Chapter 10: Artem - Heart Stopping

Artem

I had been smiling most of the morning so far, knowing I was going to see the girl soon. I had woken early and gone to shower and get changed. After I was ready I decided to get some breakfast, allowing my mate to get some more sleep. Plus, I would be calmer and less likely to rush if I was saited first.

At about a quarter after nine I made my way to her room. It was possible that she had woken up already and was scared. I knew she was likely to run if she was scared and I didn't want her being frightened by anyone else in the pack house so I had locked the door, hoping to get back before she noticed.

I had just gotten the room to check on the girl we saved last night, the girl that was to be my mate. I knew that last night hadn't gone perfectly, but we managed to save her and bring her back here. That was enough of a win for now.

I unlocked the door as quietly as I could. I didn't want to wake her if she was still asleep. As soon as I had slowly pushed the door open I saw something that made my heart stop.

My mate, the girl I had just saved, was trying to jump out the window. Her eyes looked determined, but scared, as she was sitting half out the window frame. She took one look at me and threw her other leg over, ready to jump.

I ran. There was nothing else for me to do. If I said something it might scare her and make her jump sooner. She took a bracing, steadying breath and pushed herself off.

'Goddess no!' That was all I could think.

What was she thinking? We were on the fifth floor. Does she want to die? Is she trying to kill herself? How could she do this?

I got to her just in time. I threw my arms out and grabbed hold of whatever I could. I had to stop her.

My arms went all the way around her. My hand closed around her waist and the other under her arm. I pulled her toward me and held her against my chest, my eyes closed and my heart pounding.

I could feel her heart pounding like crazy in her chest. Was it from fear? Was it from the excitement of the jump? I didn't know and I didn't care.

I couldn't take my arms off of her. I needed to hold her so I knew she was still here and so she wouldn't try to jump again.

I pulled her back up as I stood up straight. She had only gone like three feet below the window but that was like ten miles to my heart that had leapt into overdrive when it restarted.

With her in my arms I backed into the room. Her feet didn't touch the floor as I held her in my arms. I just kept her pressed to me as I backed up to the couch in the room. When the back of my knees bumped into it I collapsed onto it, pulling her into my lap as I went.

I had felt like screaming. I currently felt like bawling my eyes out and sobbing about how she almost killed herself. But she still hadn't made a sound. All I had heard since I came into the room was my heart pounding in my ears, a sudden gasp when I had grabbed her from the air, and now my frantic, panicked breathing.

How was she not screaming when she started to plunge to her death? Her heart was still beating fast though, matching mine beat for beat. That beating let me know she was still alive.

'Thank the Goddess. I got there in time.'

I took a deep breath, steadying my frayed nerves. Then, I loosened my arms and set her on her feet. I needed to look at her face, to see how she was going to react during this conversation. Plus, she didn't know me yet so she might not be comfortable with this position.

"Please don't do that again." I said as I raised my head and simultaneously turned her to look at me. She just looked at me with wide, fear filled eyes. She wasn't trembling, but it looked like she was not far from it. Why was she so scared?

Then it hit me. I hadn't gotten a chance to explain anything last night. And to top it all off, she was laying right there on the ground during my fight with that wolf and my argument with Howard, if that really was Howard. Also, she had seen me kill that wolf.

But, to be fair, he was trying to kill me. And he had bitten her. She should be happy that he was gone.

Did I frighten her too much? Was I too brash and out of control? I hoped not.

"What's your name?" I asked her. She just stared at me with a fierce look in her eyes. What was that for? That was a normal question to ask someone.

"Look, my name is Artemis Cooper, but people call me Artem." I smiled at her. "I am the new Alpha of the Hidden Paw Wolf Pack." The fear intensified in her eyes and the trembling that was threatening before finally started.

"There is something I need to tell you." I tried to look as calm and nonthreatening as I could. "When we were in the process of breaking you out, I discovered something about us." I was smiling, happily, hoping that she would be happy as well. "My wolf smelled you and told me you are my mate. That we're supposed to be together." I thought she would be happy, that she would rejoice. Don't all wolves want to find their forever mate?

But my hopes were dashed as she backed away from me as quickly as she could. She tripped over a bump in the rug, probably caused by me running across the room to stop her jumping. She landed on her bottom but didn't stop moving away from me. She scooted across the floor until her back hit the wall and she just pulled her legs to her chest, tears filling her eyes.

"Please, don't be scared." I pleaded as I moved closer to her. "I'm not here to hurt you." When I was close enough to nearly touch her arm she flinched away from me. My heart didn't just break at that moment, it shattered into a million pieces, so much so it was nothing more than dust that blew away on my next heavy sigh. "Please, don't be afraid." I begged her, but she didn't look at me.

I needed to try a different approach. I needed to figure out how to get her to open up to me. But I also needed to make sure she didn't try to run away again. I wanted to protect her. But I didn't want to treat her like a prisoner, she had already been held captive once, I couldn't let that happen again.

"Look, I'm going to leave and send the doctor to check on you again. Then I will send someone in with some clean clothes and food. Please, don't try to run again." She just looked at me. "Can you please promise that you wouldn't try to run?" I didn't know what I expected from her then, if she would agree or not, but I was happy when she nodded her head. She was probably more afraid of me now than she ever was of her family. How had this happened.

I took her at her word, not that she had actually spoken. I stood up and backed toward the door. When I was close enough to the door I turned to leave, but not without looking back over my shoulder to look at her petrified face once more.