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Chapter 40 : Alone
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Fated to My Professor Chapter 41 : Stick to the Plan
AstridThe past week was miserable. Ever since the conversation with my dad, I could hardly stand to be in the packhouse. I wanted nothing more than to get out of Bridgewater and do my best to pretend it didn’t exist. I didn’t belong here. I never had and the fact that I had allowed myself to be guilted into coming back filled me with shame. I thought that I knew better. It was completely predictable that dad would blame me the second things got complicated. He had always done that. I thought that just because he said he wanted me here, things would be different. I should have stayed away. Things with Tristan weren’t much better. He was back in class and I was glad to see that he was able to have at least that semblance of normalcy as the investigation was underway. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t dealing with complications because of the rumors, though. People were skipping or dropping out of his classes and I heard a few complain that they should be able to get their tuition bac
Fated to My Professor Chapter 42 : Something's Going On
AstridMy heart was thundering and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Solomon never liked me, so why was he so invested in my personal life now? What kind of plan could he have concocted that would require Eddie to seduce me? Was that the reason he’d come on to me so strongly the night of the formal dinner? Because Solomon told him to? It didn’t make sense. I must have misunderstood somehow. What could Solomon possibly hope to gain by this? If I fell for Eddie, then wouldn’t that just mean he was stuck with me? He didn’t want me to stay in Bridgewater, so why? I grabbed the banister and pulled myself onto the stairs. I was in such a rush that I didn’t notice Victoria walking down the steps. I managed to stop before I collided with her, but I stumbled backwards and nearly fell off of the steps. Victoria grabbed my arm and pulled me upright. ‘I have got to stop running off in a fit of emotion,’ I thought bitterly. ‘I keep crashing into people.’ “Goddess, are you alright?” V
Fated to My Professor Chapter 43 : Auntie Victoria
AstridI spent most of the evening in my room. No one came to check on me, which was for the best. Eventually, I fell asleep and dreamed of mom. I was so young the last time that I saw her, it wasn't until I came back to Bridgewater that I realized how little I actually knew about her. I had memories of her, good and bad, and heard stories about her as a kid. But I was only just starting to realize that I didn't really know her. Based on what Victoria said last night, it seems like she knew me pretty well. She wanted me to stay away from this place, but why? Was there more to it that I just didn't understand? I had to try to find the answers. Part of me didn't want to know, but I had to try. I showered and got dressed, then went downstairs to look for Victoria. If anyone could tell me more about mom, it would be her. I found her in the dining room. It was still early and breakfast hadn't started yet. She seemed to be restocking the drink cart. It was odd because, as the Gamm
Fated to My Professor Chapter 44 : How Can I Help?
TristanThe past week had been nothing short of miserable. The only bright spot had been working with Astrid on the education initiative. We really worked well together. She had practical and interpersonal skills that I lacked that allowed her to step in and make up for my own shortcomings. I tended to feel that logic and data should stand on its own merits, but that was rarely the case. When a well thought out argument couldn’t sway someone, I was quick to anger. Astrid remained calm and found a way to approach the issue that took into account the goals and personalities of those we were dealing with. I appreciated that skill, even if it annoyed me that it was necessary. The rest of the week had been a mess. Dean Parker kept insisting to me that the investigation was progressing quickly, thanks to resources provided directly by the Alpha. I knew that must be Astrid’s doing, but I didn’t ask her about it. I didn’t want to know how much she’d told her father about what happ
Fated to My Professor Chapter 45 : The Door to the Future
AstridThe relief I felt when Tristan offered his help was almost overwhelming. I’d been in such a bad state for the past few days. I felt like I was losing my mind. I had nearly convinced myself that there was some grand conspiracy going on in Bridgewater and that I was stuck in the middle of it. I realized that was crazy, and that’s why I came here. I needed Tristan to listen to me and help me sort through everything. I needed his logical input to help me understand what was happening to me. I was too close to it all. There were too many traumas and emotions wrapped up in all of it. I didn’t trust my own mind. I knew that I could trust him, though. I knew that Tristan wouldn’t manipulate me or lie to me and I knew that he had no ulterior motives. He wasn’t part of the packhouse, he wasn’t wrapped up in all of that. I needed to get out of there. There was too much going on with everyone that put me on edge. Plus, it was difficult being there without mom. After the convers
Fated to My Professor Chapter 46 : Meeting the Dean
TristanAfter my initial meeting with Dean Parker, I was a total mess. Everything I feared would happen, was now happening. I was being looked into for abuse of power and sexual relations with a student.I knew there wasn’t anything legitimate that could be brought against me, but I wouldn’t put it past Lilian to manufacture something. She had plenty of friends that seemed to hang on her every word. If she told them to lie about me, they might do it. I had certainly received plenty of threatening and insulting emails from them over the past week. I knew that the threats weren’t credible, but in the interests of the investigation, I had forwarded all of them to the Dean’s office. If that wasn’t enough, I had heard more than one student call me a creep as I walked down the hallways or across campus. I ignored them, but that didn’t mean that the taunts weren’t bothering me. My reputation was destroyed either way.If this went on much longer, I wasn’t sure that I would be able to
Fated to My Professor Chapter 47 : Advances
AstridThe Dean’s office was a large room with tall windows on the wall across from the door. The natural lighting in the room gave it a warm, welcoming feeling. Despite that, I felt uncertain of myself as I looked inside. A tall, youthful man smiled at us and stepped back to allow us into the room. He looked at me curiously but didn’t seem to mind that I was there. I was relieved by that. I wasn’t here to make anything harder for Tristan and I didn’t want him to have to explain why he’d brought me. “Gregor must have caught up with you,” the tall man, who could only be the Dean, said with relief. “I’m glad. I didn’t want to wait until Monday to discuss this with you.” “What is it?” Tristan asked. He was clearly anxious to know what this was all about. The Dean smiled kindly and motioned toward the chairs opposite his desk. “Have a seat and we’ll discuss it,” he instructed. I looked around at the office as we walked a few feet to his desk. The room was ringed with towering
Fated to My Professor Chapter 48 : Without Me
TristanI had never intended to bring Lilian into this directly. If I could have avoided it, I would have. I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she had gotten under my skin, nor did I want to give her any more attention. But now that Astrid had brought her up by name, I didn’t have much of a choice. I needed to lay out all of the facts for Dean Parker. I had no idea how he was going to take it. He could assume that I was trying to deflect the blame from myself—that wasn’t my intention. I would take whatever disciplinary action the Dean saw fit. I knew that ultimately anything the investigation turned up would be my responsibility, and I was prepared for that. I tried to avoid giving too much detail in front of Astrid, but I could feel that she was staring at me as I told the Dean about Lilian’s behavior over the past few years. I felt her tense when I mentioned the text messages and emails. I really didn’t want to share those with anyone, but I understood that
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Fated to My Professor Chapter 80 : An Announcement
AstridThe festival had continued the next morning just as Solomon promised, but it was obvious by the increased guard that something was going on. The visiting Alphas and Lunas had arrived that morning at the packhouse demanding answers, and Solomon was the one to give them. He explained that the threat had been neutralized and that he gave his personal guarantee that there wouldn’t be any other issues. He offered to arrange a guarded escort for anyone who wanted to leave early. After a private conversation with Slade, it was decided that everyone was staying. I didn’t ask Solomon about what else was said, I was just glad that he was able to handle it. That night, while the party raged in town, I met with Solomon and dad alone. I wanted Tristan to be with me, but I understood why he couldn’t be there. Having Solomon there was going to have to be enough. I sat alone in the chair across from dad’s desk. Solomon was standing near me with his arms folded tightly across his ches
Fated to My Professor Chapter 79 : Confession
AstridVictoria was handcuffed to a wooden chair in dad’s office. There were guards outside of the window and the door and a patrol was rotating outside of the building in case any more of her creepy friends showed up. The house had been cleared room by room, so we knew no one was hiding inside and waiting for a signal to attack. We were all standing in the office in tense silence. I had no idea what was going to happen next. I was confused and scared. That attack was aimed at me. I had no idea why she would go to such lengths to try to hurt me. I had cleaned the blood off of myself, but I could still smell it and it made me nauseous. Tristan had his arm firmly around me, but he didn’t say a word. I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for him to face Victoria right now after everything that she did to him. Dad stood awkwardly In the middle of the room. He hadn't made eye contact with anyone since we entered and I wasn't sure what to make of that. The only person who seemed le
Fated to My Professor Chapter 78 : Fighting Back
AstridThere were dozens of people gathering in the garden. It was hard to see what was going on ahead of us, but I knew from the sickly sweet smell of perfume that Victoria was here. I hadn’t realized how strange it was that she wore perfume until Tristan had pointed it out. He said that he smelled it during his kidnapping and it was the thing that tipped him off to his kidnapper's identity. “It took a while to figure out where I’d smelled it before, but almost no one in the pack wears perfume. The artificial smell is too abrasive,” he explained. It hadn’t struck me as strange because perfume is so common in the human world. I was used to it. But Tristan was right—wolves often didn’t wear perfumes or colognes. The smell was too overpowering.I cursed internally. If I had realized it was strange earlier, I might have figured out that something was going on with Victoria before it got this far. She must be using the scent to cover up something, probably the toxic herbs she w
Fated to My Professor Chapter 77 : A Scream
AstridIt was a cool autumn day and the garden was still in bloom. The scent of foliage was carried across the city on a gentle breeze. The streets were buzzing with excitement as the Lunar Festival officially got underway. Tristan had spent the better part of the morning preparing the garden for our presentation. Dean Parker had arrived early in order to help him. I was busy inside greeting the Alphas and Lunas that were going to be watching the presentation, and hopefully agreeing to take part in the program. “Welcome to Bridgewater,” I said for the sixth time in a quarter-hour. “Thank you so much for joining us for the festival this year.” “Thank you for having us,” a tall, robust woman with dark hair said. She was the Luna of Moonriver, Gwendolin. I had met her once before when I was a little girl and I remembered being struck by how strong and beautiful she was. I felt the same way seeing her now. Almost a little starstruck. “It’s our pleasure,” I assured her. “And
Fated to My Professor Chapter 76 : A Moment of Calm
Tristan The amount of time that had passed without answers about Victoria's whereabouts was concerning at this point. The Alpha was operating under the assumption that she had fled into another territory. This put him in a difficult position because as much as we needed to find her, he had no desire to alert the other packs of what was happening. Reporting her as missing would look almost as bad as reporting her as being on the run—there was no way to address the problem without causing a scandal. So, with the Lunar Festival fast approaching, the packhouse was focused on preparations rather than the missing fugitive that had killed the Luna and kidnapped me. It was maddening to everyone in the packhouse except for Alpha Anthony. He was the only one who seemed confident that Victoria wouldn’t show her face. I was grateful for the Alpha's decision to allow me to stay in the packhouse because I didn't think that I could handle being away from Astrid right now. I was having a h
Fated to My Professor Chapter 75 : Bed Rest
AstridAfter Tristan's rescue, it became clear that he was not going to be able to finish the semester. Dean Parker agreed to approve medical leave for him and Dr. Sanchez agreed that he would take over his classes for the remainder of the school year. The Dean was disturbed to learn that Tristan had been kidnapped from campus, and as a result of that and the incident in the bathroom with Lilian, the school was investing in a series of new security cameras. They were also considering updates to campus security and increasing the number of emergency call boxes on campus.Dean Parker was a lot more willing to implement changes than dad was. Unfortunately, the only change he’d agreed to make was to allow Tristan to temporarily stay in the packhouse.Solomon was taking things a lot more seriously. I was grateful that he was willing to take matters into his own hands when necessary. I couldn’t believe how incredibly stubborn dad was about this. Lilian had confessed that Victoria was
Fated to My Professor Chapter 74 : Never Letting You Go
AstridDad brought down the full force of the pack on Bethany's house. Within 10 minutes of our phone call, the guard had filled the house. Dad was personally interrogating Bethany in a side room. I couldn't hear anything but the occasional sob from her. I'd seen him angry before. I knew how he could be and even I had never faced him in the state he was in now. I wasn't entirely certain that Bethany was going to walk out of that room. The healer arrived shortly after dad. She came directly to Tristan and knelt in front of him. I moved aside to allow her to work. Her long, thin fingers moved deftly as she checked his eyes, looked into his mouth, and checked his vitals. The look of concentration on her face was as emotionless as a statue. About 20 minutes after the guard arrived, there was a commotion from upstairs. I heard a woman shrieking and men shouting. The side room opened and dad stepped out. “What the hell is going on?” he demanded. Just at that moment, a guard came
Fated to My Professor Chapter 73 : Time To Pay
AstridTristan was in this house. His scent was strong, and I knew deep down, that he was still here somewhere. I should have gone for help, I should have waited for dad or Solomon, but I just couldn't. I'd been looking for him for days. There was no telling what state he was in. Bethany would be suspicious about my coming here. They would move him as soon as I left, I was sure of it. I couldn't take the risk. ‘Take me to him,’ I told my wolf. ‘Quickly.’ My body moved at her discretion. We went down a side hallway to a locked door. I twisted the knob as hard as I could, but the lock wouldn't give way. I growled in frustration, but this wasn’t going to stop me.I slammed my shoulder into the door, not caring if Bethany heard. The sound was dull and muffled. I did it again and again. I put my full body weight and strength into the wood of the door. It cracked and then flew off of the hinges. A dank, damp smell met me as I looked down a set of wooden stairs into a dark basemen
Fated to My Professor Chapter 72 : Family Resemblance
Astrid I was even more tired than I realized, and I slept until the next morning. When I did get up, I quickly dressed, and then I groggily made my way down to the kitchen. My stomach was growling. I hadn't eaten anything in over a day. I wasn't sure what I was going to find, considering Solomon's promise yesterday about having everything replaced. What I hadn't expected was to see that he had taken my comments about pre-packaged food very seriously. Everything in the freezer, the refrigerator, and the pantry was in an individually sealed packet. But that didn't guarantee that Victoria couldn't tamper with anything. It sure made it a lot more difficult for her, though. I gratefully took a freezer pack of smoothie mix and made myself breakfast.Once I ate, I found it a lot easier to think clearly. I should have waited for Solomon, but I couldn't. That didn't mean I had to be careless about how I went about this. I knew that there was something about Victoria that I didn't know.
