Dinner Party (2)

Jayce's POV

Jayce walked around the sitting room in a daze, his mind overloaded with the names of various pack members Xander had introduced him to. Some faces were familiar, having met them already at the bar but with so many people around, he was starting to get a headache.

Lost about the conversation Xander was having with one of the older women, Jayce turned his head to find Artemis standing with a group of girls her age. He lightly tapped Xander to let him know he was leaving, Xander giving him a small nod in understanding.

He then left the two talking, walking across the room to where Artemis had her back to him. When he got to her, Jayce gently wrapped his arms around her waist, giving her time to pull away.

She didn't, instead placing her hand over his hands and patting them gently, giving him the go ahead to hug her. He did, burying his head into her neck and taking in her scent.

"So, is this Jayce?" A voice asked.

Jayce looked up to see all four girls staring at him, a mix of curiosity and protectiveness in their gazes. It made him happy, knowing his girl had such protective friends even if he was the one under their radar.

"Yip, this is Jayce everyone." Artemis smiled. "Jayce, these are my friends, Alexa, Bethany, Circe and Athena."

The girls nodded their heads in his direction as Artemis said their name, greeting him.

"Nice to meet you, ladies." Jayce smiled politely.

"Likewise." The blond haired girl, Bethany, said. "By the way, what's with the glasses? They look familiar."

Another girl, Circe, widened her brown eyes in recognition. "Wait, aren't those H*rry P*tter glasses."

Jayce touched the glasses on his face, suddenly remembering that he had glasses on. He had gotten so used to them now, that he sometimes forgot he was wearing them.

"Um…yeah they are." Artemis cringed a little. "I got them because Jayce's eyes are similar to you know…"

"The man who shall not be named." Circe smiled. "We got it."

"Honestly though, the Goddess must have something on your family. First you mom and now you." The other blondie, Alexa muttered, shaking her head.

She looked similar to Bethany, making Jayce wonder if they were sisters but any change. However, before he could ask them about that, someone suddenly called out the girl's names.

"Looks like mom needs help with the table." Circe sighed, looking at the three other girls. "Talk later?"

"Yip." Artemis nodded before the four girls hurried off leaving the two alone.

"So…"

"Bethany and Alexa are sisters. Circe and Athena are their cousins." Artemis quickly explained as she turned her head to the side.

"Oh…" Jayce paused for a second, wondering how to ask about Alexa's comment. "Um…Alexa's comment…"

"What did she mean?"

"Yeah…"

"Oh…It's just that my mother also got a mate bond." Artemis paused for a second. "With um…a vampire…"

Jayce felt Artemis stiffen in his arms as she turned her head away in what looked to be embarrassment. It took him a second to process the words, realizing that Artemis was a half-breed. That she was half-vampire.

"Your dad was a vampire?!" He asked, a little flabbergasted.

Half-breeds were rare, even rarer were those that were half-vampire and half-werewolf. And it wasn't because of the hatred between the two species like most humans believed, the two species being on neutral terms with each other.

No, the real reason was that most half-vampire and half-werewolves were rare was because most were born stillborn. And those that made it through, still were in danger during the first few years of their life.

No one was really sure about why this only happened to vampire and werewolf children, but most believed it had to do with the gene makeup, something about them attacking each other.

Jayce didn't understand much about the whole thing, biology not really being his thing. But he did know that because of this most packs discouraged relationships between the two species, probably causing a misunderstanding of hatred between the two.

"Yeah…I probably should have told you that…" Artemis muttered softly, pulling out of his arms. "I just didn't know how to bring it up…It's not everyday you meet a half-breed like me...haha…"

Jayce felt cold as she left his arms, turning to stand in front of him. She looked a little nervous, her hands clamped together as if waiting for a scolding.

"I'm not mad Artemis…A little shocked yes but not mad." Jayce sighed, wanting to pull her into another hug. "So is your werewolf side the more dominant one?"

"Yeah, although I still have some vampire blood flowing through me." She opened her mouth a little, two slow fangs showing.

She closed her mouth and continued, "I have fangs because my body requires blood sometimes and from David's knowledge of half-breeds, I'll probably just live longer than most werewolves do. Other than that, I'm basically werewolf."

"I see…" Jayce suddenly recalled the weird way Xander had made Artemis' steak on their fight night. "So, the reason behind the bloody steak…"

Artemis blushed. "Yeah, it was for my vampire side. Human blood is a little hard for me to get, even with the vampire covens' help and it feels…um… a little weird drinking…it. So, I stick to animal blood…"

"Have you tried werewolf blood?" Jayce blurted out, remembering that vampires would normally drink the blood of their lover, the blood of their thrall making them stronger or something like that.

Artemis covered her face with her hands and murmured, "I haven't…No one's been that close and we would need to be really close…like marriage close…"

Jayce suddenly felt stupid, realizing that a thrall was the vampire's equivalent of a werewolf mate bond. Drinking someone's blood would have meant Artemis would have "married" someone already if she had done that.

"Sh*t…I should have realized that…" Jayce banged his forehead.

"It's fine…" Artemis looked away, clearly embarrassed by this whole conversation. "Mistakes happen…"

Jayce made a mental note to read up on vampires and half-breed. "So, I guess the pack was supportive of your parents' love."

"Yeah…But they're not my mother's original pack…" Artemis paused for a second, looking back at Jayce. "My mom got kicked out of her old pack when she got mate bonded with my dad…She met Xanders' parents and joined this pack. The rest in history I guess."

"Ah…"

"Hey, you two!" Xander called out, suddenly appearing. "Everyone's moving outside to eat. You coming?"

"Yeah sure…" Artemis smiled nervously, before quickly hurrying away.