I Kissed My Professor And He Liked It

Colton’s POV Something was wrong.

| knew it before Ethan called me. | could feel it through our mate bond, regardless of how far she was. | knew something had happened. My wolf has been on edge for hours, saying we needed to get to Alpha Jonathan's packhouse to be with our mate. He didn’t like her being that far away from us.

He had to deal with it when we remained in our pack while Ella went to school, and he didn’t like it then either.

But now it was different; now she was going to an Alpha’s pack that Max despised. Not that | could blhim.

Alpha Jonathan always gavea shady vibe. He was a businessman, which meant he cared more about his business and making a quick buck than he did anything else.

| felt a shudder in my chest, and | clutched it as | staggered backward.

“Alpha?” One of my warriors asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

We were on training grounds; I had just gotten out of the gym and now | was scoring with sof my men as part of their training, along with straining of my own. As Alpha, | always have to be prepared for an attack.

But an inward attack was not something | was prepared for.

My warrior rushed to my side and grabbed my arm to steady me, but | jerked him off.

“What is it, Alpha? Should | get the doctor?” “No,” | said between my teeth.

It wasn’t something a doctor could helpwith. It was the bond.

“Our mate,” Max grumbled. “Something is wrong.” I knew he was right and before | could say anything more, another voice sounded from the patio.

“Alpha! You have a phone call in the parlor!” | patted my pants, frowning. Parlor calls were for emergencies; most usually just called my cellphone. But when | patted my pants and felt no phone, a growl escaped from my throat.

| turned and ran as fast as my human legs could allow. | ran through the padoors and into the parlor. The phone sat on the desk on the far side of the room, past the couches, the bookshelves, the fireplace, the coffee station, and the mini kitchen.

A lot of my pack members enjoyed this room, including the children. | recently set up a play area on the far side of the room where the pups can roam and play freely without worry. Annabelle, Jake's mate, | had put in charge of the parlor; so, it also doubled as her office.

| grabbed the phone and pressed the blinking button.

“Yes?” “It's Ethan,” Ehtan said breathlessly. “You need to get to Alpha Jonathan's packhouse right now.” “What happened?” | asked, my feeling as if it weighed a thousand pounds. “Is it Ella?” “Yes,” Ethan said without hesitation. “She’s missing.” | didn’t waste any more time. | slammed the phone down and ran as fast as | could until | reached outside. In mid-air, | shifted into my wolf form and allowed Max to take full control. He could run faster than | ever could. He had one mission and one mission only; get to our mate.

He buzzed through the forest with lightning speed. Looking around, everything was a blur as we ran. Animals couldn’t even jump out of the way fast enough, but Max paid them no attention. He wasn’t hunting; he was too preoccupied.

Our mate was in danger; we weren't there when we should have been.

If anything happened to her, neither of us would forgive ourselves.

It took us about 15 minutes to get to the packhouse. Ethan, being the best Beta, a wolf could have, was already waiting outside with an extra change of clothing. I didn’t have to tell him | was running here in my wolf form and to be prepared. He just knew.

| shifted back into my human form and grabbed the pair of jeans and shirt that Ethan snatched from Alpha Jonathan. My wolf gave a fit about having to wear that man’s clothing, but that wasn’t important. Not right now.“Tellwhat happened,” | ordered as | walked past him and toward the front door of the packhouse.

| couldn’t smell Ella nearby, which was irritating to bothand my wolf. But her scent lingered, it was stale.

“She went upstairs to check on her friend...” Ethan began to explain.

“What friend?” | asked, interrupting him.

| needed to know the ENTIRE story.

“I think her nis Rachel...” “Rachel is supposed to be in the hospital,” | barked.

“I think her father released her for the banquet,” Ethan explained. “She wasn’t feeling well, so she excused herself and went upstairs to one of the guest rooms to lie down. Ella went upstairs after dinner to check on her.” “And then she went missing?” “Well, we heard screams from downstairs...” “Screams? Ella's?” “No...” Ethan said, shaking his head. | glanced at his face and saw that it had gone pale.

“Then who's?” | asked through my teeth, feeling impatient.

“Raymonds... Rachel's father,” he answered grimly.

What? None of it made any sense. What the hell was my Beta talking about? Before | could open my mouth to ask, he continued.

“Raymond was screaming in agony, so we went upstairs to see what was going on and we saw Rachel kneeling over him and covered in his blood,” Ethan said, shuddering.

| froze as we reached the front room of the packhouse. As soon as | was inside the house, | smelled the metallic scent of blood. It made the packhouse reek. | turned to Ethan, trying to keep control of my wolf. But it was growing more difficult with each passing moment.

“And then what?” | asked with a clenched jaw.

“She said she didn’t mean to do it...” Ethan said, his face falling. “But she was covered in his blood. We think Rachel was the one who killed all those people at the school....” My stomach tightened; the murderer has been under our nose this entire time? That close to my mate? Living in the sdorm room? How did | not see it sooner? Fury was rising throughand from the worry on Ethan's face, | knew my wolf was making himself known through my eyes. He was on the edge, holding not every single one of Ethan’s words as if his life depended on it.

Ella’s life depended on it; which meant ours did too.

“And Ella?” “She wasn't there,” Ethan answered, shaking his head. “She was completely gone.” | wanted to ask more questions, but the door to the living room opened and Bastien walked out. | could see blood on his suit, and he looked distraught. | couldn't blhim; his daughter was missing. Telling from the blood on his clothing, it must have been a blood bath in there.

“Did Ethan catch you up?” Alpha Bastien asked, stopping in front of me.

“Mostly,” | answered. “There's seriously no sign of her?” Bastien shook his head.

“None,” he answered.

“Where is Rachel?” “Being detained upstairs,” Bastien said, motioning with his head to the stairway.

| went to head up the stairs, but Bastien grabbed my shoulder, holdingin place.

“It’s a bad scene; you should prepare yourself. We didn’t have tto move anything or clean,” he warned.

| glared at him.

“I don’t give a shit,” | seethed.

He didn’t take offense to my unpleasant tone. He just nodded and took a step back. | turned back around and ran up the stairs. | could hear Bastien and Ethan on my tail. | followed the scent of the blood until | reached the door that it was most strong.

| barged in without knocking and froze at the doorway.

It seriously was a blood bath. The blood smelled disgusting and rotten; everything about it was wrong and the scent alone madewant to puke. Raymond was lying on his back, his eyes opened slightly but it was obvious he was dead. He had a gaping hole in his chest where his heart should be, but it wasn’t there. Bits of it were lying beside him on the ground, but it was evident that most of it had been consumed.

Raymond was an asshole, so it wasn’t much of a loss. But still, nobody deserved to die like that.

What kind of monster would do that? Then, my eyes shifted upward, and | saw her.

Rachel sat in the corner of the room, on the floor, with her knees pressed to her chest and head buried in her lap.

She had cuffs around her arms and legs, preventing her from going anywhere or using any kind of abilities.

Gammas were surrounding her as well, including Jake who was watchingsomberly.

His job was to get Ella there and back safely. But Ethan's job was to make sure Ella remained safe the entire time.

Anger coursed throughas | breathed out my nose like an angry bull and turned to face my Beta.

“And where the hell were you during all of this?” | seethed. “You were supposed to keep her safe.” Ethan's head lowered, shamefully.

“I... | was distracted,” he murmured, staring at the ground.

“Distracted?” | asked, feeling nothing but pissed. How could my Beta be distracted enough to not do his job?! “Distracted by what?” “I... uh... | found my mate.” The news of this surprised me; it certainly wasn’t what | was expecting. He found his mate in Alpha Jonathan's pack? It’s not even important right now; | shook my head and tried to ease my anger. It would distracttoo; | couldn't be too mad at him.

Besides, it's not like he was alone here.

| put my hand on his shoulder and gave him a nod.

“Congratulations, man,” | said to him.

He nodded in return, but he still looked remorseful.

| turned to Rachel who was still sobbing in her lap.

| walked up to her; the warriors allowedto pass so | could speak with her.

“Where is she?” | asked through my teeth.

Rachel looked and | saw the torment in her red and swollen eyes.

“l...I don’t know...” she sobbed.

“What do you mean you don’t know?!” | growled. “You were here with her. Where is she?” Both my wolf and | could be heard clear as day.

She let out another sob and shook her head.

“It took her...” she whimpered.

“WHAT TOOK HER?!” | roared.

After another sob, she glanced over my shoulder at Bastien and then back at me. When she spoke, it was almost inaudible.

“The darkness..."