She hadn't seen him nor heard his face for about two days now which didn't seem like a lot, but having spent nearly moment with him for the past half a year, she had missed his presence the moment the cars had left the driveway.

She had been trying to keep her herself busy but in moments like this, when she was alone -she was currently showering but that was besides the point- she was left to her thoughts.

The nights were the worst.

Artemis didn't know how she had ever had a peaceful night's sleep with Sol by her side.

She couldn't call him because for obvious reasons, in case they were heard or she called at the wrong times but texting was still on the table. He hadn't replied to the 'good morning' text that she had sent him that morning so she assumed that he was either busy or unable to reply back.

She hated sleeping by herself.

Sol had mentioned earlier that they would be back in two days but it had already been two days and she had spent the whole of the third anxiously waiting for him, looking out the window to see if he was back yet. She had been trying to keep herself busy, helping out around the pack and spending some time with Diana, Clark's mate whom had also joined Sol and all the other wolves that were following their human prisoner on what they hoped was not a wild goose chase.

Artemis had also been spending some time with the wolves that were kept at the human facility, the ones that were just like her. It had been really awkward at first especially since she was the only one who remembered anything about her past, though she did vaguely recognise a few of them, one of them even being kept in a cage in the same room as her. She remembered speaking to him every night when the humans had locked them up and left the rooms, discussing what their life would be like if they ever managed to escape.

In a building full of humans whom exploited and violated them on a daily basis as well as deprived, depressed werewolves whom couldn't remember the last time they could decide for themselves or even control their lives, Isaac -the wolf that she could always rely on for late night talks about a future that neither of them ever expected to have- was someone she could rely on.

Isaac was a friend among strange faces whom she saw on a daily basis but didn't know a slight bit about, and the fact that he couldn't remember her after spending a decade locked in cages in the same room together, it hurt.

Seeing all those wolves -her band of misfits as they all liked to call them including the wolves themselves- brought on a lot of memories that she hadn't been ready to face which resulted her in avoiding them all of today even when Diana had mentioned that a few of them were looking at her, wanting to sit around and talk.

But she was determined to change that tomorrow.

Artemis didn't know how much speaking to them about what she remembered of her past and the things that had been done to them would help, but she was glad that all of them seemed to believe her despite how far fetched it sounded. It did help that none of them could remember their past and what had happened to them, with absolutely no idea of what had happened to them to make them forget a huge chunk of their lives. And then there was also the fact that all of them had some sort of enhanced, unexplainable ability even for a supernatural creature such as themselves.

She also wanted to talk to them about the chips in their necks. Clark had mentioned it before he left that their respective Alpha's had all told them about the chips so she knew that it must be a hot topic of discussion amongst them. She had no intention of forcing them to remove the chip or discouraging them from doing so, but she was determined to bring up the topic, explaining both the positives and negatives of either having or not having the procedure. It needed to be seriously discussed and there was no one better to speak about it than her.

And then there was Poppy, the human wife whom surprisingly, wasn't so unbearable now that she wasn't bawling her eyes out at any random time of the day. The werewolves were strict on keeping their promise that they would look after his wife while the human Harry was away, hopefully leading them to what they hoped was the human base.

Sol had been right to say that it was more beneficial if she remained at the Lupine Woodland pack.

Climbing out of the shower after the water had started to get cold, Artemis dried herself off with a fluffy, white towel curtesy of the guest cabin that Alpha Brandon had let her and Sol stay in for the remainder of their visit. She was sure that he didn't want to give them a cabin but didn't have a choice.

He couldn't afford to be caught being petty and childish, especially with all the other Alpha's around.

That man thought that her and her band of misfits were all traitors, as if they had asked to be kidnapped and stripped of anything, and she did not appreciate that. Alpha Brandon was an ignorant, ignorant man and the sooner this whole human hunter fiasco ended, the sooner she would be able to get away from him.

He may be an Alpha and a friend of Sol's late father, but she didn't like him.

Drying off both her body and her hair, she slipped on one of Sol's sweatshirts. It was too big on her and ended just above the knees but she didn't care.

If she couldn't sleep with him then she would sleep in his clothes.

Slipping under the covers after having turned all the lights off, she rested her head on his pillow, nuzzling her face into it as she breathed in his scent, missing him.

Artemis wasn't sure how much time had passed since she had gotten into bed but sleep was not an easy mistress that night. She lay still on Sol's side of the bed, wide awake as she stared up at the ceiling. Closing her eyes and pretending to be asleep as a way of fooling her body didn't appear to be working that night.

She just had too much time on her mind.

Her phone chimed from where she placed it on the bedside table. Not thinking about, she reached over and retrieved over, her lips tilting up into a breath-taking smile in the dark as her eyes landed on the text, her fingers quick to follow as she began typing her reply.

Are you still awake?

I can't sleep, she typed quickly, eager to speak to him even if it was just through text

Me neither

Where are you?

We're camped out about twenty minutes away from the base

Isn't that too close? She typed, slightly worried for his safety.

It is, he sent the message but the screen read that he was typing again. The message arrived a few seconds later. But we're far away enough that they wouldn't be able to see us. We also have wolves that are working the night shift

That reassured her a little more.

Are you doing the night shift tonight?

No, yesterday was my night

How are you?

Good. Would've been better if I was with you. He was smooth, even through text.

I miss you too. She found herself smiling, the happiest that she had been all day. Any news?

We're just staking out the base. Nothing out of the ordinary yet

You doing okay with being around all the Alphas?

It isn't ideal, but I'll just have to put up with for a little longer. He sent the message but seemed to continue typing. Are you staying out of trouble?

Maybe, she teased him even though she had barely done anything other than spend some time with the misfits and avoid as many people as possible since he had been gone. She did head down to the dungeon to question some more of their human captives, though that was unsuccessful. You'll just have to come back and see for yourself

I plan to

When do you think you'll be back? She asked, hoping that his answer would be 'soon'.

We're thinking tomorrow night, before it gets dark

Really?

Yeah, but don't get your hopes up just in case we don't end up making it back before then

Too late

Sol and Artemis texted back and forth some more that night until she fell asleep, the phone slipping out of her hands and on the comforter of the bed, leaving him hanging as she didn't get the chance to response to his latest message. Nevertheless, he guessed that she had fallen asleep and wished her good night, hoping that he would be able to return the next evening, wanting to go back to her just as much as she wanted him back, if not more.

It was risky to be camped outside a base of hunters for so long, especially with the large number that they had travelled in, but it had to be done. The plan was that a few of the trackers would remain to spy on the humans and relay any information found to everyone else while the rest of the group returned back to the Lupine Woodland pack.

Sol would be one of the ones returning.

The next morning, disappointment was one of the first emotions she experienced when she awoke to realise that she had fallen asleep while texting Sol, not even getting the chance to wish him good night. However, she didn't have much time to dwell on that thought because once she was awake, she was determined to head downstairs to make the most of the day.

She was sure that once the group returned, there would be little time to do anything but discuss their findings and the next step in their plan of motion.

It was a little past ten once she finished a quick breakfast and cereal and milk, washing it down with a tall glass of water. Once she left the guest cabin Alpha Brandon had begrudgingly allowed them to use for the indefinite duration of their stay, it didn't take long for Artemis to make her way over to the pack house where the others like her currently resided.

It wasn't permanent, nothing was.

After the hunters were dealt with, Artemis didn't know what was going to happen or what she was going to do. She just hoped that whatever it was, it would be with Sol right by her side. But for those other test subjects just like her, she could understand their fear and uncertainty of moving on with life, pretending that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. As if everything was fine.

They were a small group of eight, nine once Artemis had walked into the room, closing the door behind her.

She had met Diana in the dining room and she had directed Artemis towards one of old kitchens that was less frequently used since the pack house had been refurbished and modernised a few years ago. They must have finished with breakfast as well as a small pile of dishes sat at the bottom of the sink, unattended and abandoned as all the wolves sat around the kitchen counter.

Artemis didn't say anything as she closed the door behind her and slipped into one of the vacant stools next to two of the girls.

All eyes were on her as she sat down, but no one dared to speak.

"Good morning?" She asked them hoping to break the awkward silence. When no one answered her, just continued to stare at her in silence, she sighed and rested her arms on the counter, leaning on them as her eyes ran over all the people around the counter. "I know I didn't come to see you guys yesterday."

Drake, the blonde haired and blue-eyed stud that she remembered from the first day answered her question with a quirked eyebrow. "Why didn't you?"

She shrugged. "I just didn't."

"You're going to have to do better than that." One of the others piped up. She didn't remember his name, nor did she remember his face from the experiment centre that they were supposedly kept at for most of their life.

"Seeing all of you, knowing that we're all in the same position was a lot to take in." She exhaled, feeling slightly better now that she was being truthful. "I know it sounds silly but I felt very overwhelmed."

A few nods and murmurs ran around the table. It seemed that being truthful was the way to go with this group. That worked for her.

"You're lucky, you know." The brown-haired girl sat next to her addressed her, her words not malicious but rather wistful.

"How so?" She found herself asking, curious as to what she meant. With the way that none of the others voiced their concern gave Artemis the idea that she was the only whom didn't understand what the girl meant.

"You can remember everything that happened to you."

"I wish I didn't remember."

"You can't mean that." Isaac

"I do," she shook her head. "I was just like you a few weeks ago, wishing that I could remember the past even if it was just a little bit. I wanted nothing better than to know what my life was like after being kidnapped as a pup but now that I know everything that I do, I really wish that I didn't." Artemis paused, her eyes downcast towards the kitchen counter as her mind fumbled for the appropriate words to best express what she was feeling.

They may all look different, originally be from different packs and even have very different personalities, but their past brought them together. They were all kidnapped as pups and held captive for most of their life leaving with nothing but a blank mind as they wandered out into the world. They had more in common than they originally thought, so Artemis felt able to express herself more freely with them than she did with the elders and the Alphas whom all had various questions to ask her.

"From what I can remember, the past is more colourful and," her voice trailed off slightly as she wracked her mind for the correct word. "Formidable than I expected it to be. I'm not saying that I regret regaining my memories, but it was easier not knowing, that's for sure."

Looking up from the counter, her eyes ran across the table, taking note of the fact that she seemed to have centre stage. "None of you can remember your past?" She asked only to be met with eight head shakes, all of them negative.

"How did you get your memories back?" One of the guys to her left asked.

"I was training with Sol," she continued speaking, not bothering to explain who Sol was. "And training with him brought up a few memories at first which wasn't too bad. It was confusing, sure but it wasn't overwhelming or anything. But then everything just came rushing back, like waking up from a bad dream and being thankful that it was a dream but then suddenly realising that it's not actually a dream but reality."

"Do you think we'll ever remember what happened to us?" The same guy asked.

She nodded her head. "I personally think it's inevitable. I think sooner or later, you're going to do something or you're going to come across something that's going to spark something in you. And as soon as you loosen the lid on your memories, I'm sure that they'll all come rushing back like they did to me."

"Why do you think we were taken?"

Artemis shook hear head, sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I honestly don't know but I think it was pretty random. Almost as if they grabbed whatever pup they could possibly get their hands on."

"Just our luck." One of the guys chuckled darkly, the sound completely opposite to the blonde, pushed back hair he sported and angelic face which gave him an innocent look. But Artemis knew that as soon as his memories surfaced, he wouldn't feel as innocent as he looked.

"I actually wanted to speak to you guys about something," she paused briefly and when no one protested, she inhaled before continuing. "Do you guys all know about the chips in your neck?"

A series of nods ran against the table. "The elder spoke to us about them." The girl next to her informed her.

Artemis nodded. "I actually got mine removed a few days ago."

"Did it hurt?"

"Immensely," she nodded but chuckled lowly when she noticed a few of them grimace, almost as if they were in pain. "Just after the surgery I woke up, earlier than they expected me to and that was when the pain was too much to bare. I honestly felt like someone had slit my throat and left it to dangle from my head by a thin layer of skin that kept them intact." Perhaps she was indulging in too much detail there. "But when I woke up a few hours later, other than a stiff neck I was completely healed."

"Is that your power?" One of the youngest from their group of misfits asked, her large eyes unblinking as she stared at Artemis, almost afraid that she would miss out if she were to blink, even for a second.

Artemis chuckled, not having thought of her enhanced healing abilities as a power. "Yes, I guess you could say that."

"Do you think we should get our chips removed?" Drake from before asked.

Artemis pursed her lips. "I think that's completely up to you. A decision that you need to think about. I, personally got mine removed because the idea of having someone being able to tap into my thoughts and invading my privacy without me ever knowing about it was too much. I couldn't fathom something like that ever happening to me so I'm happy about my decision. But if having it surgically removed isn't something that you guys aren't comfortable about, then you shouldn't feel like you have to do."

A few nods ran around the room while a few of them released sighs of relief. It was a touchy subject, regarding having their chips removed but whatever they decided, Artemis would support them.

Artemis spent another hour answering their questions and reassuring them that everything would be okay even though she wasn't sure of that herself. But sometimes a little hope was what they all needed. After that, they had an early lunch and the conversation topics were a little lighter and heartier then, not as dark as it had been that morning.

For a few fleeting moments, it almost seemed as if they were all young adults without a single care in the world, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Almost.

-

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Layla Knight

28.09.18