The Professor's Mate Clause novel Chapter 60

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CHAPTER 60

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CHAPTER 60

ADRIAN’S POV

My hand grips the wall as I try to stay upright. Trying to think through the exhaustion and pain.

Then I smell it. Her scent. Faint but there. Leading toward the exit. Toward outside.

She was moved. Recently. Maybe just minutes ago.

I force my legs to work. Follow her scent. Through more hallways. Past more empty cells. Toward a door that opens to the compound yard.

Dawn is breaking. Pink and orange streaking across the sky. The yard is huge. Open space. Guards watching from

towers.

And in the center of it all.

Asher stands there. Holding Freya by her throat. A gun pressed against her temple.

She’s conscious. Fighting his grip. But weak. Too weak to break free.

Our

eyes

meet across the distance.

The bond flares to life. Stronger than the silver. Stronger than anything. She’s alive. She’s here. She’s mine. “Adrian.” Asher’s voice carries across the yard. “So glad you could join us. Just in time for the show.”

He presses the gun harder against her head. She whimpers. The sound tears through me.

“Let her go Asher. This is between us.”

“Everything is between us. That’s the problem.” He yanks Freya closer. Uses her as a shield. “You want her? Come take her. If you can.”

He’s baiting me. Wants me weak and desperate.

me

to make a mistake.

But I don’t have a choice. Can’t leave her there. Can’t watch him hurt her.

I step forward. Out of the doorway. Into the yard. Into the trap.

THE

Guards appear from everywhere. Surrounding us. Weapons raised. At least twenty wolves. All focused on me.

“Adrian don’t!” Freya screams. “It’s a trap. Run!”

“I’m not leaving without you.”

Asher smiles. “How touching. Star-crossed lovers till the end. This will make excellent pack lore.”

He moves suddenly. Throws Freya toward me. She stumbles. I catch her. Hold her against my chest.

Then Asher shifts. Mid-throw. His clothes tear. Bones crack. Fur explodes.

He comes at me as a wolf. Massive. Gray. Eyes glowing with hatred.

I try to shift. My body protests. The silver torture. The exhaustion. The weakness. I can only manage a partial shift. Claws extend. Teeth sharpen. But I can’t complete it.

Not enough. Not strong enough. Not fast enough.

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Asher hits me like a freight train. We go down hard. His teeth snap inches from my throat. My claws rake his side. Drawing blood but not enough damage.

He’s fresh. Strong. I’m barely standing.

This is it. This is how I die. Protecting my mate. Choosing her over survival. Over everything.

I hear Freya screaming. Feel her trying to help. But she’s too weak.

Asher’s jaws close around my shoulder, his teeth sinked deep, pain explodes. Blood flows.

“At least she’s alive. At least I got to see her one more time. At least she knows I love her.”

Then Asher releases me. Steps back. Shifts to human form.

“Actually. I think I’ll let you live. For now.” He looks at Freya. “So you can watch what happens to her. So you can feel it through your bond. So you can know you failed.”

He turns and walks away. Just walks away. Leaving me bleeding in the dirt.

Guards move in. Surround Freya. Start dragging her toward the building.

“No!” I try to stand but I fall. “Leave her alone!”

Asher looks back over his shoulder. “The ceremony is in one hour. She’ll reject you. You’ll feel it. Then you’ll both die. Separately. Slowly. Knowing you couldn’t save each other.”

They drag Freya inside. She fights. Screams my name. Reaches for me.

I try to crawl after her. My body won’t cooperate. Too damaged. Too broken.

Another guards grab me. Chain me in the yard. Silver again. Burning. Keeping me pinned.

I can only watch as they take her. Can only feel the bond stretching. Pulling. Screaming.

An hour. I have one hour to find a way out of this.

One hour until everything ends.

I close my eyes. Focus on the bond. On Freya. On the love that connects us.

“Hold on. Just hold on. I’ll find a way. I promise.”

But even I don’t believe it anymore.

Time passes and I’m Still on the silver, still burning. But not as tight. Either they underestimated how weakened I am or they’re getting sloppy.

Either way. It’s an opportunity.

Bost them carefully. Slowly. Don’t want to alert the guards watching from the towers. The metal sears into my

with every movement but I grit my teeth. Ignore it. Focus.

mate. Save mate. Nothing else matters.”

el is there again. Stronger now that some of the silver torture has ended. Not strong enough to shift but enough tend his strength.

The sun is higher now. Maybe thirty minutes passed since they dragged Freya inside. Thirty minutes closer to the

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rejection ceremony. Thirty minutes closer to losing everything.

I pull against the chains. The metal cuts deeper. Blood flows. Mixing with the burns. The pain is intense but I’ve survived worse. I survived days of silver torture. I can survive this.

“Left wrist first. It’s weaker. The metal has worn a groove in my skin. Blood makes it slippery.”

I pull. Twist. Ignore the screaming of my body. The chain gives. Just slightly. Not enough to slip free put enough to know it’s possible.

Keep going. Don’t stop. She needs you.

A sound behind me. Footsteps. I freezed, Pretend I’m unconscious.

The footsteps pass. A guard making rounds. He doesn’t even look at me. Just keeps walking. Confident I’m not a threat.

Mistake.

The second he’s out of sight I start again. Pulling. Twisting. My skin tears. More blood. More pain. But the chain loosens. Inch by inch. Millimeter by millimeter.

Then I hear it. Her voice. Faint. Coming from inside the building.

“I won’t do it. I won’t say those words. Kill me if you want but I won’t reject him.”

Freya. My brave, little, stubborn, impossible mate.

Asher’s response is too quiet to hear. But I don’t need to hear it. I know what he’s saying. Threats. Torture. Promising to hurt me if she doesn’t comply.

And she’ll cave. Because she loves me. Because protecting me matters more to her than her own life.

“No, I won’t let her sacrifice herself. Not for me. Not ever.”

I pull harder. The chain gives more. My wrist is a bloody mess. Bone visible through the torn skin. But werewolves heal. Pain is temporary. Losing her is forever.

One more pull. One more agonizing twist. The chain slips over my mangled wrist. Falls away.

One arm free.

I reach across my body. Start working on the other wrist. This one is easier. I can use my free hand. Can grip the metal. Can leverage my strength.

It comes off faster. Then the chain around my chest. Finally my ankles.

Free. I’m free.

But weak. So fucking weak. Days of torture and blood loss and silver poisoning have taken their toll. I stumble when I try to stand. Have to catch myself against the wall.

Guards are still making rounds. Still walking the perimeter. Still thinking I’m secured and harmless.

I wait. Watch their pattern. Time it. When the closest guard has his back turned I move.

Toward the building. Toward Freya. Toward whatever hell waits inside.

The door is unlocked. Sloppy security. They’re so confident in their silver chains they didn’t bother with basic

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precautions.

Inside the building is cooler. Darker. My eyes adjust quickly. I follow her scent. Fresh. Recent. Leading up stairs. Toward the main floor.

Voices ahead. Multiple people. I slow down. Move silently. Every sense on high alert.

A room to my left. The door is cracked open. I peer through.

Freya stands in the center. Hands bound. Three wolves surround her. One holds a cattle prod. Another a silver knife. The third just watches. All of them ready to hurt her if she steps out of line.

Rage floods through me. Hot and violent. Kael surges forward demanding blood. Demanding vengeance. “Not yet. Too many. Too armed. We need a better angle.”

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