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.

my hand over his. I could feel his anger and frustration pulsing through our bond, hot and fierce

but it didn't reach his eyes. It was

FA

13:14 Sun, Sep 22

0

81%

Chamer 181

he hissed. "She wants to

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,

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

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

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 his face. But this close, I could see the lines around his mouth, at the corners of his

Tension. Worry.

time tonight, I realized that it

or slow his pace, as if he weren't speaking to me at all-his lips hardly even

by his offer of help. I gave him a small nod of thanks, but he was

I shivered again.

snarled, his arm wrapping protectively around my shoulders. His body heat was a welcome respite from the cold. "It's

overcome a little discomfort." He nodded to me. "Remove your shoes." Edwin's eyes widened. "Remove her-There are three inches of snow on

you shift," Malakai, who had

"If I could carry my hiking partner down Everest, then she can stand in the snow for thirty seconds.

growled deeply, but I gave his hand a squeeze. "It's

I don't want you

it," I

muscle in Edwin's jaw ticked, but he

I 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 had suggested. I closed

2/4

81%1

13:14 Sun, Sep 22

Chapter 181

eyes, a

I had always assumed that, but perhaps she

wolf hummed thoughtfully for a moment

three times, just as Peter said. Instead of trying to conjure up 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 was the snow