ARTEMIS' POV:-

　　We were in the elevator. Elijah was tightly holding my hand. I had my other arm wrapped around his arm. I was practically hugging his arm. The elevator door opened and Elijah pulled me out of the elevator. As soon as I stepped into the penthouse, I growled under my chest. There were black flames inside my body. It felt like I was burning from inside.

　　"Hey, are you alright?" Elijah's voice pulled me out of that uneasy feeling inside my chest. I turned to look at his face and found him staring at me. He had a concerned look on his face. Probably because he might have heard me growling. I had no idea how I was suddenly so angry. But there was something that I sensed around me.

　　My eyes glowed as I sensed that pungent scent around me again. "Oh, who is that, Elijah? Did you hire a maid or something?" My head turned, following my sense of hearing. As soon as I turned, I saw that same woman standing in front of me. That same woman that Elijah brought home the night before.

　　"I shall warn you to watch your mouth, Alisa. The next time those words will not be able to come out of your mouth again. Because I will rip your tongue out the moment you will say anything crappy like that about my pack members." Elijah growled at the woman in an angry tone. I was surely not expecting that from Elijah.

　　Hearing Elijah's angry tone, Alisa stepped away from us. Without waiting for any response from her, Elijah pulled me towards my bedroom. I turned my head to look at her. I was not sure why, but I suddenly smirked as we proceeded towards my bedroom. I saw an angry look on her face as she saw me smirking.

　　Elijah closed the door and pulled me towards the bed. That's when I remembered that I had left the room decorated because it was Elijah's birthday. "Oh yeah! I totally forgot about this. I bought you all these gifts. It's your birthday." I whispered in a low tone. I was a little happy because I sensed Elijah's scent all over my bedroom. I guess he surely was worried about me.

　　A very tiny part of me felt bad for making him go through all that. But all over, I was happy and joyous because I made him go through all that. "Wow! That's beautiful. I can't believe it. You pulled it off on your own. That's actually the best birthday present I have ever gotten." Elijah spoke in a low tone. My heart suddenly fluttered as I heard him say that. And my cheeks burned.

　　Elijah offered me his hand. I smiled and grabbed his hand. Elijah pulled me on the bed. I quickly grabbed my comforter and snuggled up with it. I had missed my own bed. That's for sure. "Come on, help me unpack these gifts. I want to see what you have gotten for me." Elijah said as he grabbed the packs.

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　　It was almost bedtime. To make it up to me, Elijah spent the whole day with me. We were outside the whole day. We went shopping. He took me to the amusement park. We had a small evening picnic too. Then he took me to the beach to watch the sunset. He knew how much I loved watching the moon setting down.

　　At night, Elijah had invited the whole pack on dinner to celebrate his birthday. I was getting ready for the party. Since it was a casual party, I decided to wear something casual yet elegant. I decided to wear a simple maroon choker dress. It hugged my body perfectly. I paired it with cute black wedges. As my hair was long, I mostly loved to leave them free.

　　I applied eyeliner on my eyes and pink clear lip gloss to complete my looks. I stuffed my stuff into my purse and stepped out of my bedroom. My breath hitched as I saw him wearing casual clothes too. He was wearing a plain grey t-shirt. It was a full sleeved t-shirt and it was pretty skinny. It was like a second skin on his upper body. He was wearing black skinny jeans and plain black sneakers to complete his casual looks. I bit my lower lip as I was staring at him from head to toe. I had no idea he would look that good in casual clothes.

　　Elijah grabbed my hand and led me towards the elevator. We arrived at the restaurant right on time. Elijah had booked a floor for his birthday dinner. Alisa was the last person to arrive at the party. I was standing with Amy. We were talking to each other. I scrunch my nose as I sensed that same pungent scent at the party.

　　We all turned our heads and looked at Alisa. She was walking towards Elijah, swaying her butt seductively. "What the fuck! I didn't think Alpha Elijah would invite a stripper to his birthday party. Man, what was he thinking." Amy spoke in a surprised tone. She kept her voice low but as most of the people at the party were shifters, everyone heard her loud and clear, including Alisa.

　　I had to pinch my thigh to keep myself from laughing out loud. Because Tracy was laughing out loud. And once she started laughing, I couldn't control myself either. "It's not a stripper. She is Elijah's old friend. I guess Elijah forgot to tell her about the dress code." I replied to Amy in a loud sarcastic tone. Making sure Alisa would hear me loud and clear.

　　Elijah also heard me loud and clear. He turned his head towards Alisa and glared at her. "You are extremely overdressed, Alisa. I told you to wear something casual. It's not a fancy party." Elijah scolded Alisa in front of everyone. I had to bite my lower lip so I wouldn't smirk again.

　　I had no idea why, but I felt like Alisa was a kind of threat to the pack and to Elijah. So I didn't like her one bit. And then there was this pungent odour I sensed from around her. It was kinda hard to breathe whenever she was around. I had no idea why I was sensing it. "Oh, Elijah! Please! You know how I am. You are something I fancy. So how come your party can't be fancy. Besides, I don't like to look like the others." She replied to Elijah in a seductive tone as she leaned in a little. I almost felt like puking on her. A little push and her boobs would have come out of her dress.

　　I turned around and looked at Amy. Not because I was jealous. But because I kinda knew what was going to happen next. And also because I could no longer hide the winning grin on my face. "Umm.. yeah! Thanks. I better get going. Everyone must be hungry." Elijah said as he pushed Alisa aside and walked away. I guess he was no longer interested in that woman anymore.

　　A few minutes later, Elijah came back and the servers started serving the dishes. Elijah filled my plate as always. "I can't eat that much. Besides, I like cakes. So I will be keeping a massive space for that inside my stomach." I pushed that plate back towards Elijah as I walked towards the buffet and served myself a plate.

　　After dinner, Elijah cut the cake. It was a fun night. We had tons of fun. After the party, we came back home. Alisa was given the guest room. Elijah placed all his things back into his closet. I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I sensed Elijah inside my bedroom.

　　It made me a little happy that I would not be sleeping in a cold and dark place anymore. I was more excited to cuddle up with him. I was not courageous enough to tell him that out loud, but I started loving it. I loved cuddling up with him in my bed every single night. I was not sure about it, but I knew he liked it too. Or he wouldn't have asked me to cuddle up with him.

　　I gasped loudly as suddenly, he hovered over me. He grabbed both of my wrists and pinned me to the bed. His legs forced my legs open. "Now! It's time for your punishment, baby girl. Have you forgotten that you were supposed to get punished for that little stunt of yours?" Elijah spoke in a low tone. Well, actually his tone was seductive.

　　I closed my eyes as he buried his face in the crock of my neck. I inhaled sharply as he placed a soft kiss on my neck. "You gave me a heart attack this morning when I didn't see you anywhere in the apartment." He whispered softly while his face was still buried in the crock of my neck.

　　As I didn't make any sounds, he pulled his head out to look at my face. "Promise me that you will never do that again. Promise me that you will punch me, you will yell at me, but you will never run away again." Elijah spoke in a low tone. It sounded more like a request.

　　As if he was begging me not to go away from him. I couldn't imagine that he was that desperate to get me back. Well, he kinda told me how desperate he was to get me back. It all made me realise something. It was something that I had been thinking about for a very long time. And I couldn't find any answers to that question. I was worried if I meant nothing to him but a mere showpiece he kept hidden inside his apartment to make it look pretty. He gave me freedom. He gave me a future. He gave me protection. But I still couldn't help but wonder if I meant something more to him.

　　"If you will not repeat that mistake again, I will be right beside you. But if I feel like a showpiece inside your apartment, I will leave you the very next second." I replied to him in a firm tone. It was not the answer he was seeking. But it was something I wanted him to know. I wanted him to know my worth. And he wanted me with him, he was supposed to know that he couldn't think of me as a mere toy.