The Alpha's College Mate

Chapter 20

Clara's POV

“f**k,” I whispered.

Clutching my throbbing head and sitting up in a bed that was not mine, I looked around the enormous room and cursed under my breath. I must have gotten so drunk at the party last night that I imagined going home with Professor Vance instead of some random senior.

I yanked the blankets off my body and stared at my naked self.

Double f**k.

What had I drunk last night to make me believe I had actually discovered Professor Vance was a wolf and that he had sunk his teeth into my neck? I climbed out of bed and paced the room, stumbling once but catching myself on a chestnut dresser.

Had I really lost my virginity to some stranger last night? I had wanted it to be Vance so badly.

Black spots danced across my vision and suddenly everything looked sharper. I squeezed my eyes shut to adjust, then opened them again to stare into the dresser mirror. Everything returned to normal.

Except…

Nothing was normal.

I stood naked in the middle of a stranger’s room with… a mark on my neck. Four puncture wounds exactly where I had dreamed Professor Lucan Vance had marked me with his canines last night.

My eyes widened. It had not been a dream.

I traced each scar with my fingertip and stiffened.

Oh my God.

I was a wolf now. A f*****g werewolf.

Yesterday I had not even believed they existed. Now my vision was already changing. What would come next? Would I grow fur while still human? Develop a snout? Canines? Claws? God, I hoped I would not have to run with a pack, because I hated running.

I stepped closer to the mirror and examined every inch of my face for other wounds or changes, but found none. At least not yet. My stomach twisted. What was going to happen to me? And where had Lucan gone? Should I even call him that?

He was still my professor.

Once I found some clothes I opened his bedroom door and stepped into a wide hallway lined with carved wooden details. I wandered down the corridor, peering into a few spare bedrooms and wrinkling my nose.

Professor Vance lived in a mansion or something close to it. I had never seen so many rooms in one hallway in my life except at Draven’s house. I had only been there once, but there were so many rooms and so many people that I had gotten lost more than once.

The last door on the left stood slightly ajar. I glanced inside, hoping Vance was there. The room was a large empty library filled with books whose spines were worn and shelves covering nearly every wall that was not a window.

My eyes widened. I walked in and moved down the rows of books, trailing my fingers along a bookcase until I reached the window. Outside a group of people, both young and old, talked together on the lawnsome sunbathing, others grilling, children chasing one another.

A couple of wolves ran up to the group and shifted into humans, their muscular bodies bending at odd angles as bones snapped and reformed. The shift looked easy and natural for them, as if they had done it for years.

One final wolf approached and shifted. My jaw dropped when Jasmine stood naked in front of the group, her silky hair blowing in the breeze while her claws shortened back into nails.

I cracked the window open. The air felt thick and heavy or maybe that was only my mind making me feel like I was suffocating. A chilly fall breeze drifted in and I inhaled sharply. So many different scents flooded my nostrils. Somehow I could smell every aroma within a milesomething that had never happened before. I took another deep breath and the sense grew even stronger.

Then I caught it. Draven.

He had always carried a distinct scent of pine cones and honeysuckle.

I tensed and scanned the forest for any sign of him.

How had he found me?

Back home I had been careful not to leave any trail. I had even told my parents I was attending a college fifty miles away. How could Draven have located me so quickly?

My stomach twisted into tight knots.

If he knew where I was, then Mom and Dad knew where I was, and that meant… the others were not far behind.

Fuck. I ran a hand through my hair and backed away from the window. f**k, f**k, f**k, f**k, f**k. What was I going to do? The others were dangerous. If they found me I had no doubt they would put a bullet through Lucan’s head.

Or worse…

When I took another step back I collided with a solid chest and jumped, screaming in pure shock. Someone caught my arms from behind and pulled me closer, dragging his nose up the side of my neck.

“Clara…”