Chapter 1 : Meeting the Professor

Astrid

I never intended to return to my hometown, and if it weren’t for my mother’s unexpected death, I never would have.

I watched through the car window as the scenery around me became more familiar. I was ten years old the last time I was here—that was 17 years ago.

I sighed and turned away from the window. The closer we got, the more I regretted my choice.

“Doing alright back there?” the driver asked.

“I’m fine,” I said softly.

I felt bad. Victoria drove for hours to pick me up early this morning and bring me home, but I was having a hard time carrying on a conversation with her, despite our relationship.

My dad was the Alpha of the Bridgewater pack, and Victoria was the Gamma. She was close to my mother—almost like her right hand rather than my dad’s.

My dad convinced me to come home to take over the duties of my mother until someone else could be chosen to take on the role of Luna. I didn’t want to, but he insisted that he needed me.

I agreed eventually, and he sent Victoria to get me as a sort of compromise. I think he just knew that I wouldn’t change my mind at the last minute if it was her. I’d feel too bad about it. She was almost like a surrogate parent to me, next to my grandparents, and the only one from the pack I kept contact with.

“I know that growing up wasn’t easy, Astrid,” she began sympathetically. “But you know, the pack loved your mother despite her being human—and they love you, too.”

“Sure, they do,” I muttered sarcastically. I couldn’t help it. The bitterness of how I was treated while living there still lingered in my chest.

“Astrid,” she sighed in her all-too-familiar tone—the same one my mother used to use on me when I did or said something wrong.

But I wasn’t wrong about this.

“My mixed blood makes me a freak,” I spat out. “Everyone mocked me mercilessly when I was there. I was seen as weak and a disappointment. You out of anyone should know that. Solomon didn’t make his hatred for me unknown.”

Victoria sighed again. We’d had this conversation before, but she always tried to convince me that I was being over dramatic. It was really hard to know that not even she believed me.

“This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have agreed to come back,” I added.

“Your father needs you right now,” she urged. “He needs someone he can trust to act as Luna.” Her big blue eyes locked with mine through the rearview mirror.

I looked away from her. “He has plenty of people to help him. We’ve barely spoken since I left the pack. He hasn’t needed me in years.”

“You’re going to have to forgive him eventually,” Victoria continued. “He’s your father.”

“I have my own life to think of. I built myself a good one, too,” I argued. “And he just expects me to drop everything for him. I risked messing things up by coming back here.”

“You didn’t risk everything,” she chastised. “Stop being so dramatic. You’re still continuing your studies, right? At Haronia University? I’ve heard it’s the best shifter university for hundreds of miles.”

I didn’t reply. I only agreed to come here under the condition that my schooling would not be interrupted. I thought it would be a deal breaker and that maybe I could avoid this mess—but that didn’t work out either.

“Astrid,” she called out.

I looked back up and met her eyes in the mirror before she pulled them away to look back to the road. I kept quiet. I knew she was right—I was being bratty, dramatic, whatever. But it was this place…the pack. It brought out the worst in me.

I stared at the back of Victoria’s head as she drove onward. Her sleek, black hair was as long and pretty as it was when I was a kid. It really felt like she hadn’t aged.

“I’m sorry, Victoria. I just—I really don’t know if I can do this,” I finally answered.

“Can I give you some advice?” Victoria stated more than asked. I nodded. “You aren’t a little girl anymore,” she pointed out. “What’s past is past. You’re a part of this pack whether you like it or not. You need to step up and do what’s right—not what’s easy.”

“You’re right,” I said softly.

Victoria smiled. “I always am. And you don’t need to worry about those old bullies picking on you. They probably won’t even recognize you now, you’ve grown so much.”

I could tell by her tone she was trying to cheer me up.

I hoped that she was right. I did look a lot different now. As I aged, my light brown hair lightened to a pale blonde.

I wasn’t short, but I wasn’t tall either. I had a slim build without being too thin. I was pretty average looking at first glance, so I’d never had trouble blending into a crowd. I hoped that pattern held. It would be very useful for me now.

“We’re almost to the university,” she said after a beat. “I’ll pick you up after class, alright? You just focus on your studies for now. There’s plenty of time for us to talk later.”

“Thank you,” I said.

We fell into silence for the next few minutes. She pulled onto the grounds of the university and I looked around at the busy campus. There were a lot more people around than I expected. Victoria parked the car in a spot near a building.

“Be good,” she instructed as I stepped out. I gave her a closed-lipped smile and waved to her as she pulled away from the curb.

The campus was huge and beautifully maintained. It was very similar to the other mid-size universities I’d seen.

I prayed that I didn’t run into anyone I knew. The bad memories were already hard to ignore—being faced with my old bullies would be too much.

I was a grown woman now and I’d gotten a real taste of the world. I understood that the kids who picked on me were mostly mimicking the horrible things their parents said when no one was around, but that didn’t make it any easier.

As a kid, the only time I was ever safe from the name calling and occasional shoves was when my parents were around. Or…

Well, there was this one boy, Tristan, that stood up for me. He was a few years older than me, and I didn’t know him well. He was cute and popular, so when he told people to shut up and leave me alone, they did.

Why was I thinking about him? I hadn’t thought about Tristan in years, but for some reason, his face popped into my mind.

I could still picture the sharp look in his bright green eyes when he would defend me. There was an air of authority around him, even though we were so young. None of the other kids dared to argue with him.

I had a huge crush on Tristan back then, but I was sure that all he ever felt for me was pity. It was honestly kind of pathetic.

I did my best to shake off the thoughts. It wouldn’t do me any good to dwell on it now. I wasn’t a child anymore, so even if someone did make a comment about my human blood, it wouldn’t bother me like it did back then.

I stopped walking and looked around. The layout of the building was a simple grid, but I didn’t want to deal with the embarrassment of realizing you’re in the wrong classroom twenty minutes into a lecture.

I pulled out my phone to check my schedule. I only had a few minutes to get to class. “Shoot, I’m going to be late!” I exclaimed.

As I was lowering my phone, I saw a man a few inches away from me. He was just as distracted as I was, his eyes on a stack of papers in his hands. I tried to stop, but it was too late. He collided with me full force. I staggered backwards and started to fall.

The man grabbed my forearm and pulled, trying to keep me upright, but the force overbalanced me and sent me crashing into his chest. He wrapped one arm firmly around me and held me close as we crashed down. I landed directly on top of him, and he absorbed the impact of the fall.

I heard him exhale sharply as my weight knocked the air from his chest.

“Ow,” he muttered.

“Crap, I, I’m—“

I sat up quickly as I spoke, wanting to get my weight off of him. But when I got a good look at his face, I was frozen in shock. A tight, painful sensation filled my chest as I looked at him.

Tristan.

His bright green eyes met mine and for a second, I thought that he would recognize me too. I held my breath.

“Are you alright?” he asked gruffly.

His voice brought me back to reality. He didn’t recognize me. A pang shot through my chest but I quickly stood up and stepped away from him. I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. He didn’t seem phased at all.

“Are you alright?” he repeated.

“Fine,” I said quickly. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” he replied. “I wasn’t paying attention.” He bent down and grabbed my shoulder bag and phone from the floor. He offered them to me and I took them gratefully.

Our hands brushed and a jolt of electricity surged through my body. I almost froze at the sensation. It was like for a small second, the world stopped—and his slight pause had me thinking that possibly he felt something too…

I started to speak, but before I knew it, he was already picking his own papers up and hurrying down the hallway.

I shook my mind free. What just happened? And more importantly, what could he be in such a rush about? He must be late for class.

Did this mean that I was going to run into him on campus again? The idea was both embarrassing and thrilling.

I looked at my phone to make sure it wasn’t broken. When I saw the time, I cursed. I was late for class, too. I rushed down the hallway and into my classroom. I was too embarrassed to even look at the professor.

“Sorry,” I said softly as I walked directly to the back of the room to sit down.

It was a small room with several long tables lined with chairs facing a white board, and I could feel everyone looking at me. I was glad that the room was pretty empty. Then again, this was a doctoral program, so there wouldn’t be nearly as many students.

I was already nervous about going to a shifter school, and now I was making a fool of myself on the first day.

“My studies are all that matter,” I whispered to myself as I sat down.

When I decided to study mechanical engineering, my grandparents were extremely supportive. I’d always had a mind for math and science, so they were happy to see me pursuing my interests. They worked hard to help me pay for school and let me stay with them for free while I took classes.

I missed them every day. I lost them so close to one another and so suddenly, sometimes it was hard for me to accept that they were really gone.

When my parents decided that I needed to be sent away from the pack for my safety, my grandparents didn’t hesitate to take me in. I owed them so much.

I took a shaky breath and tried to calm down. I needed to focus on class.

I looked up to find a tall, athletic man with short brown hair and piercing green eyes standing at the front of the room. I watched in awe as he slid his jacket off and draped it over the back of the chair. He looked out at the students and smiled as he rolled up his sleeves.

“Good morning,” he said in a friendly tone. “Welcome to Advanced Engineering Analysis. Now’s your chance to leave if you’re in the wrong room.”

There was a slight laugh from the students, but no one left.

But all I did was stare. My heart rate picked up as my body instantly remembered the feeling of his strong hands on my arm…the curve of his body against mine.

This couldn’t be happening to me.

Tristan was my…professor?