Bound To The Cursed Lycan King

chapter 4

The hallway was loud before Gwen even got there. Laughter bouncing off the walls, people rushing past, moving in groups like they owned the place.

Gwen stayed near the wall. Head down. Books pressed hard against her chest. She just needed to survive the day. That was it.

“Hey.”

She stopped because she knew that voice.

Mason.

The same guy who made her feel small every damn day.

Gwen lifted her eyes slowly. Mason stood in front of her with two of his friends. And next to him, smiling like she enjoyed this, was his girlfriend Mira.

“Still alive, Brooks?” Mason smirked.

Gwen didn’t answer. Talking made it worse. Silence was the only thing she had.

Mira looked her up and down like she was a trash on the floor. “You look worse every day, you know that?”

One of the guys laughed. “Maybe she’s finally giving up.”

Gwen’s grip tightened on her books until her knuckles went white. “I need to get to class,” she said, voice low and shaky.

Mason stepped in her way, blocking her. “Not so fast.”

The hallway got slower. People started watching. Gwen felt it on her skin, eyes, whispers, people waiting to see her break.

Mason leaned in. “You think you’re better than us just because you don’t talk?”

Gwen swallowed. Her throat felt dry. “I don’t think that,” she said. It came out weak, and she hated herself for it.

Laughter hit her right after.

Mira rolled her eyes. “Pathetic.”

Then Mason shoved her hard. Gwen stumbled back and almost fell. Her books slipped and hit the floor with a loud smack. A few people gasped. Some laughed louder. Nobody moved to help.

She dropped to her knees fast, hands shaking as she tried to pick everything up. Mason kicked one of her books across the floor. “Pick it up right.”

Her fingers shook so bad she couldn’t grab it. She wanted to cry but she bit her cheek instead. She was angry, humiliated and tired.

Behind the crowd, Lucien stood still and watched. He didn’t move. Didn’t say anything. Not yet.

His silver-gray eyes tracked every insult, every laugh, every breath Gwen tried to keep steady.

Clara, one of the new assistant lecturers, was passing by. She saw what was happening and her face tightened.

“This is getting out of hand,” she muttered.

Lucien didn’t reply. His face showed nothing, but his eyes went darker.

Clara hesitated, then stepped forward. “Mason, that’s enough.”

Mason turned, a lazy smile still on his face. “Relax, Miss Clara. We’re just talking.”

“It doesn’t look like talking,” she said.

Mira laughed softly. “Oh come on, she’s fine.”

But Clara wasn’t sure. Her eyes went to Gwen on the floor, gathering her books with shaking hands. Something changed in her face. Not cruelty, not amusement. Just… doubt. She wanted to do more, but she didn’t. That pause hung there too long.

Mason noticed. “See? Even she knows it’s nothing serious.”

Clara opened her mouth but no words came out.

Gwen finally stood up, clutching her books to her chest. Her face stayed blank because she had practiced that look a thousand times. “Can I go now?” she asked quietly.

Mason studied her, then stepped aside with a grin. “Go ahead.”

Gwen walked past them. Slow, careful. Trying not to let her hands shake. Trying not to let the tears burn. She didn’t look back, but she felt the eyes on her. Not just Mason’s. Not just the crowd. Something colder.

Lucien’s gaze followed her all the way down the hall until she turned the corner.

Only then did he speak, voice quiet. “Interesting.”

Clara frowned. “Professor?”

Lucien turned, his coat shifting as he walked away. “Not for long,” he muttered.

Clara blinked. “Excuse me?”

But he was already gone.

*. *. *

Gwen stared at the guy who talked to her.

For a second she thought she heard wrong. “Professor Quin asked for me?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Said to come after class. His office is in the faculty wing.”

Gwen’s hand tightened around her notebook until her fingers hurt. That made no sense. She had never talked to the new professor. Not once. Men like him didn’t notice girls like her. Girls who sat in the back and tried to be invisible.

“Did he say why?” she asked, voice coming out smaller than she wanted.

The guy shook his head. “No clue. He just said your name.”

Gwen hesitated. Going to the faculty wing usually meant detention, a scolding, or worse. And she already had enough problems. But ignoring it would probably make things worse. She swallowed. “Okay.”

The faculty wing was quiet in a way that made her nervous. It was too clean. Too cold. Like nobody actually lived there.

She walked slowly, counting her steps so her hands would stop shaking. Room 3B. Professor Lucien Quin. The nameplate shined under the light and it made her stomach twist.

Gwen stopped outside the door. For half a second she thought about running. Then she forced herself to knock.

“Enter.”

Lucien's voice was low and even and it made her spine straighten without permission. Gwen pushed the door open.

The office was huge. Books everywhere, most of them looked old enough to fall apart. The air felt heavy, like it was pressing on her chest.

Lucien stood at the window with his back to her. “Close the door.”

Gwen hesitated, then shut it. The click sounded louder than it should have.

He didn’t turn right away. Gwen shifted her weight and felt stupid standing there.

“I was told you wanted to see me, Professor,” she said, trying to sound normal and failing.

Lucien turned slow. Those silver-gray eyes hit her and she immediately wanted to shrink. It felt like he was looking straight through her skin, counting all the bruises she tried to hide.

“Yes,” he said. That was it.

Gwen waited for more and nothing came. The quiet made her uncomfortable. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked, because she didn’t know what else to say.

Lucien stopped and looked at her. “No.”

Gwen frowned. “Then why am I here?”

He studied her for a second too long. Then he pointed at the chair in front of his desk. “Sit.”

Gwen didn’t move. “I’d rather stand.”

Something flickered in his eyes but it was gone before she could name it. “Suit yourself,” he said and leaned against his desk.

For a while neither of them talked and it made Gwen’s skin crawl. She felt it again, that weird awareness, like he wasn’t just looking at her but reading her. Like he knew about the eviction notice and the hospital bills and the nights she didn’t sleep.

Finally he spoke. “I reviewed your academic record.”

Gwen stiffened. “Why?”

“No reason.”

That was a lie and they both knew it. Lucien kept going like it was normal. “Your grades are inconsistent.”

Gwen’s jaw tightened. “I work part-time. Sometimes I’m too tired to…”

“I know,” Lucien cut in.

That stopped her. Gwen’s eyes narrowed. “You looked into me?”

Lucien didn’t say yes or no. He didn’t have to. Gwen felt her chest got tight and her temper rise. She hated when people dug into her life.

“I don’t get what this is about,” she said, voice low and sharp. “If it’s about attendance I can fix it.”

Lucien watched her, calm and still. Then he said, “You were seen in a confrontation earlier.”

Gwen’s stomach dropped. “Getting shoved in the hall isn’t a confrontation, Professor.”

“It is when you don’t defend yourself,” Lucien said.

Gwen looked away because she was angry and embarrassed at the same time. “I didn’t think it was worth it.”

Lucien’s gaze sharpened. “That’s a habit with you.”

Gwen’s jaw clenched. “I’m not here to get into fights. I’m here to keep my scholarship so I don’t end up on the street.”

The words came out harsher than she meant and she immediately wanted them back.

Lucien straightened a little. “I didn’t call you here to discipline you.”

Gwen finally looked at him. “Then why?”

He didn’t answer right away. When he did, his voice was even. “Consider this a warning.”

Gwen blinked. “A warning? For what?”

“This school isn’t as safe as it looks,” Lucien said.

Gwen let out a short, tired breath. “You called me all the way here to tell me the school isn’t safe? I figured that out my first week.”

Lucien didn’t reply at first. Then he added, “You should pay more attention to your surroundings.”

Gwen stared at him. “That’s it? That’s why you dragged me here?”

Lucien’s eyes held hers. “Yes.”

Gwen shook her head slowly. She was tired. Tired of hiding, tired of pretending she was fine. “I already know it’s not safe, Professor. I’ve known that since day one.” Her voice dropped at the end and she hated that it shook.

Something moved in Lucien’s face but he covered it fast.

Gwen adjusted her bag on her shoulder. “If that’s all, I should go.”

Lucien stepped aside but before she reached the door he said, “Brooks.”

Gwen stopped and turned a little. “Yes?”

His voice was quiet, almost rough. “Don’t let them think you’re easy to break.”

Gwen didn’t know what to do with that. It made her chest feel tight in a way she didn’t like.

“I’ll try,” she said and left before she said something stupid.

The door closed behind her.

Lucien stayed still after the door shut.

He was mad. Mad at the school, mad at the boys who touched her, mad at her for looking at him like he was the problem. But mostly mad at himself.

Because the thought of being mated to someone so frail, so tired, so human…it made his chest feel tight in the wrong way. She wasn’t strong. She wasn’t built for a world like his. She broke easily. She cried when nobody was watching. She was too young for a world like his.

And he didn’t know what the hell to do about it.

The curse tied him to her. But his head hadn’t caught up. For a second, just one second, the idea crossed his mind to reject her. Cut it off before it started. Before he got used to her voice, her stubborn jaw, the way she refused to sit when he told her to. He dragged a hand through his hair and exhaled hard.

He was furious and lost. Because wanting her and wanting to push her away were fighting in the same breath. And he hated both.