Staring into those hazel green eyes, Hudson didn’t know how to feel about seeing the girl he tormented all throughout high school. As much as he wanted to not care about this girl, his wolf had ulterior motives as he continued to scream MATE inside his head. Why was the goddess so cruel to him? He was going to be the Alpha of his pack; he needed a wolf by his side to be his Luna, not a human. As far as he knew, every Alpha before him had a wolf as their mate. This could risk everything that he had been working for.
Still, as he continued to stare at the girl, he noticed she looked quite different than she did a few months ago. At first, he almost didn’t even recognize her until she tucked her hair behind her ear, and he saw the scar on her neck. He knew that scar well. He should because he gave it to her in their junior year. He didn’t mean to hurt her, but that’s what happens when dealing with a human. They don’t heal the way a wolf does. Had she been a wolf, her wound would have healed, and he wouldn’t have a constant reminder of how much he hurt her that day. That’s what seemed to piss him off the most. It wasn’t so much her looks; even when she was skinny and awkward, she had a cuteness to her. But it was the fact that she never tried to hide the mark he gave her.
“What are you doing here?” he heard her say.
He shook his head as he came back to the present.
“Attending class isn’t that what you’re supposed to do in college? Come to class and learn,” he said with a smirk.
He sat in the seat behind her and leaned forward to whisper into her ear. “Won’t this be fun?”
Amanda stood up from her seat and turned to look at Hudson before saying, “You can try to play your little games as you did in the past, but they’re no longer going to work on me. I’ve changed. The almighty Hudson Harlow can’t scare me anymore. So go find another girl to torment.” She leaned over to pick up her bag and started to look for another seat. Her hands were shaking, and her heart was racing, but she had a smile on her face because she finally stood up to him. She started to make her way up the stairs when she bumped into someone.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” she said as she looked up to see the handsome older man in front of her.
“I hope you’re not leaving already?” he said to her with a smile.
She shook her head as a shy smile spread across her face.
“No, just looking for a different seat,” she said as she moved aside to let the older man pass by.
“It’s usually better in the front, is my suggestion. But I might be biased since I am the professor,” he said as he made his way down the stairs and headed to the front of the class.
Amanda sucked in a breath. Yep, she now understood why all the girls wanted to be in this class. She still picked a seat further up and tried to stay out of sight of Hudson’s glare, which she could feel the entire time she was talking with the professor. Once seated, she looked around the room and found that Hudson was still staring at her. But it wasn’t his normal glare that he was looking at her with, but something different, something more. She looked away and turned her focus on the front of the class. For a moment there, she almost felt the desire and need coming from that stare. But that was ridiculous.
Hudson continued to stare at Amanda who was now across the room from him. She had taken him by surprise when she spoke in a voice he had never heard from her. So confident. He didn’t know whether to be turned on or pissed off by this new attitude. To him, she would always be timid little Mandi, the one girl he could control any way he wanted to.
He could hear a faint whine coming from his wolf because she was so far from him now.
Oh, stop it. She’s still in the same room, he told his wolf.
But he knew why he was whining. She was so close to us before, so close he could almost touch and feel that static current that ran between them. He wanted to know what it would feel like when he touched her with his gentle touch. But would she let him? He knew he was cruel to her for the last four years. But now? Now it would be different because she was his mate, and he needed her.
“Good morning, class. My name is Professor Warren, and this is English 103. If you could please take a syllabus and then pass it down the row and back so that everyone gets one. We will go over the outline of what I have prepared for this semester. If you look, I have also provided a reading list of the books that we will be reading in this class. I look forward to getting a chance to talk with all of you,” he said with a charming smile.
There was a sigh that was heard by almost all the girls. Amanda giggled softly. The guys in the class just groaned with frustration.
As Amanda continued to take notes in class, her heart started to palpitate, and her body started to tingle. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. She could feel the burning of Hudson’s stare on her. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of looking over at him, but there was something inside her telling her to do it. Just look over there, just this once. And like a fool, she did; she looked over at Hudson. Looking into those light blue eyes that used to intimidate her. But now, there was something else. She had never seen anyone look at her the way he was looking at her at that moment. She turned back in her seat and focused on what the professor was discussing. But she wasn’t paying attention – no, all her attention was now spent on making sure she didn’t look back at Hudson for the rest of class.
Hudson smiled as he continued to look at Amanda. He knew he was getting to her. Especially when she started to bite on her bottom lip. He wished he was biting on that lip.
Wait, what?
Hudson ran his hand through his hair as he turned back in his seat and tried to listen to the professor.
His wolf’s feelings for his mate were getting the best of him, and he needed to get a grip on his wolf before he did something he might regret.