𝓒𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓼 𝓛𝓾𝓹𝓲𝓼| Twilight

Chapter XIII

That night I went out to find Kore, or probably her finding me — It's been a few days now since I last saw her. She's probably mad at me since I've been spending more time with Bella, but now Bella was acting more like herself, slowly but surely.

I stepped into the forest while looking for any sign of her but I caught the whiff of her scent, she was here — Something inside me exploded as I burst into a run to find her and I did at a brook with a few other dogs. I shout for her as I run up but only to be pushed and thrown back, I groan but gasp as I see a white retriever standing in front of me with a growl — His sharp teeth glisten with drool as it drops on me.

If looks could kill, then he had it.

"What do you want?" He snarls. "You don't belong here."

"Rheo it's okay." I heard Kore speak as she came towards us. "Artemis is a friend."

The white dog snarls ceased while just staring at me — He was very intimating and it shows every bit of it, then Vali and his mate walk up to us. "Rheo. Stand down son." He spoke.

Rheo huffs, "Yes sir." He sat down as he placed his jaw under Kore who moved herself from him and literally hops towards me. "What are you doing back here Artemis?" He asks.

"I just wanna see..." I turn to Kore who smiles and wags her tail. "See...Your pack." It was a lie. A huge lie.

"Huh..Okay." She said with a smile while wagging her tail. "So what would you like to do?" She hops around me. "I-im not so sure, possibly teach me how to hunt." She tilts her head in confusion.

"You want to...hunt?" She said in confusion.

"Um..yess??"

"Okay." She pushed my rump for me to stand, "We'll do an easy hunt like catch a fish."

I was a bit confused, "I went hunting with Charlie before and it's not easy."

She chuckles, "Then you'll do just fine." She assures me. "Salls?" She calls. Salls must be short for Sally, a Kai Ken looks up at us after digging a hole, "Would you like to join in to see Artemis hunt?"

"Why not." She replies.

Well great I got two females about to watch me fail this hunt.

••°••°••°••°••°

We've arrived at a rushing river that's a mile away from her pack, the sound of the waterfall crashing in my ears. Me, Kore and Sally were standing at the edge at the rushing river. "Are you sure about this?" I yell out.

"Sure!" She yells back. "Just don't slip and die!"

"Well that's helpful." I mutter to myself. I slowly made my way towards the rushing river, gripping onto the slippery rocks. "This is fine." I say to myself. "This is fine. Just grab a fish and get the hell out of here."

I waited and waited until I saw a large fish swim past me — I readied myself and grabbed the fish by my teeth, I lifted the fish from the river and held it up to show the girls.

Suddenly my front paw slid and I fell into a rushing river while crying out "Shit!" Water clashed around my body while I tried to swim ashore but the pressure from the waves was too much. Thankfully I grasp onto a nearby rock while still holding onto the fish — I hoist myself on the rock and jump onto solid ground.

Kore and Sally run towards me, I notice that worrisome in Kore's beautiful eyes, "Artemis, are you okay—are you hurt?" She frantically asked me.

I simply drop the fish and respond, "One helluva rush am I right?" That made her chuckle then she nuzzled herself onto my neck. "I'm just glad you're okay." She whispers into my ear. I simply wag my tail and nuzzle back into her

"Kore! Sally!" A voice shouts. I look to see a Carpathian shepherd dog coming towards us, "I was sent by your father to find you, are you alright? I heard commotion by the river." They spoke.

"We're okay, Patch." Kore assure. She grabs the fish and drops it in front of Patch. "Give this to my father, I'll take Art back to his home, it's getting late anyway."

it was true the sun was now shining through the trees, creating an orange hue color. "Would you like a bodyguard?" Sally asks.

Kore chuckles, "No but thank you, Salls."

"Alright." I followed Kore away from the river as she led me back home.

••°••°••°••°••°

"So, Rheo." I started with a nervous chuckle, even saying his name struck fear inside me. "He seems...nice?'

She giggles, "Yup, that's Rheo. Father suggests that he's been abused and used in fights, after his escape he ran and joined us."

"Is.." I pause before continuing. "Is he your mate, he sure acts one."

She scoffs, "No! We're not anything."

Now I felt guilty for asking, "I'm sorry for asking."

"Don't worry about it besides," We walk through the foliage, and lay on a bluff that overlooks the forest. Our paws dangling over the edge. "I don't want to bring puppies into this world, I'm not ready to be a mother." She finished.

I just stared at her, I understood how she felt, well kinda.

"My mother once told me that we'll never be ready for something until we're ready, whether it'll be you becoming a mother one day or me trying to figure out my life. But you'll never know." I will explain.

Kore smiles, "You're mother is wise."

"She is." I miss her. I place a paw on hers, "You'll find a mate that'll love you, Kore. And give you pups when you're ready." I assure her.

Kore looked up at me with her mix-matched colored eyes. "Thank you, Artemis. You're so sweet."

I chuckle, "I know."

We'd stayed like this as we watched the sun set over the mountains, Kore fell asleep on my side — I really didn't want to wake her but I was away from the Swans for hours now. So I slowly but surely got up and succeeded. I didn't wake her, I licked her head and left to go back home.

I was tired and mentally exhausted, so I fell asleep in the backyard.