by Marian Tee
And so it was better this way.
Better.
Safer.
Alessandro’s heart was devoid of emotion by the time he reached for his door and entered his office.
It was better this way.
He had to remember that.
MY WEREWOLF PROFESSOR 3
One week since My Werewolf Professor 2
You must never ever look at him. The thought firmly plastered on her mind, Kassia lifted her chin, entered the dojo, and of course the first thing she saw was him.
Professor Alessandro Moretti.
She desperately willed herself to look away, but she couldn’t. He captivated her without even trying. Unlike most martial arts instructors, the professor didn’t don the usual karategi for class. Instead, he wore a kimono, its white fabric making a stark contrast to his deep olive skin. Secured with a black obi, the kimono showed off the hard panes of his chest, now slick with sweat. It was terribly sexy – unfairly so, for someone in his position. The sight left her dry-mouthed even as her heart ached a little. She could remember the times she had her hand pressed on that very chest. And yet she couldn’t forget that another woman had surely touched him the same way, too.
In front of her, the professor moved in fluid motion, the loose soft cotton of his kimono flowing around his legs as he moved around the fighting circle, bending, twisting, and kicking while he took on three opponents at the same time. Kassia recognized them by face. They were some of the best students of the professor’s advanced class. Or at least they were supposed to be. The professor’s deadly, graceful dance reduced them into nothing better than stumbling novices. He knocked them down, one after another, without breaking a sweat or the smallest show of arrogance.
The bell rang, signifying the end of the class while the students groaned on the floor, unwilling to continue fighting. Applause broke out, feverish excitement rising from the professor’s crowd of female fans. When the professor helped his students up, the girls around Kassia gushed at his show of sportsmanship.
The professor and the students bowed to each other.
When the professor straightened, his heavily lidded gaze suddenly found hers.
Excruciating pain tore through her at feeling the professor’s eyes on her, and Kassia turned away in panic. The ache in her heart became heavier, like a knife twisting deeper inside her.
She could not get the professor’s face out of her head.
How can he look at me like that after what he’s done, she wondered dully. The professor was playing with her. He had to be. He had been doing so from the start. So why, oh Lord, why was she still affected?
****
The students bowed in unison, stepped back from their sparring partners, and assumed their positions. Each pairing was given a tiny amount of space to fight in, and the mechanics of winning were simple: one only had to do anything he could to evict his opponent from his fighting space. In the years that Alessandro had been teaching ookami-kata, the rule had proven effective in encouraging his students to be creative and utilize as much as they could remember from his lessons.
Or at least he used to think it was effective.
Now, not so much.
Not when it was obvious Jacob was using the rules to his advantage, provoking Kassia into making unwise choices that allowed him to playfully cop a feel.
His temper strained against its leash as Jacob continuously employed a defensive stance, locking her body to his in a clinch every time she tried to take a swipe at him. Essentially, it was to counter her offensive, but anyone with fucking brains could see Jacob was only doing it to feel her breasts against his body.
His jaw hardened when it happened for the fifth time. Why didn’t Kassia complain? Why didn’t she look at him to put a stop to it? Jealousy consumed him, a dark fire that threatened to eviscerate his control.
The urge to change form burned inside him. He wanted to turn Lyccan so he could slash the boy down and let him know just whose woman he was trespassing on.
The fight – the seduction – continued. Kassia had again rushed in to attack, and Jacob waited until the last minute before bluffing her with an attack of his own. She retreated, lost her footing, and would have fallen out of the circle if Jacob hadn’t pulled her back.
Kassia flashed Jacob a smile of relief.
Alessandro wanted to snarl. Didn’t she damn realize Jacob wanted her to keep fighting so he could keep touching her? Inside the circle, Jacob had every right to touch her, and no one would blink an eye.
His heightened senses latched itself to Kassia, now attuned to every beat of her heart, every breath Kassia drew. He listened for any sign that she welcomed the boy’s advances.
And if there was, his conscience demanded. What would he do?
The answer didn’t bear thinking.
For the boy’s sake, Kassia better not show any fucking amount of interest in him.
Another minute passed. Jacob was letting Kassia take a few swipes at him, and Alessandro knew it was the boy’s intention to lull her into a sense of complacency. She was frowning with concentration, her gaze scanning Jacob’s figure for the best part of his body to attack. She completely missed the look of hunger in Jacob’s eyes.
But Alessandro didn’t.
And from there, it was easy to see what Jacob was planning.
Jacob making a move—
Kassia falling to the ground—
Jacob landing on top of her, his groin on top of her sex—
Not in this goddamn life.
Before anyone could draw another breath, Alessandro was there, standing right outside Kassia and Jacob’s fighting space.
“STOP.” His voice carried throughout the hall, and everyone froze.
Kassia, Jacob, and the pairs standing closest to him turned to Alessandro in shock and confusion, unable to understand how it was possible for him to cross the entire hall in a fraction of a second.
Jacob, his foot still mid-air, began to sway. He had been about to hook one leg around Kassia’s to take her down. But now, the plan was about to backfire.
Alessandro deftly stepped back as Jacob fell on his face. Behind him, the entire class struggled unsuccessfully not to laugh.
Alessandro wasn’t able to join in their amusement, his attention stolen by the sound of Kassia’s erratic heartbeat while her intoxicatingly sweet scent once again took possession of his senses.
Kassia was looking at him with brown eyes that hid everything, only to be belied by the feel and smell of her emotions.
Pain.
So much damn pain.
He didn’t need the power to read her thoughts to know what she was thinking. What she seemed to have been thinking every night, if the dark circles under her eyes were any indication.
She looked at him, and she did not see him.
She saw another woman.
Kassia looked at him, and she only remembered Melissa’s hand on his body, Melissa speaking coyly into his ear. She looked at him, and she imagined Melissa in bed with him—
The primal, savage Lyccan side of Alessandro wanted to roar at the pain in Kassia’s face. Honor meant everything to his kind, and what he had done to her – the only girl who had so easily gotten under his skin – was the greatest of dishonor.
He had made her believe in him, made her trust, made her hope, only – he had repaid it with betrayal.
Kassia suddenly turned away as if the mere sight of him flayed her, and Alessandro’s chest tightened. He had thought that Domenico’s fall had caused him the greatest pain, but now he knew it wasn’t. It was this – seeing Kassia hurting, and knowing he had been the one who wounded her so.
He started to say her name, but Jacob had stood up, breaking the line of sight between them.
Reality struck him, and his jaw snapped shut.
Nothing had changed.
He could not afford to be as weak as his older brother, and Kassia would bring him down. She wielded such power over him, even now, even just by exi
sting.
Kassia was better off without him.
And he was better off without her.
Alessandro forced himself to swing away.
“You’ve won yourself a reprieve,” he told the class. “The actual test will take place in our next class. You may resume practice without need of a fighting circle.”
No one had the courage to ask him what brought about the sudden decision. He felt their surprise and confusion, but he didn’t give a damn. Going to one corner of the dojo, he laid his hand open. It was his signal to the class that he was also open to questions. In a second, female students surrounded him, swallowing the sight of Kassia and Jacob.
And that, Alessandro told himself harshly, was how it should be. He would not – could not – allow himself to follow in his brother’s footsteps, not when the honor and safety of his pack were at stake.
****
“What was that about?” Ellie demanded in a low whisper the moment Kassia reached her side. Out of curiosity and concern, she had joined the throng of fans outside the dojo, watching the fight inside through the viewing wall.
Everyone around Ellie was obviously in love with the professor, with the way they screamed at every little thing he did. When the professor spoke, the girls had swooned as the sound of his voice came through the hall’s speakers. When the professor crossed his arms over his chest in observation, all the girls had gone mad, flooding each other’s Instagram newsfeeds with the professor’s photos. And when the professor had moved with lightning speed – well, everyone had just about died.
Privately, Ellie thought the professor had been inhumanly fast but then, what did she know about martial arts? For all she knew, that kind of speed was normal for ass-kicking, heart-breaking ookami-kata instructors.
What she did know, however, was that she hadn’t liked having so many girls crushing on the professor. She had felt mad on her best friend’s behalf and had wanted to shout at all of them. The professor was Kassia’s first!
As she and Kassia headed towards the building’s exit doors, Ellie repeated her question.
Kassia was visibly confused. “What do you mean?”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “He went to you, hello? He went to you first and he had a very jealous look in his eyes. You can’t tell me you didn’t see that.”
At Ellie’s words, Kassia said shortly, “You were imagining things.” Just as she had imagined things before she caught herself in time.
“I know what I saw,” Ellie insisted.
“And I know the kind of man the professor is.” Someone so cruel, he had allowed her to fall deeper and deeper for him before breaking her heart. She could see Ellie wanted to argue, but Kassia forestalled her friend with a shake of her head. “Drop it, please, Ellie. I mean it.” She didn’t want to be the naïve girl again. As far as Kassia was concerned, the professor was dead to her.
****
Sweat trickled down the side of Alessandro’s face as he fought to counter every thrust and swipe of his opponent, who always seemed to be one second faster than he was. A fraction of time for humans, but for their kind, it was long enough to kill.
The sound of steel clashing was the only thing that destroyed the silence inside the fighting hall, which occupied the entire basement in the Moretti complex’s main building. Spectators circled the fighters, all of them holding their breath as they waited to see who would emerge as the winner.
Alessandro’s opponent retreated a step, and he saw his chance to attack. But before he could move, a flash of red in the crowd caught his attention, a shade that reminded him of Kassia’s strawberry blonde hair, and he stilled.
Could it be her?
Had she come here to talk about what happened earlier in class? Did she want to explain about the boy? Did she still want him?
Alessandro’s concentration wavered, and before he could stop himself, his head had already whipped towards its direction, his incredulous gaze searching, his body stiffening in the event that it was really Kassia—
It wasn’t.
Instead, it was one of the servants, whose dyed hair under the light had appeared a lot like Kassia’s.
Behind him, he heard someone curse, and Alessandro realized too late he had actually forgotten that he was in the middle of fencing practice.
He turned around, already positioned to block the blow coming his way, but it was pointless, and everyone in the fighting hall knew it. His opponent realized the same thing and tried to diminish the force of the blow, but it was too late.
Alessandro flew across the room at point of impact, his back hitting the wall before he fell to the floor with a heavy thud.
“Fuck.”
Footsteps thundered towards him.
When Alessandro opened his eyes, several pairs were staring back at him in concern. He shook his head and groaned at the pain that resulted. “Fuck,” he said again.
His twin laughed. “Fuck is right. After winning five – no, I heard, your worst fight was ten – against one in public brawls at Lyccan Hall, you now get knocked out by our ancient lovesick brother?”
Said ancient lovesick brother casually but subtly gave Alejandro a shove, which was also strong enough to have his twin flying to the opposite wall with a grunt.
Above Alessandro, Domenico pulled off his mask and offered him a hand, asking formally, “You are all right?”
Alessandro wasn’t able to answer immediately.
Fuck, he thought for the third time.
Since Domenico’s public fall from grace, Alessandro hadn’t been able to look at his older brother in the eye. He had been afraid that if he did, he would lose all respect for him.
But now, with Domenico towering over him—
How in hell had he gotten everything wrong?
All this time, Alessandro had thought the loss of his wife had turned Domenico into a shell of a man. But the warrior looking down at him was anything but. For one thing, Domenico seemed to have stuffed himself with Lyccan-friendly steroids since Misty had disappeared to Faerie-la-la-land. Even so, the impressive show of testosterone was just the tip of the iceberg. No, what made Alessandro realize how blind he had been all these months was in his brother’s eyes. There was a hint of sadness to it, but there was power in his gaze, too, like nothing Alessandro had ever seen before. If something had changed, then it was that his older brother appeared stronger now. He looked wiser, more humble – but somehow, all those simply lent Domenico an aura of almost-tangible strength.
Suddenly, a sense of urgency gripped him.
Kassia.
He had to leave right now.
Kassia. Kassia. Kassia.
Desperation turned her name into an addiction, and Alessandro knew he would not rest until he saw her again. He had to talk to her and make Kassia see that his decision to cut her out of his life was a mistake.
Kassia.
He saw her in his mind, her eyes once filled with so much love and trust, blurring with unshed tears of betrayal.
Kassia.
He had cut her out of his life because he had thought Kassia would make him weak the way Misty had made his older brother weak. But he had seen the truth now. Domenico was at his strongest. He didn’t understand how that happened, and right now it didn’t matter. All Alessandro knew was he had made the biggest mistake of his life, and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to fix it.
Domenico caught him just as he was about to get inside his car. “Alessandro.” An indirect command to stop, and Alessandro had no choice but to heed it.
“You have not been yourself the entire week.”
Alessandro only looked at his older brother stoically. Domenico might not be the weakling he had feared him to be, but it didn’t mean everything was all right between them. Domenico had still chosen to allow other Lyccans to treat him like shit, and in so doing allowed their entire pack to fall into disgrace. That was something he still couldn’t make himself forget or forgive.
When Alessandro didn’t say anything, Dom
enico pressed, “Perhaps it has to do with a certain redhead?”
Alessandro stiffened.
“It’s clear that she already wields influence over you.”
Was that Domenico’s way of saying Alessandro was no better than he? That he was falling fast and hard for a woman like Domenico had?
“You have nothing to worry about,” Alessandro said coldly.
Domenico stilled. “You misunderstand—”
Alessandro cut him off. “You were right when you said I haven’t been myself the entire week. I haven’t been able to make a decision, but now what I must do is clear. Through her, I will keep to my end of the bargain.” Even as he spoke, he knew it was a lie. He was not going to Kassia because of any damn bargain. He was going to her because he needed to.
“I’ll fuck her for thirty days, as promised, and when it is over, I expect you to honor your word.”
Domenico’s face had become unreadable. “That is truly how you see her? A mere pawn for you to use and dispense?”
“Yes.” It was the opposite of the truth, but he didn’t take it back. The word felt like his only defense against the unknown, his only way of protecting himself from the unfamiliar feelings that Kassia evoked in him.
Misty might not have taken away Domenico’s strength, but she had destroyed her husband’s pride. Alessandro was determined not to let the same thing happen to him.
He would keep Kassia, his strength, and his pride, and if he had to lie for this to happen – then so be it.
****
Another day had started.
The thought of having to see the professor again brought out mixed feelings, but again Kassia lifted her chin and told herself that one day, she would get over him. She marched towards the conference room where she was scheduled with other students in her course to listen to an inspirational talk from a supposedly well-known philanthropist.