Chapter 2

Artemis POV

As the party raged on and my friends were playing beach volleyball, I went for a quick swim to cool off. We had been playing for a while now and I was covered in sweat. The ocean is my happy place, I lose myself in it. When I swim, I lose my sense of time and place, and that’s exactly what happened. Next thing I know Ethan is shouting for me to come back.

“Have you grown fins yet? Get out of there!” Yells Kane.

“No dad jokes please,” I retort.

As I made my way back to shore, I notice our group had doubled in number, and I began to wonder who else had come down to the party.

Then the most amazing scent invaded my senses. It smelled like pinewood and cinnamon, with an undertone of sandalwood, my mouth completely watered, but as I get closer to the shore one of my favorite scents in the world hits me, my brother’s. Tones of bergamot, ginger, and cedarwood, my brother has always represented home, warmth love, care, and safety to me. And he was here, with the 2 biggest pains in my ass, his two best friends: his beta Logan, and his gamma Aaron. Fucking great! But what truly caught my attention were the other 3 people with them, especially the guy with the yummy scent.

“We know who he is…remember?” Says Selena through our mind link.

“Jaxon Cross!”

“Uh-huh,” she mocks.

“Holy cow I never thought we would ever get to see him again.”

“I never doubted it,” she snickers.

Jaxon Cross, where to begin? Oh yeah, 6’5, 215 pounds of pure lean muscle, tanned olive skin, dark brown hair, perfect thick dark brows, and the most beautiful dark green, hazel eyes, I’m telling you cats would be jealous of those eyes. His face was sculpted by the gods, I swear. Modelesque cheekbones, lusciously red plump lips. Jaxon and his broad shoulders, tiny waist, and amazing ass were every woman’s dream come true. And he was here on the island, at my party, with my brother and his friends. But wait, why do they look so friendly, and comfortable?

Oh god please don’t tell me they’re friends. Now I’m royally fucked, and been spotted by my brother, this day just keeps on getting better and better. Hey, screw it, here we go, time to get out of the water.

Aaaand, he looks furious?

What did I do now?

“Luna!” he courtly greeted.

“Alpha Valencia,” I nod.

After our 30 second stare off we broke down in laughter.

“Hello big brother!” I scream while running into my brother’s arms.

He twirls me around while in a bear hug and replies, “hi baby girl.”

“I missed you so much. When did you get here? Why didn’t anyone tell me you were coming?”

“Hey, hey, hey! One question at a time, I missed you too, and don’t go biting anyone’s head off. I wanted to surprise you.”

“Yea, and we needed a vacation. Your brother here is running a sweatshop with us,” exclaimed Logan. “We couldn’t pass on the opportunity. 2 birds, one stone.”

“I missed you too Logan,” I said while flipping him the bird and making my way over to Aaron.

“Come here baby girl,” says Aaron opening his arms for a hug. “Happy birthday your majesty,” he says as he gives me one of his iconic forehead kisses.

My brother stretched out his hand to me and said, “let me introduce you to some really close friends of ours.

I couldn’t help but sneak a peek at Jaxon as I made my way to my brother.

“Baby girl meet one of my best friends Jaxon Cross, alpha of the Shadow Moon Pack, and his beta Gabriel, and his gamma Leonardo. Gentlemen meet the price jewel of the underworld, and the queen of the werewolves, my sister Artemis, or as the elders like to call her the ultimate Luna.”

“Wait hold on… YOUR sister is the Luna of all Lunas?” asked Gabriel.

“That’s one hell of an introduction,” I say rolling my eyes. “Nice to meet you,” I say while shaking hands with Leonardo.

“Yes, that would be me,” I say while rolling my eyes, and shaking hands with Gabriel.

“Alpha Cross,” I say while reaching my hand out to greet Jaxon.

“Luna!” He exclaims while reaching for my hand and bowing.

The moment our hands made contact I saw stars, I forgot how to breathe, the butterflies in my stomach were going haywire. Every single cell in my body was on high alert. The electric current shooting up my arm was seriously freaking me out. I felt like my heart was going to pop out of my chest.

“P-please call me Artemis or Art,” I say stuttering.

And he gives me a beautiful smile. Gods I think my heart just stopped.

“Drinks anyone?’ I call out.

“That sounds great,” says Gabriel as we made our way back to the lounge beds.

“I get them!” Shouts Liam.

“You’re the best!” I called back.

I sit down next to my brother, and his pain in the ass best friend just had to…”

Hey baby girl, can you cover yourself up?” asked Logan.

Scowling I got up from my seat to go grab my cover up when I noticed Jaxon in a shitty, broody mood and scowling at his friends. So, I just turned around smiled to myself, and popped on my cover up leaving it open in the front and going back to my seat.

“So, I invited Jax and the guys to come earlier 1, so we could be here to celebrate your birthday with you, and 2 and most importantly, so you get to meet one of your suitors. Of course, giving my friend the upper hand,” said Aidan.

Earth, please open and swallow me whole, my face is on fire.

“So, you’re here for the courting induction ceremony?” I asked while tilting my head.

“Yeah, I’m here in representation of my pack, as a single mate-less alpha.”

“Cool,” I say while blushing.

Cool? Did I just say cool? What is wrong with me? When did I become the bashful maiden?

I don’t know what happened next, but Jax, Gabe, and Leo all exchanged a strange look, that I could not figure out for the life of me. And now Jaxon was smirking at me … what the hell?

So, I excused myself and walked over to the buffet table to grab some fruit. Next thing I know I was engulfed in pinewood and cinnamon, and I swear my knees were ready to give out. I was close to hyperventilating. How embarrassing!

“Sorry about that, big brothers can be annoying, or at least that’s what my sister says,” said Jaxon over my shoulder as he reached around me for a plate.

He was standing right behind me, breathing near my ear. He took a deep breath and hummed in contentment.

“It's ok, I’m kind of used to those three,” I said a little flustered.

After grabbing a plate, Jaxon came around over to my right side asking, “why do I feel like I know you? Where and when did we meet before?”

Well shit! That would be because we’ve already met. But how can I explain to you that we went on 3 dates, and I had your memories erased?

Fuckkkkk!