The Professor's Mate Clause novel Chapter 86

CHAPTER 86

ADRIAN’S POV

“Absolutely not.” I slam the battle plans on the table. “You’re not going on the front lines. That’s final.”

“You don’t get to make that decision for me.” Freya’s voice is deadly calm. The kind of calm that precedes a storm. “I’m a wolf now. I can fight. I deserve to be in the battle.”

“I don’t care if you can fight. I won’t risk you. Won’t watch you get hurt or killed because you want to prove something.” Ilean over the table. “You’ll stay in the secondary position. Protected. Safe. Where I can focus on the fight instead of worrying about you.”

“Protected? Safe? Like some fragile human who needs a man to defend her?” Her eyes flash gold. “I traified for this Adrian. Mastered my shift for this. I’m not sitting on the sidelines while everyone else risks their lives.”

“This isn’t about you being weak. It’s about you being valuable. Being my mate Being too important to risk in the front lines.” I try to keep my voice level. Try not to let Kael’s possessiveness bleed through. “If something happens to you. if I lose you. I can’t…

“So everyone else is expendable? Marcus can die? Clara? They’re all acceptable losses but I’m too precious?” She crosses her arms. “That’s not how being Alpha works. That’s not how being a pack works. We all fight. We all risk. Together.”

“It’s different with you.”

“Why? Because I’m your mate? Because you can’t function without me?” Her voice gets harder. “Then maybe you shouldn’t be Alpha. Maybe you’re too compromised. Too emotional. Too weak.”

The words hit like a physical blow. Kael surges forward. Demanding I defend myself. Defend my position. Show her who’s Alpha. Who’s in charge. Who makes the decisions.

“Watch yourself.” Alpha command bleeds into my voice. “You don’t get to question my leadership. Don’t get to undermine my authority. I’m Alpha. My word is final.”

“Your word means nothing if it’s based on fear instead of strategy.” She doesn’t back down. Doesn’t submit. Just stands there challenging me. “You’re not protecting the pack. You’re protecting yourself. Protecting your feelings. Your fear of loss. That makes you weak Adrian. Not me being on the front lines.”

“I said NO.” The command is absolute now. Undeniable. Every wolf in the building probably feels it. “You will stay in secondary position. You will not engage unless absolutely necessary. You will be SAFE That’s an order.”

Her body tenses. Fighting the command. Fighting the biological imperative to obey her Alpha. Tears of frustration and rage fill her eyes. “I hate you right now. Hate that you’re using Alpha command on me. Hate that you’re treating me like property instead of a partner.”

“I don’t care if you hate me. As long as you’re alive to hate me. As long as you survive this war. Hate me all you want.” I move around the table. “I’ve survived two hundred years alone. I can survive your hatred. What I can’t survive is losing you. Don’t ask me to. Don’t make me choose between your pride and your life.”

“This isn’t about pride. This is about being who I’m meant to be. Standing beside you as an equal. As your mate. As Alpha Female. “She starts crying angry tears. “But you won’t let me. You keep trying to keep me safe. Keep me small. Keep me from being what I’m capable of being.”

keeping you ALIVE.” My control is slipping. Kael pushing. Demanding. “Why can’t you understand that? Why

can’t you just

hey? Submit? Be the good little mate who does what she’s told?” She laughs bitterly. “That’s not who I am Adrian. you fell in love with. If you want someone who’ll sit quietly and let you make all the decisions maybe you should mate.”

The words trigger something in Kael. In me. The possessive, territorial part that can’t bear the thought of her with anyone else. That needs to claim her. Mark her. Make sure she’s MINE and no one else’s.

I’m across the room before realize I’m moving. Pinning her against the wall. My fangs elongated. My wolf surfacing. Ready to mark. Ready to claim. Ready to end this argument the most primal way possible.

“You’re MINE.” The words are barely human. Barely controlled. “Not anyone else’s. Not ever. MINE.”

She goes very still. Eyes wide. Not with desire. With fear, Real fear. Of me. Of what I’m about to do. Of the loss of control she’s witnessing.

“Adrian.” Her voice is small. Shaking. “Stop. Please stop. You’re scaring me.”

The fear in her voice cuts through the haze. Through Kael’s demands. Through the possessive rage. I see myself through her eyes. Pinning her. Fangs out. Ready to force a mark she hasn’t fully consented to. Ready to become exactly what I promised I’d never be.

A monster.

I release her immediately. Stumble back. Horror flooding through me. “Freya. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-

Clara finds me there. Takes one look and kneels beside me. “What happened? Where’s Adrian? Are you hurt?”

“He almost marked me. Afrost forced it. His control slipped and he almost…” Tean’t finish. Can’t say it out loud. “He stopped. But Clara. He almost didn’t I saw it in his eyes. The loss of control. The need to clain me regardless of what I wanted.”

“Oh honey.” She pulls me into a hug. “He didn’t though. He stopped. He pulled back. That counts for something.”

“Does it? Does stopping at the last second make it okay? Make it less terrifying?” i sob into her shoulder. “I thought I knew him. Thought he’d never hurt me. Never force me. But he almost did Clara. He almost did.”

“He’s struggling. Terrified of losing you. His control is hanging by a thread.” She strokes my hair. “That doesn’t excuse it. Doesn’t make it okay. But it explains it. He’s not a monster Freya. He’s a man pushed to his breaking point.”

“I told him I hated him. Told him to find a different mate. I pushed him until he snapped.” Guilt mixes with fear. “This is my fault. I-”

“No.” Clara pulls back. Grips my shoulders. “Don’t you dare blame yourself. You have every right to stand up for yourself. To demand to be treated as an equal. His reaction is on him. Not you. Never you.” 1

“What do I do? How do I face him after this? How do we come back from this?”

“I don’t know. But you’re both going to have to figure it out. Because the war is still coming. Asher is still threatening. The pack still needs you both.” She helps me up. “But maybe some space would be good. Some time apart to process and calm down. Can you do that?”

“I don’t have a choice. I can’t be near him right now. Can’t look at him without seeing…” I trail off. “Where do I go? This is his pack. His territory. His everything.”

“You can stay with me. My apartment is technically on pack lands but separate enough to give you distance.” She takes my hand. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here. Let’s give you space to breathe. To think. To figure out what you need.”

I let her lead me away. Away from the main house. Away from the room I share with Adrian. Away from the life we’ve been building together. Away from the man I love who almost became someone I don’t recognize.

And I wonder if we can come back from this. If trust once broken can be repaired. If love is enough when fear makes us become our worst selves.

I don’t know. Right now I don’t know anything except that I’m scared. And angry. And heartbroken. And I don’t know how to fix any of it.