Chapter 2 Her first class

"Have you lost your mind?!"

Kyle rolled his eyes at his assistant and Beta.

"You stole your brother's bride again?! He'll come for you this time. He'll kill you. He'll burn down the pack!"

The words had barely left Wesley's mouth when he clenched his jaw, trying to rein in his anger.

"Watch your tongue. I'm your Alpha. Need me to remind you again? Next time it'll be with my claws in your throat."

Wesley rolled his eyes. Kyle was too soft to hurt him, too soft to hurt anyone. That was why the rumors about his brother had always been one-sided. Kyle hadn't taken the girls; he'd saved them, each one lured into the woods for his mad brother to hunt.

"Okay, boss. The girl though... do I send her home, or-"

"No. Leave her. And no wolfly-things-she doesn't know I'm a werewolf. She thinks I'm human. You know I think something's off about this one... which makes her, interesting." He laughed, remembering her strange offer.

"I like this one. I'm keeping her."

Wesley grimaced. This was worse than usual. Kyle always made sure the girls were gone before dawn, never letting them see his face. Why did he want this one to stay? That was enough reason for Wesley to quietly decide he'd get Lucy out as soon as he could.

"Okay," Wesley said, pretending to agree.

A few hours later, Lucy woke up looking disheveled, still wearing her bloodied, dirt-streaked clothes. A foul stench clung to her as she yawned and pushed herself upright. She staggered out of the room and into the living room, where she found Kyle, book in one hand, cup of tea in the other, legs crossed as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"My damsel in distress. I see you're awake," he said, not looking up from his book.

"I think it's time I collected my payment for saving you."

Lucy barely heard him. Her wide eyes scanned the room like she had just stepped onto a movie set. From the mythological artwork painted on the ceiling to the deep blue drapes and embroidered tapestries, every inch of the space screamed wealth and old secrets. She took it in with equal parts admiration and suspicion. Whoever owned this place had something to do with her ending up here.

"Lucy?" Kyle called again, snapping her back.

She remembered the night. But how she got here? Nothing. Still, a small part of her blamed fate for dropping her into the lap of a ridiculously rich man-a handsome one, at that. She couldn't stop staring at the way he lounged on the couch, effortlessly elegant, undeniably powerful.

He was human, she reminded herself again and again.

Then she remembered something else-throwing herself at him.

And him turning her down like it was nothing.

Did they do something last night? Is that why he was staring at her like that?

Did he... see her naked?

Shame flushed her face as she looked down at herself, only to be disappointed at how homeless she still looked, nothing had changed from last night. Her body didn't ache, nothing throbbed, and no part of her told her something had happened. If a man that handsome had taken her, surely she'd still be feeling something.

"I... I need to go home," she stuttered, her voice barely above a whisper. Shame wrapped around her like a blanket. This man clearly wasn't attracted to her. And worse, her virginity was intact. Which meant the Mad Alpha was still out there, still hunting her.

Kyle shook his head with a slow, amused smirk.

"Come on now, Lucy. Where's that bold girl who came at me last night? Don't make me regret being a gentleman. You're staying for breakfast."

Breakfast? Absolutely not.

She had school. Her first class with the renowned professor-if he even liked her.

Sure, she was a werewolf, but she attended a human school, studying music at a conservatory that only accepted the truly gifted. And she had just one month to prove she was worth the scholarship they'd given her.

"I... I can't," she said, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry we ever met, but I have to leave. My parents will be looking for me."

A lie.

Her parents might be looking for her-but only to hand her back over to the Mad Alpha.

Maybe she should stay. Maybe she could charm this man into letting her hide a little longer.

But she couldn't do that to him. Not after he had been kind. Not after he hadn't taken advantage of her.

"Hmm. Your parents. Okay then... I'll drive you to them," Kyle offered casually.

"No!" she snapped. "I can... I can find my way. Thanks."

Kyle laughed, not unkindly. She was nervous, he could smell it. But he also knew if she walked out of this house unmarked, her brother would find her. And Kyle didn't want that. This girl intrigued him. But he couldn't push, not if he wanted to keep up the human act.

"Lucy," he said gently. "I just want to make sure you're safe."

Her eyes drifted to the large wall clock across the room, and panic bubbled up in her chest.

She needed to be somewhere. Somewhere important.

And it definitely wasn't home.

"Fine! I have a class in an hour, and if I don't make it, I lose my scholarship!"

For the first time, Kyle truly saw her, not the girl throwing herself at him in the middle of the night, but the girl in front of him now. Desperate. Driven. Fearful of losing the one thing that gave her purpose.

It hit him harder than he expected.

She looked more terrified of missing her class than she had been when begging him to take her virginity.

"I'll take you," he said. "I got you a clean dress already. I'll drop you off, but you have to promise me one thing."

She blinked.

"Go on a date with me. After school. Just one."

She nearly laughed, the absurdity of it cutting through her panic. But she nodded. It was a fair deal. And honestly? He was making her life a lot easier.

And he did.

Lucy arrived just in time at Dodgers Musical School, her heart hammering in her chest as she rushed to her classroom. She'd never met the professor in person-but the rumors were already infamous.

He was brutal. Cold. Known to shatter dreams and destroy confidence. Students left his class crying. Some dropped out entirely. Others ended up in therapy, or worse.

Professor Kain.

The school felt like a ghost town. A few tired students wandered the halls, their gazes lost in thought, disconnected from the world. Nothing like the chaotic energy during auditions, when over fifty hopefuls crowded the corridors, instruments clutched tight, nerves raw.

That audition had been brutal, five instruments, one melody, and no room for error. Only five students had passed. She was one of them. But she hadn't expected to be assigned to him.

The professor.

In exactly three minutes, he would walk into classroom 408. Waiting for him inside was a golden vintage grand piano, gleaming at the center like an altar. The entire room was spotless, unnaturally so, every surface polished, every chair perfectly aligned. It was so clean, she half-believed it had been scrubbed by someone with clinical OCD. The air felt... sterile.

"Woooof," she exhaled loudly, trying to push fear out of her lungs.

The rumors had to be exaggerated, just bitter talk from students who couldn't handle discipline. She'd squeeze every bit of knowledge from this man, no matter how hard he made it.

She tried to picture him.

Short, ginger hair, maybe under five foot. Wrinkled face, long nose, probably balding. A stiff old coat, a frown carved into his face, thin lips perpetually pursed in disapproval. Round spectacles, of course. He had to be in his sixties. Definitely the kind of man who'd sneer if a metronome ticked off-tempo.

Her phone buzzed exactly three minutes later. Class time.

She glanced toward the door.

Nothing.

One minute passed.

Still nothing.

Wasn't he supposed to be punctual to the second? Maybe her clock was off. Or maybe he just didn't care anymore.

"What an unserious fellow..." she muttered, barely loud enough for even her own ears.

"What is your definition of unserious?"

She turned so fast it was a miracle her neck didn't snap. The chair screeched back, her phone tumbled from her lap and shattered on the marble floor. Her lips parted, but no words came.

The man standing there did not match her mental image at all.

"Lucy Craig," he said, her name sliding from his mouth like venom. "Welcome to your first-and last-class with me. You may get the hell out."