FOR YOU

The Proof

EDWARD'S POV

'Did she just say what I thought I heard? I should prove to her that I'm a werewolf. What more proof did she want besides the pointed ears? Did she want me to shift into my second nature? Here?’ My fists clenched and unclenched at my sides. A low, frustrated growl vibrated in my chest.

​But I couldn't say no. If she wanted proof, so be it. I would show her that I was serious about all this. I would show her that despite driving off from school and not coming back to pick her up, she still had that much control over me. The thought was both infuriating and exhilarating.

​I'd skipped school today because the thought of seeing Edgar near her filled my vision with red. I didn't know if I'd be able to take no for an answer. I didn't know if I’d be able to keep myself from shifting in front of the whole school, given how my anger was a live wire running through my veins. I was angry at myself. I was angry at Ed. He was my wolf for a reason, but he chose not to act like one.

​‘He is teaching you to be independent,’ my dad would always say whenever I went to him to talk about the quiet wolf inside me, back when I was still young and curious. The memory was a dull ache.

​I might not have known other people in my surroundings, but I did know how wolves reacted to their second nature. They interacted, supported, and helped each other. But Ed wasn't like that. He had told me that my mate was 'her.' No name. No description. Just a word. 'Her.'

​And I knew 'her' couldn't be Sarah or any of those other mundane girls he had been with for a while without saying a word. But he had said 'her' whenever Chloe was beside me or in front of me. Now, the 'her' he had chosen or declared to be my mate didn't believe me, nor did she have any intention of accepting what I'd said. It felt like a knife twisting in my gut.

​I drove back home after debating for a while whether to pick Chloe up from school. I decided not to. As I drove and parked my car in the car park, I walked to Chloe's room to check if she had arrived. The window was closed, a blank stare from the house.

​Guilt washed over me, a bitter taste on my tongue, as I thought she might have been waiting for me at school. I was tempted to drive back to pick her up, but once again, I didn't. It wasn't until I entered the sitting room that I caught her scent. Her human scent, with the familiar smell of her lavender shampoo, was a comforting blanket in the air.

​She was here. On the stairs. I saw her on the stairs, not moving an inch. She seemed to be lost in thought, her gaze fixed on a distant point. Relief replaced my initial guilt, and I tried to act like I didn't care. I walked past her on the stairs, and I guess the breeze from my movement jolted her from her thoughts. She called my name, her voice a fragile whisper.

​I didn't answer her, and she went on to ask me a series of questions, her voice gaining a desperate edge. Why was she acting like she cared? What did it matter to her that I'd driven away? Didn't she make it clear that she didn't believe what I'd said and had no intention of talking to me? Didn't she say we should forget everything that I'd said and all that had happened? Even though I had no intention of doing so. My jaw tightened with every question.

​In the blink of an eye, I was at the bottom of the stairs, about to take the turn that led to my room when she twisted her ankle. I was just in time to save her from the fall. My hand shot out and caught her, her body a sudden, warm weight in my arms.

​After being her knight in shining armour, she demanded proof. Proof I was ready to give if it meant she would agree to be mine. Only mine. The words were a promise I would keep.

​‘Okay,’ I said, and I saw the enthusiasm light up her eyes. She really wanted proof. Proof that would define everything.

​“But I can’t show you the proof here,” I said, and the light in her eyes diminished, like a flame being snuffed out. “It’s not that I won’t show you—I will. But not here. I don’t know if my mother has told your father about who she is, and I can't risk turning when they're almost home,” I explained, and she tried to pull away, but my hold on her was firm.

​‘Follow me to a place, and I will show you,’ I said to her, and she smiled, the expression a quiet relief. She got up and stood on her feet. I noticed her ankle was red, a deep, angry flush. I got up too, bent down a little to check her ankle, and as I pressed lightly, she winced, a small sound of pain.

​“Let’s go to the hospital first to check it out. Then I can show you the proof later,” I said, but she shook her head, a stubborn set to her jaw.

​“Show me the proof now, then we’ll go to the hospital together,” she said, her voice firm.

​“No, we'll do it my way. You’re clearly hurt. Hospital first, then proof later,” I retorted, and she finally agreed, a reluctant sigh escaping her lips.

​I drove to the nearest hospital, and she was attended to in a few minutes. The drive was smooth, with little to no interaction between us, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was a minor strain on her ankle muscle, and she was prescribed some pain relief and some ice.

​Ice. The thought hit me like a slap to the face. Why didn't I think of that?

​After the hospital, I drove her to my house. The house my dad had left in my name, according to his will. The house was one of the many he left for my mum and I—the pack house excluded.

​“Whose house is this?” Chloe asked as soon as she stepped out of the car, her eyes widening. Her own house was a big mansion, but the exterior of this one was even more magnificent than hers.

​“Mine,” I said, and she looked at me sharply. “What? You know I’m rich. Don't be surprised by this. But be surprised by…” I said, deliberately leaving my sentence unfinished as a shudder ran through me.

​Every bone ground against the next as it broke and reformed into the four-legged creature. Every muscle tore and rewove itself into that of the carnivorous creature. The process was a firestorm of agony, but I couldn't scream or yell. I was doing this for her. I was proving to Chloe, who I said I was. I was doing a task that would make her mine forever, as she had promised. I was letting Ed, the quiet and independent wolf, take over to nudge her over and use his wet, long tongue to lick her face. I was showing her that she was indeed made for me, and I would go to any length to prove it. I would endure every second of the tearing pain just to show her.

​But it seemed she could see right through me. It seemed she could see the pain I was trying so hard to hide. She wanted to stop me, but instead, she placed a hand over her trembling lips, her eyes wide with shock and a hint of fear. She was short of words, her breathing shallow.

​Afraid? She was afraid of me? Of Ed?

​A deep rumble started in my chest. She shouldn’t be scared of my second nature, of my nature! I shifted as fast as I could until Ed took over and lunged towards her. She took some steps backwards, a small gasp escaping her lips, but Ed had no intention of letting her go. She wanted proof. Here was the proof.

​When he got to her, he nudged her gently, his massive head pressing into her side, and she fell back onto the grass. Ed licked her with his tongue, teased her with his paws, and wiggled his tail against her legs. And just then, a sound bubbled up from her throat. She laughed. She laughed hysterically, the sound ringing with pure joy. She was no longer afraid. The fear had melted from her eyes, replaced with a wide, happy grin. She was no longer scared.

​She wrapped her hands around his thick fur and rubbed his head happily. She had embraced the proof. She had given her word that she would be mine if I showed her proof, and now she had embraced that proof.

She is mine!