One Night With My Alpha Professor

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The second I had smelled their blood, I had run. Eliza had stepped out of my way without a word, letting me bolt into the house. My hair had billowed behind me, my boots tracking wet snow onto the hardwood floors. I'd pounded up the steps. my hand clamped over my mouth to hide the sound of my s**

I couldn't bear to watch them fight, not over me, not after everything else that had happened tonight.

So instead I threw myself into the bedroom and curled up in bed, tears streaming down my cheeks, soaking into the pillow beneath my head. My body shook with silen**bs as I deeply inhaled Edwin's scent through the blankets, trying to calm myself

This was my fault. All my fault..

If only I could shift. If only I wasn't so weak, so pathetic. None of this would have happened if I was stronger, if I was the Silver Star I was supposed to be. Everything that had happened tonight. It was all my fault.

Or at least, that was how it had felt in those moments.

If I could have shifted, then Erik would have been happy. We could be coming home now, a bit tense from dinner but having gotten through the night. We all wouldn't have gotten too drunk to cope. I wouldn't have had to slip out with Peter in an attempt to shift

Edwin wouldn't have found us and gotten angry.

"The second you heard I was mated to the Silver Star, you tried to swoop in."

Those words kept echoing through my mind, a constant reminder of how Edwin and I had met. How we likely would have never crossed paths had he not been looking for the Silver Star with the intent to make her his bride.

I wasn't mad at him for that; I couldn't be. I understood why he had been in that position, the desperation he must have felt. But it still stung. Because at the end of the day, I was no longer just me, just Audrey. I was a pathetic excuse for a 'chosen one that everyone was vying to have. To take for themselves, just as Coldclaw had done. with those four rogues in the woods.

At some point during my wallowing, I heard the bedroom door open softly, followed by Edwin's familiar footsteps. The bed dipped as he sat down beside me, his hand gently touching my shoulder. "Audrey," he said softly, his voice filled with regret. "Audrey, talk to me.

I turned to face him, my vision blurry with tears. I couldn't make out his face through the haze, but I could feel his sorrow through our bond.

"Audrey.."

"I hate this, Edwin," I choked out. "I hate being the Silver Star. I hate that I can't do more. And I hate people fighting over me, treating me like this... this special prize that needs to be won and protected." Edwin's face fell-Audrey, you know I don't see you like that-"

eat up, wiping at my eyes with the back of a trembling hand. "I know you don't. But it doesn't negate the fact that

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everything that happened tonight was because of me. Your father got angry because of me. You and Peter fought because of me. I can't take it anymore."

"No." Edwin said, leaning forward and gripping my shoulders. His face came into focus, and I could see that his eyes were glowing golden. "No, Audrey. None of this was your fault. It's my f***ed up family that's the problem, not you."

I shook my head, looking away. "I. I had a dream, Edwin," I murmured. "Claudia was killed by a silver-tipped arrow, and then silver started covering my entire body, I couldn't breathe, couldn't move..." "It was just a dream. Audrey,"

But I shook my head vehemently. "No, I think it was... it was symbolic. I think... I think my role as the Silver Star will destroy everything good around me. Look at what happened tonight. Look at what happened with Fiona. I'm tearing people apart just by existing. I'm tearing you apart. "That's not true." Edwin insisted. "You're the one thing holding me together." "You say that, but I'm having a harder and harder time believing it lately."

"Oh. Audrey.." Edwin gathered me close, pulling me against his chest and rocking me gently. His familiar scent enveloped me, but it did little to comfort me. A soft *s*b escaped my lips.

"I'm a loser. Ith not fit to be the Silver Star."

"You are not a loser," he said firmly, his arms tightening around me. "I love you, Audrey. No matter what. Whether you can shift or not, whether you're the Silver Star or just Audrey Klein, I love you," I sniffled, burying my face in his shirt. "But tonight—"

"Tonight was my fault," Edwin interrupted. "I'm sorry for falling prey to the fighting, for letting my father win. I should be strong for you, a rock when you need me the most. You're going through so much, and I've been a mess tonight"

I pulled back slightly to look at him. "It's not just you, Edwin. I saw how you all were around your father. The way he spoke to you, to all of us."

Edwin's jaw clenched. "Like I said, my family brings out the worst in each other."

"He's planted deep seeds of disdain in all of you, hasn't he?" I muttered. "Pitting you against each other your whole lives. Starting fights, sitting idly by while you all bicker amongst yourselves. Whether for some kind of twisted satisfaction or something else, I'm not sure."

As I spoke, I thought back to the image Edwin showed me before his fight with Peter. I thought of the way his father had placed the blame on Edwin for what had happened that night at prom, same as how Edwin had taken the beating over the chess pieces.

"You're more perceptive than you give yourself credit for," Edwin said with a sad smile. "But you're right. This is why hate fighting. It unleashes something dark inside of me, something that I've tried so hard for so many years to push down. And my f**ng father unleashed it for me tonight."

I frowned at that. "Don't repress it, Edwin. That's what led to tonight's explosion. You need to deal with it, not push it down until it bursts out. It'll just drive an even bigger wedge between you and the two siblings who actually have your back."

Edwin's eyebrows shot up at that. "Peter-"

"Peter is just as scared, Just as traumatized, as you are, I insisted. And by fighting with him, your father is getting what he wants. You two need to get along."NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.

"Peter and I have a complicated history, Audrey. It's not that simple."

"I understand that," I said, reaching up to cup his stubbled face between my hands. "But Edwin, you need to work harder to make friends with your brother, not enemies. You need each other, especially in the face of your father's manipulation."

"Audrey-"

"Please just try." I interrupted. "For me. Try to mend things with Peter. You're both hurting, and you're both good men. Don't let your father's games ruin your relationship forever."

Edwin was quiet for a long moment, his gray eyes searching mine. Finally, he let out a long breath, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"Alright," he said, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "I'll try." He leaned in, pressing a warm kiss to my forehead, then to each of my eyelids, and then my tear-damp cheeks, and finally my lips.

In that moment, I felt the darkness clouding his mind slowly dissipate, just as I had felt when I'd learned about his past with fighting.

Like the full moon coming out from behind a cloud.

"Promise me." I whispered when we finally parted, breathless from a deep and lasting kiss.

He sucked in a deep breath and pressed his forehead to mine,

"I promise," he whispered. "For you, I'll promise anything."

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