Beck’s POV
Her face is engraved in my mind just as it was the first time we met, three years ago. She has matured over the years and now seems even more beautiful to me. Her blue eyes still show the same determination as then, and to me, they are crystal clear.
She may not understand because she has had less time to assimilate to the bond, but I understand what it is like to see yourself reflected in your partner's eyes, to know and feel what the other feels.
Unlike her, the memory of that night is still clear to me, and through the years, I have waited for it because I knew it was for the best.
Now, the last thing I want to do is to keep waiting.
I don't want to accept the distance between us when I have once again felt the presence of her body against mine, the heat of her skin, and the scent of flowers wafting from her body.
I have had her lips again, just an inch away, and my body is still burning with longing to find her. Unfortunately, and just as her body has taken on more mature and defined shades, her character and stubbornness have also become solid, so I understand that making her see the truth will be like trying to cover the sun with a finger.
But this time, I refuse to let her go.
Inside me, I feel Ash, my wolf, growl as he rebels against the image of the woman running. He has also felt the call of his Luna and knows that the she-wolf in her is fighting against Artemis' will.
A more intuitive part of her knows that I don't lie, and if she wasn't so stubborn, maybe she would have stopped to listen to me, and things might be different. I still have time to change things, to give us a new chance. Before she disappears from my territory, I intend to try.
Following her trail, I set off down the halls, confident that I would be able to find her as I know the terrain like the back of my hand. Her scent is clear to me, so I run as I feel her emotions like a second voice inside my head.
The anger she possesses toward me is overwhelming, and I understand that Baltazar has played a good card by passing me off as the enemy. Telling her I'm an assassin was a nice touch on his, even if he has no idea who I really am to her.
Artemis' scent soon mingles, however, with someone else's, and as I make my way down the stairs, I pause, sensing this presence so familiar to me. She and I have very distinct characteristics, which is curious considering that physically we are practically the same.
"Willow, wait," I ask her, and she immediately turns to look at me.
Willow is my twin sister and my Beta. We have the same silver-gray eyes. She has long, hip-length hair of a darker shade than mine, but our faces are almost identical.
She must have sensed Artemis, but she has not yet learned who it is but has only sensed an intruder on our territory. Before she can launch herself in pursuit, I stop her, and it only takes a glance at her eyes for her to understand what is happening.
Only then, Willow clicks her tongue, inhaling sharply and feeling her scent wafting through the air.
"It's her, isn't it?" she asks.
Willow can't stand the idea of Artemis and I being together because we both have blood on our hands, though I have the decency to remind my sister that it's only because of the commands of Baltazar, who plants lies in Artemis’ head.
I nod as I pass by her side and tousle her hair, which I know unsettles her. She takes care of her long hair as if it were gold.
"Let me take care of it this time," I ask her, and she snorts under her breath, but stays behind me, arms folded.
I then watch Artemis run in the distance and quickly follow her.
By the time I reach her, she's at the edge of my territory, but I have no trouble catching up. Her name spills from my lips with ease, and she pauses to hear me just long enough before her eyes fill with fear and she flees again. But this time, I don't intend to let her go.
Running at an impossible speed, I catch up to her as my hand grips her arm. The movement is so sudden that it throws her off balance, but before she can fall, I place my hand on her hip. We move toward each other, with her fighting to get away and me anticipating her every move as the freezing rain covers our faces and mingles with her scent.
She looks up and her eyes get me. In them, I can see fear, anger, determination, but also desire. I know she longs for me, but in this instant, her feelings are only an echo of mine, because the strength of her emotions does not allow her to see beyond the inexorable force that guides her toward me.
She cannot comprehend the depth of those feelings, the magnitude, and how she is destined to love me, just as I love her.
But I do understand. I have since the first time I saw her.
"Artemis, stop! Stop running away! You're only going to hurt us both with this," I say, then I pull her a little closer to me, feeling her body react, even against her own stubborn will. She follows my movements, joining me.
"If it is to be, then so be it," she challenges me, and her hand rises to strike me, but I stop it. I catch her fist between my hands and hold her; even though her nature is lethal, her body is fragile and delicate, like that of a porcelain doll.
"It doesn't have to be like this," I tell her, and my hand runs up her back, caressing her bare skin, cold from the rain. "I know more about the truth than you think, and if you listen to me, you will understand."
She looks at me, hesitating for a moment at what I have to say, but I know it's not enough to make her stay.
"You can't run away for the rest of your life. We are destined; you know that."
My words reach her, but before they can have the desired effect, she rebels with the same stubbornness that I now understand is part of her.
Her hands break free of me in a fluid motion, and she begins to dance around me. Before I can hold her again, she turns away from me, looking at me for one last moment with hatred just before she departs.
"What happened to Cinderella? Did her carriage turn into a pumpkin?" Willow asks sarcastically, reaching my side just before Artemis is lost in the distance.
"She's not ready to understand yet," I tell Willow bitterly as a sigh escapes my lips.
"Maybe it's for the best," Willow says, unable to understand an Alpha and Luna's connection since she hasn't found her fated mate yet.
"No, this is not for the best. But the time will come when she understands what we are," I declare.
Next to me, my sister shrugs and pats my shoulder.
"You and she are just as stubborn, and that's why I know that if there's anyone who can get another truth into her head, it's you," she says.
"For the Goddess’ sake, I hope so," I whisper.
"You'd better. But it will be interesting to see how you get there," she admits truthfully, and I can't help but wonder how I'll do it.