Josephine's Secret

32. All Yours

32. All Yours: Josephine's Pov

Chapter Goal: 300 votes, 120 comments

QOTC- who's point of view do yall want to see?

I shiver from cold as I wake up, soon realizing that I only have a lace bra and panties on. Did I sleep in this with Archer last night? I come to the conclusion that Archer must've undressed me when he carried me up to bed; not that I really mind though.

But where is he?

I thought he would wake me up before he left. 'I think mate is still home.' my wolf says, able to feel him through the mate-bond.

Getting off the bed and grabbing a shirt to throw on, I slowly walk downstairs, curious when I hear him walking around the entire floor. "Archer?" I call out, you internally cringing at how weak my voice sounded.

"Good morning, darling." he calls back, meeting me at the bottom of the stairs and giving me a tight hug. "I love you." He presses his lips to my forehead. "You know that right?"

"I love you too, Archer." I nod, leaning into him. He looks at me for a little bit, but I can't read his eyes. His body is tense and it seems like he's struggling to keep his eyes on mine.

"I love you." he hugs me once again, this time pulling me closer than before. "I know I don't show it enough, but know I love you, sweetheart. More than you'll ever know."

I can tell that something's wrong by the way he's holding me. "What's wrong?" I ask him, worried that something happened.

"I just realized some things." he answers, moving behind me to put his hands around my waist. "My priorities weren't straight. But now I'm gonna make sure it gets fixed. I wouldn't be a good mate if I didn't."

As we walk to the kitchen, I feel him staring at me, his emotions through the mate-bond mainly sadness and guilt. "What's all of this?" I ask, surprised when I see the entire dining table decorated.

There's a large bouquet of strawberries and chocolates on the center of the table with a couple of cake pops in it, smaller flowers laid out around it, and then a little wrapped box in front of the bouquet. "It's my apology." he says. "I know this doesn't make up for it, but-"

I cut him off with a kiss, holding him tight as I look at everything he did. "This is really sweet, Archer." I tell him, slowly reaching for the little wrapped box. "What's it all for?"

"Because I missed out on yesterday." he sighs. "I got to spend time with you because something inside told my wolf and I we had to. But we didn't even remember to do something special for you."

He motions for me to unwrap the box, pulling out a chair and sitting me on his lap. "I know you always wear the necklace that Eric gave you, and I don't expect to replace his, but I thought this was the only jewelry you would actually wear." he explains when I open the box to find a necklace.

"This is really pretty, Archer." I awe, looking at the crescent-shaped charm. It's really similar to our mark, except this crescent has his name engraved in it. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me for trying to make up to you." he grumbles, still upset with himself for forgetting about yesterday. "You told me about it when we first met and I didn't remember. I don't want you to forgive me for that so soon."

"I know how much the dinner last night meant to you, and I didn't go. You say that it's not my fault because it was a pack-related emergency, but I still could have at least taken you out for lunch or spend more time with you instead of going to meetings all day." he continues to apologize. "I didn't even wish you a happy birthday yesterday."