Chapter 27
Reuniting with everyone was a surreal experience. We were still in our wolf forms when I was attacked by them and licked all over, yelps and whimpers escaping them to express their joy. I joined them too, eagerly pouncing on them and letting out my own Conan's grey wolf was on me immediately, rubbing his head against mine.
whimpers.
The dark brown wolves behind me lingered a little back and I noticed how some of the wolves eyed them warily. Santiago's sandy wolf approached Romeo's darker one slowly, sniffing him and Romeo sniffed him back. They circled each other for a moment, their tails wagging.
'Guys, lets all shift to make this easier,' I suggested. Celia and Lucy left, disappearing into the caves before coming back out in their human forms carrying clothes.
They handed out sweatpants and shorts to the males and oversized tops and dresses to the females. We all shifted and slipped on our clothing, mine being a long and worn band t shirt.
I was quickly engulfed in a hug from Conan, his long arms wrapping around my body and pulling me into his bare chest.
"I thought something bad had happened to you," he murmured into my hair.
"I'm fine Conan," I assured, pulling back to introduce everyone properly.
"Everyone, this is my uncle Diego and my cousin Romeo. We escaped the pack together and they'll be living with us," My uncle gave a smile back but Romeo was staring at Santiago.
"Santiago? Santiago Lopez?" Romeo asked, stepping forward.
"Romeo, you fat shit, look at you," Santiago greeted. The otherwise quiet males both embraced each other in a tight hug, patting each other's backs loudly. They pulled apart and my cousin looked at me, a wide smile on his lips. "Artemis, this is Santiago Lopez," I chuckled.
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"We grew up together, this guy used to bully me," Santiago chuckled, slapping Romeo's back playfully.
"Well Santiago, this is my cousin Cynthia Garcia, better known as Artemis," Santiago squinted at me, his eyes running over my face.
"Garcia? As in Mica and Sophia Garcia?" He asked. I nodded in response and his eyes widened. "You're the Alphas' daughter," He blinked at me and I saw everyone else glance at me from the corner of my eye.
"I'll explain everything later but right now let's relax and get to know each other properly," I turned to Erica, my eyes running over her and noting all the changes.
Her ashy blonde hair was cut into a choppy bob that hung just below her ears and her skin look tanned and a little flushed. Her silver eye gleamed at me as I smiled at her.
"Erica, you look well," her lips twitched into the barest of smiles as she shrugged nonchalantly.
"The weather here's nice," I sensed more wolves hovering around in the forest. I caught some just behind the thick tree line.
"My brother and some friends are visiting. I hope you don't mind,"
"Of course I don't mind. The more the merrier. You can come out now," I watched as seven wolves emerged from the shadows, all in varying shades of dark grey and black. Some I recognised from several nights ago, when I had confronted them in the forest. Their eyes remained fixed on me before they shifted and slipped on some clothes.
The leading wolf had ashy blond hair falling messily on his grey eyes and face. The resemblance between him and Erica was uncanny.
"Artemis, this is my brother Ezra," she then gestured to the two twins behind him. "This is Silas and Sebastian," I gave them a warm greeting which they kindly returned.
The two twins looked to be of Eastern European descent with pale skin, thin lips and blue eyes. They had matching dark blond hair.
Erica continued introducing the rest of the wolves as they all began mingling with everyone else. As I watched everyone engage in chatter, I felt something was still missing. I turned to Conan who still had an arm draped around my waist.
"I'll be back, I just need to look for someone," he looked ready to protest but must have noticed the determination in my eyes as he gave me a small nod and let me go. I quickly scurried off into the forest, not bothering to shift as I let my feet guide me.
As I crossed a river did I finally reach my destination. A familiar cottage stood before me with an even more familiar woman standing at the entrance, giving me a knowing smirk.
"You took your time," she raised a white brow. I chuckled, shaking my head to myself as I approached her.
"It's been a while Diana, how are you?" I took a moment to assess her, noting just how more wrinkly her face appeared.
"I should be asking you that question," she placed her hand on my cheek, her green eyes searching mine. I vaguely wondered what she saw.
"You found your mate," I blew out a breath I didn't know I was holding. My mind thought back to Aurelius. I wondered if he noticed I was missing.
"But it's weird. He marked me but it disappeared and now I feel different when I think of him. My chest doesn't hurt like it used to,"
She eyed me for a moment longer, her thin lips pursed.
"It's strange but not completely unheard of," she muttered to herself. Before I could speak up, I heard several footsteps fast approaching. I turned to see my uncle and cousin and some of the wolves break through the tree line just before the cottage. Conan and my uncle shifted back, Conan looking at me apologetically while my uncle stared wide eyed at Diana. I figured introductions were in order.
"Everyone, this is my friend Diana. She helped me when I was younger," the wolves dropped their defensive stances. "Diana, this is my-,"
"Conan, its nice to finally meet you. Diego, I've been expecting you," I wasn't the only one surprised that she somehow knew their names. My uncle's eyes widened.
"So you are the moon goddess!" He exclaimed. I turned to give Diana a questioning look. She let out a short bark of a laugh, shaking her head.
"No, I'm not the moon goddess, but you're not too far off," Uncle's shoulders sagged with disappointment. "As flattering as that is, the answer is much more simple than you'd think," she continued.
"I'm a spirit wolf, and Artemis here is going to be my successor."