Artemis was almost bowled over by two almost identical young wolves bursting into the main hall. They mimicked the older werewolf rotting in the basement's prisons in their running patterns, albeit slower than the ginger.

The door to Ra's suite burst open, the heavy wood slamming into the cold stone, resulting in a resounding boom. He stuck his hand out and immediately caught one of the young werewolves. Artemis had seen him before. It was the auburn-haired boy that the coven had discovered on the pathway back to where they had parked their ATVs.

He squirmed in the Great One's grasp, the fur on the back of his neck in a vice. His companion had slowed enough for Artemis to see his features, his strawberry blond hair separating him from his brothers, all of which had red hair.

"Let him go!" the lighter furred wolf cried out, charging at Ra's. Talia stepped out of the door behind her father and duplicated his movement, catching the second werewolf by the scruff of the neck. Ra's took a moment to inspect both of the young werewolves before speaking.

"What do you want, lycans?" he asked. The two boys looked at each other, the darker-haired one nodding to his companion.

"My name is Bart," he started.

"The Great One did not ask your name, Puppy!" Talia sneered, baring her fangs at the young wolf. He recoiled visibly, his form shifting back to fully human, revealing how young he actually was. The boy couldn't have been more than thirteen, and his companion was younger still. He quickly shifted back to wolf form, grinning back at Talia.

"As I was saying, we've come to retrieve our brother. You're holding him ransom and we want him back," he stated matter of factly, his brother nodding along with him.

"Well, boys, I don't plan on releasing your brother any time soon, so you may as well wait with him," Ra's said, carrying the younger wolf to the door that lead to the dungeon.

"Oliver!" he shouted. Ollie pushed past Artemis quickly, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he jogged by. Ra's, Talia, and Ollie all disappeared into the dungeon, dragging the stunned werewolves with them.

Artemis turned and bolted up the stairs to her room before she started crying. She had been able to push off the constant nagging reminder that Wally would eventually be killed to serve her master's purpose. However, with now three lives hanging in the balance between the vampires and the rest of the Valley, she could ignore the fact no longer.

Three teenagerss were going to die just to satisfy Ra's warped image of pride and self-worth. Although she couldn't do much, she could at least inform Wally of what happened with his brothers. She gathered herself, picking up the tray that sat in the corner and went to ask Ubu for the prisoner's dinner.

While walking down the long hallway leading to Wally's cell, Artemis looked for Bart and his brother to no avail. She surmised that they had been taken back to Ra's suite for questioning. As she neared the end of the passageway, she heard Wally scramble, the bars ringing as his elongated nails struck them. As soon as he came into view, she was hit with a barrage of words, streaming rapidly from the werewolf's mouth.

"Artemis I heard a commotion earlier what happened? Was it more of my kind? Please, Arty, you've got to tell me something," he begged, his body trembling slightly. She set the meat down carefully and pushed it inside his cell before answering him.

"Yes, it's two of your brothers," she said. The terror on his face was distinctly visible as Wally shifted back to his fully human form, slumping against the bars.

"Artemis, please, you have to let me out!" He begged, his knuckles white against the black cast iron of the restraints.

"I don't even know where they are!" she said, the pitch of her voice rising. The prisoner was asking too much, she had to regard her own safety first and foremost. "I can't let you out, even if I knew where they put your kin. One, I don't have the keys, and two, I need to worry about my own head before yours."

Wally shifted back to half-wolf form, snarling at her through the bars, "What if your sisters and brothers were held by my people? Something which we would never do, by the way."

"Oh stop it!" Artemis fired back. "I'm basically chaining myself to the stake just telling you this information!"

"You come off it, your 'Great One' or whatever doesn't even know you talk to me," he sighed, turning his back on her.

"How do you know that?" she snapped, marching up to the bars of the cage, "Damian could be hiding in the ceiling right now for all you know!"

"Is he?" Wally asked, turning to face her, his expression blank.

"Well, no. He'll be where your brothers are. He likes taunting people older than himself," she answered, her eyes darting to the floor.

"Well, if this is my last night alive, I might as well make the best of it," he said. Before Artemis could ask what he meant, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, planting a quick kiss to her lips. She responded instantly, throwing herself into the kiss with vigor, forgetting everything around her for just a moment. Suddenly, her brain started screaming at her that No, this is wrong, he's a wolf, you're a vampire, it'll never work, stop being an idiot!

She pulled away, looking at Wally. He wiped his mouth on the back of his arm, her lipstick smudged around his mouth. Oh, to hell with it! she thought. Her breath coming quickly, she pressed herself up against the bars to meet Wally. His lips brushed against hers softly, their breath mingling between them. Something stirred within Artemis, her arms snaking through the bars to lock around Wally's body, her lips mashing against his. He responded aptly, moving his lips against hers willingly, his hands tangling in her hair.

She gasped as he pulled her hair back, his mouth moving down her jaw and along her neck. A moan escaped her lips as his fangs grazed her collarbone. She continued to elicit small noises as he nibbled around her neck, as far as the bars would let him reach. He brought her hands off his shoulders to tangle in his hair.

She pulled his head back up to her mouth, her own fangs grazing his ear and causing his breath to hitch in his throat. Artemis dragged her fangs down his neck. Her tongue slipped out of her mouth and she licked his pulse point, tasting the blood rushing beneath only a thin layer of skin. He groaned as her fangs pressed into his skin, his jeans becoming painfully tight. His claws grazed her upper arms, causing her to moan in response, continuing to suck on his pulse point, never biting down.

"Of course," she breathed against his neck.

"'Of course' wha-hnnnnnnnng," he groaned.

"You're AB positive," she continued, still breathing heavily against his jugular.

"And that means...?" he asked, the tightness in his crotch driving him wild.

"AB positive is my favorite blood type," she said, her voice low. His ears perked.

"But you aren't going to..." he started. She laughed into his neck, nuzzling into the hair by his ear.

"Of course not. Drinking or even smelling my favorite type gets me so... wet," she breathed huskily into his ear.

He gulped, pressing himself into the bars to try and get closer to Artemis. She put her hand on his bare chest, her nails scratching against his flesh uselessly. His hand grasped her chin, bringing their faces back together. She nipped at his bottom lip, directing his hands onto her breasts, moaning into his mouth when they found their mark. She began to undo the zipper on his jeans, but was halted by Wally, who had unbuttoned her top and was rolling her pebbled nipple between his claws.

Suddenly, a door creaked at the opposite end of the hall, causing the two to break apart. Artemis gasped, looking at Wally and then down at herself before snatching the tray from him. She wiped her mussed lipstick off on her arm, quickly pulling her sleeve over the smudge and buttoning her top. Her face assumed a look of disdain just as Talia came into view. The two females glared at each other, Artemis stalking by Talia while the other woman unlocked the cell next to Wally's. She threw the unconscious bodies of Bart and the smaller wolf into the square room, quickly locking the door behind them. Artemis snickered to herself as she heard Wally begin to call out insults to her superior.

After dropping the tray back in her room, she walked to the grotto to wash, hoping that Talia hadn't suspected anything. Her fate was sealed if the Great One knew about her tryst with the prisoner.