My Forbidden Mate is My Professor

Chapter 7

THORNE’S POV

Damn it!

Lying to my father and Alpha Greg was one thing, but seeing Maren sitting there, like forbidden fruit within my reach, was a torture I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I knew her father had died for the pack, I knew David’s sacrifice, but I never imagined his daughter would be the female the Moon Goddess handed to me to be my undoing.

Seeing her there, in that tight dress... it was pure hell.

I spent the entire evening watching that pathetic whelp Kai lean toward her, devouring her with those lustful eyes. My fingers itched to shift, to rip his throat out right there over the fine porcelain dinnerware. When the glass finally shattered in my hand, the physical pain was a mercy.

I stepped out into the garden under the pretext of smoking to dull the sting of my wound, but all I needed was the cold air to freeze the boiling blood rushing through my veins. I leaned against the stone railing, staring into the darkness.

"You’re a coward," Fenris spat at me, the image of my giant, silver-eyed wolf pacing through my consciousness. "She’s going to go with him. And you’ll stay here staring at your academic degrees."

"She’s a girl, Fenris," I hissed through my teeth, blowing smoke toward the moon. "She’s eighteen. I’m her professor. If I mark her now, the world will destroy her, not me."

"I don’t care! She’s our mate!" my wolf roared. "If you don’t mark her, that i***t will!"

Fuck, it was obvious my wolf didn't understand human ethics. He only understood that Kai’s hand on Maren’s thigh was a declaration of war. The thought of Maren under another man was a divine punishment. She was mine. Every atom of her body had belonged to me since before we were born.

With brutal fury, I punched a tree trunk, feeling the wound in my hand rip open, spilling my blood onto the garden soil.

Damn it. I didn't know if I could endure four years watching her in my classroom, smelling her intoxicating scent, seeing other males trying to circle her. The idea of marking her "legally" felt like a finish line miles away, while my body demanded I claim her right now.

I knew perfectly well she wasn't just a girl. Her eyes had a spark of malice that told me she knew exactly what power she held over me. And she hated me; she hated me for wanting to mark her and not having the courage to do it.

I retreated into the shadows of the garden, trying to cool the blood simmering in my veins. I was on the verge of losing it, not knowing what to do, when I heard footsteps. I concealed myself in the shadows of the great oaks, pulling back my Alpha aura so as not to be detected.

It was Kai. He was smoking, chuckling to himself while holding his phone.

"Yeah, man, I told you," Kai said with sickening arrogance. "No, Tina and I just had a stupid fight. I just needed something to entertain me while she cools off. Maren? Please. She’s just an Omega with a good body. A pastime for the night. As soon as I get what I want, I’ll toss her back to the trash where she came from."

The darkness inside me exploded.

My Alpha aura unleashed all at once, withering the nearest flowers. I was one step away from lunging out of the shadows and showing him exactly how "easy" the death awaiting him was for speaking about my mate that way.

But I stopped. I am her professor. I am the Rector’s son. If I attacked Alpha Greg’s son in his own pack territory, I would ruin Maren’s life and mine in a heartbeat.

"Damn it, if you don't slaughter that brat, I will," my wolf roared with a ferocity I’d never felt before.

It burned me to know that I had pushed her into the arms of that trash. She didn't want Kai; she wanted to be seen, she wanted someone to claim her with the pride that I, out of cowardice, was hiding behind my academic position.

I fought my animal instinct like a demon until Kai hung up and went back inside. I was about to go in and warn Maren when, seconds later, she stepped out into the garden.

Under the moonlight, she looked beautiful, but there was something broken in her posture. She was trying so hard to look provocative for me, and I hated myself just knowing that now I couldn't help but feel like more of an i***t than before

She walked toward the darkness by the furthest pillar and let out a deep sigh. Without hesitation, I slipped out from the bushes and appeared at her side.

She gave a small jump of surprise, making her chest heave under the silk. f**k, how could I not react to that?

"You cannot go on that date with Kai," my voice came out huskier than I intended, laced with a possessiveness I couldn't hide.

She looked at me for a few seconds and made a mocking gesture. "I can, and I will!" she shot back.

That ferocity in her voice only made my length twitch. However, when she took a step to walk away, a massive roar tore from my throat. With a sudden movement, I seized her arm and hauled her behind a column.

I pinned her against a tree trunk, surrounding her with my frame, letting my weight crush her against the wood. I needed her to feel my dominance. To accept that no other man could touch her.

I buried my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent until my lungs burned.

"What the f**k are you doing? Let me go!" she hissed, trying to squirm away, but my grip was pure iron.

"You are not going on that date," I repeated, my voice coming out as a restrained growl.

I leaned over her, feeling her hot breath hit my chest. I was so close to biting her, so close to sinking my canines into her skin so that pathetic Kai would know she already had an owner.

"This is all a game... Kai is going to use you like a one-night trophy and then dump you in the first alleyway he finds," I warned her, feeling my desire swell against her.

The simple proximity to my mate was an uncontrollable torture. However, she only let out a dry laugh, filled with a venom that made my blood boil.

“And what if he does?” she challenged me, and for the first time, I saw the raw pain behind her mask of defiance. “At least he pretends to want me. At least he doesn't treat me like I'm invisible at a family dinner. Who are you to tell me what a game is, when you’re the one playing with my sanity by rejecting me every single day?”

"I have given you an order! You will not go!" I hissed, using my Alpha command.

I could sense her Omega wolf’s submission vibrating beneath her skin.

For a moment, I thought my warning had been enough for her to drop this stupid child’s game, but I was wrong. Her words became more toxic, dripping with a poison that reminded me she didn't just want to disobey me—she wanted to destroy me.

"Excuse me?" She let out a dry laugh, loaded with a mockery that scorched my nerves. "Who are you to give me orders? My professor?" she challenged, digging a finger into my chest.

Her words struck my heart, making my wolf erupt in rage. "Of course I have the f*****g right, I..." I tried to say.

"But my words hung in the air when she cut me off with a defiant stare. 'You?! You rejected me, remember?! You’re just jealous because you know he’ll dare to take what you’re too cowardly to claim! He’ll make me feel like I belong to someone, while you only make me feel like I'm a mistake you want to hide!'"

Blind fury erased my vision. Before I could process it, my hand left her arm and closed around her throat—not to choke her, but to force her to feel the weight of my territorial pressure.

"He is going to have nothing!" I roared, my grip becoming more possessive. "I don't care if you hate me or if you think I’m a coward. But you are not letting that pup use you as a pastime."

Maren shoved me with a strength born of indignation, managing to pull a few inches away. She straightened her dress, breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed.

"You’re an i***t. You have no right over my body. I’m going on that date," she spat, taking a step back. "I’ll let Kai take me to his bed if I feel like it. I’m going all in, Thorne. I’d rather have someone use me than feel like I mean nothing to ny nate. You stay here alone, with your rules, while another man gives me the importance you denied me."

She turned around and walked away toward the lights of the house. I stood there, in the middle of the darkness, my heart hammering against my ribs and my hands trembling with the urge to go after her and claim her as mine.

"She thinks she’s won," I whispered, as my nails shifted into claws under the moon. "But she has no idea what kind of demon she is waking up."