Proven Heart

Twenty-seven: Favor

Morning came gently to Selena. She opened her eyes to a well-lit room. The blinds were drawn, allowing rays of sunlight to caress her body.

She awoke with a yawn, flickering her eyes close and open, hoping to clear her morning, blurry vision.

“My wolf?” She groggily whispers.

But it didn’t take long for her to realize that Nathaniel wasn’t there. She furrowed her brows, anxious about where the wolf had gone off to. Just when she stood, Nathaniel’s voice rang in her ears.

“I’m in the kitchen, moon.” His voice rumbled all the way from downstairs. “I left something for you on the nightstand. Please look at it.”

She grimaced.

Her eyes averted to the clock set on top of the door. It was a quarter until seven, too early for her to be up and at it after yesterday’s events. But she had to face the music. Delaying the inevitable was just laziness and, in her case, cowardice.

She had already talked to herself and being scared of meeting Kayla was stupid in the first place.

‘Not today, Kayla Marie.’ She thought.

With a huff, Selena turned to the nightstand, finding a box sitting on top of it. The box was from an expensive brand of clothing, she could tell from the design and the big lace ribbon adorning it.

Her fingers reached for the ribbon, meticulously feeling its fabric while she readied herself. She drew her hand away, pulling the tip of the ribbon along with it. A big grin formed on her face. As expected, Nathaniel had prepared her not only a dress but also pieces of jewelry.

On top of the smaller boxes, a note sad and read; ‘I asked our jeweler for recommendations. Apparently, women like ice. I’m not fond of the terminology but I thought of you when he showed me these designs a month ago. Enjoy your ice. - Nathaniel’

She held in a chuckle.

The Stormwind’s disapproval of the slang word ‘ice’ seemed all too in character for him.

But being surrounded by humans in college, she knew a lot more words than just ice. Nathaniel did not know how enhanced her vocabulary was regarding the slang humans used. He’d honestly be horrified about some of them.

She opened the smaller boxes. One of them contained a pair of teardrop white diamond earrings and the other was a golden bangle studded with ice.

Truthfully, Selena was more concerned about him denting his pockets but she also could not hide the exhilarating feeling of happiness brought by Nathaniel’s gifts.

Then came the dress. She took it out, raising the fabric into the air and admiring its beauty. While she was doing so, her eyes caught the glimpse of another note.

‘I’ve had this dress for about a year and a half. Don’t think of me as a creep, please. I just couldn’t help myself thinking of you in this.’

Warmth spread across her face after she finished reading the letter.

She knew the Stormwind was a romantic, but this took things to another level.

This man had been thorough and planned all of this. He had been preparing to give her all this for so long. She wondered how he was able to hide it all.

‘Honestly, Nathaniel.’ She spoke to herself. “My Stormwind.”

Without further delays, Selena strutted into the bathroom and showered. Turns out Nathaniel had been busy all morning. Not only did he prepare gifts for her, but he also made time to unpack her essentials.