Chapter 14: The Wilderness

"The wilderness was meant to be explored," came his stupidly sexy voice.

Artemis shifted her weight onto her other leg and impatiently waited for him to say more.

"There are four hundred and fifty girls left in this competition," he stated. "After this challenge, there will be four hundred,"

There was an audible gasp that ran through the girls in the lobby. Artemis narrowed her eyes at the screen. Was he sending fifty girls home in one challenge? Wasn't this competition meant to last one year? How on earth would they carry it forward for another eleven months if they sent that many girls home after every challenge?

"Most of you might be wondering why so many of you will no longer be a part of this competition anymore." Artemis had a feeling that this was directed towards her. "The beast within us is a slave to nature. We shift to the full moon and we blend into the darkness. We are the beasts in men's stories and their nightmares. If you cannot use nature to your aid then you will be of no use to me or my pack," his voice was calm but it managed to make everyone freeze.

Artemis's heart began beating furiously. She'd had no practice using nature to her own will, the only interaction she had with nature on a daily basis was her long runs or hikes through the forest. Heck, she hadn't even shifted since her beast first showed itself. Phoenix had come into her life not long after and had shown her how to stop herself from shifting if she wanted. That first time she shifted... she had terrified herself.

She'd buried that side of herself for years and tried to be as human as possible. She hid her anger and her emotions to stop herself from accidentally losing control. She stayed away from other people to keep them safe. Now she'd be having to face those fears head first.

"You will all be forced to shift and train your wolf,"

That was all Artemis needed to hear. She called the elevator and stepped inside and the doors drowned out his voice. As the elevator glided up 10 floors, Artemis collapsed on the floor and clutched her throat. She couldn't breathe anymore. Everything around her began closing in. Her worst fears tumbled around in her head, flashes and flashes of images shifted around in her head. Artemis losing control and shifting in front of other people, everyone being terrified and screaming; Liza crying her eyes out looking at Artemis from the corner of her room, Phoenix screaming at her to get out.

Artemis closed her eyes and placed her head between her legs.

Breathe... she told herself. You'll be fine.

She came to this competition to improve her skills and she knew eventually she'd have to shift. She wasn't ready but if she wasn't forced to be then she never would shift in this lifetime, this was her weakness in the competition and she knew the other girls would jump like hyenas to try and make sure she lost to keep their positions safe. She let out another deep breath and stood up straight in the elevator. She needed to try at least, even if she failed, she needed to know she gave it her best try, like she had promised Liza she would.

Within the following two hours, Artemis had packed her necessities and anything she thought she needed to survive in the wilderness and waited downstairs with the rest of the girls. Artemis was standing in one corner with Iris and Shy while Rose had gone to talk to some of the girls. She was better at socializing shit than the rest of them. Artemis noticed one of the girls from their previous encounters, Clara, was standing off to one side by herself. Artemis gave her a small smile and waved her over.

"Ugh, no!" Iris complained as she watched Clara walk over to them. "She's so weird,"

"Be nice!" Artemis bossed and jabbed at her side. She was glad that the whole lobby was filled with chatter that Clara hadn't heard Iris's comment. Those type of words were enough to build insecurities in anyone, especially a young and impressionable girl.

Clara made her way over looking slightly nervous. She stood in front of the three of them, not making eye contact and fidgeting with her top.

"Hey Clara," Artemis greeted.

"Hey Artemis," Clara answered with a small smile.

"Where are your roommates?" Iris asked with mock politeness, which earned another jab from Artemis's elbow. Clara turned and gestured to two blondes talking to some other girls and looking over their shoulders and giving bitchy stares towards Artemis and her friends. Artemis simply looked back and smirked.

Back home, Artemis kept to herself to keep the humans around her safe but here, she didn't have to worry about anyone's fragility. She was free to throw punches here if she wished and be as bitchy as she wanted. There was no one to stop here and the Alpha wouldn't get involved unless it got violent. Petty girl drama didn't seem important enough to warrant a visit from her asshole mate, who still hadn't acknowledged her; but nonetheless, Artemis wouldn't stand by and watch people tread all over her anymore. Besides... it was so much fun to be a bitch sometimes.

"So how come they're not with you?" Shy questioned looking confused.

Clara sighed quietly. "They're not fond of me much,"

Artemis raised her brows. "Why?"

Clara seemed way too innocent and angelic to be doing devious things or even do anything that might harm another person but she was also aware that looks could be deceiving. Clara shrugged but wouldn't meet her eyes. Artemis could tell she was hiding something but decided not to press for the time being.

"It's okay!" Shy declared suddenly making the other girls snap their attention to her. She threw her arm over Clara's shoulder and pulled her to her side.

"We'll be your friends from now on!" she reassured aggressively.

Artemis smiled looking at the two of them. Clara and Shy were close in age, it was obvious and Artemis felt bad that children were made to enter the competition, she didn't know what she'd do if Liza had been picked. There's no way she would've allowed Liza to accept in the first place but seeing Shy and Clara being so young and being so open around her made her feel homesick and miss her baby sister tremendously.

She briefly wondered if things between her sister and her mate had improved at all but quickly shook the thought out of her head. It wasn't the time right now to be thinking of those things, she had a more grave matter at hand like what to do about the pain of shifting and her stupid mate.

The familiar yet still annoying screech of the TV in the lobby made all the girls cringe but turn towards it anyway. Alpha's hooded figure came onto the screen as the chatter died down.

"Girls, there are buses here for all of you. Each bus will hold 50 girls so please begin lining up and do not complain or whine about who you will be seated next to,"

He was being unusually straight to the point today. He usually loved being all cryptic and confusing.

That small warning alone made the girls all complain. Artemis snickered under her breath but didn't say anything. The two blondes that Clara had identified as her roommates took the chance to throw another dirty look her way. Artemis smirked back at them and gave them a small wave which made the blondes surprised. They turned back to the TV after another quick glare.

"When you reach the destination, you will see tents with numbers. Please refer to your team leaders to find out which tent is yours,"

After hearing that, there was a sudden noise intrusion as a few men dressed in all black stepped out from behind the closed doors, next to the TV. The attention of all the girls peaked as they took in their appearance. Artemis counted in her head and came away with a total of 18 men. It seemed way too little to keep a group of four hundred and fifty girls in check.

"These will be your leaders and your trainers. If you face any problems then speak to them. While in the wilderness, they will be in charge of not just training you but punishing you if you step out of line. Good luck girls and I hope you all survive the shift,"

With that the TV switched off and a prolonged silence hung in the air.

"Did... did he just say survive?" Shy asked dumbfounded.

Artemis chewed on her bottom lip, if she was nervous about shifting before, it had drastically increased ten fold after her stupid mate's speech. She knew he had only said it to strike fear in the girls because he knew none of them would die but it had only made Artemis's anxiety grow.

The girls didn't have time to think of those things anymore as the sound of tires screeching came from outside.

"Girls!" one of the men stepped forwards and yelled. "In line, now!" he commanded.

None of the girls even gave a second thought as they rushed to form a line but Artemis didn't budge. She frowned, why were the girls so flustered? She shrugged off and picked up her bag and went to join the end of one of the lines that had formed. With her back turned, she didn't see the eyes of the man behind her following her every move.

By the time Artemis got on the bus, all the other girls had been seated and Artemis was glad to see Shy and Clara were seated next to each other and laughing. Artemis was made to sit in the second row but the man at the front didn't call out any names to sit beside her. If she was going to be sitting alone then Artemis would be happy beyond reason; she hated chatter during long journeys and she hated her physical proximity being invaded even more. She watched as the last girl got on the bus and she went to sit beside someone else and Artemis mentally jumped up and celebrated.

"Driver," the man at the front called. "Start driving," he commanded. His voice wasn't overly loud or too quiet either yet he had no problem keeping the peace. Not a single girl raised their voice or spoke over him. She watched from her window as the hotels where she had been staying got further and further. The bus almost melted in with the trees which made her wonder how they had managed to get buses in there in the first place but she soon stopped thinking about it. This place seemed enchanted and odd but she didn't care. She was finally feeling a little less homesick than before.

As Artemis watched for a couple more minutes, she felt the seat beside her dip down. She snapped her neck to see the man sitting beside her. She watched incredulously as her space got invaded... by a boy, was this some sort of joke?

"Can I help you?" she asked with one of her eyebrows raised.

The man turned to her as if just seeing her for the first time. He shrugged and leaned back against the seat without a care in the world. As if he hadn't just sat down next to her on purpose.

"Not really," he muttered. Artemis gawked at him, wondering if it would go against the competition's rules to punch him in the face.

"Why are you sitting here?" she demanded. "Why can't you sit somewhere else?"

He let out a small frustrated sigh and turned to her once again, making her feel a little like a toddler who had thrown a tantrum which made her more pissed off.

"I'm sitting here so quit whining or I'll throw you out," he let her know calmly. Artemis's mouth dropped and he smirked looking at her. He leaned in suddenly, closer than Artemis felt comfortable with.

"Close that pretty mouth unless you want to see something go in there," he whispered to her.

Artemis's eyes widened with disbelief but she clamped her mouth shut quickly. She felt her face grow hot and felt incredibly flustered. No one had ever spoken to her like that before. His left brow arched as he waited for her reaction but he still didn't lean back.

This idiot is teasing me!

She pushed him away lightly and crossed her arms, feeling even more like a toddler. He chuckled next to her which made Artemis glare at him before she turned and faced the windows.

This journey was going to be longer than necessary. Artemis sulked further in her seat, placing her head against the window.

"You know if you're going to act like a child, the least you can do is let me use your shoulder as a pillow," he advised. Artemis glared at him again and showed him her middle finger. He smirked at her again which made Artemis notice how attractive he was. That only managed to piss her off further.

Asshole.