One Night With My Alpha Professor by Eve Above Story

Chapter 181

Audrey

Peter choked on his drink.

Beside me, Eliza stiffened, her eyes wide with shock, her fingers tightening around her fork. Edwin's parents remained unnaturally still, but his father's eyes flashed dangerously, like storm clouds gathering on the h**n. Across the table, Malakai and Axel exchanged smirks, clearly reveling in my discomfort.

Meanwhile, beside me, I could feel Edwin's rage roiling off of our bond.

Not at me, but at his father.

Despite the urge to look away, to shrink into myself, I kept my gaze locked with Edwin's father. I wouldn't let him see me cower, not even as I felt my palms grow clammy and my stomach tie itself into knots. Edwin's hand finally found my leg under the table, his touch warm and reassuring against my skin. "Her wolf emerged only recently," he explained slowly. "She's not ready yet."

His father's eyes narrowed, the lines around them deepening. "Not ready?"

"Yes," Edwin said calmly. "She needs more time."

His father sputtered, if that was even possible for a man so icy and collected. "The Silver Star should be ready to shift at any time," he growled, locking eyes with Edwin. "No Silver Star in history has waited until they were 'ready' to shift. They did what they needed to do, when they were needed to do it."

His gaze snapped back to me, cold and calculating. I felt like a bug under a microscope. "Is she weak, or merely a child. playing at being something she's not?"

I felt my checks burn with humiliation, but I kept my chin up. Edwin started to speak, his chest rumbling with a growl: "How dare you speak to the heir of Silverbite-

But his father cut him off. "To hell with heirs. Don't get me wrong, Edwin, Silverbite may be our allied pack, but that doesn't mean we must sit around lying and coddling one another! Edwin's

jaw clenched so hard I could practically hear his teeth grinding.

"You," Erik said, pointing at me, "Try to shift. Now."

"Father," Edwin snarled, standing so abruptly the chair scraped against the floor, making Eliza flinch beside me. "This is ridiculous-

Joy our dinner?" Peter asked airily, spearing a golden potato on his fork and waving it in the airwitha

"Dad, can't we just toothy grin. "I'd hate to see the food go cold."

But Erik ignored his son. His eyes were fixed on mine,

Edwin loosed another growl, but I cut him off before he could say anything more.

frustration pulsing through our bond, hot and fierce like a wildfire. But

smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

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he hissed. "She wants to try.

that did little to calm my nerves, I stood and followed Edwin's father out of the dining room. The rest of the family trailed behind us, a procession of curious and judgmental eyes, I could hear their whispers, feel their

this," Edwin's voice echoed through our Mindlink. "We can leave.

setting myself up for embarrassment. I didn't even know how

my thin blouse and skirt. Goosebumps rose along my arms, and I wrapped them around myself in a futile attempt to ward off the chill. "Audrey." I startled at the sound of Peter's voice, and looked up to see him brushing past me, hands in his trouser pockets, that easy smile of his still plastered on

Tension. Worry.

time tonight, I realized that it was nothing more than

three deep breaths and ground yourself into the earth," he whispered without so much as bending to meet my gaze or slow his pace, as if he weren't speaking to me at all-his lips hardly even moved. "Close your eyes and picture your

his offer of help. I gave him a small nod of

I shivered again.

body heat was a welcome respite from the cold. "It's freezing out here. She's

she's truly the Silver Star, she should be able to overcome a little discomfort." He nodded to me. "Remove your shoes." Edwin's eyes widened.

the earth the first time you shift," Malakai, who had been silent this entire time, finally

hiking partner down Everest, then she

his hand a squeeze. "It's

don't

I repeated, more

ticked, but

slipped my shoes off, then stepped away from Edwin and into the snow. The cold bit at my bare feet, sharp and painful. I tried to focus on the connection to the earth, just as Peter

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Chapter 181

silver eyes, a

Was she silver? I supposed I had always assumed

a moment before replying.

an image of her, I waited for the image to come. But it never did. All I saw was the blackness behind my own eyes, All I felt