Josephine's Secret

4. Priorities

4. Priorities: Archer's Pov

Chapter Goal: 320 votes (for some more romance between Archer and Josephine)

QOTD- would y'all like the length of these chapters? Or are they too long?

"Josephine," I reach out and take both of my mate's hands in mine. "What's your secret?"

"I can't tell you." she repeats, shaking her head. "I want to... But I can't."

"Why?" I ask, knowing that she's hurting inside. Seeing her on the brink of tears is heartbreaking; no one should ever be as broken as she is right now.

"I can't... I can't get close to you." she pauses in the middle of her sentence, trying her best to refrain from breaking. Josephine tries to stand up and leave, but I don't let go of her hands.

"Why can't you get close to me?" I ask, trying to pull her in for a hug. She resists though, almost as if being close to me is the worst place she could be right now. "I hate seeing you like this. If you tell me what's going on, I'll be able to fix it."

"I can't." she says once more, struggling to get her hands free from my hold.

"Why?"

"I can't let you into my life. I can't." she whispers, her tears barely being contained. I want nothing more than to hold her in my arms and let her cry it all out, but she just won't allow me to do so. Not being able to comfort her in a time like this is hurting both my wolf and I too. "I can't get close to you."

"Why?"

"I just can't."

"Why-"

"Because when I get close to people, they leave!" she exclaims, finally letting her tears fall. Once I hear the saddening sound of her voice breaking, I wrap my arms around her and hold her. "They always leave." she sobs, her voice muffled by my chest.

"I'm here." I whisper into her ear. "I'll always be here for you."

For the first time since we met, Josephine allows me to hold her close to me. She rests her head on my chest and lets it all out. I don't even care that her tears are soaking my shirt; all that matters to me now is making that I provide my mate with the emotional support she needs right now. "It's going to be okay." I tell her along, gently kissing the crown of her head. "I'm not leaving, I never will."

Whispering sweet nothings in her ear to calm her down, I find myself frowning even more when she tries to speak. "Archer." she sniffles, pulling away. Even though she can't hide the fact that she was crying, she still tries to cover her face by looking down. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." I reach out and put my hand on her cheek. She hesitates for a second, but slowly puts her hand over mine. "You have nothing to be sorry for. If it's anyone who should be sorry, it's me. I didn't mean to make you cry, Josephine. I really didn't."

"It's.... It's okay." she dismisses, still not looking up at me. I've noticed that she doesn't like making eye contact when she's crying. "But I'm sorry."

"For what?" I ask. Josephine didn't do anything wrong. It was me who kept pushing her for answers. I mean; I still want those answers, but I know that I have to lay off.