Chapter 27

Time has a way of creeping up on Artemis very quickly. In the blink of an eye a month has passed and now her cave home feels more cramped than ever. The Wolf cubs enjoy running around in human form just as much as they like being in Wolf form. The Little Snake Princess Eden is always slithering close behind and now the Little Ape cubs are even moving about. There is traffic all day long. Artemis' three mates are always busy. Danny spends a lot more time hunting and making foods and storing them. His reputation as a cook is cherished due to all of the hard work he puts into keeping his family fed. Not only that but he spends time making jewelry and clothes and shoes as well. He complains about how much work Artemis tries to put in alone and insists that such a big task should be left to him. Therefore when he's hunting a furry animal he always saves the fur to make clothes. Thomas is doing great work as well. For the time being he built a hut outside to use as a school to teach all of the children. Yozar visits more frequently to give him a hand with teaching all eleven children. Bowen is the same, just getting stronger and wiser. He kept to his word and focused more on keeping them all safe and fed. He rarely shows Artemis any interest even at night when they are all cuddled together. Instead Bowen has managed to form a small militia of beast men loyal to Queen Artemis and her family only. There is a bigger army with the purpose of protecting the White Wolf Kingdom but Bowen trained these men with Danny, Kasper, Apollo and even the Wolf King specifically so that these men would be perfect in every way possible. They'll even do some repairs and heavy lifting if needed. Bowen had them stationed all around the cave home on watch and that made his load slightly lighter. On the other hand since the Little Ape Princes were bigger and no longer even breastfeeding the decision was made to start moving to the Castle in the White Wolf Kingdom. Every family member except for the newest cubs were busy packing belongings into bamboo baskets and chests. Since Artemis wasn't allowed to do any heavy lifting she went out onto her farm to gather up her animals and livestock. She was very detailed and organized with getting everything together and she even had two of the Wolf Cubs helping her too.

"My Queen!" Bowen said, coming up to her as she was putting vegetables into a bamboo basket. "Yes Bo my love" Artemis responded wiping her forehead. "The extra carriages have arrived. We are about to start piling baskets into them and sending them to the castle" Bowen told her. "Great. Is there anything I can help with?" Artemis asked him. "No, my Queen. You keep digging up your vegetables and we'll be there to collect them and take those to the castle as well." Bowen said, smiling. "Okay my love. How are the Ape Cubs?" She asked him. "Currently with Prince Thomas doing some exercises" he replied. "Isn't it too soon to have exercise and practice?" Artemis asked worriedly. "No Thomas isn't being too hard on them and they seem to do pretty well" Bowen reassured her. Artemis nodded and called to one of the Wolf Cubs to bring her another basket for a patch of potatoes. "I will call you in when it's lunch time. Danny will head out with the carriages to make sure everything gets there and goes into the right places so I'm taking over" Bowen said. "Okay. I'll be here!" Artemis said as she got back to her work. Bowen turned away and Artemis watched him go for a second. "This seems like a lot of work building and moving into a castle" Artemis said out loud and sighed. "Mother, the new castle is huge! Bigger than Papa Max's!" One of the cubs ran over and told her. "Oh really? So you've snuck off to see the castle?" Artemis asked him, busting one of their little secrets. "Well yes. Ezekiel took us a couple of times." The cub said sheepishly. "Anyways Papa wants to hold a Naming Ceremony for the Little Ape cubs at our Castle after we move in. What do you think? Is it big enough for a Naming Ceremony?" Artemis asked the cub. "Yes. It can hold many kingdoms inside!" The cub said. "And the barns they built are huge mama" the other cub said, holding his arms out wide. "Oh really? We can have lots of animals then right?" Artemis asked them. "Lots of them. You can have whatever you want!" One of them replied. "Then we will see to it. I just want everything that we need and more" Artemis said, sighing.

Artemis ended up calling over Thomas and the rest of the Wolf Cubs so that they could help her finish up. Once everything regarding the farm and the barns were all taken care of she went back to the cave house to see what everybody else was doing. "If you want to head over to help Danny organize everything I can fly you over right now!" Bowen offered when she came into the almost empty cave home. "It feels so weird packing up and moving. This Is our first home" Artemis said, rubbing her hand along the dirt wall. Bowen softened up and embraced Artemis into a big soft hug. "I believe that as long as we all are together and happy then home is wherever we make it!" Bowen said, rubbing her back. "You're right Bo. Back in the Human world when people would move away for the winter or something. Nana would say 'home is where the heart is'." Artemis said, hugging him back. As soon as she hugged Bowen he let go of her and backed away still afraid of close contact with her. Artemis shook her head and walked away to find something else to do. "I don't mean to offend you, My Queen. I just don't trust myself!" Bowen said following her. "I know Bowen. I'm going to find something to do" Artemis replied, annoyed. "Are you in heat? I can call Daniel back here!" Bowen offered frantically. "Stop talking!" Artemis scolded him. "Don't be angry!" Bowen pleaded still following her. Artemis growled and started to find another direction to go in. She decided to go back outside and wait until it was time to go to the castle. Bowen ordered the men to pick up the pace so they could be done by the end of the day and they did. The men moved a little more quickly and it made things move along a little quicker too. Soon Artemis was packed in a carriage with all of her mates and all of her cubs except for Danny who was waiting at the castle, probably already cooking dinner. The ride was a little long but there were Wolf Beastmen pulling the carriage so they got to their destination in half the time.

Artemis climbed out of the carriage and took her time looking around and admiring the scenery outside of the castle. The castle was huge and standing tall. The bricklayers did a precise job layering the bricks which must have taken days to get done. There were patches of dirt beds everywhere outside and Artemi knew that was for her to plant flowers and trees there. Artemis let the men and cub lead her to the back of the castle and there she found a hill with stairs leading to more and more fields waiting to be sowed with seeds. "It's a little bigger than what you used to work on back at the cave home but you can grow as much as you want out here now" Bowen said to her looking out at the fields with her. "Let's go inside. It smells like Daniel is cooking already!" Thomas said, ushering the cubs. Artemis followed them all inside and gasped at the huge interior. The first room she walked in must have been the family room. There were huge nests and chairs scattered everywhere with a huge fireplace in the middle. On the left side of the family room was where the smell of cooked food came from which must have been the kitchen. Inside the huge kitchen Danny was standing over a huge pot with the biggest flames underneath. The Kitchen had so many shelves with all types of dishes and spices sitting up on them. There was another pot in the corner with water running into it and a hole at the bottom leading into a drain going outside. "Impressive! Did you design this yourself?" Artemis asked Danny as he cooked and cleaned. "Yes a little!" Danny said shyly. "I'll be done soon. Go ahead and explore the rest of the place!" Danny said, ushering her away. "Yes, let's go see the bedroom, and the washrooms and the toilets!" Bowen encouraged.

The rooms were huge, all of Artemis' cubs scrambled off to pick where they wanted to settle; they fought, yelled and argued until they got everything sorted out. Artemis took a tour of the west wing of the castle where her very own living quarters were. The top floor or the fourth level served as a library. Artemis recognized books she already owned and some new collections among them. There was a nice big desk and a few big comfortable chairs. A couple levels were still all hers and served different purposes but the one she loved the most was her bedroom. Her nest was huge and intertwined in detail. The furs folded on it were bright and soft and there were different shelfs and chests sitting around holding her belongings. "How am i going to utilize all of this space!" Artemis exclaimed, stressed out. "I'm sure you and your family will make great use of the entire castle my queen. As Royals you are supposed to live in such luxury" Yozar said walking into the room. "Well hello stranger" Artemis said looking over at Yozar. "Hello indeed, my Queen. I hope you have been living fair and happily these days?" Yozar asked her, bowing his head. "Fair enough." Artemis replied. "What brings you out to the White Wolf Kingdom?" Artemis asked him. "It is time..." Yozar simply replied. Artemis put her hands up and looked at them. "No more reading history books?" She asked him knowingly. Yozar nodded. "I have watched you for sometime now and I think you are well seasoned and ready to begin your training with me" Yozar said to her. "Do I have to? Nana never really used her powers?" Artemis asked Yozar "Your late grandmother was never an active Princess or Queen. She also did not have as many threats and enemies as you do" Yozar said to Artemis. "The books I've read all describe the Beastworld as a slow progressive species. Over the years you and your fellow wizards have found a way to teach them at their own pace. With me being here it feels like we are picking up the pace. You could spend your time finding and teaching other wizards and not a Queen like myself" Artemis said. "You gave me a very convincing detailed reason for not wanting to train your skills" Yozar said smiling "maybe I did. But they were reasonable reasons " "And those same reasons are why you do have to train." Yozar said, nodding his head.

"There are rarely Queens currently standing on their own throne. If you don't want to up your training then you can just read more books" Yozar said, shrugging his shoulders. "Please no. I feel like everytime I go on a reading binge I get pregnant!" Artemis said, shivering. "I'm still going to leave you with more books but I will be back every other day," Yozar said, pulling wads of papers out of his pouch. Artemis rolled her eyes. "I don't think I should be playing around with these so-called powers, Yozar" Artemis said, sighing in defeat. "It's okay for you to be weary of your powers, my Queen. It is also best to learn how to control them just in case they get out of control or someone more experienced comes in and you can't protect yourself or your family". Yozar said to her. "That is why me and Kasper still train frequently. No one will be able to catch me off guard!" Artemis pointed out. "The last thing I will say about this before I leave is that your Papa insists that I train you and this is exactly what your Nana would have wanted, if only she'd started to teach you herself you wouldn't be too stubborn right now." Yozar said. "It's only right that my Princess gives you a hard time, Witch Doctor. She comes from a strong and firm bloodline. Don't let it stress you out too much!" The Wolf King said entering into the discussion. "You're completely right my King. Have you found everything to your liking?" Yozar asked the Wolf King, changing faces. "Yes. The workers and King Consorts did a wonderful job building a Kingdom built for a Queen such as my granddaughter" The Wolf King said. "The Army is more impressive here than it was set up in my Wolf Kingdom with tents, beds and firepits everywhere" the Wolf King added. Artemis nodded recalling the scenes implanted into her memories. Her people were strong but obviously wounded and could barely fight anymore but they survived for sure. "How did I do this? Manage to survive here for so long?" Artemis asked her Papa and Yozar. "You are strong. You are meant to overcome any difficulties set in your way" The Wolf King said encouraging her. "At least do it for your children and your Kingdom" the Wolf King said trying to inspire her. "Okay Papa. I will take this more seriously. I definitely want to be able to protect my children by any means necessary. I just wanted to put up a little bit of resistance. I did plenty of studying and I have experienced first hand how cruel this Beastworld can be." Artemis said finally giving in. "Yes. Now speaking of children I finally have all of my grandchildren and great grandchildren in one safe place. I'm going to gather them all and play some games!" The Wolf King beamed happily. "Okay Papa. Be careful. There are a lot of them! And they're almost not children anymore!" Artemis warned as the Wolf King swiftly left through the huge doors. "I will be going as well, my Queen. I shall see you soon!" Yozar said bowing and excusing himself.

Later that night

"How was dinner, my Queen? Are you comfortable in this castle" Danny asked Artemis. She was watching as her mates and oldest children cleaned up after dinner. The Wolf Prince's were diligent in keeping up with the chores when they lived in the cave house and even though they live in a huge castle now they still worked together to help out. Artemis admired that and enjoyed watching them. "What can I do to be a better Queen and Mother?" Artemis asked out loud. Everything stopped all at once after she spoke and everyone in the huge room turned their heads and looked at her. "My Queen. What is going on today?" Danny asked her "I just can't help but think that if I'm supposed to be a Queen… There has to be more that I could do other than come up with small solutions and produce children." Artemis confessed. Thomas chuckled from in the corner. "My Queen. You are still young and have more than enough time to gain more experience. At that point you will be wondering when it will all stop. Just relax and take your time. Things are coming together" Thomas said to Artemis. "Are you sure?" She asked him. "I think so too, my Queen!" Bowen said, nodding his head. "You are the absolute best mother anyone could hope to have. I don't think anyone has felt as much love and care as you give to our children" Danny said to her. Danny stepped forward and embraced Artemis into a big and warm hug. If anyone can make her feel better it would be Danny. He hugged her and didn't let her go until he felt that she was more calm and relaxed. "Everything is okay. I promise you. We all are happy so you have nothing to worry about." Danny said softly into her ear.

Artemis finally relaxed once she knew that all of her precious children were comfortable in bed. She laid back into her own bed surrounded by her mates. Most nights they take turns sleeping with her so that two of them can keep watch but now that they have their own army they no longer need to protect Artemis and the cubs alone with just 4 males. That fact alone was enough to motivate Artemis to cheer up and get some rest.