The Professor's Mate Clause novel Chapter 46

CHAPTER 46

FREYA’S POV

The Dream or would I say nightmare shattered, leaving me breathless, I was running through darkness, Something was chasing me. Something with glowing eyes and sharp teeth. I can still hear it breathing, Getting closer. Closer.

Then I was falling. Endless falling. Reaching for something. Someone. But there was nothing. Just empty air and the certainty that I was going to die alone.

I wake up gasping. My heart pounds against my ribs. Sweat soaks through my shirt.

“Adrian.” I reach across the bed. My hand finds only cold sheets. Empty space.

He is gone.

Panic flares. Fresh and sharp. Where is he? Why did he leave me alone?

I sit up. The room is dark except for moonlight streaming through the windows. The clock says it is almost four in the morning.

I get up on shaky legs. Pull on sweatpants over my sleep shorts. My body still feels heavy from sleep but my mind is racing.

The nightmare felt too real. Too vivid. Like a warning.

“Adrian?” I call out. My voice sounds small in the huge bedroom.

No answer.

I head downstairs. The living room is empty. Kitchen dark. No sign of him anywhere.

Then I hear it. A sound from below. Deep. Guttural. Not quite human.

The basement.

My feet move before my brain catches up. Down the stairs. Following the sound. Following that pull in my chest that always leads me to him.

The basement door is open. A sliver of light spills into the hallway. And voices. Low. Threatening.

His voice.

I move closer. Quieter. Every instinct tells me to announce myself. To knock. To give him warning.

But something stops me. Some part of me needs to see this. Needs to know what he does in the dark when he thinks I am sleeping.

I peer through the crack in the door.

Adrian sits in a chair facing Vanessa. She is chained. Bleeding. Her perfect face is destroyed. Bruised and swollen.

And Adrian. God. Adrian looks like something from a nightmare.

His eyes glow that electric blue. His claws are extended. Blood drips from his hands. Not his blood. Hers.

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`nce.” His voice is cold,Nothing like the man who holds me at night. “Tell me what Asher is really

* start removing fingers.”

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My stomach turns. This is not the Adrian I know. This is the monster.

I watch as he grabs her hand. As his claw hovers over her finger. As she starts screaming and begging.

Part of me wants to look away. Wants to run back upstairs and pretend I never saw this.

But I cannot move. Cannot breathe. Cannot do anything except watch.

“Please.” Vanessa is sobbing now. “Please I told you everything. Asher is spreading lies. Bribing the Council. Making her look dangerous. I swear that is all I know.”

“Not good enough.” Adrian’s claw presses down. Just enough to draw blood. “Give me something useful or this gets much worse.”

“He is meeting someone.” The words tumble out fast. Desperate. “Tomorrow night. At the old steel mill. I do not know who. But it is important. Someone powerful. Someone who can help him destroy you.”

Adrian pulls back. Considers this. “Who?”

“I do not know. I swear. He does not tell me everything. Just that this meeting changes everything.”

“Please. That is all I have. Just let me go.”

“You threatened my mate. You do not get to just walk away from that.” He stands. Looms over her. “You stay here until I decide what to do with you. And pray I decide mercy is an option.”

He turns toward the door. Toward me.

Our eyes meet.

For a second neither of us moves. We just stare at each other. Him covered in blood. Me standing in the doorway witnessing what he is capable of.

“Freya.” My name sounds wrong in his mouth. Strained. “You should not be down here.”

“I woke up. You were gone.” My voice is steadier than I feel. “I came looking for you.”

He walks toward me slowly. Like I am a wild animal he might spook. “How much did you see?”

“Enough.” I do not back away even though every survival instinct screams at me to run.

“This is what I am.” He stops a few feet away. Blood still drips from his hands. “This is what it means to be an Alpha. To protect what is mine. If that terrifies you then you can leave. I will not stop you.

The words are meant to push me away. To give me an out. To let me run from the monster.

But I see past them. See the fear in his eyes. The certainty that I will reject him now that I have seen the darkness

“I am not leaving.” I step closer. Close enough to smell the stink of blood. “I am not scared of you.”

“You should be.” His eyes are still glowing

“I know.” My hand reaches out. Touches his chest. His heart pounds under my palm. And I am still here.” Something breaks in his expression. Relief and disbelief crash together.

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w what I did to her. How can you stand to touch me?” His voice cracks. “How can you look at me and not

*er?”

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“Because you are not a monster. You are an Alpha protecting his mate.” I step closer still. Until we are almost touching. “You are doing what needs to be done. I understand that now.”

“Freya…” He raises his hand then stops. Looks at the blood. “I am covered in her blood. You should not…”

“I do not care about the blood.” I grab his hand. Hold it despite the sticky warmth. Despite what it represents. “I care about you. About us. About staying alive long enough to figure this out.”

He pulls me against him suddenly. Buries his face in tuy neck. His whole body is shaking.

“I thought you would run.” He whispers against my skin. “Thought you would see this and realize what I am. What I can become.”

“I am not running.” I wrap my arms around him. Hold him as tight as I can. “Not from this. Not from you. Not anymore.”

We stand there in the hallway outside that terrible room. Him covered in blood. Me holding him like he is something precious instead of something deadly.

Behind us Vanessa is still crying. Still chained. Still paying for her choices.

But I cannot bring myself to feel sorry for her. She threatened me. Helped plan my destruction. This is what happens when you come after an Alpha’s mate.

“We should get you cleaned up.” I finally pull back. Look at his face. At the blood smeared across his jaw. “You need a shower.”

“I need you.” He cups my face with bloody hands. “Need to know you are really okay with this. With what you saw

“I am terrified.”

“Watching you like that scared me. Seeing what you are capable of is overwhelming. But I am more terrified of losing you. Of running away because I am scared and regretting it forever,

“You are braver than you know.” He kisses my forehead. Gentle despite the blood. Despite everything. “Stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

“Then let me be strong with you. Not despite you.” I take his hand. Lead him toward the stairs. “Come on. Show Then sleep. We deal with everything else tomorrow.”

He follows. Docile. Like I am leading a wolf instead of being led by one.

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