Artemis had to push away a couple of vampires before she reached the door of the house. The noise coming from inside sent shivers down her spine; it was a combination of growls, hisses, screams, and laments. Tara had run to help the Alpha, so she must have gone into the great hall. Artemis was not afraid of vampires, but for the witches she felt a mixture of fear and anger since the murder of her parents.

In the great hall, the werewolves were fighting against the vampires. The three brothers were at the forefront of the battle, like always. The other Council members were protected behind a wall of giant werewolves.

Suddenly, all the werewolves were pushed against the walls. Vampires gathered in the center of the hall. Three women entered chanting words in a strange language. It was clear to everyone: they were witches.

The three women created a magical circle where werewolves could not enter. The oldest of the three, Odette, had wavy black shoulder-length hair, chocolate-colored skin and piercing eyes. She was the most powerful and most determined to accomplish the mission. She raised her hands in the direction of the Alpha, pulled him toward her, and made him enter the circle.

Feeling pain in every part of his body, Alpha Jared fell to his knees, unable to move. His crazed mind screamed at him to get out of the circle; his body was immobilized by the witch. All the werewolves growled at the witches. The twins instinctively jumped to their brother's aid, but the magical circle pushed them away.

Tara witnessed the scene and, gripped by anger and fear, lunged at the witch closest to her: Leah. She was a little girl with long blonde hair and brown eyes. Tara obviously could not get through the circle, she was pushed away and slammed into the wall. Leah hated werewolves, and when she saw Tara's attempted attack, she lost her temper. She lifted her with telekinesis and broke her left arm. She laughed viciously.

The witch lifted Tara up again, intending to break both of her legs, but a force swept over Leah and pushed her out of the circle; the werewolves were on her immediately, tearing her apart.

The two witches screamed and turned around. "The hybrid," Odette whispered. Cheryl, the witch with short black hair and big blue eyes, motioned to the vampires to get ready. She was ready to unleash her power on the hybrid.

Artemis was shocked by the scene in front of her: the Alpha neutralized, the wolves unable to intervene, and Tara wounded. It was the first witch attack in these lands since her parents had died. The packs had had problems with their vampire bootlickers in the past, but witches had never exposed themselves like this. They had increased their attacks in the last time. Why?

Odette vented her anger on Alpha Jared, intensifying the attack. He was in agony. With a wince of pain, he screamed.

Artemis, who had rushed to Tara, turned to the Alpha. She had to help him. None of the other werewolves could save him. She looked for the other members of the Moonriver family; she saw only the twins, their fangs bared, their eyes now black with a golden ring around them.

"I wonder if this will work on you," Cheryl said. She pulled Artemis into the circle. She felt an intense headache and took her hands to her temples. Nothing compared to the Alpha's pain.

"Interesting. The circle doesn't work entirely because she is partly a werewolf," Cheryl exclaimed.

"Oh... you're a genius," Artemis said.

"Be careful, little girl. You are alone, and we are far more powerful than you. You can avoid further suffering for your pack by coming with us." Odette said. Her pack? Who did they think were the members of her pack? There were huddled werewolves from the Moonriver Pack and werewolves from the now named TX1 Pack. The only thing Artemis was sure of was that she would never trust the witches.

These are not your people. Odette told her telepathically, trying to stick to the plan and not get caught up in the grief of Leah's death. You will come with us, you are ours.

Artemis tried to concentrate on using her powers, blood came out of her nose. She looked up and aimed it at Odette's face.

"I know you," she whispered. Odette smiled at her evilly.

"Maybe it is not clear to you, hybrid, that we have made you no proposal or agreement. You will come with us either now or after we kill all these strays," Cheryl said. The wolves growled in unison.

Artemis ignored the witch and stared at Odette. Time seemed to freeze.

The moment Odette had spoken to her telepathically, she had established a connection between their minds. Artemis recognized her, she had not aged a day, probably keeping herself young with magic. Odette was one of the witches who had participated in the murder of her parents. The memories of that day seemed to have been buried, but at that moment everything came back powerfully. The gaps in her memory were filled by Odette's memories, which seemed to flow into Artemis' mind without any effort on her part.

Lance had chosen to rent a small lodge in the woods. It was very cozy, despite the small room that served as an entrance hall, living room and kitchen; there was a single bedroom that all three of them shared and a bathroom. It was a few hours away from the Moonriver Mansion. They were a friendly pack, but he didn't want to take any chances.

Little Artemis stood still in front of the window, fascinated by a deer that was sniffing the bark of a tree.

"When you transform for the first time, little one, you will look at him with different eyes," her father told her as he knelt beside her.

"As food?" the little girl asked.

Lance laughed. "Yes, something like that. I know you don't like to think about these things, but innocence will give way to wolf instinct. You don't have to be afraid of it."

Genevieve burst into the room agitated. "They are here. They are here for us," she said to her husband.

"We have to go," he said as he stood up.

"No, Lance, it's too late."

"Take Artemis and get as far away as you can."

"You wouldn't stand a chance against them, only I can keep them occupied long enough for you to escape," Genevieve said with a shaking voice.

"I will not run from the witches and abandon my wife and daughter."

"Lance, please. We must get Artemis to safety."

"Then we will fight together," he told her, taking her face in his hands, "if things get bad, you will run away with Artemis."

"No, Lance, you don't understand," her eyes filled with tears.

The front door suddenly burst open. Artemis turned to see eight menacing witches and a dozen vampires behind them.

Lance shoved his wife toward the child. The King growled threateningly, fangs and claws unsheathed.

Genevieve knelt in front of her daughter. "Artemis, listen to me," she took the child's hands, "when I tell you to go, you must run." Genevieve burst into tears, "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done this. I can't go back." She kissed her forehead. "You won't be able to run as fast as you used to, but run as fast as you can when I tell you, okay?"

"Mom..." said the frightened child, not understanding what was happening.

"You can't do anything against us, you filthy wolf," said one of the witches, whose name from Odette's memory was Cecile. She had short fiery red hair and was in charge of this mission. Lance growled, his fierce red eyes fixed on the witches. His eye color had given rise to many speculations and legends about the King of Texas. His ferocity was known to all, even the witches, but they were well-prepared for this day.

Lance tried to approach the witches, but was blocked. He was shaken by convulsions that pushed his chest outward, and as he cried out in pain, a huge wound opened in his chest and his heart was ripped out.

Genevieve screamed in despair and threw herself at her husband, striking the witches with her magic. The witches immediately rose and counterattacked. Genevieve crashed into the fireplace, gasping for breath. She stood up crying and tried to reach her mate. The witches dragged her away from her husband. "You have betrayed your people, Genevieve. You have lied, confabulated, and threatened our species."

"You cannot understand. You are blind, you are power hungry," Genevieve said between sobs.

Genevieve screamed in desperation and broke free of the witches' grip, who flew into the opposite wall. All the windows exploded, sending shards of glass flying.

"Artemis, run!" She shouted to her daughter.

Artemis stood motionless, still shocked by her father's death.

"Go away!" She yelled.

Artemis got up with her stuffed bunny still in her arms and ran off. Her legs betrayed her; they were not as swift and agile as usual. She struggled to her feet and climbed out of the bedroom window. She ran into the snow, into the unknown, alone.

The moment her mother was killed, she felt it. She felt a huge pressure in the center of her chest. The feeling was so strong that she fell to the ground in the snow. "Mom..." she burst out crying. The more little Artemis despaired, the more the pressure in her chest grew. She heard the witches approaching and suddenly stopped crying. Odette and a witch named Maryanne stood before her. Maryanne lifted her out of the snow. "Now you will come with us, do not try to run, or we will hurt you very badly," she threatened.

Artemis opened her eyes: they were completely black. Odette instinctively stepped back, the child's face was riddled with black veins. She was terrifying.

"What...?" Odette was suddenly thrown about thirty feet away, felt her ribs crack, turned on her side to catch her breath, and saw Maryanne's head beside her. The other witches rushed in, the child killing them all, their heads flying off like champagne cork. With the ma***cre complete, the little girl fell to the ground. Odette stood up in shock and pain, she had to pick up the child, she had to complete the mission. She heard some howlings. Alone, she would have had no hope of defeating a pack of wolves. She ran.

Odette began to tremble as she saw those black eyes fixed on her again. "Démonesse..." she whispered.

Cheryl, whose back was to them at that moment, impatient with the hybrid's silence, decided to attack Tara. "Wait until I make things clearer for you," she told her, "you can get up and come with us right now, or we will kill all these bastards in excruciating pain, and then you will come with us. To show you that we are serious, I'll start with your friend." Tara was lifted again and growled in protest. Artemis stood up. "Cheryl, take my hand," Odette said in alarm.

Cheryl turned and saw Artemis' face. She immediately left Tara and joined her friend. They began to chant:

"Nous sommes la nature.

Nous sommes le pouvoir.

Votre pouvoir est le nôtre

Votre volonté n'existe pas."

Artemis was untouched by their magic. She growled, and when she spoke, not even Tara recognized her. Her voice was deep and hoarse. "You are not nature. You will not be able to take me with you, and you will not touch anyone again," she raised an arm in the direction of the vampires who had begun to move to attack her. She immobilized them. Her other hand in the direction of the two witches who suddenly stopped their chanting, their bodies stiffening, rising a few inches off the ground.

We are on the same side.

The werewolves will use you to learn how to fight us, and then they will kill you.

They will abandon you, as they have always done.

They hate you.

Don't do this.

Odette told her telepathically.

Artemis lowered her hand and Cheryl's neck snapped; she fell dead to the ground. Artemis growled again. The other wolves growled in response, as if cheering.

Artemis' body shook with convulsions, a glow surrounded her. She transformed into a beautiful and regal red-coated wolf.

"This is not possible..." whispered Tara.

Artemis threw herself at Odette's neck and ripped off her head. The moment Odette died, the circle broke, and the werewolves pounced on the vampires. Artemis fled out into the woods.