VELTOR WEREWOLF HUNTING SCHOOL

“And that's how humans and wolves made a pact not to mess with each other. Humans live in their world and wolves live in theirs, but coexisting on the same planet. The last war between humans and wolves was 5000 million years ago. It is also said that it was the last Queen of Rogues, the one who joined the mighty first Hybrid King, made harmony between humans and wolves possible by giving birth to the first vampire baby born to a Hybrid and the Queen of Rogues. Since then, no rogue can be considered a threat. It is believed that rogues are now adopted by the first wolf pack that finds them.” 

Mesmerized by what her father told her, Artemis smiled with her head resting on both hands. There were many things Artemis loved about her dads, such as: their cooking skills, their varied knowledge in everything, the musical instrument they played and the way they played it, not to mention their bravery to take on the world and stand up for the love they both shared, but if there was one thing that topped Artemis list and it was the many, many stories they had to share with their daughter. There was no way Artemis could fall asleep in the middle of retelling a story she had heard more than 10 times in a row. It was still fascinating to believe that creatures like werewolves and vampires could also live in the world she lived in. Of course that was only fiction, the kind of fiction she loved. 

Artemis was a special child, she had grown up with that thought in her mind and as such she considered herself to be, maybe because it wasn't that every day you met children with two dads, or maybe because it wasn't that every day you met loving children with so much hidden courage in the heart raised by two loving men, whatever the reason was Artemis felt special and people indeed considered her as a precious gem. Yes, Artemis was a special girl, but none of those facts could be considered definitive. Perhaps, the real reason was much darker than everyone thought.        

“Okay, we're done for the day,” the man with the smile in his eyes and short stature said as he stood up.  

“But when will you tell me the next part? You never said what happened with that vampire boy, you never said where werewolves can be found!” Artemis wanted to know with so much desperation. 

“I'm sorry, young lady, but this is nothing but legends and tales, nothing more,” he replied at the same time he pinched her nose. “By the way, don't you have to train for the competition in three weeks?” 

Artemis crossed her arms over her chest and tapped lightly on the wooden floor of her small house in the middle of the village. “I'm tired of winning the gold medal over and over, my wall is covered with silver and gold medals! Even daddy Barney had to put some in your room! I’m too good at this,” she said, being a bit haughty. 

Abraham laughed and messed with his daughter's hair as if she were some kind of puppy that everyone wanted to touch. And Artemis simply allowed her father to love her as always. “But I never get tired of bragging about my daughter, who is the best at fencing!” 

Artemis merely smiled and shrugged. Story time was over and now it was time to help her other father set the table. 

“The food's almost ready! Set the table!” Barney yelled from the small kitchen. 

“I'll get the glasses!” Abraham said and ran into the kitchen. 

There was no time in the day more beautiful and exquisite than that. Perhaps that was one of the reasons Artemis always got the gold medal - for the exquisite food her dads prepared for her.  

“I'll help you bring the dishes!” She said, running after her father Abraham, but as soon as she reached the kitchen, she realized her mistake. Her dads were kissing and hugging each other so lovingly that it was uncomfortable to look at them. Artemis couldn't help but roll her eyes. “Oh, God, not again, not again!” 

Abraham and Barney laughed as they pulled apart. 

“I didn't tell you to come after me!”     

“You should have put up a warning!” Artemis said as she walked out of the kitchen. 

“For the second time, I didn't tell you to come after me!” and then, everyone started laughing.  

That was exactly the kind of life Artemis lived every day. That was the kind of life she described as perfect. She had two loving gay parents who loved each other as much as they loved Artemis, she was friends with almost everyone in the town where they lived, she was on the fencing team, and she had been practicing since she was 5 years old so there was nothing she could be missing in life, well... except the fact of a boy. Suddenly something was missing in her life, suddenly she couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to have a boy by her side pushing her to her dreams, celebrating her victories, telling her how proud he was to have a girlfriend like her... But as her parents always said, anything but at the right time. 

Suddenly there was a knock on the wooden door. Laughing, Artemis' dads went to open the door while she took a seat, ready to start eating. But her dads’ laughter was silenced by the person who had just arrived and that was something Artemis noticed immediately, which made her get up and go to greet the person who was outside the house. 

Staying behind her father Abraham, Artemis could see that the person in front of them was the same man with a beard, long black hair and hard gestures, who always wore clothes made of animal skin and carried two knives on each side on his waist. He never smiled, or at least Artemis had never seen him smile in the last 17 years she remembered he visited her dads once every 6 months. The man was welcomed and allowed to enter. Barney looked at his daughter. 

“Artemis, would you give us a few minutes? We need to talk to our guest.”

17 years, 17 years had gone by without Artemis hearing from this person who came by from time to time and with whom she had never shared more than 5 words; 17 years had passed without either of her dads telling her why she could not be present when they talked to the man, and 17 years had already weighed a lot. Artemis was starting to get tired of it. Her dads had always answered all her questions, but they’d never had any intention of explaining anything about the man to her. 

“Why don't we all eat? We were about to-” 

“Artemis!” Abraham raised his voice a little. It was enough for her to understand that her dads and that man needed some privacy. “Go practice, honey. The competition is in three weeks and your father and I will be there to see you win the gold medal again.” 

Artemis took her sword and left her house, realizing that she had not reached the age to hear what her dads had to say to the man.       

Yes, Artemis had described her life as perfect but every time that man appeared that perfection faded away. She also wanted to know why he appeared every 6 months. She also wanted to know why her dads' smiles faded when he arrived. She also wanted to know what that secret was that they kept from her. Maybe she was special but for the wrong reasons.  

Fed up with the situation, she sat down on the overgrown roots of a huge tree that protected her with its shade. Her sword at her side fell. She was tired of the situation and it wasn't until her teenage years that she was able to see it as a problem.  

It didn't take a fortune teller to figure out what her routine would be once that one of her dads came to pick her up and told her she could come back, she would eat, bathe and then go to the room with her parents to have a blood transfusion in her while telling her it was necessary if she wanted to continue doing what she loved most and not let her mother's illness take over her body, and so it would be until the new 6 months passed, and the cycle started again. 

“Oh, Artemis, what are you doing here?” 

Artemis looked up and saw that it was one of her friends whom she was fencing. 

“Oh, Anna, I'm here to practice, but everyone must be at home since it’s lunchtime.” 

“Well, I'm here!” The little girl opened her arms and smiled. She was always willing to help her friend with anything she wanted, knowing how much she loved fencing.  

*****

The atmosphere had become heavier. Abraham and Barney acted nervous as they did every time the black-haired man came to their house to unsettle the peace. Across from them, the black-haired man sat, waiting for one of the two men to bring the instruments they were going to need to draw his blood as they did every 6 months as part of the agreement they had signed 17 years ago.

“Have you found anything against the Black Blood Moon pack?”    

One of the dads looked at his husband and shook his head. The big man in front of them sighed and put a hand to his forehead. 

“You're taking too long.” 

“You know that Black Blood Moon pack is the most powerful among the others.” 

“Yes! I have been given my blood and the blood of my men and even my son’s blood  for 17 years and you haven't found the right poison that can kill those bastards. What are you waiting for, you want them to slaughter us like they slaughtered the pack where that girl's mother lived?” 

Abraham looked out the window just to see if his daughter wasn't around and then put a finger to his lips asking for silence.

“Please, Archie, our daughter can't know who she is.” 

“Why? I'm getting tired of this. It's been 17 years since the time you said you'd find a poison to kill those bastards and you haven't found anything. Maybe if your daughter would know that she belongs to the wolf world and the most sadistic pack killed her mother, she'd start doing something!”

“We can't do that to her! As soon as the other packs know who she is, they will force her to do something she may not want to do! Abraham and I have promised that we won't let her go until she finds her mate. Her mate is the only one who can protect her and love her!” Barney explained as he began the process of drawing the man's blood. 

“B*llsh*t!” 

“That's no b*llsh*t! That's how mates feel! The Moon Goddess has bonded mates!”

“As far as I know, she's not a simple she-wolf, how do you know she has her fated mate too?”

Barney looked at Abraham. Neither of them had an answer to that question. But they wanted to think that the Goddess Moon had been fair to her too, her more than anyone else. 

“I don't want Black Blood Moon pack or any other pack to know about this. It's been 17 years, they may soon find out the truth. You have to hurry, you have to hurry and think of a poison that can kill them!” The man raised his voice and pulled out the needle in his vein before taking his knives and leaving the house. 

Silently again Abraham looked at his husband. He couldn't help but cry. Barney went over to him and hugged him like those days when the storm wouldn't pass, like those days when they didn't know if they had done right by adopting Artemis knowing who she was. 

“Shhh, don't cry, don't cry my love, it's going to be okay,” Barney said to his partner. 

“Do you think he's right? What if Artemis finds out the truth, what if the Black Blood Moon pack finds us? They can't, they can't find her!”   

“No one will, Abraham, no one will. Artemis is strong, she will know the truth when the time is right. We will find the poison, we will give it to the humans and the Black Blood Moon pack will disappear.”

“Are you sure?” 

“I'm sure, my love,” Abraham looked at his partner and wiped away tears with his thumb. “Now go get our daughter, she has to eat well. In three weeks it's her competition and we'll be there to see how she wins the gold medal. Again. In the meantime, I'll put this blood in the refrigerator.” 

Those words made Abraham smile and then he went off to find his daughter. 

*******

Snarling, red eyes darkened by the hatred he felt for innocent people trying to live longer as any other species would, bla