The Professor's Mate Clause

The reception hall was massive.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling like frozen waterfalls. White flowers covered every surface. Round tables draped in silk surrounded a dance floor that reflected the light like ice. Everything screamed money. Old money. The kind that did not need to prove anything because everyone already knew.

Adrian's hand was firm on my waist as we walked in. Every head turned. Conversations stopped mid sentence. Eyes tracked us across the room.

"They are staring," I whispered.

"Let them." His voice was low against my ear. "You look like you could buy this entire wedding. Act like it."

A waiter appeared with champagne. Adrian took two glasses and handed me one. His fingers brushed mine. That same electric feeling shot up my arm.

"To revenge," he murmured and raised his glass.

I clinked mine against his. "To revenge."

The champagne was expensive. I could tell by the way it tasted like nothing I had ever had before. Smooth. Perfect. Probably cost more per bottle than I made in a week.

"Professor Metcalfe."

We both turned. A man in his fifties approached us. Silver hair. Expensive suit. Cold gray eyes that reminded me of a snake.

Adrian's hand tightened on my waist. "Asher."

My stomach dropped. This was Kelvin's father. The man Adrian had warned me about.

"I did not expect to see you here." Asher's smile did not reach his eyes. "I was not aware you knew the Brooks family."

"I know many people." Adrian's voice was perfectly polite. Perfectly cold. "Asher Brooks, this is Freya Reed. My date."

Asher's eyes slid to me. Something flickered in them. Recognition maybe. Or calculation. "Miss Reed. How lovely to meet you."

"You too." The lie tasted bitter.

"Are you a student at the university?" Asher asked.

"She is." Adrian answered before I could. "One of my brightest actually."

"How nice." Asher's smile widened. "Kelvin mentioned he had a girlfriend who attended there. Small world."

"Very small." Adrian's tone could have cut glass.

The two men stared at each other. The air between them felt thick. Dangerous. Like watching two animals size each other up before a fight.

"Well. Enjoy the evening." Asher nodded and walked away.

I released a breath I did not know I was holding. "That was Kelvin's father?"

"Yes."

"He seems-"

"Dangerous. He is." Adrian turned me toward the dance floor. "Come on. We need to be visible."

"Visible?"

"That is the whole point. Remember?" His hand slid lower on my waist. Almost to my hip. "Making Kelvin suffer."

He led me onto the dance floor just as the music shifted to something slow. His hand found mine. The other stayed on my waist. We started moving and I realized Adrian knew how to dance. Really dance. Not the awkward shuffling I was used to.

"Where did you learn this?" I asked.

"I am old fashioned." His eyes were dark again. That same look from the penthouse. "There are a lot of things I could teach you."

Heat crawled up my neck. "Adrian-"

"Yes?"

"You need to stop saying things like that."

"Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?" His hand slid lower. Right at the curve of my hip. "Or does it make you want things you should not want?"

Both. Definitely both.

I spotted Kelvin across the room. He was watching us. His jaw was tight. His hands were clenched at his sides. The woman next to him in the white dress must have been Vanessa. She was beautiful. Cold. She did not even look at Kelvin. Just stared at something across the room with bored eyes.

"He is watching," I said quietly.

"Good." Adrian pulled me closer. Our bodies were pressed together now. I could feel every hard line of him through the thin fabric of my dress. "Wave at him again."

"What?"

"Smile. Wave. Make him think you are having the time of your life."

I looked over Adrian's shoulder and caught Kelvin's eye. Gave him a bright smile. A little wave.

Kelvin's face went red.

Adrian's chest rumbled with a laugh. "Perfect. You are a natural at this."

"At what? Torturing my ex?"

"At making men want what they cannot have." His mouth was right by my ear now. "Every male in this room is watching you. Wishing they were me. Wishing they could touch you the way I am touching you."

My breath caught. "You are doing this on purpose."

"Obviously." His hand squeezed my hip. "But I am also telling you the truth. You have no idea how beautiful you are. How desirable."

"Stop."

"Why? Because it makes you nervous? Because you are not used to a man telling you what you are worth?"

Yes. Exactly that.

The song ended. Adrian did not let me go. Just stood there holding me in the middle of the dance floor while people moved around us.

"Adrian. People are staring."

"Let them stare." But he finally released me. Took my hand instead. "Come on. Let's get you something to eat."

We moved to one of the tables. Food was laid out like art. Tiny perfect portions of things I could not name. Adrian filled a plate and handed it to me.

I was not hungry but I took it anyway. Picked at something that might have been fish.

That was when I started noticing things.

The way some of the guests moved. Too smooth. Too graceful. Like they were gliding instead of walking.

The way their eyes caught the light. Reflecting it back for just a second before going normal again.

The way they watched each other. And me. Especially me.

"Adrian." I set down my plate. "Something feels wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"The people here. They are..." I could not find the words. "Different."

His expression did not change but something flickered in his eyes. "Different how?"

"I do not know. Just different. The way they move. The way they look at things." I rubbed my arms. "Is that crazy? Am I being paranoid?"

"No." He took my hand. His grip was firm. "You are not crazy. Just observant. That is good. Keep watching. Tell me if anyone makes you uncomfortable."

"Anyone?"

"Anyone besides me."

Before I could respond someone called my name.

"Freya?"

I turned. Clara was walking toward us. She wore a dark blue dress and looked completely out of place. Her eyes were wide when she saw Adrian.

"Clara? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Her eyes darted between me and Adrian. "You came with Professor Metcalfe?"

"Yes. We-" I glanced at Adrian. "It is complicated."

"Clearly." Clara's voice was sharp. She looked at Adrian. "Can I borrow her for a minute?"

"No." Adrian's tone left no room for argument.

"Excuse me?"

"I said no. Freya stays with me."

Clara's jaw tightened. "I just want to talk to my friend."

"Then talk here." Adrian pulled me against his side. Possessive. Commanding. "I am not letting her out of my sight."

The two of them stared at each other. Some kind of silent communication passed between them that I did not understand.

Finally Clara looked at me. "Be careful. Please."

"Careful of what?"

"Just be careful." She turned and disappeared back into the crowd.

"What was that about?" I asked Adrian.

"Nothing. She is just protective." His hand was still on my waist. Tight. "Do not wander off. Stay close to me."

"You keep saying that. Why?"

"Because I..." He stopped. Looked over my shoulder. His expression went cold. "Kelvin. Incoming."

I turned just as Kelvin pushed through the crowd toward us. His face was red. His tie was loose. He looked drunk or angry or both.

"Freya. We need to talk." He did not even acknowledge Adrian. Just stared at me with wild eyes.

"I do not think we do." I kept my voice steady.

"Yes. We do." He grabbed my arm. "Now."

Adrian moved so fast I barely saw it. One second Kelvin was holding my arm. The next he was stumbling backward with Adrian between us.

"Touch her again and I will break your hand." Adrian's voice was quiet. Deadly. "Actually. Touch her again and I will break a lot more than that."

Kelvin straightened. Tried to look tough. Failed. "She is my girlfriend."

"Ex girlfriend." I stepped around Adrian. "And I came here with someone else. So leave me alone."

"You came here with him?" Kelvin's voice cracked. "With Professor Metcalfe? Are you serious right now?"

"Very serious."

"How long has this been going on? Have you been cheating on me?"

I almost laughed. "You are joking right? You cheated on me. Multiple times. Then told me you were getting married. So do not stand there and act like I am the problem."

"That was different."

"How?"

"My family arranged it. I did not have a choice."

"You had a choice when you slept with other women in our bed." I stepped closer to him. "You had a choice when you lied to me for months. So do not talk to me about choices."

Kelvin's hands clenched. "He is using you. Whatever he told you is a lie. He does not care about you."

"And you did?" I laughed. Actually laughed. "You could not even be faithful for a week. So save your concern. I do not need it."

"Freya..."

"Walk away Kelvin." Adrian's voice cut through whatever Kelvin was about to say. "Before I make you walk away."

Kelvin looked at Adrian. Really looked at him. Something passed over his face. Fear maybe. He took a step back. Then another. "This is not over."

"Yes it is." I turned my back on him. Faced Adrian. "Let's go."

Adrian's eyes were completely black now. His jaw was tight. He looked like he wanted to tear Kelvin apart with his bare hands.

"Adrian. Let's just go."

He blinked. The darkness faded a little. "You want to leave?"

"I want air. Can we go outside?"

"Yes." He took my hand and led me toward the doors that opened onto the gardens.

The night air was cool against my skin. I breathed deep and tried to stop shaking. That confrontation with Kelvin had left me feeling raw. Exposed.

"You did well in there," Adrian said quietly.

"I wanted to hit him."

"I would have paid to see that." He smiled. Actually smiled. "But what you said was better. Hurt him more than your fist could."

"Good." I wrapped my arms around myself. "I know I should not care. I know he is not worth it. But seeing him in there with her. Acting like I never mattered..."

"He is a fool." Adrian turned me to face him. His hands framed my face. "An absolute fool. And he will spend the rest of his life regretting what he lost."

"You do not know that."

"Yes. I do." His thumb traced along my jaw. "Because I would burn the world down before I let you go."

My heart stopped. "Adrian..."

"I know. This is supposed to be fake. Just one night. But nothing about this feels fake to me." His forehead pressed against mine. "Tell me you feel it too. This thing between us."

I did. God help me I did. But I could not say it. Could not give voice to whatever this was growing between us.

"We should go back inside," I whispered.

"Not yet." His hands slid down to my waist. "Just give me one more minute. One more minute of pretending you are really mine."

"I am not yours."

"Not yet." He said it so quietly I almost missed it. "But you will be."

Before I could respond I heard voices. Male voices. Coming from around the corner of the building.

"...getting too close. He knows something."

"Metcalfe is always sniffing around where he does not belong. It does not matter. After tonight we move forward with the plan."

I recognized one of the voices. Kelvin.

The other voice was older. Rougher. "You should have handled her mother better. Made it look like an accident."

My blood turned to ice.

"I did the best I could. She was asking too many questions. Getting too close to the truth."

"And now the girl is awakening. Do you understand what that means? If she completes the transformation everything we worked for is ruined."

"So what do we do?"

"What we should have done years ago. We end her. Tonight if possible."

Adrian's hand clamped over my mouth before I could make a sound. He pulled me back against the wall. Into the shadows. His body was rigid. Tense.

The voices kept talking.

"Metcalfe will not let you near her."

"Then we deal with Metcalfe too. I have people in position. The moment they leave this venue we move."

"Your call Father. But if this goes wrong..."

"It will not go wrong. Now get back inside before someone notices you are gone."

Footsteps. Moving away.

Adrian slowly removed his hand from my mouth. I was shaking so hard my teeth were chattering.

" Did I just hear my mother." The words came out broken. " Was I the one they were talking about, They said they killed my mother."

"I know." Adrian turned me to face him. His eyes were black again. Completely black. "I know baby. But we need to leave. Right now. They are planning something and we need to get you somewhere safe."

"Safe? They just said they were going to kill me." My voice was rising. Panic clawing up my throat. "What is happening? What transformation? What are they talking about?"

"I will explain everything. I promise. But first we need to move." He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the parking area.

"Wait. My bag. It is inside."

"Forget it. We need to go now."

We were halfway to the car when I heard it.

A howl.

Long. Low. Echoing across the gardens.

I stopped dead. "What was that?"

Adrian's face had gone pale. "Run."

"What?"

"Run. Now."

Another howl answered the first. Closer this time.

Then I saw them.

Shapes moving through the darkness. Too big to be dogs. Too fast to be human.

Wolves.

Massive wolves with eyes that glowed in the moonlight.

And they were running straight toward us.