Chapter 9 Anything he wants

My mouth opened and closed as I eyed Atlas curiously. I didn’t know what to say. Part of me didn’t want to say anything until we were in private. Some of the other students gave us weird looks as we made our way to his office. The door had his name on it.

‘Professor Atlas Firestone’

Before I could say anything about it we were in his office. He locked the door behind us and knowing he would probably get me against another door, I moved into the center of the room. I was going to miss my next class if we didn’t make this fast but I couldn’t help but be interested. Who was this mystery Alpha with so much power and so much knowledge?

He stepped towards me and joined me in the middle of the room. We stared at each other for a moment and then we gestured to the chair in front of his desk. I frowned at him, not wanting to stretch this out, before listening. The chair was simple with a small amount of cushioning on it. He went around his desk and sat down. What he had said before was hanging in the air, begging to be dealt with.

“So, do you have anything to say to me?”

When I finally looked forward again, I met his blue eyes. The corner of his lip pulled up as our eyes met, I was once again amazed by his handsome face. But I didn’t trust him, I didn’t want to tell him anything about my wolf.

“I don’t understand what you are talking about professor.” I lied, my own voice sounding convincing to my ears. He wasn’t surprised in that response and put his elbows on his desk, resting his chin on them before speaking again and smiled knowingly, like he already saw through my pretending.

“I know who you are, Aria, I looked at your academy file,” Professor Atlas said and continued to level that expectant look at me. Nobody has ever needled me this way. Usually when I said I was fine, it was fine. The fact that he looked at my file finally caught up to me. It felt like a big invasion of privacy. It had to be against school policy.

“That’s not-” I started and he shook his head.

“I knew your name couldn’t be Kara. I got curious,” he said, “So, I did a little research. You’re the only daughter of Alpha Rick and Luna Beatrice,” he said and then continued. “There’s no way you’re that bad in a battle class.”

I had wondered if anyone would have noticed me pulling my punches. Of course, it would have been Atlas. I shrugged and tried to act even more embarrassed than I already was. Maybe there was a way to save this, make him believe I had my reasons beyond my lack of wolf.

Before I could argue he spoke again, he got up and started walking towards me. I could feel his warm breath sprayed on my face when he stood in front of me.

“So, I started thinking, why would a smart girl like you do that?” Atlas asked rhetorically and I stayed quiet. Listening to his reasoning. “Why not display your skill as an alpha heir…” He said more quietly. He was walking behind me now and I resisted the urge to look at him.

“Then it clicked. You aren’t able to access your wolf, it made too much sense.” He said and then continued. “You’re trying to hide the fact that you are wolf-less so it doesn’t affect your father’s election.” I sputtered and tried to quickly find a counter explanation.

I was shocked by how quickly and easily he got all that information. Part of me wondered if he did before or after we kissed. I felt ashamed. Only my first day and my secret was out and I’ve kissed my professor. More than that, this man could almost read my thoughts. He was there when I needed him and he understood me so deeply. It scared me. Realizing I was backed into a corner I decided to admit to some of it.

“Yes, I’m their daughter. You have to understand thought, I hid it simply because I didn’t want people thinking I was just some rich girl.” I explained and he nodded urging me on. “You know those girls, like Rebecca. Their just obsessed with shopping and getting their nails done, they don’t work for anything they get.” In order to make him believe me, I tried my best to make myself look as arrogant as Rebecca.

The idea that anyone would see me that way angered me. I huffed and crossed my arms. It may seem petulant but I was having one of the longest days imaginable. I didn’t give him an opportunity to respond, continuing on to defend myself.

“But I’m not wolf-less. I can’t believe you’d say that,” I said and then continued with a sharp voice. “There was no need to shift today, but I could if I had to,” I explained.

We stare at each other. The room felt very stuffy all of a sudden. I tried not to shrink under his gaze and instead sat up straighter. If anyone knew that I was wolf-less it would be horrible for my father’s campaign. Instead of prodding more, he simply gave me a mischievous smile.

“Well that’s good, because in class tomorrow morning everyone is expected to shift,” he said and then, “Everyone…” Again, for emphasis.

I’m torn between telling him the truth and just missing class to avoid the situation. My mind raced as I tried to find a reason why I couldn’t go to class tomorrow. But even if I skipped the class tomorrow, I couldn’t skip all the battle classes. I realized I was left with no choice, not to mention that he already knew who I was.

I heard steps behind me and then the door opened. I stood up quickly and rushed over, grabbing his arm.

“Wait.” My mind didn’t have any time to catch up with my actions and I just stood there dumbly, trying to think of something to make him stay. We stared at each other. I quickly changed my attitude after accepting the reality.

“I am sorry I lied to you, Professor,” I started and then sighed heavily. “I had to hide the secret. What you said is true, I didn’t want it to affect my father’s election.” I tried to make my voice sound sad and fragile. I hoped he could feel sorry for me so that he could accept my offer. I needed his help.

“Could you please cover for me, I will do something for you in return…” I offered and looked at him with pitiful eyes.

But I found him smiling mischievously at that, borderline evil. I guessed my effort didn’t work. A gaggle of students passed by the door chatting with each other. They saw us and got quiet, and started to whisper. Goddess, by the end of the day I was going to be the hottest gossip at the Academy for the Supernatural.

Atlas closed the door and turned, pressing me against it. ‘How did we keep ending up like this?’ I wondered. I should have been more aghast by the position I was in but I wasn’t. I tried my best to keep my eyes trained on his eyes instead of his lips. But when they parted to speak I couldn’t help but bite my lip.

“Anything I want?” Atlas asked darkly.

I was going to regret this.