𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐒✔️

THIRTYEIGHT|AMONGWOLVES

THEOS

I broke from sleep to see the room cast in a golden glow, the early morning sun peering through the giant window had me lifting an arm from the sleeping form beside me to shield my eyes, still groggy from rest.

I turned over, burying my face in Mare's white blonde hair and pulling her closer to me. Enjoying the feeling of her comforting warmth against me.

She shifted in her sleep, turning over so that we were face to face. I stared at her sleeping face, an unnerving feeling beginning to fester in the pit of my stomach.

I frowned as a horrid realisation dawned on me. The female before me wasn't Mare.

Mare didn't have a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose, Mare though still youthful was older than the female before me.

She would never be Mare, and it killed me.
It killed me that every time I looked at her the first thing I saw was Mare, that I couldn't see her for who she really was, her sister Artemis.

Every time I looked at her impossibly perfect face it awakened the beast of grief inside me, a monster who couldn't be killed, only quelled.

Why did I put myself through this, it would be far easier to send her away, to be with Flick, the mother of my unborn child. Everything would be so simple.

But it wouldn't feel right.
Maybe I was just addicted to the pain, was my final thought as I pried myself from the bed, careful not to wake Artemis.

I showered and dressed quickly before making my way to the pack house for my meeting with several Alphas from neighbouring packs.

At this time of the morning the pack house echoed with life, the halls were filled with Lycans of every age and nationality hustled through, all eager for breakfast.

All bowed their heads in respect as they passed and snippets of their conversations filled my ears though I tried to block them out.

"Good morning Alpha." A small group of girls all batted their eyelashes at me as they passed, I nodded dismissively.

Though it was as passed that they began whispering to one another. Usually the adolescent ramblings of a bunch of teenagers would be of no interest to me, however a certain name caught my interest.

"..- I mean she practically admitted to causing Mare's downfall." One of the girls whispered.

"I wish I was there, what did she actually say?" Another girl replied.

I spun around to face the gaggle of suddenly frightened looking girls, all staring at me with wide eyes. "Alpha... I didn't realis-"

"Come with me." I growled, forcefully grabbing her arm and dragging her to my office, practically throwing her inside and slamming the door behind me.

"Please." She begged, "I didn't mean anything by it!" She held up a hand as if to protect me from striking her.

"Sit." I barked, slumping into my own leather chair and grabbing the bottle of bourbon I kept under my desk, pouring myself a glass.

The girl sat there silently with a deer in the headlights expression.

"What were you talking about?"

"It's nothing really.." She tried to diffuse the situation which only served to fuel my anger further.

"Spit it out." I hissed, slamming my glass on the desk. She flinched, her eyes growing increasingly fearful. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to ward off the ache that began to pulsate inside my skull. "What is you're name?"

"Stella."

"Well Stella, just tell me what you know."

She was silent for a moment as she chewed her cheek, probably debating what would happen to her if she didn't speak.

"It happened last night.. We were washing up from dinner and she began to feel pains.." She bit her lip, refusing to meet my eyes. "So we sat her down but still the pains persisted, she must have been hallucinating as she would stare off into blank space, and when we asked her what caused the pains all she said was her."

The girls words grew increasingly frantic. "And right before she passed out from her pains she cries out... Mare, it's all my fault.."

"Who are you talking about?" I gritted my teeth, one of my own pack members had an on-site to my mates death that I hadn't known about. Someone was about to be fed to the wolves when I found out who this traitor was.

"I shouldn't have said anything-"

"Stella!" I roared, standing with such ferocity that my chair skidded back with a screach. "Who!"

Her whisper was so quietly I almost missed it.

"Flick."

The door shook with several strong knocks. The Alphas were here, and part of me was glad, it was a welcome distraction to the information I had just received.

"Come in."

I didn't want to even begin to process it, I couldn't, I wouldn't.

As the door opened in walked the three Alphas, I looked up to find that Stella was already gone, like a coward she had fled at the first opportunity.

"Gentlemen, welcome." I shook each of their hands in turn as they took their seats before me.

"Something wrong Theos?" Alpha Kaden asked.

I shook my head dismissively as I lied. "Just the usual, petty arguments between teenage wolves."

"I thought I was the only one that had to deal with that shit on the daily." Emmet chuckled, as all the Alphas laughed. He was the newest of the Alphas, taking over after Amelia, or Astoria murdered her Alpha mate, Hades.

"You'll get used to it." Greyson slapped comfortingly Emmet on the shoulder.

I smiled along with them, trying to hide the aching in my chest beneath a false flash of teeth and jovial banter. "Now, down to business."

***
Each of the Alphas mensioned has their own book!
Alpha Kaden= ARDEN (over 1M reads)
Alpha Emmet= AMELIA (over 500K reads)
Alpha Greyson=AMORA (over 200k reads)
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