00004.

Greens' POV.

The moment I stepped in, her face told me everything. Her eyes widened and her whole body stiffened like she couldn’t breathe. I could see the thoughts racing through her. I didn’t need to hear them to know what they were. She was panicking. She thought I had come to call her out, maybe punish her, maybe expose what happened between us.

But none of that was my intention.

I didn’t even know what I was doing there. I had told myself I would stay away from her. She was trouble—not the kind that caused scandals—but the kind that reached beneath the skin. The kind that made a man like me lose control.

I had only stepped in last night because she was my mate.

And she was burning.

If I hadn’t done something, she might have lost herself completely. The heat was too strong for her to handle on her own, and I knew what it meant. After Lucas humiliated her, our mate bond had kicked in like a chain reaction. That was why I followed her. That was why I stepped in.

That was why I gave in.

But now she was standing here, frozen, her hand clutching her arm where Sandy had slapped her. I looked from her to Sandy and the girls standing behind her.

“What’s going on here?” I asked flatly.

Sandy straightened. “Nothing, Professor Green. We were just playing with her.”

I stared at her. I didn’t need her to admit anything, I already knew the truth and what was going on. I knew who Ravenna was to them—The black sheep of the pack, and the daughter of the man no one spoke about. The one Lucas had humiliated and left behind yesterday. I was there when it happened and I had seen all of it.

I always researched my students before the semester started. I knew everything about them—their family, their record, and their rank in the pack. Although Ravenna was someone who I shouldn't deal with, someone I had to stay far away from, I still couldn't bring myself to leave her alone with Sandy.

I pulled my backpack and handed it to her.

“Follow me.”

Her eyes widened again. She looked like she wanted to protest, but she didn’t say anything. I didn’t give her time. I turned and started walking toward my office, knowing she would follow.

Behind me, I heard Sandy’s voice—angry, bitter, low—but I ignored her. I didn’t want to know what she was whispering.

I didn’t know why I stepped in again. I could have walked away. I should have. But I didn’t.

I kept my expression cold, and my steps steady. I could sense Ravenna trailing behind me, nervous, and unsure. She probably hated that I had pulled her out of that crowd. Standing Sandy was better for her than facing me.

I could guess what was going on in her mind. She didn’t know what I was going to do and truthfully, neither did I.

When we got to my office, I unlocked the door and stepped inside. She followed quietly, her arms wrapped around the bag. I pointed to the desk.

“You can drop it there.”

She did as I said, then took a slow breath.

“I just want to apologize,” she said suddenly like she was about to get sentenced.

“For what happened. I shouldn’t have… I wasn’t supposed to do that.”

I closed the door behind her and leaned against it. I had been expecting this. It made sense. She was guilty and embarrassed. If she kept feeling like she had done something wrong, she would stay away and that was what I needed. I couldn’t afford for her to get close. Not with what I really was.

“I helped you,” I said calmly. “That’s all. It’s in the past. Don’t speak of it again. Not to anyone. That will protect both of us.”

She looked at me, her face a mix of relief and confusion. Then she nodded.

“I understand.”

“Good,” I said, walking to my desk. “You’re dismissed.”

She turned to leave but paused with her hand on the knob like she recalled something important.

She turned and then faced me again, I wanted to ask.

“How did you find me?”

I looked at her back.

“Why are you asking?” I asked.

“Because I want to know,” she said. “How did you get there in time? Why were you even close?”

I swallowed the truth. I wanted to tell her, I wanted to say it was because she was mine, my mate. That I had felt the bond snap into place after Lucas left her. That I had followed her scent and lost all sense of logic the moment I found her in the hands of rogues.

But I couldn’t. I couldn’t let her know. I had to protect what I really was. She was an obstacle I had to stay away from. If she knew, if anyone knew, it would ruin everything. My mission, my name, and my cover.

So I lied.

“I happened to be passing by,” I said. “I saw something that didn’t look right and I stepped in.”

She looked at me, her expression tight.

“You expect me to believe that?”

I didn’t answer. I held her gaze, saying nothing. The truth stayed stuck in my throat where it had no business escaping.

She walked closer, her voice lowering.

“And this morning? Were you just passing by again when Sandy slapped me?”

“I was walking through the hallway,” I replied.

“You’re lying.” Her voice didn’t shake. “You did it because we’re mates.”

I stiffened.

My eyes locked on hers. She wasn’t supposed to know. She didn’t even have a wolf. She shouldn’t have been able to sense anything.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said quietly, believing she might just be talking because with Lucas not having to protect her anymore, she wanted to cling to someone else.

“How could you think you are my mate when you are nothing but a weak, wolfless omega?” I said, just to piss her off and make her leave even though I didn't intend to do that. Her words were already leaving me restless.

“Don’t lie to me,” she said, pissed off at my words just as I wanted but she refused to leave. “Don’t stand there and pretend you don’t feel it too.”

I didn’t reply. I held my breath. I couldn’t let her see that it was already too late. That I had felt it. That I still felt it now.

She was right.

But I couldn’t admit it.

Not when everything I had worked for would crumble if I let this bond take control.

Not when I had come here to finish something that had nothing to do with her.

Not when I had planned to leave as soon as it was over.

I expected her to back down.

But she didn’t.

She took a breath, then looked straight at me.

“I can feel it,” she said. “And not just our mate bond. I can feel what you are.”

I froze.

She stepped forward, her voice calm but steady, almost too steady.

“You’re a Lycan.”

The words dropped between us, heavier than I expected. My breath hitched. For the first time in years, someone finally saw who I really was.