ARTEMIS' POV
I can't help but stare at her smaller frame as she walks in front of me, moving out of the girls' dormitory.
From the moment I spotted her riding the wolf back to school, I've had to agonizingly restrain myself. The constant urge to rush up to her and pull her close-until my racing heart steadies-has been almost unbearable.
Turns out that one hug didn't even begin to quench my yearning for more.
Now, as we walk, it's a battle of wills not to slide my hand into hers, not to seek out that singular warmth her touch bestows. This unexplainable pull defies all logic.
It makes absolutely no sense.
It's like my body is short-circuiting, reacting in impossible ways, all because of this anomaly of a girl. I'm wanting, craving even the slightest contact from her until I can truly convince myself that no harm could come her way.
I really meant what I said earlier.
Her absence for 24 hours did something to me; it sent me into a temporary fit of madness that logic couldn't explain. I was so close to tearing down the school walls just to find her, my wolf being the orchestrator of that very idea.
And every single time I pause to think, to maybe piece it all together-to figure out why the mere thought of a scratch on her skin gives me a headache-I end up with nothing but a pure, primal instinct to protect her
Maybe that's one of the reasons behind my plan to have her stay with me. Not the only one, but one of them.
Maybe then, I can figure out what it is-why she constantly pushes the boundaries of my sanity, why I have this sudden craving to have her by my side, even if it means enduring her nagging about the most mundane things.
Surely, after a few days of her constant presence, the pull will wear off, the way it has with everyone else-demoting her to a mere afterthought.
We reach the ground floor, and I step forward, pulling the door open for her. She pauses, eyeing me suspiciously; she knows this isn't a gesture I'd normally make for anyone.
After a moment of sizing me up with her eyes, she finally walks through the door to the outside. I follow closely behind her, meeting up with Jasper and Ace, who have been waiting just outside for me.
"Well, you guys took your sweet time, didn't you?" Jasper speaks, visibly annoyed as he looks at me. But the moment his eyes land on her, his expression softens almost instantly, which irks me in the process.
"You okay?" He asks her now.
She makes a soft sound from the back of her throat, giving a slight nod; her response is ultimately satisfying to me.
Her small yawn that follows reminds me that she was sleeping when I arrived. She might still be tired, so I turn to Jasper and Ace, shooting them a meaningful look.
"You guys can go ahead. Report back if you find any possible clues on the field."
"Really? After waiting out here for you for the past-" He shuts up the moment Ace and I pass him a stern look.
"Let's go." Ace says now, following my orders without another word. Jasper follows closely behind without any objections, leaving just the two of us again.
"Do you think they're going to find anything out there?" She speaks up once they're gone.
The flatness in her voice not only reveals her exhaustion but also her lack of faith in the whole investigation.
"Jasper may not look like it, but he's a good tracker. He'll definitely find something strong enough to hold Morgan down until we can finally pinpoint it all on him," I assure her.
However, she still doesn't brighten up, offering only a weary smile before resuming her walk towards the boys' dorm. I have to do my best now, at least until those sparks return to her eyes.
I follow, and within the next five minutes, we're standing just outside my dorm room. I step forward again to unlock the door, making room for her to walk in. She pauses at the threshold, taking in the new room setup that greets her eyes.
I'll admit, in the process of preparing for her move, I may have gone a bit overboard, tweaking the style to more closely match her personality.
"Two beds?" she comments, eyeing the second bed beside the first one-a new addition since her last visit to my room.
"I assumed you wouldn't want to share a bed with me, and there's no way I'm letting you sleep on the floor. So, I added another bed. A room this size was originally meant for two, anyway," I say, not hiding the hint of pride in how thoughtful I've been.
She immediately moves to her own bed, sitting on it to test the mattress. The way her eyes light up tells me it meets her taste. Then she surveys the pastel colors on her side of the room and the antique decor that resonates with her vibe, before her eyes return to me.
"Wow, I don't know what to say."
"Thank you would be sufficient, considering all the effort I've put into not being an asshole," I say, smirking smugly.
Surprisingly, Sera laughs lightly, and I feel my heart beat again.
"Thank you." Her smile is soft, sincere.
I'm immediately taken aback, shocked by how easily she shows an emotion that's not contempt or hate.
I know it's because of the deal we made earlier on, but it doesn't dull the excitement that pulses through my chest at the sight of her emerald green eyes lighting up and her peach-pink lips curving into a smile.
Those lips...
"R-right," I stammer, hastily shifting my gaze away from her.
The last thing I want is to do something impulsive that might make her change her mind about staying here. Have I perhaps made a mistake in trying to figure out what's going on inside me?
No, it's just a minor hiccup. I can manage this.
"I have to leave now," I finally say, taking one last look at her as she fiddles with the tiny snow globe of a haunted house on her bedside table.
I'm glad she noticed that little addition - a souvenir from the first night she spent here.
She nods, not lifting her eyes to meet mine, and I turn to leave. My mind is slightly more at ease knowing she's in a safe place, rather than wandering in the middle of nowhere.
I make my way back to the secluded garden, where the whole ordeal initially started. It's where Jasper, Ace, and part of the investigation team are currently scouring for evidence.
We've been here for hours, and the only things we've found are paw prints that match Kamila's and human footprints, almost as if they had been running side by side without being pursued.
The perpetrator seems to have taken their time to cover their tracks so perfectly that I'm almost convinced we can't find them.
It's something I can't bear to admit to Sera.
As I rejoin the team, Jasper and Ace walk up to me, holding a thin plastic bag.
"Artemis, we found something," they say.
"What's this?" I ask, eyeing the transparent bag they're holding up.
"Fur, wolf fur stained with blood," Ace elaborates. "Kamila mentioned she fought off the wolves before they outnumbered her."
"And it's not ginger-brown like her wolf's; it's plain brown," Jasper adds. "If we send this for a DNA match-"
"We have our perpetrator," I finish, looking at the bag again.
"Bingo."
It looks like their cleanup job wasn't as thorough as they'd hoped.
***
Hours later, after gathering as much as we could, I'm exhausted and the entire team retires for the night. I think Sera must be fast asleep already from earlier, so I gently push the door to my room open so as not to wake her up.
Having a roommate is a new experience for me, I guess. I have to factor in their existence when walking in like this, but surprisingly, I don't mind it as much as I thought I would.
I expect to find Sera peacefully snoring, wrapped in the soft embrace of sleep on her own bed. Instead, what I see unsettles me.
She's tossing and turning, drenched in sweat. Her lips move as if she's whispering to herself, her forehead creased in apparent distress.
And then there's something even more odd-the lights above her bed are flickering on and off.