm going to miss you too." I managed to speak out. She had a tight grip on me. "Would you mind putting me down?"
"Oh, sorry." She apologized, and finally released me.
I sighed. "I can't believe we're graduating." I said while cleaning out my locker.
"Me neither." Destiny had agreed.
"Too bad Tina didn't make it this far with us." Amanda said quietly.
We all nodded in agreement. We all had made plans to graduate together. But, know it's just the four of us. Tina was the life of the party, things won't be the same without her.
"We can still have an awesome graduation." Rachel blurted out after our awkward silence. "I can host a graduation party, and we can take it from there."
We all agreed to her idea. After a while, we all said our goodbyes, and the three of them left. I stayed by my locker to clean it out some more. While I was putting the last notebook in my book bag, I suddenly felt a tiny sting on my neck. I flinched, and rubbed the area, thinking that it was just my imagination. I closed my locker, then went out to the parking lot near my car. Griffin was already waiting there. He was talking to Carmen.
"We totally have to hang out over the summer."
"No problem. I have your number already. Just text me, and we'll make plans." Carmen shrugged.
"And make sure you buy condoms if you plan on having sex." I interrupted.
"Luna, for the last time we're not dating." Griffin threw his hands in the air in embarrassment.
"Yeah, yeah, if you say so. Now get in."
Griffin groaned, but then he turned to hug Carmen before getting in the passenger seat. Just as I was about to get in my car, a familiar black Toyota Corolla pulled up. I smiled, knowing who it belonged to.
Sapphire stepped out from her car as I walked over towards her.
"Do you always have to park your car next to mine? It's makes mine look like garbage." I pretended to complain.
Sapphire rolled her eyes at me. "Don't be jealous, just because my car is better than yours." She smirked, and grabbed my waist and kissed my forehead.
I felt myself blush at her touch. I then that same sensation near my neck. I winced at the feeling. Sapphire noticed my reaction, and looked at me with concern. "Are you okay?" She asked.
"I'm fine." I lied. "My neck is just bothering me a little, but I doubt it's anything major."
"Your neck?" She asked. Without waiting for my answer, she pulled my hand away, and examined the spot.
"What? What is it?"
"Do you feel okay to drive?" Was all she asked.
"Yeah, I should be fine."
"Good, then follow me. We're going to my place." She got in her car, and Carmen followed behind with a confused expression on her face. I had the same look plastered on mine when I entered my car. Sapphire drove off, and I followed close behind. She lead us through a familiar path in the middle of the forest, away from the city. We soon reached a house located in the middle of nowhere
"This isn't home." Griffin stated the obvious.
"No duh. This is Sapphire's place." I assumed.
"Why are we here?"
"To be honest, I don't know myself." I replied and unbuckled my seat belt. We got out of the car and followed Carmen and Sapphire into the house.
"Oh, no way..." Griffin gasped in awe. "This pace is huge."
Sapphire just smirked as she walked next to my side. She turned to face me. "You and I need to talk." Then she looked at Carmen.
Her little sister returned the look and nodded. "Griffin, let's go to my room and give these two some privacy." She winked in my direction.
Griffin agreed and went with Carmen to her room. Before the door shut, I shot Griffin a look, telling him not to try to bust any moves on his secret love interest.
"So..." Sapphire sat on the couch. I sat next to her. "About your neck."
"What's wrong with it? Did you see anything?"
"It's acting up because of the mark I gave you."
"Mark? What mark?" I asked while frantically rubbing my neck.
"When we were together yesterday, having sex for the first time, I bit into your neck."
"Why?"
"It's a way a wolf claims their mate. I had a hard time trying to contain myself from doing so, but I just couldn't resist the urge to make you mine. I didn't want to bite you just yet."
I nodded. So, that's why my neck was irritating me all day. I had read somewhere about a wolf marking it's mate. "Wait, so, why didn't you want to mark me in the first place?"
"It's rare for a wolf to have a human mate. Because the human body is more sensitive, it's risky for one to be marked. There's a low change your body will accept the mark, and you could possibly die from it."
I stayed silent as I looked at her. I didn't know what to say in a situation like this.
"It's common for the mark to irritate at first. If your body sees it as a threat, then you'll feel excruciating pain in about..." She looked at the clock, "An hour and a half. You'll sweat as your body heats up to a temperature of 103 degrees. Five degrees less then the body temperature of a shifter like myself. You''ll be like this for half an hour, and if things go smoothly, then the mark should disappear after that. You'll be stuck with a slight fever for a few days, but after that you should be fine." She shrugged. "If that doesn't happen, then your temperature will increase, and you'll probably die."
"Won't you be able to take me to a hospital or anything?" I asked in shock.
"The hospitals around here are filled with humans, they won't have a clue as to how to treat you. And, I can't send you to my former pack for help. They won't do anything but let you die. I could probably look up some stuff on the Internet, but it probably won't be much help."
There was an awkward silence again. I wasn't sure on how I should feel at this point. Should I be upset that she brought this upon me? "How do I know if my body accepts this mark?" I decided to ask.
"The irritation will go away, and you'll feel tired. You'll fall asleep for a while, but once you wake up, you'll feel normal again."
I sighed. It was just a matter of time before I knew what was going to happen to me.
"Look, I know this is a bit dramatic and all, and I want to apologize for marking you. I just couldn't wait any longer." Sapphire looked at me with those gorgeous green orbs of hers.
There was no way I could be upset at her with the look she was giving me. "It's okay, I understand... I think." I giggled.
She smiled, and pulled me into her arms. She kissed me soft on the lips, then my nose and forehead. I loved how affectionate she was towards me.
We decided to go upstairs into her room. It was so much cleaner than mine, surprisingly. I had suggested that I should've gone home instead, but Sapphire claimed that she had to keep an eye on me. Besides, if my sister saw the mark, she'd probably spaz out and who knows what she'd do.
Sapphire turned on the TV, and we watched a few cartoons, even though all she wanted to do was climb on top of me, and rip my clothes off. It was pretty obvious due to that look in her eye. I would let her, but I know we'd probably go on for hours, plus our younger siblings were downstairs, and I'm not sure if I'd be able to silence myself.
I rested my head on Sapphire's legs as she sat with them crossed on the bed. She played with my hair, and on occasion we made small talk. After an hour or so, I did feel a bit tired, and before I knew it, my eyes had shut themselves closed.
Artemis' POV
"Okay Boss, I'll see you tomorrow."
I looked out from the middle of an alleyway to see where the oh too familiar voice was coming from. I looked around, and saw Jen walking out from her job. I looked back to see Alisha and James watching from a distance in wolf form. They both nodded their heads, signalling the start of the operation. The sun was still shining a bit, due to the long summer days, but we were in the least populated part of the city, and the darkest part. Hopefully, things will go as planned.
I stepped out from my hiding place, and Jen instantly froze right before she crossed the street to head to her car.
"I thought I felt somebody watching me." Jen said turning to face me. "What are you doing here, Artemis?" Her cold blue eyes pierced into my grey ones.
"Jen, you have to listen to me." I said in a low voice, hoping my cousins wouldn't hear. "You need to get out of here."
"Well, that's what I planned to do when I clocked out from work." She crossed her arms.
I shook my head at her. "Look, you can't go home tonight. It's not safe."
"Why not? Is your little pack gonna be waiting outside the house?"
"Yes, in fact, they are. They plan to at around midnight."
Jen scoffed. "Okay, and why are you telling me this? Obviously, you just want to lead me away from home, and back to your place where your pack will be waiting. This is a set up, and I'm not falling for it." She turned back around and started walking again.
I growled. "Jen! Stop, you have to listen to me."
"Why should I!?" She yelled back. "So I can get myself killed like how you did to my parents?"
"I didn't mean to kill your father!" I snapped back at her. "But, he was going to kill my sister, and I had to do something. On a side note, I brought you to the alternate house so I could protect you that night!"
"But, you still knew about it." I saw tears starting to stream down her eyes.
"Of course I did. But, there was nothing I could do about it. There was no way to stop that attack. You guys were heavily outnumbered, something was bound to happen." I held both of her arms now. "You may have lost feelings for me, but I haven't lost mine for you. Ever since I marked you, you've always been on my mind even after we broke up."
Jen looked away from me. "Just let me go, Artemis." She said in the lowest voice possible.
"No, not this time. I'm not gonna let you go and get yourself killed."
"Artemis, what the hell is taking you so long?" Alisha mind linked me. She was getting impatient. I almost forgot she was watching along with her brother.
"Shut up Alisha, there's been a change of plans." I growled back at her.
"What do you mean, 'change of plans?'"
"You know damn well what I mean. I'm not letting you take her."
"Why you little..." Was all I heard before I saw both James and Alisha pounce out and surround us. "Give us the girl, Artemis." Alisha snarled at me.
"Over my dead body." I said, and then shifted. Without any hesitation, and lunged myself at Alisha, and shoved her into a nearby wall. She yelped in pain, but quickly stood back up to shake herself off.
In the meantime, James got me from behind and had dug his claws into my back. I howled, and then struggled to get him off of me. His sister then rushed towards me, and I took the opportunity to spin around and throw James onto Alisha. When they got up, they growled at each other, probably yelling at the other like how siblings do. James then took another go at me while his sister stood back. He aimed for my front legs, but I countered his attack by dodging him, and pouncing on his back. I pinned him down, and nipped at his neck. I wasn't able to sink my jaws into him all the way, because he was struggling to push me back with one of his paws.
I was distracted from my attack when I looked up and saw Jen trying to fend off Alisha. Jen was probably one of the best skilled hunters, but she wasn't prepared for this attack, so she wasn't winning the battle at all. I swiftly got off from James, and tackled Alisha into a garbage bin.
"Jen, run, get out of here."
The girl obeyed my command, and made a run for it.
Alisha kicked my jaw, and I whined due to the amount of pain she put me in. James then tackled me, and we rolled around on the ground, but I managed to push him off, and I ran after Jen. She was about to go in her car, but I stopped her.
"Forget the car, and get on."
She gave me a look, but then something registered in her eyes. She then hopped on, and I bolted out of the area and entered the woods. Unfortunately, Alisha and James weren't too far behind, so I had to run faster, before they found out where I was heading to. Soon enough, I lost them, thankfully, but I still kept running until I reached the house where Sapphire and Carmen where now living. Someone else was with them too, I wasn't sure who, but I could smell the scent, and it didn't belong to a wolf, but I was too tired to care at the moment.
I crouched down, and Jen got off. I stood back up, and looked Jen in the eyes once again. My wolf was about as tall as her, 5'7", so we were exactly eye level. Yes people, our wolves can grow that large.
"You saved my life..." Jen managed to breathe out.
I didn't exactly know how to respond, so I just lowered my view to the ground. Then all of a sudden, Jen wrapped her arms around my furry neck, and rested her head into my fur. My eyes widened in surprise. But, I felt my body relax and I sighed in content while I closed my eyes. What surprised me the most though, was what came out of her mouth next.
"Artemis... I'm sorry." She mumbled softly against my fur. "I'm so sorry."