Second Chance at First Line

Artemis walked back into her house in a stunned daze. She closed the door and slid down to the floor, feeling as though she was about to be ill.

Alison's father is a hunter. Alison's father tried to kill me. Did that mean Alison was a hunter too? Did she know Artemis's secret? If she continued to be Alison's friend, would the hunters learn her secret and try to kill her? She found herself beginning to hyperventilate as her heart raced like a train in complete and utter fear.

"Artemis? Hey, Arty, talk to me!" said Stiles, snapping her out of her thoughts. "You're having a panic attack. Take these and try to calm down."

He handed Artemis her pills and a glass of water, which she took in one big gulp.

"What happened?" asked Stiles, when she began to calm down.

"Remember how I said I was attacked by hunters last night? Well, I just recognized Alison's father as the one who shot me with a crossbow!" said Artemis. She ran her fingers through her hair as Stiles looked stunned. "He tried to kill me!"

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down. Did her dad recognize you?"

She shook her head.

"No, but what if Alison knows my secret? What if she's one of them?"

"If her dad didn't recognize you, I don't see how she could possibly know, much less be a hunter," said Stiles. "Look, just relax. We'll figure something out."

Artemis could only hope he was right.

He helped her to stand up. "Come on, let's just relax and focus on our fun. We'll watch some movies, eat some pie, maybe study a bit and we'll just worry about all this stuff later."

XXX

However, they ended up worrying about Artemis's lycanthropy much earlier than expected.

The following Monday during lacrosse practice, Jackson and Coach Finstock made everything worse. Artemis was trying to take a shot when Jackson hit her painfully in the stomach and sneered at her and then the coach mocked her by challenging her to move faster than his dead grandmother.

The end result was Artemis redoing her shot and not only nailing Jackson so hard she damaged his shoulder on accident, but the anger and her raging pulse triggered her change. She found herself on her knees, clutching her stomach feeling her wolf side beginning to emerge.

"Artemis, what's wrong?" asked Stiles.

"Get me out of here, Stiles. I can't control it," whispered Artemis. Her eyes were turning gold and she felt her fangs emerging in her mouth. "It's happening, now!"

"Oh, crap," said Stiles.

He slung her arm around his shoulders and quickly got her into the locker room where he helped her shed most of her lacrosse gear before she bared her werewolf face at him. She'd completely lost control of herself.

"STILES, GET AWAY FROM ME!" she yelled.

Stiles looked terrified and began to run as Artemis acted like the animal she was, stalking him like he was her prey. She ran across the tops of the lockers and even the bars across the ceiling as she let out an animal roar. She'd almost caught him when Stiles managed to grab the fire extinguisher on the wall and sprayed its contents on her. Moments later, Artemis yanked off her lacrosse helmet and ended up backing away into a corner, looking terrified and ashamed.

"Artemis?" said Stiles, hesitantly. "You okay?"

Artemis shook her head as tears pooled in her eyes. "Stiles, I'm slipping away and I don't like it," she said, as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Kill me…please." It was a terrible thing to ask of him, but she didn't trust herself. She was scared to death of what she was capable of, now that she was a werewolf, and she trusted Stiles more than anyone, except for Derek and since she was in hysterics, she didn't know what else to do.

"No, I'm not going to do that, Artemis," said Stiles, firmly. "You know why? Because we're going to get through this, together. Derek and I are going to be here for you. What's our favorite T.V. quote? 'Family don't end in blood.' Well, you're family to me and I'm going to help you with this, I promise. We'll get through this."

Artemis just hugged him and tried to calm down.

"We need to figure out a way for you to control your anger and keep your heart rate low. That's what triggers the changes," said Stiles.

"Then there's only one thing to do. I have to quit lacrosse," said Artemis. She hated the idea of giving up the sport she loved especially since she was finally playing first line in Saturday's game, but what choice did she have? She couldn't risk getting someone killed during a game and exposing her secret. There was no question of it. She had to quit lacrosse.

XXX

However, her plans to quit fell through, thanks to her pig of a coach.

It didn't help that word somehow reached Lydia Martin's ears that she wanted to quit. Lydia gave her an earful and made her day a living nightmare over her decision, by venting over how she was dating the captain of the winning lacrosse team and thanks to Artemis, they might not even win for once, and if Artemis didn't play and ensured their success, she would be dating the captain of a losing team and she didn't date losers. It went on and on all day and Artemis ended up collapsing on her bed at the end of the day, feeling like an emotion train wreck.

"Knock-knock," said Melissa, Artemis's mother as she entered the room. "I've got to pull another late-night shift at the hospital tonight, but the good news is, I'll be able to take Saturday off for your first game."

"You don't have to do that," said Artemis, as she sat up.

"I know, but I want to. I'm not missing my little girl's first game," said Melissa. "Besides, one little shift won't break us." She then looked concerned and sat by Artemis on the bed. "Honey, what's wrong? You look like you haven't slept in days. Are your panic attacks getting worse?"

"No, they're not getting worse," lied Artemis.

"Is it guy trouble? I heard Derek was back."

Artemis shook her head. "No, it's not guy trouble. Derek wouldn't even consider dating me anyway, and we're just friends. It's just stress from school, that's all and I'm petrified over my game on Saturday. I'm scared I'm going to mess everything up." It wasn't a total lie as high school was torture and she was worried about her lacrosse game.

Melissa looked sympathetic and wrapped an arm around her as Artemis leaned into her shoulder. "Oh, sweetheart, I know high school and sports can be stressful, but everything's going to be okay, I promise. You just need to relax and you'll be amazing in your game, I know it."

"Thanks, Mom," said Artemis, as they hugged. She was starting to feel better already. "What would I do without you?"

Melissa kissed her head. "That's what I'm here for. Now try and relax. I've got to go to work now, but if you need anything, just call me or come see me, okay?"

"Okay," said Artemis. She was really glad she had a mom like that. Melissa seemed to make everything better.

When Melissa had gone, Artemis got online and talked to Stiles over Skype. "So, what's the word on Jackson?"

"Not good. He's got a separated shoulder and he's ticked off at you big-time," said Stiles. "They don't know if he's going to play yet."

Artemis groaned. "I didn't mean to hurt him."

"It's not your fault. He was asking for it after he hit you like that today," said Stiles. "He's lucky Derek wasn't there, otherwise he would've given Jackson something worse than a bad shoulder."

"True," said Artemis. She hadn't meant to hurt him, but Jackson had been asking for some kind of punishment. And Derek had a protective streak in him, particularly when it came to Artemis. Once, he'd heard someone had made fun of Artemis and said someone had ended up with a black eye and broken nose. "Let me guess, they're still counting on me for Saturday?"

Stiles grimly nodded as Artemis sighed in exasperation.

Artemis then frowned as Stiles looked a little alarmed. "Stiles, what is it?"

Stiles didn't reply verbally. He typed up an answer that read, "It looks like there's someone behind you."

"What in the heck…?" She spun around to see Derek, looking far from pleased. "Derek, what're you doing here?" She didn't even have to ask how he'd gotten in.

"We need to talk. Now," said Derek. His tone didn't invite argument.

Artemis rose up from her chair. "Talk about what?"

"I saw you on the field today. You shifted in front of them," he growled. "You could've gotten yourself exposed!"

"I know. It was an accident, alright? Stiles got me away before anyone noticed," said Artemis. She understood why he was angry, but he didn't have to take it out on her. "Nobody saw anything, and I'm not trying to expose us, I swear."

"Regardless, you need to watch it, because if one of us gets caught, we both do," said Derek. "I'm trying to look out for you, but I can't help you if you don't take precautions! I don't want to see you get killed! You need to get out of Saturday's game."

"Do you think I haven't tried? I told my coach that I'd changed my mind and wanted to quit because I had issues with aggression and do you know what he said? He said he wasn't about to lose his new star player. Also, he said if I quit the team, he'd find a way to flunk me and get me kicked out of school. I don't have a choice but to play," said Artemis, irritated. If she quit, she'd get kicked out of school. If she played, she might shift on the field. It was a lose-lose situation.

"Remind me to kill your coach after I deal with that jerk who hurt you," said Derek. Artemis couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "Why don't you just tell someone he's blackmailing you?"

"Who would believe me? Lacrosse is everyone's brains here and that man's part of the reason this team even has a shot of getting into the championships. No one would listen to me," said Artemis, angrily. It was harsh but true.

"Well, we can't have you shifting in the middle of the game."

"So, what do you propose we do? I can't get out of it. I tried," said Artemis.

"There's one thing we can try. I'll be there at your game. Listen only to my voice while you're playing the game, got it?"

"Got it," said Artemis. She didn't have the slightest idea how it would help, but what choice did she have? "And Derek, if I lose it, I'd rather it was you that dealt with me instead of the hunters."

"Hopefully, it won't come to that. Remember what I said, Huntress," said Derek, before he disappeared from the room, leaving Artemis feeling a little shaken.

XXX

The rest of the week flew by with Artemis working on controlling her inner wolf with yoga, tai-chi and Derek's help and trying to ignore Jackson and Lydia. She was stressed out of her mind with worry over the game while trying to keep her grades steady. It was a nightmare, one she could not wake up from at all.

On Friday, Artemis was at her locker when Stiles came up to her and pulled her over to a corner where they could see Sheriff Stilinski and his deputy talking to the school's principal.

"Let me guess, you want me to find out what they're talking about," guessed Artemis.

"If you don't mind," said Stiles.

"Okay, fine. Just be quiet," said Artemis. Carefully, she managed to tune out everyone else's voices and listen to what those three men were saying.

"…want everyone under the age of eighteen in their home by nine-thirty p.m.," said Sheriff Stilinski. "We'd like to institute the curfew effective immediately."

Artemis turned to Stiles. "They're going to order a curfew because of the murder."

Stiles looked exasperated. "Unbelievable," he said. "My dad's out looking for a rabid animal while the jerk-off who actually killed the girl is still out there, just doing whatever the heck he wants."

"Would you keep your voice down?" hissed Artemis. "We can't tell anyone he's a werewolf and we don't know if Derek actually killed that girl or not. The wolf I saw had red eyes and Derek's are blue when he turns. Besides, how would anyone explain how Derek did anything if there are wolf hairs on the body?"

"Simple, we find other evidence on the other half," said Stiles.

Artemis groaned. She knew that look on his face all too well. "Stiles, we're not going out on another crazy stunt! I got bitten by a werewolf last time, remember?"

"All the more reason to find out who or what killed that girl," said Stiles. "Come on, don't you want to find out for sure if Derek's the one who bit you and caused all this?"

"Yeah, but—"

"No buts," interrupted Stiles. "We're going out tonight and I'm going to need your wolf skills. I'll be at your house after dark. Be ready to go when I get there."

Artemis sighed in exasperation as Stiles took off before she could stop him. How did she get herself into these messes?

XXX

That night, Artemis and Stiles went to the Beacon Hills Hospital. Stiles had a shovel in his trunk and some other supplies.

While Stiles kept a lookout, Artemis snuck into the morgue and got a scent off the body. Soon after, they went into the woods and Artemis followed the scent to the last placed she'd wanted to find it—under a freshly dug grave behind Derek's burnt down old property. It was not looking good. And something smelled strange, but what, Artemis didn't know.

After what seemed like an eternity of digging, they found something they hadn't expected to find. Tightly knotted twine around a wolf's body. The sight of it made them both scream like little girls as they jumped away from it.

"What the flaming heck—?" exclaimed Stiles. "I thought you said the scent led here!"

"I did! It does! And I also said something smelled different," argued Artemis. She wrinkled her nose. "What's that stench?" Something smelled unpleasantly strong and it was making Artemis's stomach churn.

Stiles looked around and then his eyes widened when he saw a blue flower. "Holy crap," he gasped. "Look at that flower. I think it's wolfsbane."

"Wolfsbane?" repeated Artemis. No wonder she felt sick. In all the stories, wolfsbane, otherwise known as aconite or monkshood, was either poisonous to her kind or acted as a repellent against werewolves. "Would you get rid of it, then? It's making me sick and I feel like I need my inhaler again." Not only that, but she could feel the familiar tingles of her wolf side.

"Sure. Just give me a second," said Stiles. He rose up and yanked it out of the ground, only to find it was tied to something. The more Stiles pulled, the more rope he found laced with more blossoms and it emerged into a large spiral.

Artemis then rose up in horror as the wolf's body shifted into that of the girl's she saw before. "Oh my…Stiles!"

Stiles looked equally horrified and sickened. "Holy crap," he said. "Well, I guess we can call my dad now."

"Hold on a second. Something's not right," said Artemis. Why did this girl seem so familiar? Artemis carefully reached down and was about to touch her hair, only to pull back when she was hit with a flash of memories. She saw Derek finding the girl, howling in pain before burying her with angry tears streaming down his face.

"Whoa, what just happened?" asked Stiles, after she inhaled sharply.

"Ask me again later," said Artemis, as she drew in a shaky breath. How in the heck had she'd just seen Derek's memories? Was it a wolf thing? "I know who this is." She felt stupid for not recognizing her before. "It's Laura Hale."

"Laura Hale as in Derek's sister?" asked Stiles, as his eyes widened.

Artemis nodded. Laura Hale had been one of Artemis's friends before she and Derek moved away after the Hale Fire. They hadn't been close, but Artemis had liked her and had been deeply envious of Laura's large family and the closeness she shared with them as Artemis had craved something like that for years.

"That's it, I'm calling my dad," said Stile, grabbing his cellphone.

"Stiles, no," said Artemis, grabbing his wrist. "Something doesn't feel right. I saw what Derek was like with his sister. He was protective of her; he cared about her, the whole shebang. He buried her with love and grief. There's no way he murdered. I know it."

"Well, if he didn't, then who did?" asked Stiles. "Another werewolf?"

Artemis swallowed painfully. "Maybe. There are bite marks and some other scent on the body." She rose up. "Let's just rebury her as we found her. I'll talk to Derek later and see if I can get some answers."

Stiles looked as if he wanted to argue, but he kept his mouth shut as they left the scene exactly as they'd found it.

XXX

The following morning, Artemis searched every website she could find, but there was nothing on wolfsbane being used for lycanthrope burial rituals. Every website said the same thing: wolfsbane was deadly if anyone ingested it, werewolf or human, but the reactions were worse for her kind.

In the locker room before the game, despite Stiles' assurances all would be fine, Artemis felt nervous as a jack rabbit and tried to keep herself calm with some breathing exercises. Jackson was only going to play for a few minutes because of his shoulder, and the rest of the game depended on Artemis. Part of her did want to do this as she wanted at least a semi-normal life. And part of her wanted to just bolt then and there. Right before she was to play, she found a note in her locker from Derek saying one thing:

Remember what I told you, Huntress

I will be watching you the whole time

Listen to my voice during the game

ONLY my voice, nothing else

Stay safe

—D.

Artemis felt a little comforted. It's nice to know he's looking out for me.

Bracing herself, Artemis grabbed her lacrosse net and went out onto the field with the rest of her teammates, not knowing what was going to happen.

She put on a smile and waved at her mom and Alison when she saw them waving at her from the bleachers, but inside she was scared to death. How was it that the thing she'd wanted for so long now, to finally have a shot at playing the sport she loved, was now the thing she wished she was no longer a part of? Simple: she was bitten by a werewolf and her life became completely insane.

The dreaded whistle blew as the opposing team came onto the field and then the two lacrosse captains met with each other. The ball then went into the air, tossed from player to player on Artemis's team until another teammate failed to catch it in time. Artemis then spotted the ball on the grass.

"Artemis," said Derek. He sounded as though he was right there with her, but she didn't have a clue where he was. "Listen to me. Block out all other sounds. Listen only to me and just focus on what you see. Do as I tell you. Grab the ball."

Artemis did as she was told and ran for the ball.

"The captain's going to nail you in the side, dodge him now!"

Artemis barely dodged Jackson's attempt to ram into her in time before she snatched up the ball with her net and scored. She felt a little satisfied with herself as everyone cheered, until she overheard Jackson angrily telling his most loyal packdogs not to pass the ball to her.

Fury threatened to overwhelm her as she felt her fangs extend and her eyes change until she heard Derek talk to her again.

"Artemis, ignore them and only listen to me. Focus on what you see and the sound of my voice," said Derek, sharply. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Derek," she whispered. Stay focused. Stay focused!

Halfway into the game, there had been no shifting on Artemis's part and no one was hurt, except for Jackson's ego, but Artemis's team was down by two points. They needed a few more points to secure a win or Lydia was going to make Artemis's life miserable.

"As soon as the ball's up, get it," said Derek.

Artemis tightened her grip on her net as the ball went up into the air again. It soared above them and nearly fell on the opposing team, but Artemis did a fantastic move that landed her the ball and then she ran. She avoided those who opposed her with great speed and reflexes, and then scored another shot. This time, everyone stood up and cheered her on and the coach even yelled for her teammates to pass the ball to Artemis.

Soon, one of the boys on the opposing team passed Artemis the ball as she'd accidentally scared him with her wolf face as her aggression was starting to overcome her control. She grabbed the ball with her net and flung it so hard, it ripped a hole in the goalie's net.

"Artemis, stay calm! Relax," said Derek, as Artemis struggled to maintain control over the next shot. "Calm down. You can do this. I'm here for you, Huntress."

Artemis took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself down. Slowly, the red she was seeing faded and then as two players from the opposing team came after her from both sides, she didn't even think, she just swung her net and scored the winning goal for her team.

Everyone cheered and celebrations quickly went underway, but instead of joining in her team's cheers and celebrations, Artemis ran straight for the locker room to conceal herself as she was trying and failing to restrain her inner wolf.

She'd already broken a mirror and was now on one of the ceiling beams, acting like a predator after its prey. She cursed herself for being so stupid as to actually play the game that night. She'd restrained herself, yes, but just barely. If she had lost control for even moment, the consequences could've been terrible. Just then, Derek entered the locker room.

"Artemis?" said Derek, as he looked around. "Artemis, it's me. It's Derek. I know you're here. Just come out and talk to me."

Come out? No. I can't. I don't want to hurt you.

Despite the amount of control she'd had on the playing field, she still didn't trust herself as she could still feel her inner wolf fighting for control. She didn't want to hurt anyone, especially Derek. If she ever did, she'd never be able to forgive herself. She knew Derek could protect himself, being a more experienced lycanthrope than she, but that didn't mean she couldn't hurt him.

Artemis slowly climbed down, but she couldn't return to human form. Instead of facing Derek, she hid in a corner, trying to conceal herself.

"Artemis," said Derek.

He was right behind her. What the heck was he thinking?

"Derek, please just go away. I don't know if I can control this," said Artemis, softly. "I don't want to hurt you." It was starting to recede, but she still didn't trust herself.

"I'm not leaving you and you're not going to hurt me," said Derek. He placed his hand on her shoulder and his touch made her anger and fear faded away. "Artemis, look at me. Look at me."

Artemis finally turned around and faced him. Her brown gaze met his green one as she slowly shifted from werewolf form to human. How had she just done that? How had she retained so much control just now and before? Was it Derek or was it her?

"This doesn't control you, you control it," he said. "I've known others who were bitten and they made it. You can do this."

"How many? How many made it?" asked Artemis, tearfully. Please let it be a high number. I really want to know this can be controlled.

"More than I can count," said Derek. He cupped her face in his hands. "I'm going to help you. We're stronger together than we are apart. Stick with me, and we'll get through this."

Artemis sighed in relief. She felt reassured by that. "Okay," she said. Maybe he was right. Maybe she could do this and it wouldn't be so bad. She just needed to stick with him.

They held each other close until Artemis had to return home. As she got into bed that night, she felt far better than she had before. This wasn't going to be easy, but she'd pull through it. She knew it.