The Professor's Mate Clause novel Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

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CHAPTER 16

FREYA’S POV

The penthouse feels too big when I am alone.

I sit on the kitchen floor for a while longer before finally standing. My legs are shaky. My whole body still hums with need. With want.

I need a shower. Need to wash away the feeling of Adrian’s hands on me. His mouth. The way he made me fall apart with barely any effort.

Except I do not want to wash it away. That is the problem.

I want to hold onto it. Want to climb into bed and remember every touch. Every word. Every sound he pulled from me.

Instead I force myself upstairs. Back to the guest room. The space Adrian gave me because he knows I need distance. Need time.

But right now distance feels like torture.

The bathroom is still as ridiculously fancy as yesterday. All marble and gold. I turn on the shower. Wait for the water to heat up.

While I wait I catch my reflection in the mirror. My lips are swollen. Red. My neck has a mark where Adrian bit down. Not hard enough to break skin but enough to leave evidence.

I trace my fingers over it. The skin is tender. Sensitive. Just touching it sends a shiver through me.

This is insane. I should not be reacting like this. Should not want him this badly after everything.

But my body does not care about logic. Does not care that he lied or that my whole life is chaos. My body just wants him. Craves him. Aches for him to come back and finish what he started.

The shower is hot. Almost too hot. I stand under the spray and try to think about anything except Adrian. Except the way his hands felt on my skin. The way his voice sounded when he called me beautiful.

It does not work. Everything reminds me of him. The soap smells like the body wash in his bathroom. The steam makes me think of heat. Of skin against skin.

I am pathetic.

Eventually I get out. Wrap myself in a towel. Stand in the bathroom trying to decide what to do next.

Sleep seems impossible. My mind is too active. Too full of questions and wants and needs I cannot

name.

So instead I explore.

Adrian said I could go anywhere in the penthouse. That nothing was off limits. I never took him up on it

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before. Too angry. Too guarded.

But now curiosity wins.

I get dressed in clean pajamas and pad downstairs. The living room is dark except for city lights streaming through the windows. I flip on a lamp. Look around properly for the first time.

The furniture is expensive but comfortable. Not just for show. There are books on the shelves. Real books. Old ones with worn spines like they have been read multiple times.

I run my fingers along the titles. Most are classics. Literature. Poetry. A few on history. And then an

entire section on werewolves.

I pull one out. The cover is leather. Old. The title reads “Pack Dynamics and Hierarchy: A Complete Guide.

Inside are chapters on Alpha behavior. Beta responsibilities. Omega roles. How packs function. How they communicate. How they choose leaders.

I flip through pages. Stop on a section about mates.

The mate bond is sacred among wolves. It transcends pack law and hierarchy. When an Alpha finds his true mate the bond cannot be denied or broken. The pull is biological. Spiritual. Eternal.

Mates can sense each other. Smell each other across distances. Feel each other’s emotions through the

bond. Once claimed and marked the connection is permanent. Unbreakable.

An Alpha without his mate is incomplete. Unstable. The wolf inside him will push. Demand. Fight for the bond to be completed. Many Alphas go mad waiting for their mate to awaken to the connection.

I close the book. Set it back on the shelf. My hands are shaking again.

Is that what Adrian is going through? Is his wolf pushing him? Demanding he claim me? Is that why he touches me like he is barely holding back?

I move to his desk in the corner. Papers are stacked neatly. I should not look. Should not invade his

privacy.

But I do anyway.

Most of it is pack business. Reports from Marcus. Territory maps. Meeting notes. All very official. Very Alpha,

Then I find a journal. Smaller than the others. Personal.

I open it to a random page. The handwriting is Adrian’s. Neat. Controlled.

Fay 847 since I started searching. Still no sign of her. Alexander’s daughter remains hidden. The mother did her job well. Too well perhaps. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever find her. If the promise I made was foolish. If she even exists.

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I flip forward several pages.

I found her. After all these years I finally found her. Freya Reed. Nineteen. Attending university. Working two jobs. Living in a cramped apartment on the east side. She has no idea what she is. No idea that I have been searching for her since she was born.

The wolf in me recognized her immediately. MATE. The word echoed through every cell. Every fiber. Kael has not stopped howling since.

But I cannot approach her yet. The binding is still too strong. She needs time. Needs to awaken naturally. Forcing it would destroy her.

So I wait. And watch. And try not to go insane from wanting something I cannot have.*

My chest feels tight. I flip to the most recent entry. Dated three days ago. Right before the wedding.

She agreed to come with me to the wedding. Agreed to pretend to be mine. If only she knew how much I wish it was not pretend. How much I wish I could tell her the truth. That she is my mate. My everything. My reason for breathing.

*But she is not ready. Still so human. Still so fragile. I need to be patient. Need to let her come to me in

her own time.

Kael disagrees. He wants to claim her now. Mark her. Make sure every male knows she belongs to us. The control it takes to resist him is getting harder every day.

Soon. Soon she will know. Soon I can stop pretending this is anything other than what it is.

Fate.

I close the journal. Set it back exactly how I found it.

He has been journaling about me. About the search. About finding me. About wanting me.

This is real. His feelings are real. Not just obligation. Not just a promise.

Real.

The realization hits me like a punch. Adrian wants me. Has wanted me since the moment he found me. Has been fighting his wolf. Fighting himself. Trying to give me space and time.

And I have been pushing him away. Lying about my feelings. Pretending I do not feel the pull between us.

I sink into his desk chair and stare out the window. The city glows below. Thousands of people going about their lives. None of them know that werewolves exist. That fate and bonds and mates are real.

None of them know that somewhere out there is a person made specifically for them. A person they are meant to find. Meant to love. Meant to be with forever.

I am lucky. I found mine. He found me. After years of searching. Years of waiting.

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And I am too scared to admit it.

Too scared to trust it. To trust him. To trust that this could be real and permanent and good.

Because everyone I have ever trusted has hurt me. My mother died. Kelvin betrayed me. Clara lied. Everyone leaves or lies or both.

But Adrian has not left. Has not lied. Not really. He kept secrets yes. But only to protect me. Only because I was not ready.

And now he is out there handling pack business. Dealing with injuries. Being an Alpha. While I sit in his home wearing his clothes reading his private thoughts.

I am an idiot.

The sound of the elevator makes me jump. I stand quickly. Move away from the desk.

Adrian steps out. He looks exhausted. His shirt is torn. Blood on his hands. His jaw is tight.

“Freya.” He stops when he sees me. “You are still awake.”

“I could not sleep.” I take in his appearance. The blood. The torn clothes. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Not my blood. One of the younger pack members challenged an older wolf. Got hurt badly. I had to step in. Remind everyone why I am Alpha.” He moves toward the kitchen. Starts washing his hands in the

sink. “Marcus has it handled now. The kid will heal. Learned his lesson.”

I watch him scrub the blood away. Watch the water run pink then clear. “Does that happen often? Challenges?”

“Often enough. Wolves are territorial. Dominant. Sometimes the younger ones need to be reminded of their place.” He dries his hands. Turns to face me. “What were you doing down here?”

“Exploring. You said I could.” I gesture to the shelves. “You have a lot of books.”

“I like to read.” His eyes search mine. “Find anything interesting?”

“Just pack stuff. History. Dynamics.” I do not mention the journal. Cannot admit I invaded his privacy like

that.

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