Chapter 22

Kasper and his first brother Prince Oliver were locked into a gruesome fight and Kasper was obviously winning. He had his claws into Prince Oliver's shoulder while he cut the rest of him up with his other hand. He had already overpowered him and now he was making sure Prince Oliver couldn't gain the upperhand anymore. Artemis watched while she kept a hold onto the Tiger Queen making sure she didn't run away. "You're making me miss all of the fun, my love. I really wanted to show you what I'm made of." Artemis said to the Tiger Queen who was still unconscious. Artemis squatted down and put her hand on the Tiger Queen's stomach. 'Is she really with child?' Artemis asked herself. 'How will I be able to tell?' She wondered. Just as the thought crossed her mind Artemis could feel the life inside of the Tiger Queen. There was a baby in there. A baby girl. She was going to be powerful and as beautiful as her father, the Snake King. "Pregnant and still stressed with war!" Artemis scolded the unconscious Tiger Queen. "Hey!" Artemis yelled over to two Beastmen from her side. "Take the Tiger Queen back to the Castle. She is my prisoner!" Artemis commanded. The two Beastmen discarded their opponents and rushed over to take the Tiger Queen. After her hands were no longer full Artemis looked around for her family but then she felt a sharp pang in her chest. Artemis looked down and saw that she wasn't wounded but that meant that one of her mates or family members were injured and she's feeling their pain. "Where are you?" She asked out loud. Suddenly she heard a loud screech come from the sky. "Bowen!" Artemis yelled, realizing that he was the one who was injured.

Following her instincts and senses Artemis made her way out of the fight to where she felt that Bowen could be. "Bo?" Artemis called out frantically. "He is no more!" The Snake King said, slithering to her dragging Bowens limp and bloody body "He is not dead. But you will be. And you won't even get to see your daughter be born." Artemis told the Snake King in a sinisterly calm voice. "You can't kill me. I can eat you Beastmen all day long!" The Snake King said confidently. Artemis knew she wasn't any ordinary Beastman. She knew that the Snake King would be used to fighting Wolves in their Wolf form because we are supposed to be stronger that way. Artemis was different because she could fight exceptionally well in either form. Artemis' anger flowed to her core and exploded giving her a burst of power and adrenaline. She rushed forward with no clear plan of action but to take down the Snake King. The Snake King himself was surprised at such a female with such power he was easily distracted enough to get a blow to the face by Artemis. "I am Artemis!" She yelled, punching him again. "Princess of the Wolf Kingdom!" She yelled, hitting him again. "Queen of the White Wolf Kingdom!" Artemis said, grabbing his hair and pulling him down to the ground. "I have your Tiger Queen as my prisoner already but you will die for hurting my husband." Artemis told the Snake King. Before Artemis could land another blow on the Snake King he shot his tongue out and hissed. Almost immediately after a louder hissing noise could be heard almost like crickets in the night. "Calling for backup?" Artemis asked the Snake King. "Even if I couldn't eat you all by myself. My children could finish the leftovers" the Snake King said to her. "Disgusting!" Artemis scolded before twisting the Snake King's neck and cutting it off with her clawed hand. Artemis stepped back and took a deep breath. "It's finally over!" she said out loud. She felt it coming. Artemis was gaining another stripe. Other Beastmen around her were groaning and doubling over gaining their stripes as well. Artemis howled into the sky victoriously. She felt unexplainably relieved that this war should be over today.

"Father?" A young voice said. Artemis looked up and saw a young man. Maybe eleven or a few years older. "There goes that Wolf Queen. Get her!" Voices yelled. Artemis looked back and saw a mob of Tiger Beastmen looking in her direction with murderous intent, she dropped the Snake King's headless body to the ground and was standing up ready to fight. "Who dares!" Artemis growled. Artemis didn't wait for the men to charge at her, she went after them instead the same way she went after the Snake King. There were more than ten men waiting to get their hands on her but Artemis ripped through them all tearing them apart coming out bloody. Once she started Artemis only got more and more mad. Artemis shifted into her wolf and grew bigger than she ever has and went after more Tiger Beastmen until they started to run from her. "We have your Tiger Queen captive! The Snake King is dead! Give up!" Kasper yelled to Prince Oliver. "Kill me!" Prince Oliver yelled back. "No my Prince!" Yozar yelled trying to get in between Kasper and Prince Oliver. "Let me die!" Prince Oliver yelled, struggling. Artemis ran over still in wolf form and Kasper finally let go and backed away. "Kill me my Queen!" Prince Oliver begged Artemis while getting down on his knees in front of her. Artemis responded by letting out one loud and hard bark in his face "Pull yourself together. You're the first prince!" Artemis said in disbelief. "I have failed. How can I face you and the rest of the family" Prince Oliver cried. The Wolf King came over accompanied by the Second Wolf Prince. "You do not need to die as well brother. You fell in love and became bewitched into doing what you did today. Luckily your mate underestimated us greatly." The Second Prince said to Prince Oliver. "The war is done. You have failed. I can go back home to my mate and my Cubs." The Second Prince said. "I have failed. I have cubs but no mate!" Prince Oliver cried. "Bring your cub's here. To the Wolf Kingdom and start over" the Wolf King said. "I will have to hold you as a hostage because of your betrayal but you will always be home in the Wolf Kingdom" the Wolf King added. "Since this was Queen Artemis' war and she won. Forgive me but I think he should be her captive as well as the Tiger Queen" The Second Prince interjected. "Prince Oliver. Prisoner of the White Wolf Kingdom!" The King said out loud, solidifying his word. When everyone heard this they all whooped and hollered with excitement jumping up and down. "It is finally over. We have to get Bowen some help." Artemis said concerned and relieved at the same time.

"I brought a couple of doctors with me, don't worry!" The Wolf King said running over to where Artemis pointed. Bowen was in bad shape but he was still alive. The young Snake Beastman was sitting there in between Bowen and his father. "What happened?" he asked as everyone crowded in a circle. "Where are the other little snakes? Why is it just you?" Artemis asked him "As soon as father called us for help we felt his connection break. The Snake King is no more. I am the oldest and strongest. I will have to hunt then down and kill them all" the young man said with murderous intent. "Can the doctors tend to my mate?" Artemis asked him. The young man looked down over at Bowen laying there unconscious. "Yes!" he said, moving out of the way. "I have a sister on the way right? No matter what she will be the Snake Queen because we don't have a female and my brother's will come fight to win her and become The Snake King." He said to Artemis. "I will make sure your sister comes into this world healthy but I can't guarantee I will let just anyone come and take her from me. She's a miracle despite having a mother like the Tiger Queen'' Artemis said to the young man. "What is your name and how old are you?" Artemis asked the young man. "I don't have a name. I was hatched not long ago and my father fed us crystals to make us stronger and grow faster. But I'm the most powerful of all my brothers and I'm the only one who can shapeshift,'' the young man said. "Ezekiel, who leads his people. King of the Snake Kingdom." Artemis said, naming the young man. "Ezekiel?" He repeated. "Like I said. I won't let anyone take a baby or even a cub. You people have shown me you have little regard and are very irresponsible. You're even talking about killing your own blood brother's. There has to be some common ground in order to restore peace" Artemis said to Ezekiel. Yozar came over to them to join in on the conversation. "Snake Beastmen don't usually stick together as such. They only rally for their King. They fight and eat eachother like common foes" Yozar said to Artemis. "My father comes from a new line of Snake Beastmen. He is a descendant of Curtis and Bai Qing Qing" Ezekiel told Yozar. "I see!" Yozar nodded, thinking it over. "What exactly does that mean?" Artemis asked, confused. "Bai Qing Qing is a human female who came to the Beastworld many years ago and settled down with a few different mates. One of them was a Red Snake King and his name was Curtis. They had a few batches of Snake cubs and they became a bit more domesticated down the line as the legacies passed on. Their nature should be a lot more calm but I'm guessing the Tiger Queen came in and ruined all of that. Ezekiel, how would you like to move forward? Queen Artemis is right. A female should be raised by someone who can protect and raise her right if she is going to be a Queen." Yozar said to Ezekiel. "Beastmen raise their mates all the time, why can't I?" Ezekiel asked.

Apollo came into the conversation out of breath and excited. "Your father injured my brother in law, the King Consort. He has repaid his life debt to him when my sister defeated him and captured his pregnant mate. By Beast law she has rights to the child and to you as well and to all of your brother's who ran away. She is trying to give you a path to a peaceful life. She has already declared you King of the Snake Beastmen now." Apollo said to Ezekiel. "What if my brother's-" "You will have the full support of Queen Artemis and the White Wolf Kingdom!" Artemis said to Ezekiel. "Young man. You have the whole world in your hands now." Yozar told Ezekiel. "My Queen." Danny said, coming over. "Yes, how is Bowen?" Artemis asked Danny. "He is heavily injured but he will recover. We can't move him back to the castle so we have sent word to his father to come help." Danny told her. "But will he recover?" Artemis asked. "Yes. In a few days' time" Danny told her. "We'll have to set up a temporary camp here then" the Wolf King said, looking around. "My cub's!" Artemis said, suddenly missing them. "They are with Jenny, Little Wen and their cousin's. They will be fine for a few days. I'll go back tonight and check on them" Danny said, rubbing her back. "I'll go with him. And we'll make sure that the Tiger Queen is secure as well" Apollo said to Artemis. She nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay that's good. The war is over. Once Bowen recovers we can go back to our normal lives. Lets go check on Bowen'' Artemis said, forgetting about Ezekiel still standing by his fathers dead body. "Wait. I choose peace!" Ezekiel yelled after Artemis. "Are you sure?" Danny asked Ezekiel who nodded rapidly in response. "We'll talk about it later then" Artemis said to Ezekiel.

(One week later)

Days have gone by and Bowen is slowly recovering well. The Snake King had pierced his tail through Bowen's chest, tried to rip one of his wings off and also tried to bite off one of his feet. Thankfully Bowen wasn't poisoned and thankfully despite his wounds he recovers quickly especially with his father John there to help. All he has to do is stay in bed and take his medicine. Knowing Bowen would need some time to recover, Artemis and Apollo sent for their cubs along with Jenny and Little Wen. The battle was over and the family was reunited.