Chapter 39

Edwin & Audrey Edwin's POV

Just as I suspected, sleep was eluding me that night; I kept tossing and turning, unable to find any semblance of rest. I knew I shouldn't have had that last glass of whiskey, but I had gotten ahead of myself, trying to dull my frayed nerves in the wake of a string and texts and phone calls from the last person I wanted to hear from.

And now I was restless, my brain fuzzy and my tongue heavy.

Finally, with a frustrated groan, I grabbed my phone off of the nightstand in the hopes. that maybe some mindless scrolling would lull me to sleep-or at the very least, that it would keep me occupied enough so that my brain didn't wander into territory that I didn't want it to. Staring at my phone like a mindless zombie was an unusual habit for me, but I supposed that it got the best of all of us sometimes. So, opening my social media app- 1 used a burner account with no name or pictures associated with it for fear of being recognized-I began to scroll.

But it didn't take long for me to regret it.

Hardly five minutes into my scrolling, I froze when I saw it: a picture from that huge party all the kids were going to tonight. It was grainy and dark, rendering one barely able to make out the figures in the frame...

But I could make them out. Behind the main subjects, who were smiling and making funny faces into the camera, I could see two figures in the background.

I could see who was there in that dimly lit hallway, pressed up against the wall. Whose hand was tipping whose chin up. I recognized that long, dark hair, those slender legs, that delicate nose.

Audrey. And that f**g kid from the restaurant.

Instantly, I felt my stomach twist at the sight of them there in that hallway. "What a great party," the caption read-showcasing several other pictures of a bonfire, wine glasses, playing cards, dancing bodies. "Can't wait for the next one!" A low, involuntary growl rumbled i

my throat at the thought. It was supposed to be an innocuous photo dump of the night, but somehow, whoever had posted those pictures. had managed to snap one of Audrey and that boy practically on top of each other in the background. My grip tightened on my phone until my knuckles turned white. I could feel my wolf stirring inside of me, growling with jealousy.

said out loud, abruptly shutting off my phone and tossing it onto the nightstand. "We're not

and flipped over. "She's a human," I chided him before he could speak. "Don't forget that. And she's my student, and she's more than ten years younger than me. It's not happening." "Don't lie to yourself. You want her,

teeth and forced my

that

onto my back and felt a low growl of unbidden jealousy rumble in the back of my throat. I should have been glad for her; she was dating someone her own age, someone who wasn't... Da**it, why couldn't I have been born ten years

Audrey's POV

one eye open to glare blearily at the time on my phone-it was

that much alcohol at once in my entire life, and I was also pretty sure I had gotten a buzz from secondhand smoke. Swiping

nine A.M. sharp. We need to discuss

were some

curt message. Miss Thatcher? E. Brooks? Grading issues? What had crawled up

use in dwelling on it. If he wanted me there, despite the fact that he had promised I could have

showered and dressed for the day, throwing on a skirt, tights; and a sweater, leaving my hair loose and straight down my back. All the while, my mind

with Edwin. That whole night still hadn't left my

head. Maybe my grading had been s**py after all, thanks to his close proximity-our heads practically touching over

just

knock on Edwin's office door-but it swung open before I could make

back. He was wearing a turtleneck and a tweed blazer, and

Thatcher," he greeted with a curt nod, gesturing for

door behind me, I took a seat across his

spoke. I wasn't quite sure if he was waiting for me to

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Comments ()

0/255