Rejected by Lycan Steven

Chapter 7

My ban has been lifted. As much as possible, I have decided not to cross paths with Professor Evan ever again. I intend to treat him as a stranger. However, it seems impossible due to my best friend's nagging.

"I don't get why you don't want to attend his class! He is really good at teaching, much better than our previous teacher. I learned a lot from him. Why are you making a fuss about it?"

"Hazel, what he says in class is the same as in the textbook. I can just read in the library, so it's alright to skip it!" I hissed at her and looked around, alert because I might bump into him in the hallway at any time.

"I can sense that you hate him! Did you know him before? Why don't you want to attend his class, huh?"

I swallowed a lump in my throat. She was suspecting me, so I had no choice but to drag my feet towards the room.

As soon as we entered, I could smell the familiar scent of Professor Evan. He met my gaze when I sat at my desk. Hazel was grinning from ear to ear while staring at the teacher in front of us, and I couldn't help but feel anxious.

Is he going to tell the class that I accessed his personal information?

"Miss Bentley, you're back," was all he said before he started his lecture. I couldn't concentrate in his class. He was serious about teaching the subject, asking questions to the students and making the class interactive.

Looking around, most of my classmates were participative because he made it interactive. As soon as he uttered the word 'goodbye,' I immediately grabbed my bag and went out of the room. Hazel jogged towards me and talked about her infatuation with our professor again.

The rest of the week went smoothly. Every time I bumped into Professor Evan at school, he wouldn't bat an eye at me and walked straight ahead like a horizontal line. I reciprocated his energy and never talked to him.

Usually, I am participative in other classes, but in his class?

No.

I never raised my hand to answer or ask questions.

And he noticed my behavior. That's why he chose me to be the secretary of his class.

"I want Miss Bentley to be our class secretary. She will collect all your assignments and final papers throughout the semester. Does anyone want to object?"

Of course, they love our new professor, so no one objected.

"Miss Bentley, follow me to my office!"

I tried to keep my cool and excused myself to Hazel, who was looking at me intently.

"You are so lucky!" she uttered and giggled at me. I just smiled at her and followed Professor Evan to his office.

His steps were large, so I had to keep up. I wasn't just walking; I was running to keep pace with him because his long strides were faster than mine. As soon as we arrived in the office, I saw him removing his jacket.

"Close the door, please," he commanded, and I obliged immediately.

"Have a seat, Miss Bentley," he directed, pointing to the seat in front of me.

Why was I so nervous?

I took the seat in front of his office desk and sighed. Before he could speak, I already opened my mouth. "Thank you for not telling the class about what happened between us that other...night."

His eyebrow raised. "What happened between us? What do you mean?"

I smiled at him. He smiled back, too.

Good.

At least he knows how to keep a secret.

"As my class secretary, you will need to help me with the paperwork. Don't worry, you will receive an allowance at the end of the semester."

Oh, so there's money involved...

"Will you accept the position?" he asked, folding his hands on the desk. Realizing I could help my mother pay the bills with this, I didn't hesitate.

Without thinking further, I nodded at him and signed the form, which included my name and his.

"Thank you. Now..." Professor Evan grabbed a pile of books and placed them on his desk. I let out a cough because of the dust. He apologized, mentioning these were old and had been sitting around for a while.

"What are these?" I asked him.

"I need your help to organize these files by different years. The higher-ups need it. Are you free right now?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Alright. Please help me segregate these files."

"When is the deadline?" I asked, checking my wristwatch. I needed to inform Hazel to go home early and not wait for me. There was a lot to do.

"Tomorrow morning," he answered. I nodded at him and began segregating the files. We scattered all the documents on the floor.

Professor Evan had paperwork to finish, so I was left alone on the floor.

"Twenty-three, twenty-two, twenty-one..." I muttered to myself while reading the years on the documents. I was so immersed and focused on my work that I didn't notice the time pass!

"s**t," I whispered to myself when I took a break. There were missed calls from Hazel and my mom. I replied to one of them and grabbed my backpack from the floor.

It was already quarter to seven!

"Are you done?" Professor Evan asked, bringing over bread and coffee. He offered me one, but I declined. "Sorry, I have to go home now. Are we done here?"

He glanced at the documents on the floor and nodded. "I can finish all of that tomorrow morning. Do you have a car, or will you wait for the bus?"

I forced a small smile. "I'm just a middle-class girl. No car yet. I'm going to wait for the bus."

"It's already dark," he remarked with concern.

I smirked at him. "I know—"

"It's dangerous for you."

His eyes conveyed serious concern. I let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah."

"I can offer you... a ride," he said, taking a step forward, closing the distance between us.

Again, I chuckled anxiously. "W-Why would you do that?"

My face was full of confusion. He looked outside the window. "You're a girl. I won't risk your safety. Where do you live?"

Then, he started to grab his keys from the table and dismissed the conversation.

What is he doing?

"Hey, Evan!" I called his name when I saw him grabbing his jacket and putting it on. His biceps flexed as he adjusted it. When he caught me staring, he smirked devilishly.

"I'm really just alright waiting at the bus station! You don't have to take me home!" I hissed at him. His smirk widened, probably because I called him by his first name.

My heart hammered against my chest when he walked towards me. Sighing, he grabbed my wrist and said, "You are my student. My top priority is your safety. You helped me with the paperwork, so it's my responsibility to take you home."

I hated his strong principles!

He was getting on my nerves now. "Thank you for your kind thoughts, but I can manage on my own!"

Before he could respond, I removed his hand from my wrist and walked out of the room. I was half-running, half-walking outside the school premises, afraid that Professor Evan might follow me.

There were no lights outside, save for a flickering lamp post adjacent to me. I let out a heavy sigh and looked back.

Phew! No trace of Steven's doppelganger!

I grabbed my AirPods and pushed them into my ears to calm my nerves. Pressing play on my favorite song, I started walking towards the pedestrian lane when I heard the blaring sound of a car honking.

It felt like it could be the end of my life.

I only saw a ray of white light as the car nearly hit me. Too stunned to speak, my body froze on the ground. I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact...

But I didn't feel anything!

Opening my eyes, I saw the car stopped right in front of me. I heard the doors closing and opening, and the muffled voices of two people outside shouting at each other.

It was only a millisecond when I noticed and heard a whimpering sound running towards the forest.

When I blinked, it vanished into the forest!

"Miss, are you okay?" A woman in her 30s approached and asked me. My head spun as I looked at her face. I gestured with my hand to stop her from touching me.

She flinched and began shouting to her partner to get an ambulance. My attention shifted from them when I noticed something glistening on the ground.

Extending my arm to touch the silver fur of an animal, I found myself whispering in confusion, "What is this?"

My gaze shifted suspiciously towards the forest, a sense of unease crawling over me as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

No damn way...

Holding the piece of silver fur in my palm, a single thought dominated my mind.

There was only one creature I knew with such distinctive fur...

And it was my mate, Steven.

Could it be possible that he lives here?!