One Night With My Alpha Professor

Audrey

We were getting closer. I could tell by the way that Peter slowed the van, the sound of gravel crunching under the tires growing fainter. From outside, m****ed voices reached us. I felt Edwin wrap his arm around my waist, tugging me close against him in the darkness of the ‘cargo’ area.

This wasn’t our plan. We were just supposed to follow the other van to its destination without raising any red flags, and yet everything had gone wrong.

But we had little choice left now, did we?

Finally, the van came to a stop and footsteps approached. Edwin and I held our breath as we heard a gruff voice bark, “Did you capture them?”

“Yeah,” Peter replied, his voice surprisingly steady as if he had done this a hundred times before. “I got ’em. Where should I take them?”

The pause that followed was excruciating. Papers rustled, and I felt like time was stretching on forever.

Then, at last, the man said, “Take them through the back. Don’t want any of the kids seeing them. And hurry up.”

The van lurched forward again, and I finally allowed myself to let out a tiny breath of relief, although it did little to ease my nerves. Beside me, Edwin’s hand twitched, and I could hear his voice through the bond. “You okay?”

I nodded tightly, although I wasn’t sure either of us believed it. None of this felt right, but we couldn’t just leave Betty on her own-especially not now that they knew they’d been set up. If they hurt her…

I clenched my jaw, refusing to imagine that outcome.

The van rolled to another stop a few moments later. Then Peter’s voice came through the wall separating the cargo space from the cab. “Coast is clear. Let’s go.”

We moved quickly, slipping out of the van and into the loading dock. The air here smelled heavily of gasoline and oil, making me cover my mouth and nose with my sleeve. Dim light filtered through the grimy windows, casting long shadows across the concrete floor.

Ahead of us loomed the warehouse. Inside, I could hear the sound of machinery. And shouting.

“This way,” Peter whispered, his voice barely audible as he gestured to a side door. “I think the boss man is expecting us, but it’s still best if we stay out of sight. Don’t want a dozen guards following us around.

With a nod, we followed him inside, slipping into the shadows as we moved further into the complex. The first thing that hit me was the smell-oil, sweat, and something else, something I couldn’t place but that made my skin crawl.

The sight that greeted us made me realize what the smell was.

Fear.

Rows upon rows of sewing machines and other equipment stretched out across the dark warehouse, each one manned by… a child. They worked in silence, heads down, fingers moving, feeding fabric through the machines like they had done it a thousand times.

Some of them couldn’t have been more than eight, maybe nine years old. As we passed, it became more obvious that they were making clothes. Hundreds upon hundreds of articles of trendy clothing.

“Goddess, Edwin breathed beside me, his fists clenching at his sides. His immediate fury mirrored my own. These kids were

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s***es. S**es who were creating the clothes that we’d allowed our own pack members to wear on their backs.

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The guards were everywhere, pacing the aisles in those same dark uniforms with batons clutched in their hands. My mind immediately went back to the drawings that Joseph had made: looming figures with big sticks.

I thought I might vomit.

One of the guards stopped next to a small boy who had dropped a spool of thread on the ground and was fumbling to pic it up. He tapped his baton ominously against his palm as he sneered down at the kid.

“Pick it up,” the guard snarled impatiently. “Or no dinner tonight.”Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

The boy’s hands trembled as he scrambled to pick up the thread. The sight of it made my stomach turn, my wolf itching t jump in and do something. But I had to force myself to stay put. We weren’t here to start a fight. Not just yet, at least.

“We need to find Black first,” Edwin murmured through the bond, sensing my anger. “But trust me, once we do that, have your way with all of these ba***ds. I know I will.”

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I nodded, already relishing the thought of turning those batons on the men and women who were wielding them. And I wasn’t typically a violent person.

Peter, keeping low, pointed to a metal staircase at the far end of the warehouse. “I think the main office is up there. If we ca yes narrowing dangerously, and added, “An take out the head honcho, I think we can shut this place down.” He paused, his find Betty.”

We picked up our pace, weaving between stacks of fabric and crates, being careful all the while to stay out of sight. The children didn’t even glance up as we passed, their eyes glued to their work, too scared or too numb to notice us.

Each ashen face we passed only fueled the fire that was burning in my chest. We couldn’t let this continue.

But suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps made us freeze. There was no time to hide-two guards rounded the

their eyes widened. corner, and the moment they saw us,

“Hey-” one of them started, but I was already moving. My training kicked in like it was my one sole instinct, everything Edwin had drilled into me over the past year coming to the surface.

I ducked under the first guard’s swing, driving my elbow hard into his solar plexus. He doubled over with a grunt, and I brought my knee up into his face, knocking him out cold before he even hit the floor.

Beside me, Peter and Edwin took out the second guard with equal efficiency, their movements precise and silent. We dragged the bodies behind a nearby stack of crates, taking their key cards and their batons before slipping back into the shadows.

“Nice work,” Edwin said softly, giving me a small nod of approval.

The praise warmed me, even in the middle of this hell. I supposed that all the training Edwin had given me was finally paying off, even though I’d hoped I would never have to use it. Hopefully after today, I never would again

Finally, we reached the door marked “Executive Office.” Through the frosted glass, I could see a stout figure moving inside. My pulse quickened at the sight of it. The three of us exchanged one last glance before we moved forward.

Edwin took the lead, swinging the door open. It was unlocked.

And inside, seated calmly behind a polished desk as if he had been waiting for us, was Atticus Black

Mr. Black.

His hair was immaculate, as always, his suit perfectly tailored. He looked up at us with that cold, familiar smile, like we had just walked into his office for a casual meeting rather than to bring him down.

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“Well, well,” he said smoothly, leaning back in his chair. “If it isn’t Audrey and her merry little band of troublemakers. I heard you were coming to meddle in my affairs again.”

I stepped forward, my wolf itching to shift and tear the b***rd to shreds, but before I could get a word out, Black snapped his fingers.

The closet door behind him swung open, and my blood ran cold. A guard stepped out, his arm locked around Betty’s neck. Tears were streaked down her face, her mouth gagged and her eyes wild.

And there was a gleaming knife pressed against her throat.