The Professor's Mate Clause

She smelled like heartbreak.

I caught it the moment Freya Reed walked into my classroom. That sharp bitter scent underneath her usual cheap soap and coffee. Something had broken her last night.

Good.

Broken things were easier to claim.

I leaned back in my chair and watched her slide into her usual seat in the third row. She kept her head down. Blonde hair falling forward to hide her face. The other students were loud around her but she sat quiet with shaking hands.

Three weeks ago she turned nineteen and her scent finally punched through whatever binding had kept it hidden. The word MATE slammed into me so hard I nearly shifted right there at my desk. Kael had roared inside my head and demanded I take what was ours.

But I could not. Not yet. She had no idea what she was. Had no idea I was anything more than her professor.

So I waited. Watched. Planned.

Then Kelvin Brooks showed up. Werewolf. Cocky little bastard. Son of my enemy. Dating MY mate.

That could not stand.

Last night I followed her home from the diner and watched Kelvin arrive with another woman. Heard the fight. Saw them leave. I left my note on her door at midnight because opportunity does not wait.

Now she was here looking destroyed and I was going to use every second of it.

"Good morning." I stood and moved around my desk. Leaned against the front edge. Let my eyes scan the room before landing on her. "Turn to page forty seven."

She looked up.

Our eyes met and something electric shot between us. Her breath caught. Just for a second. Then she looked away fast and fumbled with her book.

Kael purred inside me. She felt it too. The pull. The bond trying to snap into place even through the binding.

I forced myself to look away and called on another student to read. The lecture dragged. Fifty minutes of pretending to care about Gothic literature while my wolf wanted to clear the room and pin her against the desk.

Finally the clock hit nine fifty. "That is all for today. Essays due Friday."

Students started packing up. Freya shoved her things into her bag and stood quickly.

"Miss Reed." My voice cut through the noise. "Stay."

She froze. Every other student filed past her. A few looked back curious but no one said anything.

I waited until the last one left then walked to the door and closed it. Locked it.

The click echoed in the quiet room.

Freya stood by her desk clutching her bag. "I got your note."

"I know."

"How did you know where I live?"

"Does it matter?" I moved closer. Just a few steps. Enough to make her nervous.

She backed up half a step. "What do you want?"

Straight to the point. I liked that. No games.

"I heard about Kelvin."

Her face went pale then red. "How?"

"People talk." I stopped a few feet away. Close enough to smell her properly now. Fear and anger and something sweeter underneath. "His wedding is Saturday."

"So?"

"So you should go."

She stared at me like I had lost my mind. "You want me to go watch my ex get married? Are you serious?"

"I want you to go with me."

Silence.

She blinked. "What?"

"As my date. We go together. You look incredible. He realizes what he lost. Everyone wins."

"That is insane."

"Is it?" I tilted my head. Studied her face. "Or is it exactly what you want? To walk in there and make him regret everything?"

Her jaw tightened. I could see the war in her eyes. Pride fighting with the need for revenge.

"You are my professor," she said finally. "There are rules."

"We would not be breaking any rules. Just attending a public event together. Nothing inappropriate." I paused. Let the word hang between us. Inappropriate. Like we were both thinking about all the ways we could break those rules.

Her cheeks flushed. "This does not make sense. Why would you even want to go?"

"Let me worry about that."

"No. I need to know what you get out of this."

Smart girl. Suspicious. I could work with that. "I get to irritate people I do not like. You get revenge. Simple."

"Nothing is ever simple."

"Then consider it a favor."

"I did not ask for a favor."

"But you need one." I took another step closer. She did not back up this time. Just watched me with those wide brown eyes. "Kelvin does not deserve you. His family does not get to make you feel small. So we show them you are not someone they can throw away."

"By pretending to date my professor."

"By making them think twice about underestimating you."

She bit her lip. That nervous habit that made Kael want to bite it for her. "I have nothing to wear. I work all week. I cannot afford..."

"I will handle everything. Clothes. Car. All of it. You just show up."

"Why would you do that?"

Because you are mine. The words almost came out. I swallowed them. "Does it matter?"

"Yes."

We stood there staring at each other. The room felt smaller. Hotter. I could hear her heartbeat from here. Fast but not panicked.

She was considering it.

"One night," I said quietly. "Just the wedding. After that we go back to normal. You never have to see me outside class again."

"And if I say no?"

"Then you say no. I am not going to force you." I held her gaze. Let her see I meant it. "But we both know you want this."

Her breath hitched. For just a second her guard dropped and I saw the anger underneath. The pain. The need to hurt Kelvin the way he hurt her.

"This is a terrible idea," she whispered.

"Probably."

"I should say no."

"You should."

"But I am not going to."

Victory rushed through me. Kael roared his approval.

"Smart choice." I kept my voice level even though everything in me wanted to grab her right then. "I will pick you up at four on Saturday."

"Four? The wedding is not until seven."

"We have things to discuss first. Things you need to know before we arrive."

Her eyes narrowed. "What things?"

"Names. Faces. People to avoid. I will explain everything on Saturday." I moved past her toward the door. Unlocked it. "Now go. You have work soon."

"How did you know"

"You smell like grease and coffee. Not hard to guess." I opened the door and held it. Waited.

She walked past me slowly. Cautious. Like she expected me to grab her.

I did not. Just watched her walk toward the exit.

"Miss Reed."

She stopped. Looked back.

"Wear your hair down on Saturday." I let my eyes drag over her slowly. Taking my time. "It suits you."

Her face went red. She turned and left without another word.

I stood in the doorway and watched her disappear down the hall. Watched the way she moved. The curve of her hips in those too tight jeans. The way her hair swayed with each step.

Mine.

The door swung shut and I turned back to the empty classroom.

Kael was snarling inside my head now. Demanding. Hungry.

*She accepted. She is ours now.*

Not yet. Not until the binding broke. Not until she knew what she was.

*She will know soon. Her scent is changing. Getting stronger. The binding is cracking.*

I knew. I could smell it. Three weeks ago her scent had been faint. Muted. Now it was getting clearer every day. Sweeter. More intoxicating.

*We should have kept her in the room. Locked the door. Made her understand she belongs to us.*

And terrified her. Sent her running. Ruined everything.

*She would not run. She is stronger than she knows.*

Maybe. But I could not risk it.

I moved to the window and looked out at the campus below. Spotted her walking across the quad toward the parking lot. Even from here I could pick her out. Could track her movement through the crowd of students.

Look at her. The way she moves. The way she tries to make herself small.

She would not be small for long. Once her wolf woke up she would be powerful. Dangerous. Perfect.

Imagine her underneath us. Those brown eyes looking up. That mouth open. Saying our name.

I gripped the window frame hard enough to crack the wood.

Imagine claiming her. Marking that pretty throat. Making sure every male knows she is ours.

Saturday. Just five days. Five days and I would have her close enough to start breaking down her walls. Close enough to let the bond pull at the binding until it shattered.

Five days is too long.

It had to be enough.

She will try to fight it. Fight us. She does not understand what she is yet.

Then I would teach her. Show her. Make her understand that fighting fate was pointless.

And if she runs?

She would not get far.

I watched her get into her car. An old beat up thing that looked like it might die any second. She sat there for a long moment with her hands on the steering wheel. Just sitting. Thinking.

She is thinking about us.

Probably regretting her choice. Wondering what she just agreed to. Smart girl.

She has no idea what she just agreed to.

No. She did not. Could not. Had no clue that the man she just made a deal with was a werewolf who had been slowly losing his mind for three weeks. Who spent every night fighting the urge to break into her apartment and mark her while she slept. Who wanted to rip Kelvin Brooks apart with his bare hands for touching what was mine.

Ours.

Ours.

Her car finally started and she pulled out of the parking lot. I tracked it until it disappeared around the corner.

Saturday could not come fast enough.

We need to feed. The hunger is getting worse.

Later. After I made sure her apartment was secure. After I checked in with the pack. After I made sure Asher's people were not circling.

Always protecting her. Always watching. She would hate it if she knew.

She would understand eventually. When her wolf woke up she would feel it too. The need to protect. To claim. To mark.

To fuck.

I closed my eyes and breathed deep. Her scent was still in the room. Lingering. Driving Kael insane.

Five days. Just five days and we can have her. Touch her. Taste her.

Five days felt like an eternity.

I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door. I had work to do. Plans to make. A wedding to prepare for. But underneath it all was one simple truth that would not leave me alone.

Freya Reed had no idea what was coming for her.

And I could not wait to show her.