Chapter 34

Artemis was a mix of emotions and for a very good reason. One day she was nervous and scared. The next day she was happy and the next day she found herself motivated to get better and get out of there. By day five Sam had gotten her to eat soup as a side dish to go along with broiled or baked chicken. He was going to make sure she ate her way back to good health as well as using herbs and medicines. They had not received any word from Clay and had no way of telling when he would be back but Artemis and Sam stayed in the water house cordially with one another. Meanwhile Sam had the enjoyment of watching Artemis get healthier and start to gain some of her weight back. Soon she will be the one putting the hurt on Clay, Sam could really see it now. As Artemis ate more and took her medicines regularly she made sure that Sam did the same. It was not as hard as she thought it would be. She didn't want to bully him but she had to make sure she stood firm that she was not only a patient but a Queen, and if he was so sure and serious with his task of watching over her and nursing her then he had to be strong and healthy himself or he is useless. She put it straight like that because it was obviously true and maybe he needed to be reminded that way. Nonetheless he took her words seriously by eating whatever she was eating and eating with her when she ate. Good thing Sam got better and better at catching chicken and plenty of other wild birds to feed her growing appetite.

"I think there's another egg in you now" Sam said as he watched Artemis try to finish her dinner. "Maybe. I wonder how Bowen is going to feel. Will he be excited or regretful that Clay snatched me up before he could give me preventative herbs." Artemis said, finally leaving her food alone. "Who makes their Queen take those types of herbs after mating?" Sam said angrily. He hated it when Artemis talked about Bowen. She was so convinced that they were in love but Sam wasn't convinced. He wanted to throw his fist right through Bowen's face for being so boring and selfish. "Look at the anger and jealousy in you" Artemis pointed out, surprised. "I am not jealous. Angry. Yes." Sam confessed. "Don't worry about Bowen. Daniel keeps him in check as well. You should be more weary of Clay coming back and finding out I'm carrying my other mate's cubs and not his. He is going to throw a fit" Artemis said to him. Sam nodded his head firmly letting her know he understood. "He will hurt you…" Sam said. "He will try." Artemis said firmly. "I will clean up and fetch your bath water. Stay put my Queen." Sam told her as he stood up and grabbed the rest of her food he knew she wasn't gonna eat. "Okay." Artemis said, nodding her head. Artemis stood up and went into her bedroom to find some clean furs to put on. Sam was smart enough to trade a few of the wild birds he caught for furs to sew together for Artemis. When she knew Sam was out of the cabin she let out a deep breath and started letting her thoughts and emotions roll. "Bowen. I wish you were here. I wish I didn't have to do this alone without any of you" Artemis said, rubbing her stomach. "Your brothers and sisters are going to be ecstatic and your fathers are going to be absolutely shocked" Artemis said softly.

"Be quick and smart Samuel" Sam urged himself as he tried to quickly wash the dishes. He was on edge after leaving the cabin and wanted to hurry back to Artemis. He had already filled a water basin up for her and it was sitting on a fire to warm up. After washing the dishes as quickly as possible Sam gathered them took them back to the cabin to dry and then he fetched the water basin and took that inside for Artemis. Outside the water cabin he stood guard looking out at his surroundings. "She is about to pop out a couple of Eagle Princes' soon" Sam thought to himself. He figured it was definitely time to really figure out how to get Artemis out of here before Clay comes home and tries to kill her. These Beastmen are loyal to Clay but they are also untrustworthy to let them around her. They are feral Beastmen who follow their own rules. The Silver Wolf camp is set up near a well populated town but it's unclear how much of the human population were loyal to Clay. Sam didn't want to approach just anybody with his delicate situation and he knew he couldn't come up with a good enough plan all on his own. Sam's only interaction with the townspeople consisted of him doing farm work for them and buying the herbs and medicines that he couldn't find himself for the Silver Wolf Beastmen. There was a slight chance that Sam may know one person who could help him get Artemis far away from here despite his old age. His name was Clint. He lived on a huge farm all by himself and Sam frequently went out to help him until Artemis came. After thinking about it for a brief moment Sam decided that he was gonna go there and ask Clint if he would help. The old man was very wise and may still have a few tricks up his sleeve.

"Look at him, standing by like the perfect little guarding dog" said a Silver Wolf Beastman taunting Sam as he walked up to the cabin with a few other Beastmen in tow. "Our leader Clay ordered me to stand watch here. He has taken this Queen as his mate" Sam said with as much aggression and authority as he could. All of the men started laughing with each other like Sam was telling a joke. It made Sam angry and he sneered at the Beastmen surrounding him. "She is no Queen no more. She's our meat!" One of the men pointed at him and his friends. "No!" Sam said, shaking his head and backing up to stand in front of the cabin door. "Oh so now you're claiming to be her mate?" One of the men asked Sam. "No but I am her protector and she doesn't need any more mates!" Sam said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Everyone could hear Artemis splashing in the bath water distracting them from their heated argument. The intruders sniffed the air trying to catch a whiff of Artemis' scent. "She smells delightful!" One of the men said out loud. "No wonder why our leader wants to keep her all to himself" another man commented. "How about we go introduce ourselves to this would be Queen and change her mind about mating" a man said stepping forward. "I am going to enjoy getting some action tonight," Artemis said from inside the cabin. Sam's eyes widened and he turned his head and looked at the cabin as if he could see Artemis standing there. "See. She's inviting us in" a man said "I don't think so" Sam shrugged. He could feel something powerful rolling off of the cabin. At first he thought Clay had come back but Artemis opened the door. His Queen must be able to use her power and strengths now and she was angry. "I've finally reached my limit of disgust and disrespect!" Artemis said, sounding calm. "And who do you think you are? You are not in your little Kingdom anymore little Queen" a man said to her. "That's alright. I carry an asswhooping with me everywhere I go" Artemis said, holding out her hand. Artemis' most famous thing to do when she displayed her powers was to conjure up her staph at any time and for any reason. Sam was in shock. He'd never seen a female hold so much power. Let alone way more power than Clay. She must have been hurt really badly to take this long to display her talents.

Artemis stood there ready for a fight and the men looked at her like she was crazy. "You actually reject us?" Someone asked in disbelief "My Queen. Please step back inside" Sam said lowering his head in submission. "I accept you as my Guardian Samuel" Artemis said, putting her hand on his shoulder. Sam flinched at her fiery touch. A burning sensation started to creep from his shoulder and spread to his chest. Sam fell over grunting and moaning in pain and then his moans turned into growls as he lay on the ground. "What type of magic is this? That boy has been a human all his life and now he makes animal noises?" A man asked "it's obvious now that Sam was not born to be your slave and muse. He was made to serve me. Queen Artemis of the White Wolf Kingdom" Artemis said, holding her arms out. Artemis' wolf rumbled under her skin wanting out. Wanting to be let loose on her unsuspecting victims. Her Papa would be so proud! But Artemis knew she couldn't shapeshift because of the eagle eggs she is carrying. She will have to whoop ass in human form. No problem.

"Let's get her!" A Beastman said charging towards the door. They all followed suit and almost made it inside but Artemis let out a loud battle cry and leaped out of the cabin attacking them with her staph. Artemis went after each and every one of them until they were down on the ground surrendering to her. Sam crawled over to Artemis on his knees and bowed to her. "My Queen, " he said, breathing heavily. "I am useless!" Sam said, banging his head on the ground. Sam's crying turned into howls. "Have patience my friend. You are destined for greater things" Artemis said, nodding to him. In the next second Sam finally started to shapeshift into a White Wolf. Artemis smiled proudly. Sam is no longer the frail little man who used to be abused and mistreated. He will be able to defend himself now that he has a wolf to shapeshift into. After fully shifting into a Wolf, Sam stood over the Silver Wolf Beastman who wanted to mess with Artemis. He wanted to rip them to shreds and throw the pieces everywhere. But then he remembered who it was that he was protecting and why he needed to protect her. Sam looked back at Artemis and then willed himself to shift back into human form. "My Queen. Not only are you the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on, you are also the most powerful Beastman I've ever known" Sam said bowing before her completely naked.

Back in the White Wolf Kingdom

"Look, Look! The Prince's are back!" People shouted excitedly from the Castle gates. "Look at them. They're grown men now!" Men shouted proudly. "Prince Walker! Oh he's so handsome!" The younger woman commented. Artemis' oldest cubs and Jenny's Oldest cubs were finally coming back home to the White Wolf Kingdom. They were gone for a little over a month and came back men. King Maximus took them far away from either Kingdoms and into the wild so that they could grow and learn more. They surely did grow and mature a lot more. Everyone could see it in the way that they walked. Even King Maximus looked proud as he smiled walking alongside his great grandsons. "Look at my boys!" Apollo boasted proudly. "Our boys are men now Brother!" Danny said, slapping Apollo on his back. "Congratulations brother!" Apollo said, slapping him back. King Maximus finally made it to the open gates of the castle and greeted Apollo and Danny with a big hug after they formally bowed to him. "What fine young men you have here! It was too easy to whip them into shape!" King Maximus said. Danny's boys formally bowed down to him and then hugged him, Apollo's boys bowed to Danny as well and then embraced their father into the biggest hug. "Queen Artemis is going to be happy to see you all when she finally comes home" Danny said, standing there nodding and admiring his sons. "Can we go look for her now?" Prince Christopher stepped forward and asked with a deeper voice. "Not yet my son. Your mother is healing herself so that she can return. I can feel her getting stronger" Danny said, putting his hand on his chest. "We still can't get a sense of where she is. She's too far away from us. But she won't be gone for long, '' Apollo said to them. "You boys go ahead and get settled back in. In a few more months I'll be coming back to get your Apr Prince brothers!" King Maximus said to the wolf Princes. They all shook hands with King Maximus then ran past the flock of admirers standing by.

King Maximus stepped closer to Danny and Apollo and put his hand on his chest as well. "I can feel my Xhi'er growing stronger as well. Have you heard any news from Bowen since he took off?" King Maximus asked them. "No. I think he went mad. Feral. You can see it in his tired eyes. He wasn't sleeping or eating" Danny told King Maximus. One day Bowen just snapped. He stormed out and flew off to either release his rage or to find Artemis. Artemis would be devastated if she came back and he was not around. "She will. She loves him so much and alm he does is stress her out by being afraid" Apollo commented. I'll send out a search party for him and bring him home. He should be home at these times with the rest of the children" King Maximus said firmly. Danny and Apollo shrugged and looked at eachother. "Papa, Jenny and Little Wen will be throwing a welcome home and maturity party for the Wolf Prince's in a couple of days. We would love for you to come back and have a good time" Apollo suggested inviting the King back. "I would love to be back. I'm going now to handle some business. I see you all in a few days" King Maximus said, nodding his head. "Now go on and get reacquainted with your young men!" He said before turning and running away. Apollo let out a deep sigh. "This is stressful indeed. This time I say we completely seal our Queen up in this castle so that there won't be a chance of her getting away ever again" Apollo said, scratching his head. Danny chuckled and turned towards the crowd now shouting at the castle. "I think we are going to have a lot of guests at the party brother." Apollo said. "As long as the outcome is peace and love, I know Artemis wouldn't mind at all," Danny said.