One Night With My Alpha Professor

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Audrey & Edwin Audrey's POV

No matter how much coffee I drank, could barely keep my eyes open during class. The words on the whiteboard blurred. together as Edwin's voice droned on in the background, the surface of my desk practically swimming in front of my eyes.

I hadn't slept well last night, tossing and turning as my mind replayed the disastrous interview with Mr. Black over and over again. Even though my drive with Edwin took my mind off of it for a while, the memories had returned the moment my head hit the pillow.

"Come now, Miss Thatcher. Everyone knows that human girls are desperate to be with wealthy, older werewolf men such as myself.... Don't you want to do anything you can to... get ahead?" Even now, in my exhausted state, the memory of those words made me shudder. Get ahead, he had said in that cloying tone. I knew what he meant. And I wasn't going to perpetuate the stereotype that he plastered onto me.

My head nodded forward, and I jerked it back up quickly.

Focus, Audrey, I told myself. But it was no use. My eyelids felt like they were made of lead, and my head suddenly felt like it was full of water. Perhaps I could just close my eyes for a moment...

A sudden jolt startled me awake. I blinked rapidly, disoriented, to find Edwin standing over me with a concerned expression on his face. The classroom was empty except for us, and he was leaning against the desk beside me with his arms folded across his chest.

"Good

morning, Miss Thatcher," he said. "Have a nice nap?"

My face instantly turned red and I quickly wiped a bit of drool away from my cheek with the back of my hand. "I'm so sorry," I muttered as I began to gather my things. "I must have nodded off for a moment, but I swear I heard your whole lecture-"

"Audrey, you've been asleep on your desk for over twenty minutes." Edwin cut me off with a raised eyebrow. "At one point, you were even snoring a little."

I felt my skin flush even deeper. Twenty minutes... It felt like I had blinked and nothing more.

"I'm... Sorry," I repeated quietly. Edwin watched as I quickly stuffed my rumpled notebook into my bag and stood. Before I could scurry away, he held his arm out to stop me.

"This isn't like you. What's going on?"

Biting my lower lip, I looked away in the hopes that he wouldn't see the blatant lie written across my face. "Oh, um, nothing. I was just up late studying last night."

Edwin's frown deepened. "That doesn't sound right. You never let late-night studying interfere with your classes."

I averted my gaze to my loafers, unable to meet his eyes. He was right, of course. The truth was, I had spent most of the night sending out cold emails to more potential mentors, only to receive a string of rejections.

And then, when I wasn't busy doing that, I was lying awake, reliving every uncomfortable moment of my encounter with Mr.

Black.

But I couldn't tell Edwin any of that. Mr. Black's company worked closely with Brooks Designs, and I didn't want to cause any issues. So I settled for a half-truth. "The interview... it didn't work out, I admitted quietly.

Edwin's expression softened ever so slightly, "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"

I swallowed hard, desperately searching for an explanation that wouldn't raise suspicions. “I just... wasn't qualified, I guess.”

That doesn't sound right." Edwin said, shaking his head. "Your portfolio is excellent, and you're one of my top students."

1 shrugged and adjusted my bag on my shoulder, trying to appear nonchalant. "Sometimes these things just don't work out. It's fine. really

Edwin studied me for a moment, and I could tell he wasn't buying it. But thankfully, he didn't push the issue further-not for the time being, at least.

"I see. Well, if you need any help or want to talk about it, you know where to find me," he said finally.

I nodded, quickly shimmying between the slim space between his mountain of a body and the row of desks-I was so focused on getting away before he saw through my farce that I didn't even notice our bodies brushing together.

"Thanks, Edwin," I said, forcing a thin smile. "I appreciate it."

As I hurried out of the classroom. I could feel Edwin's gray eyes on my back. I hated lying to him, but what choice did I have? The last thing I needed was to create drama between Edwin and his business partner.

I would just have to find another opportunity on my own.

Edwin's POV

As I watched Audrey leave the classroom, there was no denying the nagging feg in my gut. It was telling me that something wasn't right; there had to be more to this story than she was letting on "Not qualified?" I muttered to myself, turning and heading back to the podium to gather my things.

Something about that just didn't add up. Audrey was one of the most talented, dedicated, passionate students I had ever had. -there was no way she wasn't qualified for that internship.

As I stuffed my lecture materials into my briefcase, my mind whirled with thoughts. Atticus Black had been a business partner of mine for many years; Brooks Designs often purchased all of our textiles from his company. Surely, if he saw that Audrey was awarded an internship with me on her CV, he would have gladly worked with her on her thesis.

Making a decision, I pulled out my phone and dialed Mr. Black's number on my way to my office. He picked up on the third

ring

"Edwin Brooks," his smooth voice came through the speaker, and I could hear the smile in his tone. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hello, Atticus," I said, rounding the corner to my office. "I wanted to discuss the interview you had with one of my students, Audrey Thatcher."

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.

There was a slight pause before Mr. Black replied. "Ah yes, Miss Thatcher. What about her?"

Sighing. I unlocked my office door, stepped inside, and shut the door behind me.

"I was wondering why you decided not to work with her," I began as I dropped my briefcase on the floor and loosened my tie. "She's an exceptional student with a remarkable portfolio."

Mr. Black cleared his throat. "Well, Edwin, I'm sure she's a fine student, but the fact is, she's human. We had several werewolf candidates who were simply better suited for the position."

My fingers fell away from my tie. "Are you saying you rejected her solely because she's human?" There was no denying the small edge of anger in my voice.

"Well, yes," Mr. Black replied. "I am. I'm sure you've done the same before."

"He's not wrong," my wolf growled. "In the past, you used to do the same..."

I pursed my lips, visibly cringing as I thought back to older days. Yes, I was once somewhat discriminatory toward humans, but that had changed.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," I growled into the phone. "Audrey is my best student. She's even been awarded an internship at my company, for Goddess' sake-

"Now, now, Edwin, Mr. Black cut me off, his tone patronizing. "You know as well as I do that our kind has certain... advantages. It's nothing personal against Miss Thatcher, but we have to consider what's best for the company."

My grip tightened on the phone. "That's blatant discrimination, Atticus. It's not only unethical, but it's also illegal. It's been illegal for some time now."

"Come now, Edwin," he chuckled. "Don't tell me you're getting soft. Since when do you care so much about humans?"

I took a deep breath in a feeble attempt to control my temper. This isn't about humans or werewolves. It's about giving talented individuals a fair chance, regardless of their species."

"I see," Mr. Black said. "Well, I'm afraid we'll just have to agree to disagree on this matter."

"No, we won't," I growled. "Listen carefully, Mr. Black. If you don't reconsider your treatment of Audrey and start evaluating candidates based on merit rather than species, I'll pull out my shares in your company. Besides, there are plenty of textile companies that would jump at the chance to work with Brooks Designs. Do I make myself clear?"Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. When Mr. Black spoke again, his voice was tight.

"Crystal clear, Edwin. I'll take your words into consideration."

"See that you do," I said curtly, then hung up without waiting for response.

As I lowered the phone, I felt a rumble in my chest. My wolf stirred, and I could feel his teasing tone in the back of my mind. "You're changing," he chuckled. "You never cared so much about humans before you met her..."

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