Chapter 3

First there was a blinding bright light and then everything became clear. Instead of the gloomy human world Artemis grew up in they were now in the Beastworld. It felt bright and full of life. Artemis looked out over the long stretches of land and the huge clusters of trees and all of the different animals and people roaming around. She even spotted the huge lakes and rivers of clear blue water. "Is this where we all came from nana?" Artemis asked Grandma Shuu who responded by nodding her head. Artemis looked over and noticed that Grandma Shuu was no longer the older wrinkly woman who used to take care of her. She was now more younger looking with smoother skin and white hair flowing past her shoulders. "Nana!!" Artemis gasped. "Being back here makes me look and feel younger. I'm still an old woman, I just don't look like it. Some changes have happened to you as well, my dear" Grandma Shuu explained. Artie looked down at her arms and legs and saw nothing spectacular but she noticed something moving quickly back and forth behind her. She tried turning around and saw nothing. Then she turned to the other side and saw nothing as well, it wasn't until Apollo decided to grab it that Artemis let out a yelp and leaped into the air grabbing her butt. That's when she felt it. Her tail!!! "What is this nana?" Artemis shrieked, she thrnt around in circles hoping to catch a glimpse of her tail. "For a while after we went to the human world I would have to feed you a tonic that would hide your wolf features from frightening the humans. Now that we're home in the Beastworld you can be yourself" Grandma Shuu told Artemis. That's when she noticed that Kasper and Apollo were sporting their black tails as well along with black Wolf ears on top of their heads which she didn't have thankfully. "Beastmen and female Beastmen have a few features that stick out like the ears and tails and men shapeshift more often than females. You have yet to shapeshift but with that tail you definitely are a Wolf" Kasper said to Artemis.

"Look. I brought us right to my old home where I lived before I met your father Kasper" Grandma Shuu told him excitedly, pointing up ahead. The four of them quickly made their way over to the little cottage to check it out. "This is good. It's a little small but it should have everything we need" Grandma Shuu said, looking around. "Kasper honey, can you go out and hunt something for dinner. And Apollo dear. Can you please go out and collect firewood while Artemis and I clean up and get prepared to make dinner" Grandma Shuu instructed. Kasper nodded and shapeshifted into his wolf and dashed back out the door. Apollo assured that he would be right back and dashed out the door as well. "Now it's just me and you again Artie" Grandma Shuu said, looking around. Artemis spotted a broom and jumped up to get it so she could sweep up in the little cottage. Grandma Shuu found a wooden bucket and some rags and began dusting and wiping things down. Grandma noticed Artie was silent as she cleaned. She usually sings and hums and dances around. " Artemis, your silence is killing me child, please say something" Grandma Shuu pleaded with Artemis. It took a while to answer but Artemis finally spoke. "I'm scared nana. And I feel like everybody understands what's going on but me" Artemis said with a shaky voice. Artemis made Grandma Shuu so sad that her eyes started to water.

"My dear grandchild. I could only imagine how you are feeling. I used to often worry about how you would feel if you ever came back here to learn the truth. The truth is like this… I am a Princess of the Wolf Kingdom. I had three sons and one daughter. The first of my cubs to be born was your mother Princess Morena then came the male cubs Princes Oliver, Adam and Kasper. Now there is you… Princess Artemis and your brother, Prince Apollo. We are back home now because our cover in the human world has been blown and I cannot keep you safe there anymore. Not only would we be dodging Evil sorcerer's but we'd have to run from the superstitious humans as well. We will go to the castle to greet my husband, your Grandfather and two other uncles and ask that they provide you with protection" Grandma Shuu said. Artemis nodded "ok royalty i could understand. We had a few kingdoms in the Human World so that's possible. But this? This is all make believe. Or at least I thought it was." Artemis said, grabbing her tail for the first time and holding it up to Grandma Shuu. She finally got a good look at it since finding out she'd had a tail. Her tail had white fur but it was also soft. "Why is my tail white while you guys have black tails?" Artemis asked Grandma Shuu. "Well when i said that we are a part of the Wolf Kingdom I literally mean Wolf Kingdom sweetheart. We have not had a white wolf in generations. But YOU were born a white wolf. The white color means you will possess great power. No one knew you were a white wolf because you were born in human form which is natural for females since it actually takes more effort for them to shapeshift" Grandma Shuu said.

"How about this? We just take things as slow as we can. I'll always be here for you and so will your brother and uncle" Grandma Shuu said to Artemis. Artemis nodded and hugged her. "Things will begin to be different though. You will notice that you will be pampered and that is to be expected because you are a female and royalty at that. And not only that but you must keep in mind that you are old enough to be mated now. You must choose the strongest, most caring mate out of all of the eligible males in our tribe. Once you are mated you can live on your own and build your own household. Although women in this world practice polygamy by having multiple husbands you are free to do whatever you please" Grandma Shuu told Artemis dumping a lot of information on her.

"Polygamy? Husbands? Why Would anyone do that?" Artemis asked, scrunching up her nose utterly confused and disgusted. Grandma Shu laughed "Because these females are not like you. They grew up spoiled and pampered to the extreme. They don't have the freedom you had in the human world. They don't know how to fend for themselves either. The Beastworld is too big for a female all by herself. She can have multiple husbands for multiple different duties and for extra protection from other females and from ferals who want to kidnap and force their mark on them. It is not a pleasant thing trust me" Grandma Shu said "Are Uncle Kasper and Brother Apollo my husbands too then?" Artemis asked, contorting her face again. Grandma Shuu doubled over with laughter now but then she answered Artemis' question. "No dear. They are your Guardians. They will stay by your side and protect you and help you. They have no other intimate intentions with you" Grandma Shuu said to her. Artemis seemed to be relieved after hearing this. "Here in the Beastworld it's called 'mating' or having 'mates'. It's similar to a marriage between a man and woman in the human world except the bond between a couple here in the beastworld is more of a permanent spiritual thing. If you get lucky enough you can find a mate that genuinely loves you and doesn't want you just to strengthen their bloodline then you can live a happy life". Artemis took all of this in and thought about it deeply. "Husband?" she said out loud to herself

When Kasper and Apollo finally got back they helped Artemis and Grandma Shuu finish cleaning the little cottage up and cook dinner. Kasper hunted a huge moose and tried his best to get Artemis to eat as much as she could but she just wasn't that hungry. She only ate a couple cuts of meat that they had cut into steaks and roasted over a fire for her. When she finally put her foot down about not eating anymore Apollo and Kasper boiled water and poured it into a huge wooden basin so that Artemis could take a bath. After that they all got Artemis laid in a little nest of straw and furs and covered her with enough blankets and watched her as she fell asleep. "You did say that this is not a dream right nana?" Apollo asked Grandma Shuu. She chuckled and ruffled the hair on top of his head. "Yes Apollo. This is real. Your sister is real" She said to him gently. "What about that sorcerer we ran from this morning?" Kasper asked, visibly concerned. "Well yes. I'm not sure what exactly his plan is but luckily I got us away just in time. Now that we are within the Wolf Kingdom we have a little more protection for her until the King comes to meet his granddaughter" Grandma Shuu said walking over to the kitchen area. "Now that we're back in the Beastworld we also have to protect her from other beast's. But you must remember that Artemis is not shy and fragile. She is very independent and she can take care of herself. Getting adjusted to being pampered here will be hard on her but she will figure everything out along the way" Grandma Shuu told them. "I just want her to continue to be happy. That's all. We have lived outside of this world for so long I wasn't sure I would ever come back and let this place ruin her happiness." Grandma Shuu added. "Knowing my niece. She will find her own way to be happy" Kasper said confidently.