Bedevilled Mate of the Demon King

Artemis' P.O.V.

Have you ever felt so invisible you were mistaken for a guy?

"Grilled chicken salad, and you for dessert perhaps, handsome?"

That flirty smile which sat prettily on beautiful pair of lips could get her any male she wanted.

Except that I wasn't a boy.

But I had stopped being offended at being mistaken for a male; thick bangs and washed grey hoodie didn't exactly scream that I was female.

It was in fact actually a surprise that I hadn't been seen as homeless charity yet; working different jobs to put myself through high school had made my skin pale, and my eyes sunken with dark circles.

But regardless of my problems, I forced a smile at the customer; my true emotions weren't going to get me any dime of tip.

And my empty account knew how much I needed them.

"Thanks but, I'm not on the menu."

She laughed in that high pitched squeaky voice, brushing her fingers over mine as I handed her order over to her.

Good thing she wasn't offended, so I put up with the physical contact although it's one of the things I feared.

I didn't flinch when she ran her fingers over my hand, her white teeth flashing brightly.

In return, she slipped twenty bucks into my rough palms along with a piece of paper on which was scribbled some numbers with terrible penmanship.

"Call me when you're on the menu, I'm always ready to order."

Then she was gone with her unique scent.

Wearing my cheap ugly clothes as I walked the streets of New York City after my night shift, I looked around in fear.

Fear of humans who walked with a pair of legs, and animals with four limbs.

And the greatest of all, humans who could shift into animals.

Werewolves.

The night air slammed hard into my face as I walked past trees, counting down as my old sneakers carried me into the old apartment building.

I ascended the long stairs, consoled by the mental image of my narrow bed where I could finally sleep and forget about my trauma.

But that comfort escaped my mind completely as soon as I got to the middle of the stairs and halted abruptly, my eyes shutting for the briefest duration of time.

They had visited; the cold-hearted creatures who had engraved the memory of fear into my heart,

And nightmares which had haunted me since that night they had torn my mother apart and left claws on her body.

Werewolves.

Their scent was potent, reminding me of the haunting image of my mother protecting me against a dozen beastly animals who had wanted to take me.

Her thick blood had drawn a map on my dress, her teary eyes filled with apologies for not protecting me enough even as her softly whispered words had been clear.

Run, survive. One day you will receive a pendant. When that happens, run, Artemis.

A gasp left my lips as those memories crawled into my head, inciting a building headache which usually accompanied the mental pain.

The ones who had murdered my mother had been here, and for some reason although my heartbeat and sharp sense organs had perked up, my feet resumed moving towards the stairs, my body removed from my brain.

The cheap lock was undone, the door and windows thrown open as I stepped in front of the studio apartment where I had slept for two years.

A burning smell of fear hit my nostrils as I took another step into my small home, a large lump of nervousness going down my throat.

For a moment, I savoured the lingering scent of beasts and fresh meat, my heartbeat so fast my ears picked it up.

My sharp blue eyes drove me to the old wooden desk.

Tonight, as the open window brought with it the aroma of the woods and trees, my carefully arranged books weren't the only things on the table.

In the middle sat an expensively packaged small box, so tiny it could fit into my palm.

It could have easily been mistaken for a simple box of Tiffany's dropped by some mysterious Prince charming who had somehow fallen in love with me.

Except that in my unfortunate life, fairytale didn't happen, and all I could see was fresh blood used to design a strange regal emblem on the box.

I opened it with shaky fingers, and my eyes took in the regal pendant designed with tiny diamond.

Beside it was a small paper in the same handwriting the woman at the diner had used to write her number,

And my name was engraved on it...

ARTEMIS.

They had come again.

To abduct me.

My mother had died protecting me; she had given me one instruction, and I wasn't going to mock her death by not obeying it.

I would do that one thing she had asked me to...

Run.

I threw jeans and hoodie and papers into a bag, grabbing water and cheap bread which I laid beside the box of contact lenses.

Hiding my sapphire blue eyes with dark contacts and cutting my flaming red hair hadn't been enough to stop me from going unnoticed.

That bitch who had come to the diner had somehow taken note of me.

I should have found it strange that she had kept trying to flirt with me for a week without asking for my name.

Five minutes later I had sent a message to the only man my mother ever trusted, the one whose contact I had found stuffed into her purse after her death.

Dr. Cock.

Nothing about my tragic life had ever been normal, and now I was out in the heavy downpour, boarding a cab which would take me to Dr. Cock's house.

"Miss, we are here."

The chauffeur pulled me out my thoughts, making me realise that he had halted in front of a condominium a good distance away from the buzz of New York.

It wasn't where I had lived with him, but was even more sophisticated and elegant.

"Oh... Thanks." I muttered to the older man watching me intently through the rearview mirror.

I was always paranoid, but something about the way he was looking at me made me uncomfortable.

Slipping the bill to him, I gritted my teeth as soon as I opened the door, my soaked body meeting another gush of rain.

I ran into the spacious compound, my head lowered to keep the rain from beating me up too harshly, my hands holding my worn out bag which wasn't waterproof.

I was here in Dr. Cock's house, from where I hoped to travel out of the country again and lay low till my hunters probably died.

Except that bad enjoyed taunting me and I always managed to fall into its trap.

It was less than a minute after I ran into the compound that streetlights and security lights went off.

I stopped right there in the middle of the rain, my eyes and body taking in the unnaturally fast object that passed me by.

Followed by another, a third, and more numbers moving back and forth past me.

They didn't smell of furs, but of fresh human blood and...

Death.

My heart stopped, and before I could do as much as utter a word, a burning pain slammed into

And I blacked out.

They found me.

It was the first thought that crossed my mind as soon as I regained consciousness.

I struggled to force my eyes open as the van I was being driven in halted in front of a gigantic mansion.

My abductors smelt and looked gravely pale even through my blurry vision.

"Hey, get the boy, Laura. The rest of you should take care of getting the others inside. The governors will have a blast today."

The boy? The others?

I couldn't ponder over my thoughts, because Laura was on me the next second, a chuckle leaving her red lips as she pushed me to the cold floors.

For the second time that night.

It hurt like a bitch being tossed around like a piece of meat.

This pain was excruciating, more than I could bear, more than I could wish on anybody.

.

"Hey, move it. Don't be such a girl and attempt to die on me before I've had the privilege of showing them the present I have okay?"

Laura chuckled and moved towards me with that superhuman speed, her stilettos digging into my butt.

Fuck, I was sweating and shivering of cold and mentally cursing more than I've done all my life.

"Giddy up, boy. Move it."

I forced myself upwards, gritting my teeth as my eyes made the mistake of turning towards the van beside ours.

They were dragging bodies through the cold floors, laughing as they dragged them by the arm, effortlessly pushing their injured bodies into an open door.

"What the fuck you're looking at? Want me to drag you that way? Get your tushy moving or I drain you."

I didn't understand Laura's statement, nor was I stupid enough to stop once I heard that venomous tone in her voice.

Cold slammed harshly into my chest as soon as I stepped into those dark gigantic doors which shimmered like the footprints of blood on the floors.

There was music so loud it was vibrating through my head and increasing my migraine, but that was nothing compared to the image of the most creepy party.

The interior design of the mansion was built with floor to ceiling glass windows and curtains which were currently stained with blood.

They held and sipped at glasses of fresh blood, and some of them were divided into groups, their clothes discarded as they engaged in orgies.

As they fucked those sweaty bodies and swung them around like a pair of ragdoll, their teeth were buried on different parts of their bodies, latching on them.

Straws of long fangs and razor-sharp finger nails used in tearing bodies apart.

I was disgusted and repulsed as I realised so late, what exactly was going on here and who these people were...

Fucking bloody vampires.

Hell, they were drinking from those who had been taken like me.

What would happen to me?

"Fuck, if you weren't a special treat for the king, I would have taken you now. Your pure virgin blood fucking turns me on."

Laura said behind me.

A trail of wetness accompanied her words as she swiped her tongue against my neck.

Everything in me hated her and something beastly which I hadn't felt since the time I watched my mother die, wanted to rip her apart.

I wanted to snap, something was building inside me and threatening to break free.

A few steps later filled with the disturbing sounds of moans and grunts, I was away from the party.

Security officers with pale skin and similar hunky features stood on each end of the hall, hissing hungrily as I walked slowly past them.

Somehow I understood fear more with each step I took towards the deathly silent hall.

Fear...

Terror...

A chilling aura enveloped me.

It was more, stronger than all the feelings I had whenever I thought of my mother's death.

By the time we were two steps away from the expansive doors in regal black and red, my feet had chosen to stop moving.

I was shivering beyond control and my heartbeat was so high even Laura gasped beside me.

Without attempting to say a word to me, the bitch swiped her card and as soon as the doors slid open, I was picked up and flung against the wall of the dark room.

Fuck...

Fuck...

I wanted to die.

The pain I experienced wasn't bearable, especially as my head went flying first, the sound of my bone kissing the wall so violently obvious to my own ears.

"You do know how to make an entrance in a way that pleases me, Laura."

Efortless brutality and authority dripped from words spoken without any attempt to intimidate.

That raspy quality of wicked allure had me crumbling into a ball, my limbs painful and lungs destroyed by the impact of that hit.

Laura stepped in with those high stilettos she had dug into my ass, her leather pants hugging slender thighs and expansive hips. "I only aim to please, your highness."

The dimness of the light made me see mere silhouettes of fast moving people.

There had been other people in the room apart from the king before we came in, females who smelt of warmth and were very much alive.

It didn't take time to realise that they were humans, completely nude.

They hadn't also expressed any surprise when I was thrown against the wall, but had chuckled.

How fucked up could this night get exactly?

Laura ran her fingers through the King's, seductively.

"We brought you a little surprise. The doctor was gone by the time we got there so we took all the neighbours, but guess what we didn't expect to see? A piece of meat he had been conversing with over the years. Seems they were planning to run away tonight or something; the boy had his bag packed and all. The doctor must have been keeping a son secret from the rest of his little family."

Oh fuck. I...I wasn't his son but a whimper could only leave my lips when I wanted to speak.

I was grateful that he had managed to run but now I was caught in the middle of this and...

"Interesting. Get out, all of you Go service my governors at the party and get good information for me. Lights!"

Within minutes, the lights came on fully and the girls gathered torn garter belts and pantyhose, their small tits swaying as their hurriedly wore heels, the doors shutting as they left us alone.

Thick wetness rolled down my face, covering a part of my eye, and I realised when my palm touched it, that it was my own blood.

And hell, the two vampires smelt it immediately, their burning stares making me turn away from them as I struggled to keep something from breaking free inside of me.

Snarls, hisses sounded as I found myself against the wall again in the space of a few minutes, rough capable fingers wrapping around my throat.

I was going to die, drained of all blood and discarded somewhere and no one was going to look for me.

Yet my senses could only take in the aroma of pure masculinity, and my delicate throat groped with such strength could only wish for his touch.

To be choked into submission.

It was the first physical contact that hadn't repulsed me in years and my eyes opened, struck by the gripping attractive pull I was having towards him.

I saw him in the light for the first time; cruel beauty and sculpted bronze features highlighted by chiselled jaw and silver eyes.

His beauty was evil and the coldness of his heart so chilling it washed my skin in the rays of goosebumps.

Then he parted his arresting sensual lips and bared his fangs in fury...

For the first time in my life, I experienced sexual attraction and it was so potent I shivered for another reason in his arms.

I couldn't understand what was happening to me; the need to bury my face in his cold chest and seek warmth in a heart dead as a grave.

Nor did I understand the words he spoke next through gritted teeth that reeked of fury.

"This is no boy, nor a fucking ward of the doctor."

"Wha... Your highness?"

My lips parted as my eyes widened immediately, my body rendered numb the moment he let go of me and in the next second, yanked the top of my hoodie and pulled it apart.

Then he muttered the next words, chilling me to death.

"You fucking brought me a werewolf! A damn she-wolf!"

I wasn't a fucking werewolf or she-wolf or whatever other name given to the bloody monsters who had killed my mother.

This man who towered six foot above me duplicated before my exhausted eyes, yet I felt that magnifying pull of attraction increase and my heartbeat speed up.

He was deviously beautiful, blessed with the most arresting features of chestnut hair which cascaded over his shoulders.

I didn't like him, but my heart was jumping in excitement and my senses processing the glorious aroma of his scent.

I didn't know what it meant; why I was so enraptured by this sinfully handsome devil or why I wanted him so much I wrapped my arms over my sides to keep them from doing something stupid.

Like ask him to keep me in his...

What was happening?

What in the world was wrong with me?

As I made the mistake of looking up again to stare at this devil of destruction, I had the urge to beg him to take my soul with him.

"A...wolf? You....I...couldn't you be mistaken erhm?"

Laura's shaky voice reminded me that I wasn't alone with this man whom I hadn't seen till today and yet felt like I had known him all my life.

The connection I felt with him made me feel his seething fury more, but an instant ache slammed into my chest when his eyes focused directly on mine.

He hated me.

Those fiery silver orbs were filled with resentment.

That kick to my gut had me swallowing hard, and I clutched tightly to my chest, protecting my body with the cheap bra and vest which he looked at briefly...

I felt it again; small at the way he regarded my exposed body. There wasn't a hint of attraction in his eyes, but rather fury and hate and disregard.

As though I were ugly, like I didn't matter.

"Mistaken? What did you fucking say?"

He turned away from me, stalking Laura who had lost the confidence on her bitchy face and started stuttering.

"I...didn't mean you were mistaken. I just...he can't... She, we thought it was human, just brought her as a meal and..."

"You didn't confirm? You know what I don't pardon, Laura..."

"I...Xavier please... I...I'll show you a good time if you..."

The rest of her words were drowned in the musky smell of dark blood which splashed over the wall and on my face a second later.

Stunned, it took a full minute for my eyes to absorb the sight before me, that this tall slender blonde who had been willing to please the king few minutes ago, slumped on the floors, her heart ripped out of her body.

A whimper, a gasp, and a piercing scream tore from my lips before I could stop it, my palms shaking as they made contact with my face.

Some of that blood had got on my lip.

I was sure of the emotion of anxiety which stripped me of the luxury of caution

I was unable to feel the warmth of my own body anymore, and my eyes shook as the man I had been admiring discarded Laura's heart as if it were any other object.

His fingers were stained with blood, his teeth and lips crimson red from latching on her neck.

In a second all these had happened; someone had been killed in front of me, and when he turned towards me, fear spread through my veins.

And to seal that deal of ensuring my emotional torture, he fucking winked at me.

"Don't act like she treated you nicely. Now, she-wolf, tell me your role in aiding the doctor's escape and I might be persuaded to give you a merciful death."

I would die today, and from something I wasn't aware of.

Yet even after witnessing that sight and watching him wipe the blood over a white handkerchief which he threw unceremoniously at the dead body, I still felt that hope return.

Hope that if I told him the truth, he would pardon me.

Hope that I would wake up and discover that he hadn't just murdered someone so brutally.

"I...I am no wolf." It was the only thing I could mutter as my eyes mistakenly fell on that body again.

Her eyes were agape, staring at me, blaming me for her death.

Just as my mother's had been.

It was clear that I had been cursed. I didn't doubt it anymore.

His response was a chuckle, a low deadly laughter which sent shivers down my spine.

Forcing my eyes upwards, I stared at him with teary face, imploring the hopeless humanity I couldn't even see a trace of in his eyes.

"I...don't know anything about this." I was barely whispering, my words inaudible and incomprehensible even to my own self.

I was feeling so many emotions I couldn't explain and the scent of blood was so choking I wanted to throw up.

I felt dirty from sweat and the rain and dust, and now my body was stained with blood and I had the urge to scratch it off.

I needed a bath, I had to get away from here before I puked or passed out again.

I couldn't let this man kill me without a fight; I had stood by helplessly and watched my mother get killed and I resented myself for it.

"I enjoy a challenge, little one. Too bad I don't drink from kids or you would have been empty of that damn wolf bloodline in you. I ask you again, where did you agree to meet with the scientist?"

That was it, the moment I decided to die fighting.

But since I was so weak and powerless against this man I hated myself for it, I fought in the only way I knew how...

I ran.

I dashed towards the door and yanked the door open, the feeling of invincibility taking over me as I moved faster than I had in my whole life.

It was...almost as if I were a vampire, a supernatural force driving me out in the hall where a stunned group of security stared at me in confusion.

I was almost flying, taking the other route which led to the only form of escape I could see...

The glass floor to ceiling windows...

A metahuman strength I had never felt in my body before tore from my limbs, a low growl leaving my throat as I made for the window.

I felt it in me; the sudden ability to shatter a window that mighty in size and quality, and I felt unafraid against the fast movements behind me.

I was almost as fast, and I nearly made it to my escape route when my body was torn from the floors and thrown against the walls.

This time I was sure that I was flying, my eyes taking in the astonished vampires who looked afraid for some reason and the king himself standing in front of them.

I felt beautiful, glorious, so fucking powerful I couldn't control the growl that tore consciously from my throat.

Then I was howling, my body aching as my limbs stretched the hardest they had ever done.

I saw indigo and felt a powerful change gathering inside me, my mind losing control over my body.

But that change was never completed, as that cruel monster of a man speedily jumped on me the next second, flinging and throwing me into the room I had just run away from.

I couldn't count anymore, the number of times I had been through this in the duration of one night.

My head bashed into the golden jug on the table, spilling warm blood which my body crashed into.

But it wasn't enough for him. I was picked again and flung against the other side of the wall, then again, and again.

Weakness and pain slammed hard into my body and bones, crushing that strong will I had suddenly developed.

The group of security rushed in and surrounded me, their eyes focused on their king's, awaiting his decision.

"I am Xavier, little wolf. None of your kind wanders into my territory and leaves, alive. Since you've taken away the privilege of merciful death I was going to grant you, I will ensure that it's slow, and agonising."