Mate To The Ruthless Alpha

ARTEMIS' POV TWELVE YEARS AGO "Oh, no dear, we don't go that far," Mother cautioned, holding my hand firmly and pulling me away from the pine trees. Accompanying Mother to the forest to gather fruits, herbs, and finely shaped woods was one of my favorite things to do, but Mother never let me cross the pine trees. She says it's too dangerous, and we don't go that far. My little five-year-old heart sank in disappointment at her words. "But mother," I voiced my yearning, pointing at the woods. Mother grabbed my hands and led me back to the village. "We do not go beyond the pines, Artemis," Mother said again, in a calm, soft, and sweet tone. Tears were welled up in my eyes. I could feel the woods calling strongly for me. FIVE YEARS GOING "Artemis," Mother called, having caught me red-handed, going beyond the pines. She wore a disappointed look. She had to constantly watch me, every time we went out for herbs and her warning hadn't changed even after all these years. "We do not go beyond the pines, Artemis," she voiced again, for the umpteenth time in the last five years. "But why?" I was finally old enough to query my mother's decision, or so I thought. I was ten. "Oh, dear," she expressed calmly. "Monsters live beyond the pines…" she began, as she led me by the hand back to the village. My eyes widened in shock at her mention of the word monsters. "The gods have protected us, by creating the division between us and the monsters with those pines," she continued, "Out there, they cannot protect us…" "Woah!" I exclaimed, not in fear, in curiosity. 'What kind of monsters?' My poor little heart needed more information. EIGHT YEARS LATER PRESENT DAY "Look who's a big girl now," Mother said, running a comb through my thick brown and blonde hair. I had always wondered why my hair appeared in stripes of two different colors, some of the other kids I grew up with found it fascinating, and others just made fun of me for being different. Either way, I was not allowed to play or mingle with any of the kids. Their parents had a strict rule to not associate with the healer's kid and although I never understood it, all of that didn't matter to me, I was my mother's priceless jewel. I never really got along with anyone here, but it was okay. I was different, "special" in my mother's words. A few of the villagers put up with me when they had to come to my mother for healing and help. She was the village healer and it fascinated me, I dreamed of taking over from her, and I was finally old enough. Tomorrow I turn eighteen! I tossed and turned on the bed, I was filled with excitement and I couldn't sleep. "Good morning Mother!" I got out of bed very early, with peak excitement. "Mother?" My excitement slowly drowned. She was nowhere in sight. "Mother!" I called at the top of my voice. 'Had she gone to pick some herbs on my birthday morning without me?' I thought, 'Was she planning a surprise?' I walked to the woods, where I was hoping to find her. It was still the dark hours of the morning and I could neither hear nor see her anywhere in the woods where we'd get herbs and woods. "Mother!" I continued to call, not relenting and walking farther into the woods. I was filled with fear but pushed through anyway. I eventually got to the pines. 'Mother would never be here,' I thought to myself. We hadn't gotten this far into the woods since I was ten. I turned around to leave but felt my legs too heavy to walk away. 'What was beyond those pines?' My curiosity about the other side of the woods hadn't dropped a bit. I was still that five-year-old running towards the pines or that ten-year-old crying and asking why. I took a weak step away, 'Mother would be sad,' I said. Just then I heard the rattling of dry leaves. "Mother?" I turned around swiftly. My eyes caught no one, but just before I left, I saw someone running through the woods. I ran quickly after her, beyond the pines. I pursued it for a while with no success. She was too fast and I was amazed by such speed. I lost her ten minutes into the chase, I paused breathing heavily, and looking around, I found that I was equally lost in the woods, beyond the pines. 'This was not good,' I felt my intestines tying into knots. "Hello?" I called with a strong voice, "Hello?" It was still and quiet, apart from the echoes of my loud call. I began to walk through the woods with no sense of direction, hopefully, it led me back home. I walked until my feet were sore and it was now sunrise. I was going to sit on a giant tree root and catch a breath when my eyes caught something. 'Perhaps the lady I chased after,' I walked in the direction of the noise. It only led into gradual darkness. 'Well, this was weird, it was day, why did it get darker as I went further into the woods?' My jaw dropped at the sight that waited for me beyond the darkness. 'She didn't tell folktales,' I thought, shaking terribly from the tip of my hair to those of my feet. The monsters mother spoke of, they existed! Two huge creatures stood before me, one slightly looking bigger than the other. The bigger one was midnight black, while the other was a mixed color of black and white, almost like my striped hair. They both looked vicious and bore their canines at me. I opened my mouth to let out a scream, but my voice was inaudible, even to me. The bigger creature sprung at me with its claws and teeth. The last thing I remembered was its high jump that launched him towards me. I dropped to the ground, unconscious.