One Night With My Alpha Professor

C Chapter 235

Audrey

Time slowed, each second stretching into an eternity as the silver arrow sliced through the air, its deadly point trained directly on Edwin’s heart. The world blurred around me, narrowing to that single glint.

“Save yourself!” Edwin’s voice echoed down the bond.

But there was something that they didn’t know-something that not even Edwin knew. Something that I didn’t even know until this very moment.

Something that changed everything.

Fiona and Axel believed they had us cornered, trapped within their grasp, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

At that moment, I thought back to the moments just before dawn-when the sky held onto the last vestiges of night, the moon hanging low, pale and ghostly as the first traces of light began to thread across the horizon.

Barefoot, I stood in the clearing, the cool dampness of the grass brushing against the hem of my dress.

Tina pressed a bundle of wildflowers that she’d picked into my hands

“I figured you’d at least need a bouquet,” she whispered, her voice choked with tears. “Every bride needs a bouquet.”

I managed a tiny smile. “We’ll have a real wedding, you know. Once we’re able.”

Tina sniffled. “I know. It’s just… This should be special, too.”

I nodded, glancing down at the dress I’d picked out. It was the same silver one I’d worn to the charity gala, the closest thing to white I could find in my closet. It was no wedding gown, that was for certain, but it worked in a pinch.

Across from me, Edwin was grumbling with annoyance as Charles fiddled with his hair and Gavin adjusted his shirt. He was dressed simply, a pair of black trousers, an untucked button-down with the first few buttons undone, hair tousled.

He was barefoot, like me, so that we could both feel the earth beneath us.

My heart swelled at the sight of him looking so simple and free, and I blushed, looking away.

“You’re sure you want this?” Betty asked softly, her fingers brushing my wrist. “You’re sure it’s not too soon?”

I nodded. “Yes, I… I want this,” I murmured. It was last-minute, unexpected, but… lives hinged on this. Not just Peter’s, but ours, our friends, that little girl with cancer.

It was time for the Silver Star to emerge.

Whether I was ready for it or not.

But it wasn’t just that that was driving me to do this-it felt… right. Edwin and I had marked each other a thousand times over whenever we’d made love, and our bond was secure, but we hadn’t yet performed our marking bite.

And maybe it wasn’t quite what either of us had expected, but we both knew in our hearts that now was the right time.

Finally, I strode up to Edwin and took his hand. He sent a thread of love down the bond, and I held onto it, if only to keep my hands from trembling.

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“We gather here under the light of the moon,” Charles began, “witnessed by the spirits of our ancestors, to unite these two

souls in the sacred bond of mates…”

Charles continued the ceremony, and for a moment, I let my gaze slip away from Edwin, drawn to our surroundings.

We stood beneath a large oak tree, its gnarled branches stretching upwards into the sky. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting intricate patterns on the forest floor. The air smelled of night-blooming jasmine, sweet and heady. Somewhere in the distance, the hoot of an owl punctuated the silence.

It was just a small clearing behind campus-a place where countless people had walked before. We’d picked it out quickly, just needing somewhere quiet and beautiful to say our vows. It really was beautiful, too.This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

Charles turned to Edwin. “Do you swear to honor and protect Audrey, to stand by her through all trials, to be her anchor in the storm and her joy in times of peace?”

Edwin’s fingers tightened around mine. “I swear it.”

Charles shifted, turning toward me. “Audrey, do you swear to honor and support Edwin, to be his strength when he falters, his light in the darkness, and his partner in all things?”

My heart stuttered. I took a breath, deep and steady, before I spoke. “I swear it.”

Charles nodded and took a step back. “Then let the marking begin.”

Edwin’s gaze darkened as we turned to face each other. His hands, warm and familiar, cupped my face as he leaned in, his breath hot against the sensitive skin of my neck.

My pulse quickened, but I tilted my head, baring myself to him, trusting him completely.

When his fangs sank into my skin, the pain was sharp and swift, but it quickly dissolved into something else-something deeper, a wave of warmth and bging that pulsed through me.

Through the bite, I felt him—his love, his devotion, the very essence of who he was, pouring into me. It was more than the bond we’d come to know, far deeper than that. It felt as if our bodies were one, as if there was no beginning or end between

us.

I didn’t hesitate when it was my turn. My fangs found the place where his neck met his shoulder, sinking into his flesh, drawing the taste of him into my mouth.

As I marked him as mine, I poured every bit of myself into the act-my love, my commitment, every promise I could never put into words. When I pulled back, we were both breathless, our foreheads pressed together, little trails of red blood dripping down onto the grass between our feet.

“It is done,” Charles said. “By the power vested in me by the Moon Goddess, I pronounce you true mates, bound for eternity.”

A cheer rose up from our friends, although the sound was distant to me, m***d by the sensation of my own heart pounding through my ears. Edwin’s hands cradled my face, pulling me into a kiss that was deep and tender and endless.

When we finally pulled apart, I turned to face our friends, a smile breaking across my face.

But just as quickly, my smile faded.

“I… I thought…” Hooked up at Edwin, my eyes filling with tears.

Nelt nothing. No glimmer of power, no sensation of my body changing, no shift in my bones and muscles.

“Audrey…” Edwin shook his head, a tiny chuckle escaping his lips. “Look down.”

My breath stilled as I looked down at my hands, my eyes widening in shock.

I may not have felt it, but there was silver light pouring from my skin, soft but growing, brighter with every second.

A gasp from Avis caught my attention, her eyes wide as she whispered, “Her hair… it’s…”

I reached up, feg the strands floating around me, light as air. The black had vanished-my hair was pure silver and… alive. Gently floating up into the air as if charged with static electricity.

Before I could comprehend what was happening, my feet lifted from the ground, as if gravity itself no longer held sway over me. The flowers slipped from my fingers and dropped to the forest floor, forgotten.

I spun slowly, weightless, as newfound energy surged through me. My hands lifted on their own, palms stretching toward the sky.

In that moment, images flooded my mind-fragments of lives that weren’t mine, yet felt so deeply familiar. Countless lifetimes, different forms and faces, thousands of incarnations, but all holding the same purpose.

To bring balance. To be the Silver Star.

And through it all, in every lifetime, there was Edwin. My fated mate. My constant. In various forms of his own, but always him. Always the same soul bound to mine.

I looked down at him, seeing more than just the man before me. We had always been together from the beginning of time, and we would always be together until the end of it and beyond.

IfI was the silvery glow of the moon, then he was the shimmering velvet shadow that followed me. If I was a pool of light spreading across the grass, then he was the darkness that made room for my radiance.

The power surged once more, this time transforming me, the shift swift and painless. Bones snapped and reformed, fur rippled across my skin.

I dropped onto four paws, my body now a wolf’s-fur gleaming silver, like liquid moonlight.

Edwin wasted no time, his own form morphing into the massive black wolf I knew so well. He padded toward me, nuzzling against my neck, his fur brushing mine.

Silver and black. Light and shadow.

“My Silver Star,” his voice murmured through our bond, stronger now, more connected than ever.

A sense of peace washed over me, calm and unshakable. This was where we were meant to be. Who we were meant to be.

And as the first rays of dawn kissed the horizon, I knew that everything had changed.

The Silver Star had awakened once more.

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