Third Person’s POV;
“You are scaring the hell out of me, Elijah. Just tell me the bloody truth!” Rose nearly shouted.
“Rose, you are a werewolf” Elijah replied
“What rubbish!” Rose removed his hands from her shoulders and took a step back in complete denial.
“It’s not rubbish. It’s who you are! Your parents were hiding it from you. They were giving you wolfsbane in the name of that herbal tea to hide your wolf and kill it slowly in the meantime” Elijah exposed the painful truth but Rose was not ready to accept it.
“My parents didn’t do such a thing! I am not a werewolf! Werewolves don’t even exist” Rose shouted in complete denial.
He raised an eyebrow with a smirk before replying, “Really? Haven’t you seen one? Even your mother is a werewolf and you saw it with your own eyes just a few minutes ago!”
“Yeah, okay but I am not one of them. That’s ridiculous! Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Me with a hairy skin? I can’t even imagine!” Rose said shrugging off the disturbing thought.
“Rose.. listen to me…” He tried to speak but Rose cut him off.
“Don’t Rose me! If I am a werewolf, which I am not. Why haven’t I changed like you yet!” She asked in complete disbelief.
“That’s what I was saying, you were given wolfsbane your entire life. That herbal tea is nothing but wolfsbane! Your mother was stopping you from changing into your wolf” Elijah explained again but was met with rejection again.
“That’s absurd! Why would my mom do that?” Rose asked again.
“Fine, if you find that absurd. Let me give you another proof. Does your ‘Herbal tea’ have purple flowers with green leaves in the mixture?” he asked knowing the deadly content by heart.
“Yeah, little at the top” She replied honestly.
“In clusters?” He asked and she nodded.
“I also know that you feel the pain every month during the full moon, apart from your menstruation cramps. No, don’t deny it. There is no point in hiding this from me now” Elijah said in a cold tone and Rose shut her mouth, who was previously planning to deny it.
“Anyways, do you sometimes hear a voice in your head? Like someone is talking to you inside your head but it’s not you?” He asked and he saw her face in deep concentration as she tried to remember.
‘I remember at certain points of my life, I heard that voice in my head. At first, I thought it was due to the stress of studies but then it disappeared over the time and now, I heard it again when I met Elijah that night’ Rose was deep in her thought.
“Am I sensing a yes in your long thoughts, Love?” Elijah asked softly.
“Yes, I do hear it” Rose replied honestly.
“It’s your inner wolf, love. Thank God, it’s still alive” He said and she saw him taking a deep sigh of relief.
“But I stopped hearing it for a while..” She tried to speak but he startled her with his sudden shout.
“What..????”
“But I heard it the night I met you for a little while. I thought it was my conscious asking me to help you but I could be wrong” She replied not knowing what to believe anymore.
“That means your wolf is still alive. It must be very weak by now” Elijah scratched his chin in frustration.
“I don’t understand what you are saying. My head is aching, Elijah” Rose started pulling her head in annoyance.
Elijah held both of her hands and gently removed them from her head before intertwining their fingers.
“You are a werewolf, Rose, and I am your mate. We are supposed to be together. We are meant to be!” He replied meaning each word.
“I don’t understand. Just a herbal tea can’t hide the truth” Rose was still in denial.
She liked the part where she was supposed to be with Elijah but being a werewolf was scaring her.
“It’s wolfsbane, kind of like a poison for werewolves, Love. Remember, I told you to remove the bullets from my body when we first met?” He asked in a soft voice and she nodded in reply.
“That was a silver bullet stuffed with wolfsbane. It could even kill you if it’s in large quantities. I was in a near-death situation when you saved me” Elijah said holding her hands lovingly.
“Now think sweetheart, if it can kill a future werewolf king like me, you are just a normal wolf, my love. That is the thing that kept you from changing. Come with me, I will help you. Don’t you want to see your true self?” He asked her gently.
“I don’t know. It’s just… everything is happening too soon. I don’t know what to do. I need time” she said and Elijah nodded understandingly.
“Fine, I will give you time. Think about it but don’t take too much time. Once you reach 25 and still unchanged, your inner wolf will die and you will never be able to be your true self” Elijah warned gently and it scared her even more.
“Elijah, I am so scared” she said terrified of her inner wolf and terrified of it dying as well.
“That’s why I am trying to take you with me” Elijah said while cupping her face.
“I read that shifting is painful” she said in a low voice.
“It is, I am not going to lie. That’s why I want you to keep closer to me. When your mate is in the close vicinity, you don’t feel that much pain while shifting. I just want to protect you” Elijah said looking with adoration at her.
“I waited all my life for my one mate. Now that I have finally found you, I don’t want to lose you again” Elijah said looking deep in his eyes.
“Please, give me some time” Rose repeated again.
“I am willing to give you time, Love. I will not force you for this. I will never force you for anything” Elijah said promising her.
“Thank you” Rose said in a low voice.
“But can you do me a favor and come to the ball with me this Saturday? It’s my coronation ceremony this Saturday” Elijah requested and continued,
“I know I told you I won’t force you but If I don’t go with you, my father will make me go with a random girl and then announce my marriage with her” Elijah told her the truth.
“What? Marry another girl?” The scared expressions were long gone from her beautiful face and she was fuming with anger.
“NEVER! I won’t even let anyone touch you!” She gritted her teeth.
Elijah couldn’t help but smile at her cute reaction.
“That’s what my father said, not me!” Elijah raised his hand in his defense.
“You are mine!” Rose grabbed his collar and pulled him towards her.
“I love it when you are possessive” Elijah chuckled.
Rose let go of his collar and looked down shyly.
“Give me your cell phone” Rose demanded.
Elijah removed his cell phone with a smile and handed it to her.
Rose swiped the cell phone and it unlocked instantly.
“Your phone is not locked?” she asked in surprise.
“I never had anything to hide..” Elijah said with a small smile and added,
“But I might have something to hide from now on” He said with a small smile.
Rose smiled while looking at his cell phone and saved her number. Before Elijah could take his cell phone back, she called herself from it.
“You could have just asked. You don’t need to use such tricks to get my number” Elijah smirked and Rose rolled her eyes at him.
“I will call you when I am ready” Rose replied smartly.
“Fine then, we must leave. Everyone is waiting” Elijah said.
He turned around and began to walk towards the door.
Rose felt disappointed, thinking they had to part again.
“Elijah….”
Left her mouth in a low painful tone but she didn’t get to speak another word as Elijah turned around and crashed his lips on hers for a passionate kiss.