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Samirah POV

Rent was due, and my bank account was screaming. If this new position at Silver Ridge University didn't pay out soon, I’d be sleeping in my car. My landlord had just given me notice to evacuate so he could renovate the building, leaving me completely stranded.

I took a deep breath, smoothing down my blazer, and pushed open the doors of the lecture hall.

The room was total chaos. Papers were flying through the air, and students were shouting over one another. But the moment I stepped inside, the noise cut off. Every single student stood up out of respect. I was absolutely terrified inside, but I forced my face to stay completely blank.

Except for one student.

In the very back row, a tall Alpha lounged lazily. One of his boots rested right on top of the desk. Earbuds hung carelessly around his neck, and a leather jacket was draped over his broad shoulders. He wore a cocky, flirtatious smirk, trying to get the attention of a female student next to him who clearly wanted nothing to do with him.

"Settle down, everyone. Please take your seats," I said, walking firmly to the podium. "My name is Professor Samirah Alvarez. I will be taking over this psychology course from Professor Manuel."

The remaining whispers died instantly. But in the back, the loud Alpha didn't care. He turned to the male students near him and scoffed loudly, "Man, tell these girls to stop acting like they’re a big deal. Especially that one with bulgy eyes, she is definitely not my type."

I snapped my marker down onto the desk. "You back there. Sit properly immediately, unless you have plans of teaching the class today."

A collective gasp echoed through the room. The students exchanged terrified, surprised looks. Nobody ever dared to tell this notorious Alpha what to do. Even the senior lecturers avoided confronting him, Professor Manuel did warn me about a certain Vickerry and I felt certain that the Vickerry he spoke about was this obnoxious young man. Everyone on campus knew his father was General Alpha Havoc Adams, the military commander whose massive financial donations practically kept Silver Ridge University afloat.

He seemed intrigued by my audacity, he slowly took his boot off the desk and sat up, salaciously staring me down. His dark eyes peered at me inquisitively, following my every move.

I ignored the frail whispers starting up in the rows. "I like an interactive classroom," I continued calmly. "I want to get to know you all. Please stand up one after the other and introduce yourselves."

The line of students began introducing themselves. When the turn finally got to the back row, Vickerry refused to stand. Instead, he slid down in his chair, spread his legs even wider, folded his arms, and slowly licked his lips as he stared at me.

"Please stand up like everyone else and introduce yourself," I said politely.

He lazily looked me over from head to toe. Then, he stood up, shoving both hands deep into his pockets. "The name is Vickerry Adams," he said, his voice a low, arrogant rumble. "But the crowd calls me Big V. Because I’ve got the biggest D on this campus that brings all the girlies to the yard."

He flashed a deliberately inappropriate smirk. Several female students gasped in pure shock, while a few guys laughed nervously.

I kept my face expressionless. "It is a pleasure knowing you all."

I turned toward the whiteboard, but I could feel his burning gaze on me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him licking his lips again, slowly stroking his beard. I forced myself to look away.

"Today, we will be discussing—"

"You know, this feels incredibly familiar," Vickerry interrupted loudly, leaning back against his desk. "It’s like a scene straight off the pages of P-hub. It always begins with a superhot lecturer walking into the classroom with absolutely no underwear on. You know what I’m saying? I know everyone here knows exactly where I am heading haha."

The room went dead silent.

Instead of reacting emotionally or yelling, I looked directly at him. "What was your name again? Vickerry, right?"

He immediately turned around to his friends, laughing. "Oh, see how easily she moans my name?" He turned back to me, his smirk widening. "Look, Professor, this isn't really the right setting for any romantic familiarizing. Why don't we just take this straight to the bedroom?"

I was deeply appalled by his sheer foolishness, but I kept my breathing steady. "I have heard a lot about you, Mr. Adams."

"Then you must also have heard about my big dick," he bragged instantly, licking his lips again. "And how I fuck the hottest babes on this campus. Wanna get a quick taste and find out for yourself?"

More girls gasped in shock. Vickerry rolled his eyes, looking around the room. "What?"

His eyes landed on a girl, an omega, sitting a few rows ahead of him. "Sandy, right? You’re gasping and acting all surprised today. As if you weren’t sucking and riding this dick like your life depended on it last night. Why don't you go ahead and tell this insanely hot professor how I made you squirt a waterfall on my dick, huh?"

Sandy’s face turned bright red. She looked completely humiliated as the entire lecture hall turned to stare at her. Tears welled in her eyes as she quickly grabbed her bag to storm out of the room.

"Sandy, stop. Stay in your seat," I commanded softly, stopping her at the door. I looked at her with genuine sympathy. "You wouldn’t be the first person to make the mistake of getting intimate with a notorious douchebag."

Sandy swallowed hard, slowly nodding, and sat back down.

I turned my heels and faced Vickerry completely. "Actually, you are right, Vickerry. I have heard about how good you are."

Vickerry smiled widely, puffing out his broad chest, clearly feeling himself.

"Good at failing, that is," I countered smoothly. "And exceptionally good at bagging carryover courses. You are giving the wages of sin a real run for pennies."

The entire classroom went absolutely agog. Loud murmurs and shocked giggles erupted everywhere. Vickerry’s smile vanished instantly, his face turning visibly embarrassed and red with rage.

I turned around to the marker board, uncapping my black marker. "What does psychology say about people who constantly fail?" I asked the class loudly, writing the word FAILURE in massive capital letters across the board.

I turned back to face the rows. "Psychology tells us that individuals fail due to a specific variety of reasons. Low self-esteem, a severe lack of self-awareness, and incredibly poor thinking patterns. These poor patterns mean they cannot process basic logic, blame external factors for their downfalls, and cannot focus on actual growth. And since we do not have a textbook mental picture of what such a defective person looks like..." I paused, pointing my marker directly at the back row. "...we will just make use of what we have readily available. Vickerry."

The entire lecture hall burst into a roar of uncontained laughter. Students were practically falling out of their chairs.

Vickerry looked completely enraged, his fists clenching until his knuckles turned white. His friends immediately stood up, pointing aggressively at the laughing students. "Shut the hell up!" one of his cronies threatened. "We’re going to beat the shit out of some you after class! Keep laughing and see what happens!"

"Let them laugh," I said with absolute, calm authority. "People like Vickerry here desperately bury their deep self-hatred in strangers. They pass lewd remarks and bully innocent people just to feel good about their own miserable lives. Which brings us directly to our actual topic today: The Anatomy of Cognitive Defense Mechanisms and Failure."

Suddenly, Vickerry kicked his chair back. The metal scraped loudly against the floor. He stood up, his eyes burning red with rage, and began marching toward the exit.

"And as you can see," I announced to the room as he reached the door, "such people only know how to do one single thing. Run away from their problems. Especially the ones they completely create themselves. Just like our case study here."

The class burst into another massive round of wild laughter. I knew he felt humiliated, I could careless because I came prepared.

Nobody was going to be a nuisance in my class.

After the lecture ended, I gathered my notes and stepped out into the quiet hallway. As I walked past the corner by the lockers, I paused, hearing familiar voices. It was Vickerry’s closest friends, and they were bursting into loud, mocking laughter. One of them, Marcus, a beta, laughed the loudest.

"Big V...", Marcus started, choked with laughter as he slapped a hand against the metal locker. "Looks like our new professor just put you on a dogleash."