Chapter 6

Taking a minute to suck in a deep breath, I reminded myself that I wasn’t just meeting my mate, but also my professor. Talk about my exam, leave. That’s it. Once my breathing stabilized, I hit the bell and opened the door after the light turned green. 

Professor Brian's gray eyes lifted from the book he was reading, without lifting his head. "You're here sooner than I thought." Just the sound of his voice sent instant chills down my spine. "Sit." He ordered and that made a frown form on my face. 

Without another choice, I sauntered and sat across from him, my toes curling against my sandals. "Good evening."

"Yeah. Give me a minute. I need to punch these grades in, then I'll attend to you." He said and I nodded. 

The silence in the room made me feel sweaty. My fingers were picking at my nails, my eyes wandering around in search of nothing specific. The few times I stole glances at him, I forgot how to breathe. His head of hair swung around as he moved, his gray eyes dancing like silent music; his arms made strange thoughts run through my head. Not to mention how his skin glowed in its natural-tanned tone. How could someone be this effortlessly handsome? 

It felt like hours till he finally punched the grades in his computer and paid attention to me. "Here." He passed a wooden planner to me. "Let me know when you want to retake your exam. That's my schedule, and the blank ones are my free days."

Immediately scanning the planner, I noticed he was a pretty busy person. Most of the dates were already highlighted, and coded abbreviations represented what he had to do. He used 'BG' for what I assumed was Bertley Gills University. "Your schedule is choked up. Turns out there's more to you than just being a professor."

"Of course. I have a life and some people still belong to and have obligations to their packs." He replied coldly, earning a glare from me. So mean.

"Okay… you don't have to be sassy." 

“Do what you have to; I don’t have all day.” As much as I wished to hit his face, I knew he was on the upper hand of authority here, so I swallowed the fury,

It took half of an eternity till I finally found a free time that matched mine, then I selected the day for my exam. "I'll have to study a lot in the next few days. The date is quite close." I passed the planner to him. 

"Yes.” He scanned the date I chose. “Also, you're going to take the exam at my house." 

"Your house?" I glared. “Why?” 

"One, I can't open the exam for you online; it'll raise suspicions. Two, I'm of a high rank here, so I'm always being watched. If the dean notices you being here for too  long, questions will be raised, and it'll be even worse if they find out I'm letting you retake the exam despite my policy." 

"Maybe if you'd have just mended the policy," I muttered underneath my breath. 

He paused like he heard me, then ignored, "another thing… I need your phone number." My eyebrows furrowed, causing a small frown on his face. "I can't keep on communicating via email. It's dangerous." 

As much as his presence and manner of speech annoyed me, he wasn’t wrong. "What else? Are you going to bring—'' I was interrupted by the loud rumbling of my stomach. 

"I was just about to get something to eat." He rose up, grabbing his keys. "Let's go." 

"It's okay. I'll eat at my dorm."

"Let's go." He insisted, his tone less authoritative this time, more like a plea. 

Plus, I was honestly too broke for food and the cafeteria food was horrible. “Okay, but you’re paying for the meal.” 

*** 

The drive was beyond awkward. All I could do was stare at everything except him. The few times my eyes slipped to him, they were tracing every part of him, from his muscular thighs, his strong arms, perfect jawline, to his smooth skin. His hair was now disheveled, but it still looked perfect; everything about him was perfect. 

The thoughts of him being my mate sent chills down my spine. I began to imagine how much more this mate bond could spice things up between us. His hold alone could melt me. How much more would being in his— okay, Lyric. Stop it. 

I blinked multiple times, staring out the window again. 

That was when I noticed he had driven into an estate. Not just any estate, but Springs Tail Estate! It was the most expensive estate in the entire state, and not just anyone could trespass the gates of the estate. It had been my dream to spend even just a day in one of the buildings of the estate.

Huge, tall, cream and gray buildings swept past us as he drove, each building revealing its glorious worth. "Dr. Brian?" I called, glancing at him with widened eyes. "Why are we here? As far as I know, there are no restaurants in this estate." 

"There aren't." He simply said.

A line formed between my brows. “That explains nothing." 

"We're going to my house." 

"What the hell?" My forehead furrowed. 

"Relax. I’m not abducting you;  My fridge was recently stocked up, and you’re staring at the best cook you’ll ever meet, so I'm cooking for you tonight, at my house. Is that fine?" He cast a glance at me.

I wanted to say it wasn't fine, but I couldn’t. If he lived here, then I'd get the chance to be in one of the houses in this estate. That was worth more than anything. 

I said nothing and he  took that as a ‘yes’, driving till he finally came to a halt in one of the houses and parked in front of the ginormous building. 

Once we got in, he excused himself to get changed, giving me the chance to gawk around the shiny white and black-themed interior. The ceilings were higher than my future, silver chandeliers draping from it. 

After a while, Professor Brian returned, and tell me why he chose to return in only his pair of gray sweatpants?

Staring at his bare chest made my breathing rate spike up. I ran a detailed scan of his well-defined 8-pack abs, taking in the live view of his whole torso. He looked like a Greek god.

“I was going to ask if you were okay with me being shirtless, but you look like you want to eat me up, so I'll assume you don't mind." He chuckled. 

I blinked multiple times, struggling to find my words. "I…uh…no.  I mean  ..' 

"It's okay." He stopped in front of me, shoving his hands into his sweatpants pocket like he was from a swimsuit advert. "Stare all you want. I'm technically all yours." 

The words rang in my head, causing my wolf to burst into a dance of joy in my head, howling. 'He's ours!' She screamed. 

A smile graced his lips, making his eyes glimmer. “Do you want to cook with me?”

I scoffed. “Now you can smile?”

“I’m very free-spirited and chill  in the comfort of my home.” He shrugged, the smile not leaving his eyes. I swear my lungs were going to burst any minute from now. 

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll help you cook. You’ll do most of the work. I’m too tired for exhausting tasks.”

“Okay, your highness.'' He gave a slight bow and that made me laugh on the inside, but I gave  him a half glare, half smile.

"The kitchen is over there." He nodded to a black door at the end of the room. 

Nodding, I headed to the kitchen with him behind me.

He started taking ingredients from the fridge and the cupboard, laying them on the large, black counter located at the center of the kitchen. “What would you like to eat?’

“Anything is fine, I promise. I’m beyond starved.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“Breakfast? Or maybe lunch from yesterday.”

“Seriously? That’s not healthy.”

“You work overnight, catch up with 8am classes, stress out about an annoyingly strict professor that wouldn’t let you retake an exam unless you’re his mate, then I promise, being healthy wouldn’t be a goal.” 

He fell silent then the corner of his lips curled to a smile. “I’m not that annoying.”

I scoffed. “You are. You speak with this tone that demands authority and makes it seem like the other person has no right of free will.”

He let out a deep, chesty laugh. “I can be less… authoritative if you’d like that?”

“Yes! Please.” 

“Okay, your highness. Anything you say.’ Rolling a ball of packaged meat, he asked. “Can you please chop that into small chunks while I start making the sauce?” THis time, the authority in his tone has lessened and it was very satisfying.

~~~~~~~~

Chopping the meat was an arm workout. It wasn’t complying. 

Brian walked up behind me. "I’m done with the sauce. You look like you're struggling. Shall I help?' I nodded quickly. "Here." He held my hand from behind, forcing my breath to pause. "It's all about the pressure…" I honestly zoned out on what he was saying. All I could think of was the heat emanating from his body and the chills running down my spine as he held me. 

He grabbed my other hand to demonstrate how to properly dissect the meat. My entire body was pulsating and heated, sparks running through me. I had to bite down on my lips hard to attempt to control whatever was happening to me, but to no avail. 

I quickly pivoted, gazing into his eyes, my chest rising and falling evidently faster. 

"I…" 

"You feel the tingles,don’t you?" He smirked, earning a slight frown from me. "Don’t worry. I feel them too." His voice was low and thunderous, causing my heart to race ten times faster. "We're mates, Lyric. You don’t seem to get it yet?" He closed the space between us, running his hands down my temple till he tucked my hair behind my ear. "The mate bond is stronger than you think. The strongest romantic force you can ever imagine. You can't just live separately with such a bond, because our lives will get so entangled that we can feel what the other person is feeling. It's an eternal bond, and that's why I need you." His eyes ran a quick scan of my body and they became darkness, fueling up with lust. 

"Wh-what do you need me for?" My voice cracked. 

"Something to do with my pack. Plus, I’ve waited long and hard enough; I need a mate. I'm a man with desires, and you're perfect for my desires." Something about the way he said that made me feel cold, like a deep, blood-freezing cold. 

We were indeed mates. Lyric, you have  a second chance mate. My wolf kept reminding me, trying to force this reality in my head. However, having a mate was the last thing I wanted. I had to focus on my dreams. I didn’t want my success to be dependent on a man.

The strange sparks from his hold radiated through me, almost feeling like pleasure., I had to remind myself that this relationship was an act. It's just this semester. After this semester, he would no longer be my professor and I wouldn’t have to be his mate anymore. I had to withstand every temptation until then.  

"I know you might plan on leaving me after the semester is over,” My eyes almost grew out of their sockets. Did he just read my thoughts? “ but I have a goal. I'll make you fall madly in love with me before the end of the semester. I'm that desperate for you."