Mayson kept staring at the huge wooden sign on the wall with the name of the place: The Black Dahlia. It had been his father who had opened the place twenty years earlier. The place had once belonged to a witch named Dahlia; the interior walls were covered with black, dried flowers, eternally scented because of a spell the witch had cast.

He had always found it a bit creepy: dead flowers, but with a fragrance; who knew what was going on in the head of that witch...

Since the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of the Council, the witches had been banished from that area, which had also been incorporated into the territory of Eaglemoon, making it a land of werewolves only. The attack against Artemis's family had shaken all the wolves in the land and broken the precarious balance. After the Brighter Coven, guilty of the conspiracy against Lance Rufus, openly threatened to wage war against the werewolves, the then-Alpha Trevor Moonriver was forced to cut off all cooperation with the witches and banish them.

They had convinced the Council to accept Artemis for three reasons: her werewolf side, her resentment for the witches, and most importantly, their inability to fight the witches' power.

Mayson heard the phone vibrate.

"Hey Tara, tell me."

"It's Artemis."

Mayson's heart jumped. "Hey baby, are you okay?"

"I need to talk to you and Caleb." A she-wolf, Emily, approached Mayson, "Hello, my beautiful Gamma, are you ready for tonight?"

"Sorry, I'm on the phone. You were saying, love? Mis?" Artemis had ended the call.

They hadn't seen or heard from each other for more than a week, and Tara tried several times to persuade her to call Mayson back, but she wouldn't.

Artemis did not regret her move, she would never stay with Pete, she did not even have high expectations, unlike Tara. Ten days had passed since her arrival and everyone had disappeared, leaving her alone in that big mansion. She had seen neither her mates, nor the Alpha. Not that she minded at the time, considering the strange situation between them. Least of all, she wanted to see Mayson, who had gone back to hanging out with women in clubs after being with her.

Even her wolf had left her alone for many days, had not heard from her, and it was only since that morning that she had begun to notice her obsessive thoughts, which always said only one thing: I want my mates.

The only good thing about that time was the time she spent with Luna Astrid. She had given her a crash course in "wolf things". She had told her about the traditions of the pack, how they gathered every full moon to run together in the woods; the ritual of bathing in the frozen lake at age 14, which was a good omen for a good transformation. "There are some beautiful places in this state, you should ask Mayson or Caleb to take a trip sometime," she had told her. Of course, they were dying to be with her. Liar, they love us. Her she-wolf thundered.

"Shut up," Artemis said loudly. She got out of bed and massaged her temples. "You've only been back a few hours and I can't stand you anymore," she whispered. She looked around, still not realizing the luxury of this large mansion. The room they had given her was ridiculously big. It had its own bathroom and a huge walk-in closet, which she noticed was already full of clothes and shoes. It was Luna Astrid who had gone shopping for her at Mayson's request. She had not touched any of the clothes yet. Hers were still badly folded in her suitcases, stacked in a corner. Ready to run away, her she-wolf said. Artemis snorted.

She had gotten to know the service staff at the mansion; they were all very kind to her. One of the cooks, Karen, always brought her five-year-old son with her. Little Seth was a lively and curious child who had practically grown up in these halls, with curly black hair that was always shaggy and bright green eyes. When she first met him, the child said to her, "You are beautiful like a princess!"

"She is a princess," his mother had whispered.

"Are you the famous wolf princess?"

"I think so," Artemis had replied.

"Do you have a crown and a scepter?" the child had asked.

"Seth, enough, go play outside," had said his mother, embarrassed.

"No, no crown and scepter. Or carriages with horses. Princesses today dress and act like other people," she had replied with a smile.

Luna Astrid obviously did not miss telling her about the matebond, in more detail. Artemis found what she had told her bizarre. Werewolves fell as if struck by lightning when they met their mate, as if hit by Cupid's famous arrow. A deep bond, determined and blessed by the Moon Goddess, a choice so sacred. But, she told her, there was the possibility of rejecting or repudiating one's mate, according to certain rites and steps that Luna Astrid had avoided explaining to her. It made no sense to Artemis. Maybe the twins had done it? Maybe she should have done it? Don't even think about it, her she-wolf growled.

Every time Artemis returned to her room, alone, sadness swept over her. The first three days Tara had gone to her, every morning at 10:00 a.m., like clockwork, but then she too had disappeared for "training with the pack."

Was this going to be her life? Locked in a room, waiting for her powers to help the wolves. An object, a weapon, as Pete had told her. As Odette had also told her...

They had promised her that they would revisit the terms of the agreement with Pete once they returned to Eaglemoon, which had also been a lie.

Artemis sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She tried to visualize the faces of her parents. In the past few days, she had recovered memories, but unfortunately they were often mixed with Odette's, so she happened to see their death or negative thoughts about them again. After all that had happened, Artemis needed answers about the history of werewolves, her past and her future. At the next meeting with Luna Astrid, she would choose the topics of discussion.

The sound of a message notification made her gasp. It was Tara: Pookie, we're going out tonight! Wear a sexy dress.

She didn't have time to respond and another one came immediately: Which you obviously don't have. Wear something nice.

Artemis tried to call her, but there was no answer. The address book on that new phone Luna Astrid had bought her was very short, there were only four numbers: Tara, Luna Astrid, Caleb, Mayson. That a***ole Alpha had not even left her his number.

Another message arrived: I can't answer, I have to resume training soon. No drama, put on a dress, I'll pick you up at 8:00.

Artemis had no sexy clothes, as Tara had intended. She put on a simple long-sleeved black body and leatherette shorts; she wore socks, the temperature in Montana was not as mild as in Texas. She tied her hair into a long braid and grabbed a small black bag. No makeup, no accessories.

Tara entered her room without knocking with a big smile on her face, ran up to her and hugged her. Artemis returned the hug with less enthusiasm.

"Don't you have a dress?" Tara said, squaring her. She went to Artemis' walk-in closet and came out surprised.

"Luna Astrid bought everything," Artemis said, knowing the question.

"Then why are you dressed like that? There are some fabulous clothes in there."

"Because I feel like dressing like this," she said testily, "if you're embarrassed to go out with me, you can go out alone."

"Hey, take it easy. I'm not here to start a war. Are you mad at me?"

"You disappeared! And now you come here like it's nothing and want to party. What is there to party about?"

"I've been busy with training. And it's hard, even for a werewolf. Mayson is very strict and expects maximum effort in these things."

Artemis did not answer.

"I'm sorry, Mis! I really didn't think you were alone, I mean, having two mates must take up a lot of time." She winked.

"I don't have any mates."

"Which one have you been fighting with?"

"I haven't seen them since we got here, Tara. You've spent more time with them than I have."

"What?"

"I haven't heard or seen them."

"Didn't Mayson try to clarify after you hung up?"

Artemis nodded no. "Can we stop talking about them? Let's go wherever you want."

"They'll be at the club."

"Then have fun. I'm staying home."

"Oh come on, Mis, don't be a child. At least you'll have a chance to clear the air."

"Clear the air? You know what I'd like to do? Rip their heads off and use them as footstools," she said, growling.

"Full moon makes you nervous, huh?"

"I'm not coming, Tara. Leave me here alone like you have been doing. You all continue to pretend that I don't exist."

"Oh, come on, Drama Queen. Let's go out and get drunk and have some fun. Do you want to keep feeling like this, or is it better to talk to them and fix things? And how do you get their heads out of here?"

"I could, believe me," she replied dryly.

"Okay, Miss Magoo," Tara picked up the phone and started a call. "Change of plans: we're not coming," there was a short wait, "I know, we can't miss it because the party is for us. Understood, Mis. Surprise!" Tara remained silent, listening to her interlocutor. "Because you and your brother suck as mates," she replied.

Artemis narrowed her eyes and motioned for Tara to end the call.

"Why do I have to put you on speakerphone? Don't you have your girlfriend's number? Did she block you?" Tara looked at Artemis incredulously.

"He knows where I live," Artemis replied.

"I was out of town, got back this morning, and have been busy organizing security for the party. You can come here, so we can talk about it. Don't avoid the party to avoid me. You will still have to face me. I can come now if you want. The pack wants to meet you, this party is for you."

"I don't care," she replied in a sad voice.

"You don't care? What pack has ever thrown you a party? People here are excited to have you around, to get to know you. Why don't you try to integrate a little?" Tara said. Artemis did not answer, she remained motionless.

"Okay, you know what? I'll justify your absence from our party by telling everyone about the strange visions of the witch in your head and everything else you told me about the witchy-connection." Tara said.