Artemis and Sol were back in the dungeons along with some of the other Alpha's and a handful of Beta's. They all separated into various cells, questioning humans for information regarding where the human base was located. Any other helpful information regarding the battle strategy and any possible dates were also very welcome, but these humans were extremely tight lipped.

One would think that they were a tight knit band of humans, also known as a pack.

Oh, the irony.

Sol had paired up with Clark as they decided to tag team Darius. That human was so vicious that he was sure to have some juicy information. Now all they had to do was get him to spill all the information.

Artemis decided that old was gold and headed back to speaking with Harry, taking a guard to stand watch in the cell with her upon Sol's request. Even when he was planning to rip into the human whom had been infuriating him and getting under his skin for the past thirty-six hours, he was still concerned about her safety. Though they both knew that she would be able to kill Harry in less than a heartbeat if the need ever arose.

She sighed and buried her face in her hands, watching the human Harry who sat in his chair, his neck bent awkwardly as he slept. She was sure that he would have painful neck cramps when he awoke but she couldn't bring herself to wake him up. It didn't make sense nor was it rational for her feel bad for him and to be doing him any favours such as letting him sleep even though what she needed were some answers.

Deciding to give him a few more minutes, she sat back in her chair and let her eyes wander around the room, finally landing on a guard whom she couldn't recognise. He seemed to be stood to the left of her, tall and proud, his eyes already watching her.

"Hi," she greeted him with a small smile when he didn't look away even when he was caught staring.

"Hi." He smiled back, flashing all of his pearly whites.

"It's a nice dungeon, huh?" She made a poor attempt at humour but it must have been funnier than she thought because the wolf chuckled, seemingly easily amused by poor humour and obvious sarcasm.

"Oh, very pretty. Kind of got a homey feel to it."

Her eyes glazed over the bare walls. "It could do with a little decoration, though." Sarcasm dripped from her voice as she let them hang in the air.

He quirked an eyebrow as he seemed to be looking at something over her head. "Some curtains over the bars would be good."

"It would be a great way to get some privacy in here." She noted aloud, her eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. "Some curtains around the toilet would also be great."

He nodded, his lips twisting into a small smile. "Some matching curtains would be great."

Artemis smiled and bobbed her head accordingly. "I'm Artemis."

"Flynn," the wolf replied and stretched out a hand in front of him. She politely accepted and shook his head, his firm grip yet gentle.

"What pack are you from, Flynn?" She asked, her eyes wandering back to the sleeping human. She was sure that if someone else were to be interrogating Harry then they would surely have forced him awake the moment they got into the cell.

"The Valour Pack." The man replied proudly, stepping back into his position against the wall. "I'm actually the head warrior there."

Artemis' ears perked up at that. "My parents are from the Valour Pack. Perhaps you happen to know them. Liam and Sienna Haven."

Understanding passed over the warrior's face as he looked down at the petite woman. "Then that would make Apollo your brother."

"Twins actually." She found herself noting aloud. It felt good to be able to say that she had a brother, that she a family.

His eyes widened at her proclamation, seemingly having recognised her brother and joined the dots to make the connection. "You're the twin that was killed by the rogues."

She found herself wishing that she hadn't indulged him with the information now. "Well, apparently not." She shrugged. "As far as I know, I'm as alive as I'll ever be." She shrugged.

Flynn chuckled. "So, you're not living with them?"

"No," she shook her head. Artemis didn't offer any other explanation. She believed that he didn't deserve one and didn't feel comfortable discussing her twisted, confusing life with a complete stranger, even if he did seem friendly.

"What's the Valour pack like?" She found herself asking, not mentioned that she already a rough idea since she had visited there about a week ago, but wanting to make small talk so she wouldn't have to sit in the cell in silence with an unconscious human as company while a warrior just stared at them the whole time.

"Well, you would know if you came back to live there."

Suddenly, she wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"Funny," she muttered dryly, not happy with the way he seemed to be probing her with his questions even if he didn't mean any harm. "I think it's about time he woke up." She muttered under her breath as she turned back to the face the sleeping human.

It took a few pokes to the face and an occasional pinch on the nose to wake him up, but it worked.

Flynn frowned but said nothing, not that she was able to see his facial expression from the angle she was sitting on the chair, her body completely facing the groggy human whom seemed to slowly wake up, all of a sudden remembering that he was currently captured by werewolves and being blackmailed with the life of his wife being held over his head for information.

It was a far from ideal situation to be in but he had no one to blame himself. Both Harry and Poppy knew exactly what kind of danger they would be getting themselves into when they signed up for the organisation, but now he found himself regretting it. Immensely.

His eyes ran over the room, his hands and legs seemingly still tied not that he expected anything else. There was no doubt that him and the other humans kept their werewolf prisoners in far less comfortable conditions.

"You're back," he stated simply, his mind still running slow from having just been woken up.

Artemis nodded. "We need to know where the human base is and when they're planning to attack us."

"I don't know where the base it." He lied smoothly but she saw right through the façade.

"Try again." She quirked an eyebrow, daring him to deny her.

He sighed and bowed his head. "I don't know when they're planning to attack." He told her honestly but she didn't seem to believe him this time either, not that he could blame her. If he was her then he wouldn't believe him either. "No, really I don't." He tried to assure but she still didn't seem to think he was telling the truth, what with the way she merely cocked an unbelievable eyebrow in response. "When I was last at the base, an official date hadn't been set yet. They were trying out something new on a few of the younger wolves and wanted to wait until they had managed to finish that because they

"So, you do know where the base is?"

"Yes," he sighed.

"And what is this something new that they were trying out?" She asked, wanting to get as much information from him as possible even if it meant repeating the same question several times but in a different way.

"I'm not sure."

Artemis just cocked another questioning eyebrow, not for one second falling for his bull shit. He sighed and bowed his head before looking at her. "You're good at this," he gestured towards the interrogation that she was conducting on him, but she didn't smile. "They were trying to keep them in their wolf forms permanently."

Artemis paused, her mind drawing blank for a moment. "Was the drug tested on me?"

"It's more of a liquid which we used to inject into your food, but yes. You were actually the first wolf we tested it on."

"And then you guys left me in the forest to die." She deadpanned, staring the human square in the eye.

He shrugged though appeared to be uncomfortable as he avoided eye contact even though she was staring straight at him. "The plan actually was that the Lupine Woodland pack would find you." His eyes wandered over the remainder of the cell as he answered her question vaguely, repeating information that he had given her before.

"Wouldn't that have brought suspicion as to why I was stuck in my wolf form?"

The human shrugged. "The leaders are a bunch of smug fellows. They saw it as a form of foreshadowing, an omen of sorts."

"Explain," she directed simply as she sat back in her chair, her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes were trained on him as if she was watching a movie, not wanting to miss a single second of it.

"The Lupine Woodland pack finding you in the forest and taking you in, caring for you was the highest possibility. The idea that a creature whom they accepted and cared for with open arms would destroy them with a single command when the time is right, excited them."

"That's sick." The warrior, Flynn, voiced his thoughts, seemingly disgusted with what the human was saying. He looked at the human as if he was sick, as if he was the supernatural creature that could burst into its second form any second now.

There was a lot of irony today.

Both Artemis and Harry ignored him. There were more pressing matters that required attention, though she did agree with Flynn.

It was sick.

"You're lucky that Alpha found you in the forest."

Artemis snorted at that. Sure, she was lucky that she was still alive and that Sol had taken her in under his paw and cared for her since then, but she didn't appreciate being told that she was lucky to still be alive, especially when it was his people that had destined her to this fate.

"It was a smart move removing the chip from your neck."

Her eyes shot up and she looked at him in confusion. "How did you know about that?"

"I heard some of your guards discussing it earlier," he shrugged. "If the small chance arose where they could take control back of the chip and tap into your thoughts, they would have found a cave full of information that they could use against you. They would know what you were planning and that you have all us captured."

Artemis pursed her lips. She hated to admit it but he was right.

If given the off chance, those hunters would have hit the jackpot.

Artemis sat back and stared at the human. He seemed to be more forthcoming with information today than he had been the previous day, or perhaps just less frightened. Though that could do with having a room full of very dangerous werewolves breathing down his neck, watching his every movement, waiting for the right time to pounce on him and rip him to shreds. And there was the fact that the life of his beloved wife was looming over his head, as if on a noose from the ceiling but he couldn't reach up and save her.

Little did he know that she was the worst from all of them. Artemis was a woman scorned, tortured and wronged beyond any levels of measure. The other wolves may have all been fighting for their freedom and to protect their packs, but she had her heart set on revenge. Artemis knew that no matter what she did, she would never gain back her past nor forget all the horrid things that had happened to her, but knowing that those humans wouldn't be able to do that to any other pups ever again was something that she was willing to settle for.

"We need you to tell us where the base is." She cut straight to the chase.

"I don't know how to describe where it is, but I can take you there." He offered almost instantly, not at all hesitating to offer up information regarding the location of where the hunter's resided along with the werewolves they kidnapped and were torturing by taking their lives away from them.

Artemis' jaw threatened to drop as she continued to stare at him, dumbfounded at what he had just offered. There was the possibility that the whole thing was a trap to lure them to a spot where they would be vulnerable for attack but she doubted that he would risk the life of his wife.

Harry may have been a disgusting human being, but he was a good husband who loved his wife.

"How do I know you're not planning a surprise attack or something?" She asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

He shrugged, his lips remained firm in a straight line. He looked serious, but she didn't know him well enough to know if he was just an extremely good actor, or whether he was simply telling the truth.

"I don't know, you're just going to have to trust me." The human shrugged but maintained eye contact to prove to the she-wolf that he was genuinely being both serious and honest.

He wasn't Darius. He wasn't taking any risks with his life especially when he had a wife whom he loved and cared for eminently.

Artemis inhaled and exhaled. She pursed her lips, her eyes steady on him.

Abandoning her chair and the cell, she walked around the dungeon until she found Sol whom was preoccupied with Darius, holding him up in mid air by the collar of the shirt he was wearing.

That human really didn't know when to keep quite or even pleasant for that matter. But she didn't have time to dwell on that thought for too long because there were more pressing matters to attend to.

-

Artemis stood back, standing on the porch of the pack house with her arms crossed in front of her chest and a pout on her face. She watched as the men loaded up their trucks, each of them dressed discretely as needed and with a few weapons in case the worst-case scenario was to happen.

The human, Harry stood out as he sat in the back of one of the trucks, handcuffed to one of the warriors who was nearly double his size. Just because Harry was helping them out and the fact that they kept his wife as collateral damage -with the promise of taking good care of her- didn't mean that they trusted him completely. He was a human amongst wolves.

Harry had been persuaded -coerced would be a better word in this situation- to take the wolves to the human base so they could check it out for themselves, figure out what they were working with. They wouldn't stay too long, just long enough to come up with a temporary plan and leave behind a few trackers to watch the base for any movements.

They couldn't risk taking any chances at this point.

Her pout turned into a small smirk as she watched her dark-haired hunk walk up the steps of the porch, his grin widening as he got closer to her. Stopping in front of her, he dropped his duffel bag on the ground as he pulled her into his arms.

"I still don't understand why I can't come with you." She whispered as she buried her face deeper into his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, threatening not to let go.

"Artemis," he sighed. "You know you can't come." His voice was gentle and smooth as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Why not?" She asked for the millionth time that very evening.

"You're needed here." He tried to persuade her even though he didn't want to leave her either. But there was also the off, tiny chance that she could possibly get hurt or worse and he wasn't willing to take that risk, no matter how much she protested and put up a fight.

In the dangerous and fickle situation that they were in, he cared more about her safety than momentarily upsetting her, essentially keeping her safe. He wasn't particularly fond of being in this position, having to sacrifice her happiness but if this is what he had to do to keep her safe, then upsetting her it was.

She pouted because she knew he was right. It made more sense for Artemis to stay with the pack and spend some time with her band of misfits, trying to help them in any way possible.

She just wasn't fond of having to do it with Sol away from her, even if it was for a day.

"You know I would take you with me if I could." He breathed against the skin of her neck as he nuzzled her there, his remark honest. He would if he could. Sol probably hated the idea of separation more than she did but it needed to be done. But that didn't mean that he liked it.

She hummed and sighed, tightening her arms around him.

"You'll be good when I'm gone, won't you?" He murmured against her skin, his lips brushing against the top of her head as he refused to let her go, both of them ignoring Clark calling him over so they could get in the car.

She giggled but made no promises, tilting her head up so she could look up at him, placing a kiss on his chin as she tip-toed.

"Okay," he sighed and placed another kiss to the crown of her head. "Just try to stay out of trouble." He murmured quietly.

"I'll try," she promised him though they both knew that she had a knack for trouble and sticky situations.

"I'm going to miss you," he breathed as he inhaled the scent of her sweet shampoo. "I already miss you," he chuckled sadly.

"I'm going to miss you too." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down slightly as she buried her face in his neck so she could whisper into his ear. "Come back to me." She whispered against his skin, pressing one last kiss against his jaw, her lips lingering there before she let him go.

-

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Layla Knight

26.09.18