I wasn't going to let anyone know how badly I was actually injured. Shifting into Salvatore helped the healing process much faster, and having my mate beside me was even better, comforting Salvatore in the way I didn't know he needed.

Even though Edith, Wyatt and Theo kept on telling me to not move, it was hard not to. I needed to be close to Edith, at least, but telling her to hop on the bed with me, I don't think it would have went over well. Not when she just came to see me. And didn't seem like she was going anywhere. More than that, Wyatt and Theo knew she was my mate. They seemed to get along well. Too well. Like she was always meant to be here with us.

Edith being here made me significantly happy. I knew Theo and Wyatt could tell, and they wanted to ask me a million questions- but without her there.

Currently, they were on a food run, so it was just Edith and I. Whenever there was a food run, Edith would always volunteer to go so she didn't have to be stuck with me alone.

It intrigued me how comfortable she was with my wolf that I didn't have full control of, but for some reason she did. Salvatore was entranced by his mate as I was.

"What is it?" Edith asked, looking up from her magazine. Her deep set of brown eyes meeting mine. Those eyes that spoke volumes and held many secrets.

"What do you mean?" I asked lazily, never taking my eyes off from her. Her hair which she cut off a few months ago grew again, and it never looked better.

"You've been staring at me."

"Have I?" I grinned wolfishly at her.

She humored me, "You have."

"Can I not indulge in your beauty?"

"Beauty?" she rolled her eyes.

"Yep," I grinned at her, but I wanted to tell her just how stunningly beautiful my mate is. Her not realizing it made her even more beautiful. "...........So are we just now going to start telling everyone we're mates?"

Edith didn't respond for a moment, before sighing in deeply. There was something she wasn't telling me. "You can if you want."

My eyebrows raised at the answer I wasn't expecting. "I can tell my parents?"

Mom was going to call a huge wedding. I knew it in my bones. For the first time since I met her, Edith blushed.

"If you- uh, want. Yeah. Sure."

"What changed your mind?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Has she finally fully accepted me as her mate?

She looked at me, opening her mouth before Wyatt and Theo hurled through the door, with our Chinese takeout.

Edith quickly jumped up to get the bags, but I kept looking at her.

"Mom called me." Wyatt looked pointedly at me. I groaned. The inevitable moment when Mom had her motherly intuition to know something was up. If she was feeling it even a tiny bit, she would just walk into the school and into Wyatt and I's dorms, waiting for us.

Dad was more on the logical side and knew something was up, but would let us tell him.

Mom? She pushed it.

"Yeah, she called me two times," I said.

"I told her that you were doing well hiking in the woods, so you better get the story straight. I don't like lying to Mom."

"Me either," I agreed with him, taking my box.

We dug in the food, taking the takeout boxes and forks because we were totally uncultured, eating the cheap Chinese food.

All of us were quiet for a moment until Theo spoke up. "We need a game plan. We need to protect West."

I scoffed, "I don't need-"

"You do," Wyatt cut me off, glaring at me. His eyes narrowed at me. I felt as though they talked about me in their venture in picking up the food. Which irritated me. It wasn't like I'm helpless. Let me unleash Salvatore. Then I'd be ready for them.

"We need to talk to principal Greer as soon as possible." Wyatt looked at all three of us. The principal is the reason why Wyatt is in this mess.

"She doesn't like me very much," I admitted.

"Me neither," Theo grinned at me.

Edith sighed, "Since I'm guilty by association, ditto."

Wyatt stared at the three of us, shaking his head, rolling the chair back at the table, scribbling something down. He was like that. A planner. So unlike me. I just went with what I got.

"So I'm going to have to do the tough work."

"Basically," Theo said.

"I see why she made me do this mission and not anyone else. You all would have caused her the most trouble. I'll just speak with her alone."

"I'll go with you when you do," Edith offered.

"Sounds good. Theo and West can't be trusted."

"Hey!" we both argued in our defense.

Edith's lips curled ever so slightly, her eyes twinkling in humor, "Definitely they cannot."

"Remember it was Theo who blew your cover when you tried switching classes with me?" Wyatt asked me, smiling at the memory. It was years back, in ninth grade when I knew I was utterly going to fail this math test because I didn't understand it. Wyatt is smarter than me, so I asked him to switch classes with me and take the test for me. When we used to look alike and it didn't bother me, we could have pulled it off. I thought this was a smart plan that would go without a hitch, but once Wyatt sat down and pretended to be me, Theo, who didn't know anything and should have minded his business said to the whole class and in front of the teacher, "Wyatt why are you here is West sick?"

Suffice to say, the teacher did not appreciate it neither did Principal Greer. I mean was it cheating? Yes, but it was a one time thing. Except Principal Greer went to the extreme measures and called my parents. Both of them came to the school to discuss with her and then me- how much I needed to face the consequences. Wyatt tried taking the blame for it too, and then Mom made him clean up the school with the janitors with me for the rest of the school year.

It was actually not such a bad thing because the janitors basically let me roam around the school whenever I wanted.

Edith checked her phone, and sighed, glancing at me quickly before I felt I was going to be disappointed. "I've missed too many days of work, and I have to go for the closing and be at Penelope's place." She seemed reluctant to go, but she did, saying her good-byes to us. I managed to say good-bye to my mate, but with force so she didn't know how much I wanted- no, needed- her to stay with me. These few days made me greedy of her presence. Of Salvatore's peace.

Once Edith left, Theo sat next to me and Wyatt came on the other side. Theo wrapped his arm around me. "Aw don't feel too sad. I'll keep you warm."

I shoved Theo off the bed.