The Professor's Mate Clause

The park was empty.

Just me and the bench and the sound of traffic in the distance. The streetlights cast orange shadows across the grass. My dress was ruined. Dirt on the hem. A tear along the side where I had run too fast. The heels Adrian bought me sat on the ground next to my feet. I could not wear them anymore. Could not stand the reminder of everything that happened tonight.

My phone buzzed in the small clutch I somehow still had. I pulled it out. Twenty three missed calls. Fifteen from Adrian. Eight from Clara. Three texts from a number I did not recognize.

I turned the phone off and shoved it back in the bag.

I did not want to talk to anyone. Did not want to hear more lies or explanations or promises that everything would be okay. Because nothing was okay. Nothing would ever be okay again.

My mother was murdered.

The thought kept circling in my head like a vulture. Not an accident. Not bad luck. Murder. Kelvin put his hands on her and ended her life because his father told him to. And I had loved him. Had let him touch me. Had believed his lies for months.

I wanted to throw up.

The nausea passed after a few minutes. Left me hollow again. Empty. I stared at my hands in my lap. They looked the same as always. Small. Pale. Human hands.

But according to Adrian they were not human at all.

Werewolf.

The word sounded insane even now after watching Adrian turn into a wolf and fight off three others. After seeing his eyes glow blue. After watching him kill without hesitation.

He said I was like him. That my mother bound my wolf to hide me. That I was awakening.

I did not feel like I was awakening. I felt like I was falling apart.

A couple walked past the park. Young. Laughing. His arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him like he was her whole world. They did not even glance at me sitting alone on the bench in a torn dress with no shoes.

I wondered what their lives were like. Simple probably. Normal. No werewolves or murder or supernatural bonds. Just regular human problems like bills and jobs and what to have for dinner.

I wanted that. Wanted normal so badly it hurt.

But I could not have it. Not anymore. Not if Adrian was telling the truth.

And deep down I knew he was. Because as crazy as it sounded everything fit. The dreams. The restlessness. The way my senses had been sharper lately. The pull I felt toward Adrian that made no logical sense.

Mate.

He called me his mate. Said we were destined. That some invisible bond connected us.

I did not want to be connected to anyone. Did not want destiny or fate or whatever cosmic force thought it could decide my life for me.

I had already lost too much control. Lost my mother. Lost the truth about who I was. Lost any sense of safety or normalcy.

I was not losing my choices too.

The night air was getting colder. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to figure out what to do next. I could not stay in this park forever. Could not just sit here and wait for morning.

I needed my things. Clothes. Money. My laptop. Everything was still at my apartment.

Going back there felt dangerous. Adrian said Asher's people might be waiting. That nowhere was safe except with him.

But I could not go back to Adrian. Could not face him after running away. Could not handle more truths or revelations or the way he looked at me like I belonged to him.

My apartment then. Just long enough to grab what I needed. Then I would figure out the rest.

I stood up and picked up the heels. Started walking barefoot down the sidewalk. The concrete was cold under my feet. Rough. A piece of glass cut my heel but I kept walking. The pain felt good. Real. Something I could understand.

The walk took thirty minutes. Maybe longer. I lost track of time. My building looked the same as always. Old brick. Peeling paint around the windows. Mrs. Chen's cat sitting in the first floor window like it always did.

Normal.

I climbed the stairs slowly. Every step felt heavy. When I reached my floor I stopped outside my door and just stared at it.

This was my home. The place I had worked so hard to keep. The place where Kelvin cheated on me less than a week ago.

That felt like a lifetime ago now. Back when my biggest problem was a cheating boyfriend and money for rent. Back when I thought I was human.

I unlocked the door and went inside. Hit the light switch. Nothing happened.

The power was out.

Great. Perfect. Just what I needed.

I used my phone as a flashlight even though the battery was almost dead. The apartment looked wrong in the dim glow. Shadows in all the wrong places. My furniture looked like it belonged to someone else.

I went to my bedroom and pulled out a duffle bag from under the bed. Started shoving clothes inside. Jeans. Shirts. Underwear. I did not fold anything. Just grabbed whatever I could reach.

The bag was half full when I stopped. Looked around the small room. At the bed where I used to sleep. The desk where I did homework. The closet where I kept my mother's things.

My mother's things.

I dropped the bag and went to the closet. Pushed aside my clothes until I found the box in the back. Cardboard. Taped shut. I had not opened it in years. Could not bear to look at her things after she died.

But now I needed to. Needed to see if there was anything. Any clue about what Adrian said. About my father. About the binding.

I carried the box to the bed and sat down. Tore off the tape. The cardboard was soft from age. Inside were clothes. Her favorite sweater. A scarf. Some books.

At the bottom was a jewelry box. Small. Wooden. I opened it. A necklace. Some earrings. A ring I remembered her wearing.

And underneath the ring was a folded piece of paper.

My hands shook as I unfolded it. The paper was old. Yellowed. Covered in my mother's handwriting.

Not a letter. A list.

Names. Dates. Places. None of it made sense. But at the top in bold letters were three words.

KEEP HER SAFE.

I stared at those words until they blurred. Keep her safe. Keep me safe. From what? From who?

I dug deeper in the box. Pushed aside more clothes. My fingers hit something hard. Leather.

A journal.

Small. Brown leather. Worn at the edges like it had been opened a thousand times. I pulled it out and just held it for a moment. This belonged to my mother. She touched this. Wrote in this.

I opened to the first page.

*If you are reading this then I am gone. And you are old enough to know the truth.*

My breath caught. I read the words again. And again.

This was for me. She wrote this for me.

*Freya, my beautiful girl. There is so much I need to tell you. So much I wish I could explain in person. But if you are reading this then that time has passed.*

*You are not what you think you are. Your father was not human. He was something else. Something powerful and dangerous and beautiful.*

*A werewolf.*

My hands were shaking so hard the words jumped on the page.

*I know how this sounds. I know you will not want to believe it. But it is true. Werewolves are real. They live among us. Hidden. And your father was one of the strongest.*

*We met by accident. I was working late. He was passing through the city. One look and I knew. Knew he was different. Knew he was dangerous. Knew I should run.*

*I did not run.*

*We had three months together. Three months of stolen moments and whispered promises. He told me what he was. Showed me. I should have been terrified. Instead I loved him more.*

*Then I found out I was pregnant with you.*

I stopped reading. Pressed the journal to my chest and tried to breathe. My father was a werewolf. My mother knew. She loved him anyway.

And then she had me.

I forced myself to keep reading.

*Your father wanted to take us back to his pack. Wanted to claim me as his mate officially. But his world was dangerous. There were laws. Rules. Politics I did not understand.*

*He was an Alpha. That meant something important to his people. And mating with a human broke those laws. Laws he had helped create to protect others.*

*We argued about what to do. He wanted to fight for us. Wanted to change the rules. I wanted him to be safe. Wanted you to be safe.*

*Then they came.*

*His enemies. The ones who hated the laws. Who saw our love as a betrayal. They attacked. Your father fought them off but we both knew it was only the beginning.*

*He asked me to do something. Something that would keep you safe. He knew a witch. Someone powerful. She could bind your wolf. Hide it so deep that no one would know what you were.*

*It would hurt. The binding would take away part of you. But it would keep you alive.*

*I agreed.*

*The ritual happened the night you were born. You cried so much. I held you while the witch worked her magic. Watched your eyes change from gold back to brown. Felt the power drain away.*

*My baby. My beautiful baby. I took away part of your soul to save your life.*

*Your father left the next day. Said it was safer if no one connected us. Said he would watch from a distance. Keep us protected.*

*I have not seen him since.*

*And now I know they are coming for me. I have been asking too many questions. Getting too close to the truth about where your father went. Who hurt him. Why he stopped reaching out.*

*If you are reading this then I ran out of time.*

The words started to blur. Tears dripped onto the page. I wiped them away quickly. Did not want to damage the ink.

*I need you to know that everything I did was to protect you. The binding. The lies. Moving to this city. All of it was to give you a normal life.*

*But the binding will not last forever. When you turn nineteen it will start to break. Your wolf will wake up. And when it does you will need help.*

*Find Adrian Metcalfe.*

My heart stopped.

*He is an Alpha in the city. One of the strongest. Your father trusted him. Made him promise to watch over you if anything happened.*

*Go to him when you awaken. He will help you. Teach you. Protect you.*

*Trust him Freya. Even when it feels impossible. Trust him.*

The journal fell from my hands onto the bed.

Adrian.

My mother knew about Adrian. My father knew about Adrian.

This was not an accident. Not fate. Not destiny.

This was planned.

Adrian did not just randomly recognize my scent three weeks ago. He had been waiting. Watching. Following orders from my dead father.

Everything was a lie.

The deal. The fake relationship. The way he looked at me. All of it was just him keeping a promise to someone else.

I was not his mate. I was his responsibility.

The betrayal hit harder than anything else tonight. Harder than learning about werewolves. Harder than finding out Kelvin killed my mother.

Because some part of me had wanted it to be real. Wanted Adrian to actually want me for me. Not because of some bond or promise or obligation.

I grabbed the journal and kept reading. Needed to know the rest. Needed to see what else she lied about.

*There is more you need to know. About your father. About your bloodline. About why you are so important.*

*But I am running out of time. They are getting closer. I can feel it.*

*The rest is in the safe deposit box. Key is hidden in the lining of my jewelry box. Bank of America on Fifth Street. Box number 2847.*

*Everything is there. Your father's letters. The truth about the pack wars. Why you are in danger.*

I love you Freya. More than anything in this world. I am sorry I could not be there to help you through this.

Be strong. Be brave. Be the woman I know you can be.

And remember. You are more powerful than you know.

Love always,

Mom

The last page was blank. That was it. That was all she wrote.

I sat on the bed holding the journal and tried to process everything. My father was an Alpha. My mother loved him. They had me. Enemies came. She bound my wolf to save me. Then she died trying to find out what happened to him.

And Adrian had known this whole time.

Known who I was. What I was. What I was supposed to become.

He played me. Made me think this was about chemistry or attraction or fate. When really it was just a promise he made to a dead man.

My phone buzzed again. Still turned off but the vibration broke through my thoughts. I grabbed it and turned it back on. Another text from the unknown number.

*You cannot hide forever. We know where you are.*

Ice flooded my veins.

I jumped up from the bed. Grabbed the duffle bag. Shoved the journal inside. Went to the jewelry box and tore at the lining until I found the key. Small. Silver. I pocketed it.

Then I heard footsteps in the hallway.

Heavy. Slow. Deliberate.

They stopped outside my door.

I held my breath and stared at the doorknob. Watched it turn slowly.

I had locked it. I knew I locked it.

The door opened anyway.

A man stepped inside. Tall. Broad shoulders. Eyes that glowed faintly in the darkness.

"Hello Freya." His voice was cold. "We have been looking for you."