O Bucată Din Inima Mea

Artorias tried to leave as quickly as he could. Getting out of the same space as Bowen felt like the only way he could keep himself in control, especially when she had been so close to him out of nowhere. He'd just made it to the hearth when Bowen's voice right behind him called out for him to stop. Part of Artorias' mind, the rational part that wanted to protect himself, urged him to just keep walking away. Bowen had acted in ways intended to hurt him, he owed her nothing. But the second his ears heard her sweet voice, it felt like a knife had been driven straight into his heart. His body reacted on its own in an instant, large paws slowing their gait until he'd come to a stop. The glow of the fire danced flickering light over the two wolves. He didn't turn around straight away until Bowen had apologized and began to try to explain herself.

Black eyelids slid closed while he drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he tried to compose himself against the surge of emotions welling up inside his fractured heart. Art slowly turned to face her again, his expression impassive though his eyes expressed the turmoil hidden behind the mask. Bowen tried to explain herself and her actions, and Artorias listened. It was the least he could do and she was being brave when she clearly did not want to be having this conversation. She explained how Briar had told her what he'd asked, and somehow he doubted she'd relayed that message accurately. Briar had been very emotional during that conversation after all. Bowen shocked Artorias by confessing her own desire for him as well. She'd lusted for him since the day they'd seen each other again. Thinking back on it, Artorias supposed that was when he'd felt the strange emotions for his sister as well. Those urges to hold her close, wrap her up in his arms, keep her safe from the world that had stolen her from him once before... They began the day she had come back into his life and he saw her for who she was and who she had become.

The young brute listened quietly while Bowen explained why the revelation of their feelings for one another scared her. Their entire relationship had changed, the two wolves would never again be the same. Bowen took a couple bold steps closer, bringing herself so close that he could reach out and touch her now. His heart missed beat after beat in time with each step she took closer to him. She said she didn't want to cause resentment between them, nor damage his relationship with Briar, nor hurt him. That part stung and was the piece Artorias needed to finally force his gaze away from Bowen's hypnotic viridian eyes. "Right... You don't want to hurt me, so you avoid me for days, bring a stranger into the pack and fuck him like crazy every chance you can get. Got it." It was impossible for him to look past that. Bowen had discovered Artorias' feelings and responded in a way that she'd known would hurt him. Was she trying to make him envious of the stranger currently sleeping upstairs in Bowen's bed with her scent all over him? Because she was wildly effective at it.

"These feelings, Bowen, these intense and terrifying feelings I have for you... They don't stop, no matter how much I tried. I spent every second with you worrying that I'd end up saying or doing something that would ruin what we had, and it was the most afraid I'd ever been. I never thought in my wildest dreams that you could feel the same for me, so I forced them back. And all this time we were trying to hide ourselves from one another..." He scoffed and shook his head in disbelief. Of course that would be like them, identical in emotions yet unable to reveal them to the other out of fear of the risk. "Briar clearly didn't tell you the full details of everything, because you keep referring to it as lust." Smoldering amber eyes turned back to hold Bowen's emeralds. He wanted her to see the intensity of the fire burning inside him for her. There were no more masks, no more hiding, no more downplaying. She already knew what he felt; he had nothing left to hide from her.

"I love you, Bowen. It might not be the same love I feel for Briar, but it's love all the same. I told her this, same as I'm telling you now. Yes, there's lust in there, and there's desire, but it's more than just wanting to carry you off to my bed and have my way with you." Refusing to take his eyes off of hers, Artorias closed the distance between them with slow, measured steps. "I want to see the world with you, Bowen. I want to hold you in my arms while we watch sunsets over foreign beaches. I want to kiss you in the sea. I want you to always be with me, protected and safe so the world can't steal you from me again. I want you at my side every step of this journey together. I want to make love to you and fuck you and every degree of passion in between in our beds. I want to know what my name sounds like on your moaned voice. I want to know your touch, your taste, how you feel beneath and above me. I want you, Bowen, more than I could ever say."

Artorias came to a stop just a breath away from her, craning his neck down towards her so he could hold her gaze. His stomach was twisting into knots, a molten fire building in his belly just from being this close to her. The stench of the other wolf still clung to her, but the alpha in him wanted nothing more than to replace it with his own all over her. He wanted to show Bowen that his words were not just words—he meant every single one of them. "But this isn't a one way street... You know what I feel, what I want. You've told me what you don't want. But what do you want, Bowen?" That was the question. It was up to Bowen to answer that for him. He waited, breath bated and anxious, as he gazed deeply into her gorgeous eyes and resisted the urge to just close the gap between their muzzles and lock their lips in a heated kiss, tempting as it was.

"Artorias" | "Corbin" | "Argent"