My professor

Aria's POV;

Today was supposed to be my father's burial, where I was supposed to peacefully lay him to rest without any worry but instead, my mind was more on something else.

Deep down, I was curious as to how none of my father's relatives had been introduced to me up until his death. A sudden flash of the adoption documents I had accidentally found in my father's drawer came into my mind.

Was he adopted? Is that why I haven't seen any of his relatives?

Every attempt to ask my mother had been futile since she was still in mourning, finding it hard to cope with the loss of her husband.

“Are you going to be fine? You only just entered college, and now, you have to bear this brunt and carry this on your shoulder,” one of the neighboring people I've always known said with a small squeeze on my shoulder.

She bent a bit, seeing as I was a few inches taller than her, before taking my hand into hers.

Staring into her watery eyes, once again, the bitterness and pain I had been desperately trying to bury in my heart arose. Not only was I going to leave this town to go to the city but I was also going to leave every friend I already made here.

“I'll be fine. I've always been,” I managed to say, trying my best not to cry in her presence.

A heavy hand suddenly landed on my shoulder and with a short gasp escaping my lips, I already knew who it was.

I managed to trust myself, turning a bit to the side before raising my head and my eyes met with his strange orbs. Close up, I realized they were neither blue nor red but seemed to be the product of a mixture of a lot of colors.

His eyes held mine and in them, I could see the reassurance in them. Every wall I had been trying to build up since I stood at my father's grave crumpled to the floor and without another word, I buried my face in his chest, allowing my tears to spill out like a broken dam.

“Shhh, you'll be fine,” he said in a soothing tone, with his hand rubbing my back slowly, hugging me to himself.

“Aria, you're here. I've finally found you. You know you'll have to leave today and it's the only reason your father is being buried this early. Your college drive is at least six hours away from here and I don't want you going that late all by yourself,” my mother called out to me, her voice causing me to pull away from his embrace.

Immediately she spoke, I felt how he tensed up, no doubt as a result of remembering the night he had with me and so was I.

“Mum…,” I softly called out after disentangling myself from my ‘uncle’s’ embrace.

Unlike the cheerful woman, I had always seen my mother as, the woman I was looking at seemed to have aged a few years in the span of a few days. The smile I was used to seeing on her face was now dead, leaving behind a flat-lined lipthat held back sobs.

I could see how much she was trying to fight back the tears and it only broke me.

Only if I could postpone my resumption at college but that was impossible since I'd only just be going as a freshman.

“I haven't seen Cole here. Is he packing up and preparing to pick you up?”

The moment my mother asked this, I was thrown back to the scene that had led me to the complicated situation where I had sex with my uncle.

“Aunty, she broke up with him five days ago. I'll be escorting Aria to her college before we go our separate ways,” Doona who had been here by my side since my father's death, interrupted, stopping me from talking.

As much as I'd love not to drop this news on my mother, it was inevitable since doing things with Cole was going to help save some expenses and now that he was out of the picture, this only meant that I was going to be needing far much more than I budgeted.

Immediately Doona said this, it was obvious how my mother's mood became lifted a bit more before her eyes drifted to stare behind me, on someone whose presence I still felt.

“Ronald, is it?” My mother asked softly, taking one more step closer to him.

She squinted her eyes to stare up at him and I watched as he nodded his head, taking a step closer to her too, his hands dipped into the pockets of his long black coat.

“Yes. If you don't mind me asking, what college is she going to start schooling in?” Ronald asked and at that moment, my heart flipped with the thought of why he was asking. No! Nothing could ever happen between us. I reassured myself.

“Elite college. The one for the rich spoiled brats. She managed to get a scholarship there,” Doona was quick to answer with a smile on her face, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

She was the only one aware of the relationship between meI and my said uncle and what had also gone down between us.

Imagine her shock at the information the first time she saw him in my home a few days ago.

My eyes remained on Ronald even as Doona answered and I didn't miss the slight twitch in his eyebrows and the quick furrow before he nodded his head.

“Has she gotten a place to stay in college? The college hostel is pretty expensive and I'm guessing that would be more than your budget,” he continued, his eyes on my mother, no doubt intentionally avoiding staring into mine.

Meanwhile, I was confused and worried as to why he was inquiring about this. We definitely couldn't have anything going on between us.

Yes, the thoughts in my head were all shades of wrong since he was not only my uncle but also thirty-five years old, a good age older than I was.

Even with this, I couldn't stop myself or my wolf from feeling giddy about the thought of him. I beat up myself, shaking my head and remembering how I had sleepless nights, struggling to get into my dream college. Years of being with Cole and my Wolf had never shown such happiness. Yet, after knowing this man for only a few days, my wolf was pacing about. No! You can't! I chide myself, shaking my head from side to side to wade off the thoughts.

“Perfect! Thank you very much. I feel so bad for this and I don't want to impose on you,” was the next thing I heard my mother say as she smiled at him.

I didn't realize how lost I had been in my thoughts until she said this.

My confusion was imminent on my face and a pull and quick giggle from Doona had me more confused.

She pulled me to the side, away from them, literally jumping on her feet.

“What's wrong? You look far too happy for something that should be concerning me,” I couldn't help but ask, finding it odd.

Rather than getting angry, Doona smiled at me, taking my hand in hers, almost squeezing my bones.

“Guess what? You are going to be living with him in college! He says his house isn't so far from the school and you don't have to pay rent. Not only are you free from this bill but you also get to have a chance with him!” Doona almost squealed while my heart thrummed in my chest and I stood frozen in shock.

I was going to be living with him? Just when I thought today was going to be the end of our awkward meeting, and didn't have to see him again.

The more I had this thought, the more bothered I felt and my smile was about to crack.

At that point, I felt bad for having these feelings at what was supposed to be my father's burial.

“Come on. He said he's leaving any time soon and you've barely packed your stuff. Go say one last goodbye to your father and let's go pack your stuff,” Doona said and this time, the sad smile on her face was evident.

As much as I loved my best friend, seeing her happy all about this had me thinking if she was really sane in the head.

With a nod of understanding, I pulled away from her, heading to the grave my father's cassette had been laid in, bending, I took a bit of the sand, and the tears began to prick the back of my eyes as I found it hard to talk more.

“Goodbye, father. You've been the best,” I finally whispered and with this, I bent to place a kiss on his tomb, dropping the flower in my hand before standing up.

With one last glance at his grave, I walked away as the tears spilled down.

After this, waving goodbye to my mother and Doona didn't make things easy for me. All throughout, I had tears running down my face and it was hard to stop.

Now that I was sitting right beside Ronald, in his huge expensive-looking motor, I finally wiped my tears.

“Umm, Ronald, do you…?” I didn't have the chance to complete my words when he cut in, his eyes still on the road as he drove.

“Firstly, it's Uncle Ronald for you and secondly, forget anything ever happened between us. That was a mistake I wouldn't like to make again.”

Like an arrow to my heart, his words came shooting at my chest for a brief moment, but then, I smiled to myself, knowing he was right. With this thought in mind, I made it known to myself only to focus on college and make the best out of it.

Throughout the ride, I remained mute, thankful for the brief breaks where I was allowed to relieve myself and eat when necessary.

Upon getting to his place after six hours, it only confirmed my suspicion that he was definitely wealthy and this time, I couldn't help but be confused. Were he and my father really brothers? Besides, they didn't even look alike. I was thankful he was saving me from paying a huge amount of bills and I wasn't going to let uncertainty ruin it for me.

These thoughts grew in my head but I only kept mute, allowing myself to be welcomed into his huge two-story building that was going to be occupied by only both me and him, courtesy of his words.

It was finally Monday and I was glad to leave the cold air in the huge house. After saying a quick goodbye to Ronald, I headed for college, ready to get on with my life.

Ever since I woke up, it was hard to ignore the weird sensation that had begun to grow from deep within my core.

Even my wolf had been pacing about, gnashing her teeth and scratching my insides.

At first, I had thought she only just wanted to be let out but after communicating with her, it turned out to be more than I thought.

Pushing the feeling aside, I hastily made my way to college, thanking my stars that it was just a ten-minute walk from Ronald's house.

Upon arriving there, I marveled at the tall huge gates that stood tall and high, framing a mindlessly huge and large area.

Unlike high school, the students that walked In and out only minded their business, each of them dressed classy and businesslike.

Indeed, this was a school for the wealthy, befitting of its name, ELITE COLLEGE.

With the map I had been given beforehand, I managed to locate my way to my first major class which was by luck on my part.

Arriving at the doorstep, inside, the huge class was filled to the brim, with mainly females and oddly enough, they all were gathered in the front seat, even fighting amongst themselves to sit in front.

As odd as it was, I tried to make my presence as tiny as possible. The scents of everyone seemed to have become stronger which was in turn making me dizzy.

With as much strength as I could muster, I made my way to the empty seat at the far back and in the corner, crashing right there.

“I can't wait to see him! I heard he's so beautiful!” The whiskers of the ladies filtered into my ear and for once, I was curious.

Finally, after a few minutes, the whole class went quiet as a unique scent wafted into my nose. Like the smell of rain, mixed together with mint and then, a unique masculine scent all combined into one person.

“Mate!” My wolf howled in me and I couldn't stop the smile that spread on my face as my eyes searched for who it was.

At that moment, the ladies were all squirming and squealing as none other than my said uncle, Ronald, walked into the class.

The moment he stood at the podium, his eyes scanned around, searching for mine and when they landed on me, from the way they widened, there was no doubt that he also felt it.

We were mates and not only that, but he was also my professor.

My uncle, my professor and my mate!