ARTEMIS' POV:-

　　"Are you literally jealous, baby girl?" Elijah asked me in a teasing tone. There was a mischievous smirk on his face. I didn't think for a second before I blurted all that out. And the worst happened. He caught my words and he knew how I was feeling.

　　I gritted my teeth. I felt so angry after hearing his question. I want to punch his face until that grin would be wiped off of his face. I wrapped my arms above my chest and turned my face away from him. "Jealous! Why would I be jealous of that bimbo?" I asked him in a low tone. I made sure he would not be able to look at my face. I didn't want him to see my facial expressions.

　　There was no doubt that I was jealous of that woman. And I didn't want her anywhere near Elijah. But of course, it was nothing that should have concerned me in the first place. "Why would I be jealous of her? It's not like I am your girlfriend or anything. I am just a she-wolf you took under your wing." My face fell as I added further. My voice was merely audible for anyone.

　　But I knew well that Elijah heard me loud and clear. Hearing me, he pinched my chin lightly. I pushed his hand away from my face. I didn't want him to look at my face. I didn't want to look pathetic. I stood up and walked away from him. I had tears in my eyes.

　　I was hardly able to stop crying after Uncle Grey told me so many jokes to make me smile. But as I saw Elijah again, I felt all those sad emotions and anger and frustration rushing back to me. I couldn't control my tears anymore. I went towards the balcony. Hoping that I could cry a little more until I could feel a little better.

　　It felt like burning black flames inside of me. Something that I couldn't get rid of. The feeling of helplessness was eating me from inside. I was not ready to give up. But I also was not ready to let him go. To be honest, I was not sure of my own feelings.

　　I gripped onto the railings tightly as I sensed Elijah's scent from behind me. An arm wrapped around my waist from behind. With his other hand, he grabbed my hair and exposed my neck. He buried his face in the crock of my neck. A part of me wanted to push him away and get away from him. Maybe that was my ego. Because he hadn't apologised to me. But then there was my whole body. Every single fibre of my body wanted to burn in those flames that erupted all over my body as he placed a soft kiss on my neck.

　　"I am so sorry, Artemis." He whispered softly in my ear as he buried his face in the crock of my neck again.

　　His words made me hold my breath. I turned around to look at him. He cupped my face with both of his hands and wiped my tears with the pads of his thumbs. "I am not going to say anything in my defence. I made a mistake. I know I was wrong. And there is nothing I can say to fix it." Elijah spoke in a low tone while staring into my eyes.

　　Hearing him apologise was something I hadn't expected at all. I didn't think for once that he would apologise to me for everything he did. "There is nothing more I can say. I am just going to apologise for my mistake." Elijah added in a low tone. I couldn't help but notice the sadness in his eyes as he was talking to me.

　　I couldn't help but wonder if he was feeling the same way as I was feeling. Maybe he was also sad. Maybe he felt lonely too. "Come on, Artemis. Let's just give him another chance. There are not many men in this world who actually own up to their mistakes and apologise. Men like these deserve to get another chance." Tracy spoke to me in an emotional tone. It felt like she was going to start crying very soon.

　　I couldn't understand Tracy one bit. She was filling my head with all the nonsense at night. Then she didn't speak to me all day. And then, she suddenly started blabbering about men who deserve forgiveness.

　　I rolled my eyes at her desperation. She was the worst. "Okay, I will give you another chance. Since Tracy changed her party. But I want to know something first." I replied to him in a low tone. I couldn't help but wonder what brought him to me. He could have just asked Uncle Grey to bring me to him.

　　At the same time, my mind was blank. I was wondering why he took me on fancy dinners if I actually meant nothing to him. I needed to ask him everything. "Sure! Whatever it is. I will be honest. I promise you that." Elijah replied to me in a low tone. I could see the honesty in his eyes. He was not joking about it. He was serious.

　　I was a little serious when it was time for me to finally ask him that question. "Why did you come here to get me all by yourself? You should have just asked Uncle Grey to bring me to you. What I mean to ask you, why come here to get me?" I asked him the question in a low tone. I was not sure if he was able to understand my questions.

　　I was nervous when I asked him why. I couldn't control my own words. As he heard my questions, he smiled while staring into my eyes. "I came here because it is important for me." He replied to me in a gentle tone. My heart almost stopped when I heard him.

　　"It is not true that you are just an ordinary wolf whom I took under my wing. You are special to me. You are so special to me that I kept you locked inside my apartment for months." Elijah added in a low tone while staring into my eyes. If he wouldn't be holding me in his arms, I would have fallen down on the ground.

　　I was staring into his eyes as he was talking. He suddenly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. "You are the most important thing to me. Yes, I was out of my mind when I said those words to you last night. And I didn't even go looking for you. And I am so sorry for that." Elijah added in a low tone as he engulfed me in his arms.

　　It was like the safest place in the world at that moment. I didn't know why I felt that way. But it made me happy. "Just come back home. I swear I will do whatever it takes to make it up to you." He added further, promising me something I was not expecting to hear from him. Well, maybe, I was out of my mind when I heard him.

　　I pulled away from him. My heart was beating wildly inside my rib cage. He was waiting for my response. I opened my mouth to respond to him. But I was suddenly speechless. My words didn't come out of my mouth and my tongue had died.

　　I took a deep breath to calm myself down. Biting my lower lip, I nodded my head. It brought a huge smile on his face. He grabbed me by my hips and swirled me around. I screamed loudly as I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly. We were on the balcony and I was afraid I was going to fall down.

　　Elijah then wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me tightly. "I will not let you fall. Trust me. He whispered in my ear as he hugged me tightly. I was happy. I couldn't feel that sadness inside me anymore. I felt free again. Being around him brought happiness to me.

　　He pulled away from me after a minute. "One more thing. I still have to apologise for one more thing. I messed up in many different ways last night." Elijah spoke in a low tone while staring into my eyes. He was suddenly serious again. I frowned in confusion as I couldn't remember another reason why he would apologise to me.

　　"I know you can't remember now. But I am so sorry, baby girl. I ruined your surprise. And I feel so bad for doing something that cruel. I didn't know anything until I opened your bedroom door." Elijah spoke in a guilty tone while he was rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He was genuinely sorry for his mistakes. I could see that in his eyes.

　　His words reminded me of the reason why I was so furious at him. I had totally forgotten about his birthday and the surprise I had created for him. "Oh yeah! I forgot about it completely. It was your birthday that excited me that much." I whispered while staring into his eyes. He chuckled nervously as he heard me.

　　An angry look appeared on my face as I glared at him. I slapped his arm then punched his stomach. "Fuck! Yeah! I deserve that." He cursed loudly then he spoke in a low tone. Clutching onto his stomach, he fell on the ground. Elijah was one who had trained me further. My blows were hard enough to knock him down if I wanted to.

　　"How could you do that to me? Do you have any idea how much effort I put into that surprise? You ruined it in a second. You bet you deserve it." I yelled at him angrily. I was not sure from where I got that confidence. Maybe it was the frustration that suddenly made its way out.