ELIJAH'S POV:-

　　Artemis was in my arms, staring at me with wide eyes. The shocking look on her face was so adorable. I had to keep myself from kissing her. She was surprised to hear what I just told her. She was not expecting that, I guess. "Of course, baby girl. I am being serious. Now that I have seen you working so hard for your future, I can't just ask you to sit back home. I am planning on sending you to college. Just name the college you want to go to." I replied to the question she asked me. I was gently brushing my knuckles with her cheek. She was still staring at me with a confused look on her face. Or maybe it was a shocked look on her face that I witnessed.

　　Either way, she just looked so adorable. It took her a few minutes to understand what I just said to her. As my words sank into her brain, the confused frown disappeared from her face and a wide smile took its place. She jumped on top of me and wrapped her arms around me, squealing in happiness. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much, Eli. I thought I was never going to be able to make all my dreams come true." She spoke in an excited tone, hugging me tightly. I had never thought she would be that excited when she heard what I had planned for her brighter future.

　　Artemis was hard working and a gifted woman. I had seen her working day and night to reach the place where all of her teachers were praising her. Well, except for that one teacher who dared to give her a hard time. I had made up my mind to give that teacher a hard time because she dared to make my baby girl cry. "That's alright, baby girl. You have been working so hard to go through your final year of high school. I couldn't just sit back and do nothing." I replied to her in a low tone as I wrapped my arms around her too. I kissed the top of her head and she wrapped her arms around me.

　　My heart was drumming erratically inside my rib cage. It felt like my heart would break free anytime. I had no idea she would wrap her arms around me the very first night. Maybe she had feelings for me too. Maybe she was just too shy to say or do anything. Maybe she was just confused about everything. I couldn't blame her. She had been through a lot. She didn't tell me a lot. But her actions made me realise that there had been a lot of trauma in her life. That's the reason why I have been trying to stay calm and neutral with her. It took her a few minutes to fall asleep. And I was thinking she would be uncomfortable with me, cuddling with her the whole night.

　　I opened my eyes in the morning as I felt something wrapped around my neck. I looked down and saw Artemis lying on top of me. I gently laid her down on the bed and replaced my body with my pillow. I pecked her forehead lovingly. That brought a wide smile to her face. Even when she was sleeping so soundly, she recognized my scent and my kisses. I walked out of her bedroom and made my way straight to the bathroom. I had a wide smile on my face. I was happy. The sounds of her snoring peacefully made me chuckle. She was the most adorable thing in this world. And I just loved everything about her.

　　After a quick shower, I stepped out of the bathroom and walked towards my closet. I grabbed a grey tuxedo for the day. Artemis just got free from her exams. I decided to let her rest for a day. I didn't want her to feel burdened. After all, Artemis was pro at everything. She already knew how to fight. I had already enhanced her moves. She was fighting with me almost every single day. Now I was thinking about getting her to fight both me and Daniel at the same time. Maybe some different techniques would surprise her a little. But I was confident that there was no way Artemis could lose a combat. I was confident because Artemis had worked so hard.

　　I no longer feared for her safety. Artemis was once able to defeat me. That meant she was getting better than I was. I knew who took Artemis away that night and why. But I decided to stay quiet. No one knew my secret except for Lauren and Gregory. And I knew they would never let that secret out. According to Dean, we owed her that explanation. I tried to make him understand that we couldn't do that. Artemis would never understand why I had to do that. The moment I set my eyes on her, I knew that she was my mate. Even though I could have saved her without getting her hurt that night, I deliberately bit her and turned her into a werewolf.

　　I couldn't tell my pack that I was the one who bit a human and turned her. I couldn't tell everyone that I repeated the same mistake as my father. That's why I was also supposed to hide that truth from Artemis. I knew she would never understand my side of the reasons. Once I was ready, I stepped out of my bedroom and went towards Artemis' bedroom again. As expected, she was sleeping peacefully. I smiled as I stepped into the room again to readjust her curtains. I didn't want anything or anyone to wake her up. Sometimes, I hated myself for making her go through all that. But even in that situation, Artemis never once complained to me about anything at all.

　　She was the kind of woman who was happy in all kinds of situations. The kind of people who always find a way to think positively. Once I covered her room with the curtains, I walked back towards her. With a last look on her beautiful face, I turned around and left her bedroom. There was nothing in this world more beautiful and adorable for me than her. I knew I was not a perfect man for her. But I was willing to change myself for her sake. I believed that Artemis deserve someone better than me.

　　As I stepped out of her bedroom, I walked straight towards the kitchen. I didn't want her to burn herself. So I always cooked for her. I enjoyed spoiling her. The only difficulty I was facing was Emma. She was giving Artemis a hard time while she was adjusting herself in this new world. Thankfully, the news of Artemis being my mate did some good. Emma was staying away from Artemis. I couldn't help but notice a hint of jealousy in Emma's eyes and her actions ever since Artemis stepped into our lives. Artemis and I were mates. While Emma was my sister. I couldn't understand why Emma would ever be jealous of my mate or my girlfriend.