Artemis’ POV
I return home in the middle of the night, and through the passages, I manage to sneak back into the mansion without being seen. The corridors remain quiet, and from experience, I know the guards' routes, so I dodge them, silently tiptoeing.
I reach the second floor and stop at my best friend's room just two doors down from mine.
"For the Goddess's sake, Artemis. You look like sh*t; what happened to you?"
Letitia, tall and beautiful, is not the kind of person to keep things quiet or censor what she thinks. She is the daughter of the pack Beta, Anson Stark. She’s a slim-complexioned girl with slanted eyes and a freckled nose, the product of a mix between a mother of Korean descent and an English father. She wears her hair straight down to her hips, dyed half black and half strawberry blonde.
Originally Letitia and I were trained to be rivals, but soon the competition gave way and we found in each other that sister and confidant we hadn’t had before. Because her mother died when she was little and her father is distant, we both understand what it is like to be alone in the world.
Without another word, she opens the door and lets me in, inspecting the hallway to make sure no one has seen us, as Amanita is a stickler for rules. My friend immediately closes the door behind me and gets me a towel and some fresh clothes.
"May I ask what happened to you?" she asks me, raising an eyebrow.
"If I tell you, you won't believe it, but the truth is that I don't believe it either," I say. I sit down on the bed next to her and I dry my hair. "Today, I discovered the man that marked me when I was eighteen," I whisper.
Letitia opens her eyes wide and looks at me as if a meteorite had just fallen into the room. She grabs a pillow and hits me with it, halfway between laughter and surprise.
"No sh*t?! That's a piece of great news, Arttie," she boasts.
I shake my head. "It's not what you think," I clarify and look down at my hands. The feel of Beck's touch is still in them, reminding me of his gaze, his warmth, and the way his lips had lightly brushed mine.
"The man who marked me, my destined mate, is... my next assignment, Lettie. He is the leader of the silver moon pack," I say.
"Holy sh*t!" Letitia exclaims, unable to contain herself, and then she covers her mouth.
Ironically, she only swears when she's with me. We don't get much chance to be ourselves in the pack, so when we're alone, we relax and express ourselves freely.
"Arttie, it can't be. If Baltazar finds out, he's going to freak out."
"He can't know," I say immediately.
Lititia shakes her head. "Of course not. And you know I won't say a word, but d*mn, Arttie, this is big."
"Wait, it gets better," I add sarcastically as I slump back against the bed.
"Better than ‘your mate is the leader of the enemy pack’? Well, spill it out." She settles on the bed, cross-legged and with her eyes on me.
I sigh. "He’s also the murderer of my parents," I say.
Then an awkward silence pervades the room, and for the first time, Letitia is speechless, which is quite a novelty. I cannot look at her now because I know she is trying to process what I’ve told her.
So instead, I stare at the ceiling while thinking about Beck. Whether he is my enemy or my ally, I have no choice but to admit that he made some impressive moves when fighting.
The way he dodged me, making just the right effort to block my hits, is something to be admired, considering that it takes a lot of preparation to fight that way and keep calm in the middle of a fight.
All that also shows that he’s something more than I could ever have imagined. He didn't earn the title of the most powerful Alpha in the city for nothing. The way he moved and the way he spoke so confidently.
All those thoughts mix together with the memory of his scent and the piercing silver gaze he kept fixed on me. I can't deny how attracted I feel to Beck, how much my body calls for him. And at the same time, I hate myself for it.
"What will you do now?" she asks in a serious tone.
I shake my head. "The only thing I can do, the one thing I know how to do better than anyone else."
She knows what my words mean. We both know. I will die the day I end Beck's life, but, after all, that has been the only true mission of my life.
Letitia says nothing and instead stays with me for a while longer, being the caring, unconditional friend she has always been.
Before I leave, she gives me a big hug, something unusual for her.
***
The night passes slowly, and I can't fall asleep. I keep thinking about Beck, and his silver eyes keep haunting my thoughts. By the time morning comes, I am ready to leave, as I know that the Luna, Amanita, cannot tolerate lateness.
She arrives at the appointed time and enters the room without knocking, but as this is normal, I wait for her, standing quietly and calmly in front of the door. She does not say good morning but instead begins to walk around me as if detailing every aspect of myself and even giving me a thumbs up.
I am careful not to let her skin brush against mine because Amanita possesses the power as a Mystic to read people's memories when she comes in contact with their skin, so I must be cautious, or she’ll see exactly what happened last night.
"Good. I guess you're ready," Amanita says as she stands in front of me. She's a head shorter than me, but I've never let that detail make me feel that she's not as lethal as I know she is.
"You have to remember what's important about this mission, Artemis. We need you to get close to Beck and become his friend, confidant, and lover. We want him to trust you, to tell you all his secrets. You have to get under his skin."
I nod as I feel the bitter laughter welling up inside me. If only she knew how close Beck and I are. She would surely use that to her advantage and then kill me because I would be too much of a threat to them.
"I will carry out the orders, leader Luna," I affirm.
She nods. "I know you will," she replies.
And of course, for me, there is no other choice. It's this or death.
Only then does she nod, and, without another word, she leads the way in front of me. I follow her.
As I leave my room and all I've known behind me, I think of Beck, and his eyes, waiting for me at the end of this path.
It has always been a matter of life and death with him, come to think of it.