Chapter 005

TALIA

I was dreaming. I had to be.

I sat, frozen in my chair, my heart pounding in my chest. I couldn’t blink, couldn’t breathe- just stared at the professor now standing with his hands clasped behind his back at the front of the classroom.

My hand crept into my lap, and I pinched myself hard, but the professor’s form and shape didn’t waver. It was him all right. My mate.

“Cassian Lennox…” I murmured under my breath.

I felt, rather than saw, Ruby throw a sharp, questioning glance in my direction.

"Morning, professor," the students were saying.

My own mouth seemed to be glued shut. I could not have made a sound even if I wanted to.

My wolf thrashed restlessly inside me, longing to go to him. I curled my fingers around the edge of my desk to keep myself planted in my chair.

From the looks of him, he couldn’t be more than twenty-five years of age. I wondered where he was from. Maybe from another pack because I didn’t think he was part of ours.

My heartbeat quickened as he nodded in recognition at the students’ greeting. His gaze swept around the classroom until suddenly his eyes locked on me.

I leaned forward, waiting for the flicker of recognition. There was nothing. The next second, his eyes passed right over me.

My mouth fell open, and I leaned back against my chair. Was it possible he didn’t really know me?

The thought lingered, but I dismissed it almost immediately. I was sure that he did.

He must have been the one who saved me from the woods. He must have gotten a good look at my face. It just wasn’t possible he didn’t recognize me.

“I have heard good things about the students of Southview Academy,” the professor said in his deep, baritone voice. “I have heard that you lot are studious. I hope this is true.”

He was answered by several choruses of, "Yes, Professor."

The whole class seemed entirely under his spell, especially the females. They could stop staring at him, just like me.

“Very well,” he continued with a curt nod. “Now, I would like you to introduce yourselves. You will tell me your name, your favorite book, and it's author.”

A girl in the front row nearly jumped out of her seat before he had even finished speaking.

She blushed furiously, batted her lashes, and said, “My name is Amy Knight, and my favorite book is A Court of Thorns by Lupita Addams.”

“Very good,” Professor Cassian said, nodding at her. "Next."

The class went on introducing themselves. I barely registered what they were saying. There was only one thought in my head: Why was the professor pretending not to know me?

And then, what felt like the very next second, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Ruby leaned over to whisper in my ear. “It’s your turn, Talia.”

I stared at her, blinking. My turn? For what?

Then I realized... the eyes of the whole class were on me.

“You’re supposed to introduce yourself,” Ruby hissed.

Heat rushed up my neck, flooding my cheeks.

I rose, planting my hands on the surface of the desk for support. Looking toward the front of the class, I found the professor staring at me with an expression of mild expectation.

My heart skipped, then dropped. I lowered my gaze to a point just over his broad shoulders.

“I… I’m…” I stammered.

Someone giggled and then the entire class began to laugh.

"Quiet down, quiet down," the professor told the class, raising a brow when I still didn't speak.

He had the air of a man mildly impatient to get on with it.

I dragged in a deep, steadying breath. “My name is Talia Westwood, and my favorite book is…”

My mind went blank. I couldn’t remember the name of a single book even though I had read so many. My eyes darted desperately around the room until they fell on the spine of a book poking halfway out of Ruby’s backpack.

“It's- It's The Howl by Cole Turner,” I finished.

“Very good,” Professor Cassian replied, giving me the same response he had given the others.

He moved on to the next person.

I slowly lowered myself back into my chair, my mind spinning. Soon the introductions were over. The professor moved to the front of the classroom once more.

“First on our reading list for this class will be a book by one of my favorite authors- Lupita Addams," he announced. "It's called Dawn."

The girl who had introduced herself first smiled, blushed, and looked as if she might faint from happiness. She whispered something to the girl seating next to her who giggled.

“Isn’t she pathetic?” Ruby muttered as she flipped open her notebook. "Looks like she's about to ask for his autograph."

Professor Cassian began teaching.The classroom had never been so quiet.

Minutes into the class, I knew it wasn't just because he was the new, good-looking new professor at South Ville, but because he was intelligent and clearly knew his subject.

The students hung onto his every word.

But not a single word of what he was saying sank in. Ruby was too busy taking notes to notice the state I was in.

“That's a wrap for today. See you all in the next class,” he said after an hour.

The spell he had the class under broke. There was the sound of murmuring, of chairs being scraped back as students began to pack up their stuff.

I didn’t move. Ruby nudged me.

“Come on,” she said, standing and slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “Why are you just sitting there? We have to get to the next class.”

“You go on,” I said in a voice I barely recognized as my own. “I’ll meet you later. I… want to have a few words with the-" I gulped. “The professor. Please.”

Ruby hesitated, her brows furrowed. She started to say something, seemed to think better of it and finally left with the others.

And then it was just me and Professor Cassian.

I didn’t take my eyes off him as I shoved my unopened books back into my bag.

When the last student was gone, I walked over to him. He had been neatly arranging a stack of novels in the large black bag he had brought to class.

Now he stopped, raised his head. Our eyes met, and one of his perfectly arched brows lifted.

“Do you have a question?” he asked.

My mouth went completely dry. I wanted to speak, but no words came.

This close, his scent was maddening and my wolf was going crazy with the need to touch him.

When I didn’t answer, he went back to arranging his books. I stared at the back of his head, stunned. Couldn’t he feel the mate bond between us? Why was he acting like it wasn’t there?

My tongue felt like a dead thing in my mouth, but I managed to croak, “You… you are the one who saved me yesterday.”

Professor Cassian froze. His jaw tightened and still, he remained silent.

Somehow his refusal to answer made me want to make him admit the truth. “It was you in the woods. I’m sure of it. Why are you pretending not to know me?”

“Because I do not intend to know you,” he clipped out, zipping his bag shut and slamming it onto the desk.

My heart sank. It was like Ethan all over again.

“Why?” I whispered. “You know we are mates, don't you?" The spasm that crossed his face as I said this told me he did. "Why are you denying what’s between us? Am I not pretty enough for you? Listen... I'm smart, okay? I learn fast—I can be a good mate to-”

“I do not need a mate," he ground out.

His jaw clenched, his eyes sweeping me from head to toe with a look that cut sharper than any blade.

He hefted his bag, turned toward the door. I stumbled forward and caught his arm without thinking.

My skin where I touched him tingled at the contact. I dropped my hand when he quickly when he spun around and glared at it like it was some specie of hairy spider.

“Please,” I begged, my voice quivering. “Don’t do this. You- you can’t deny the mate bond between us. I prayed to the goddess, and she sent you to me. Please... at least give us a chance.”

His eyes glinted like ice. “Look around you... Miss Westwood, is it?” I nodded, my throat tight. “We are in a school... a classroom... and in here, I intend to pretend that you do not exist. I am your professor. You are one of my students. Nothing more. Now excuse me. I have another class to attend.”

With that, he turned on his heel and swept out of the classroom, leaving me staring after him, heartbroken. Again.