I Kissed My Professor And He Liked It

Colton’s POV | turned to Alpha Bastien who looked pale but determined at the stime. There were a lot of questions that we both had, but I had a feeling we weren't going to get them from Rachel. She was clearly traumatized and speaking in circles.

She kept murmuring something that neither of us could understand and she was continuously rocking back and forth. It was obvious that she wasn’t in the right state of mind.

“Rachel, we need to find out where Ella is. Is there anything you can tell us that could be helpful?” | found myself asking anyway, knowing she wasn’t going to say much of anything.

She kept shaking her head as she sobbed.

“Alpha, should we lock her up?” Jake asked, staring warily at Rachel.

| looked at Bastien again; | didn’t have the answers. But | didn’t think Rachel killed these people out of her own free will. | don’t think she killed her father on purpose. When | looked back at Rachel, | saw that she was now looking at me.

“The... voice...” she murmured, her eyes looking scarily ghostly. | knew she wasn't fully there, but her words struck a chord with my wolf. He was listening to her intently. | narrowed my eyes at her and bent down so | was at eye level.

“What voice?” | asked firmly, but not too firm where Id scare her silent.

“It was in my head...” she whispered. She was staring at nothing in particular; her lip quivered, and | knew she was about to start sobbing again. “It toldto do awful things.... It hurt so bad...” “Do you know who was in control of that voice?” | asked; maybe we were getting somewhere after all.

She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head rapidly.

“No... no...no....” she cried in her lap.

“Okay, that’s okay, Rachel,” | said, trying to be reassuring, but the energy was so high that I couldn't get my voice to sound compassionate. | was pissed and it was clear in my tone. “Do you know why it made you do those things?” She was quiet for a moment; | didn’t think she was going to respond, but she lifted her head and stared atthrough her unshed tears.

“Darkness needed to feed...” she whispered hoarsely. “It can’t survive long if it doesn’t feed.” Those people she killed at the school must have been sacrifices to the darkness to keep it around and strong. | shuddered at the thought of Ella being next on its list. But it was odd that she wasn’t here and that they took her away.

“Do you know why they wanted Ella?” | found myself asking.

“Vessel...” she whispered.

Then she began to sob again, and her entire body jolted and shivered.

“She’s clearly not well,” Alpha Jonathan seethed. “Take her to the dungeon. We will deal with her later. We need to clean this mess.” “Yes, Alpha,” the gammas said as they grabbed Rachel's arms and pulled her to her feet with great force. She didn’t fight them or even whimper at the force they'd used.

She struggled to walk, but she managed. But as she walked past me, she looked up at me, and with quivering lips she said, “You can’t stop it... no one can...” Then, she was dragged out of the room.

Alpha Jonathan shook his head with disgust.

“I'm not humoring that mess,” he muttered. “I need to make my guests leave now. The banquet has been ruined.” “That's not the important thing,” | growled.

“No, it's not,” Bastien agreed, both of us glaring at Jonathan. “We need to find my daughter. She disappeared in YOUR packhouse, Alpha. Have any ideas who could have taken her?” “I was downstairs with you the entire time,” Alpha Jonathan said, narrowing his eyes. “How the hell should | know?” “It’s just weird that you suddenly wanted to have a banquet and now my MATE IS MISSING,” | growled, shaking the room we stood in.

Alpha Jonathan's eyes widened with shock and at first, | didn’t understand why. But then | realized the mistake I'd made.

Shit.

“Ella is your mate?” Jonathan asked, taken aback. “Since when?” “It's not important,” | muttered, shoving past him to leave the room.

“As the guy who OWNS the school she studies in and the school you WORK in, it is my business,” Jonathan seethed. “You could get FIRED for not reporting this, Alpha.” “My job is the least of my concerns right now,” | muttered.

“Why are your gammas still standing around?” Bastien growled. “I want every gramma this pack has to be searching the entire territory for my daughter.” His Alpha voice carried around the packhouse and gammas all over jumped into action.

“I'll get a hold of my Beta and get him and sof my best gammas here as well,” Bastien said, grabbing his phone.

While Bastien did that, | mindlinked Jake.

“Call your men, get them here,” | ordered him. “I want the best warriors to search for Ella.” “Yes, Alpha,” Jake quickly replied.

“Bastien...” | heard a familiar female voice sounding choked up, coming from a short distance.

We were walking down the stairs when Luna Selene met us at the bottom. Bastien wrapped her in his arms, and she cried.

“Please, tellyou have a clue as to where our daughter is...” she sobbed.

“We will soon,” he assured her, holding her close.

It madefeel a sense of jealousy because | couldn't hold my mate.

“Most of the guests had already gone. When they heard the screaming, it freaked them out,” she said, wiping her eyes. “What can | do to help?” “I don’t think it's safe for you to stay here,” Bastien told her gently.

She looked puzzled.

“I'm not leaving until we know where Ella is,” she said firmly.

Selene had always been strong and fearless when it cto her pups; if it meant protecting them, she would conquer the entire world. She basically has when she defeated my father.

“And we will find her, but we need to make sure everyone else here is safe as well,” Bastien told her. “I think you should take her friends away from here.” “They can go to my packhouse. It's not too far and not too close either. They will be safe,” | chimed in, meeting Selene’s worried eyes.

“I can’t leave here,” she said shaking her head and folding her arms across her chest. “Not without my daughter.” “Selene, for once, | need you to listen to me,” Bastien said firmly, narrowing his eyes at her. “We need to make sure everyone is safe. This house had darkness inside of it less than an hour ago. It took our daughter and whatever happened to Rachel is still affecting her. We don’t know if she’s still under their control or if it'll cback. Those kids in the living room are not safe. | need you to do this for me.” She looked like she wanted to protest again, but | spoke up first.

“He’s right; we can’t risk anyone else getting hurt. It's wise if you took everyone back to my pack.” “Alpha Colton, | think you should go too. Make sure they get back safe,” Bastien said, eyeingcarefully.

“The hell I'm leaving,” | growled, Max was already hissing at the very thought of leaving this area. “I'm searching for my mate.” “We already have the best warriors searching for her and we have more on their way as we speak. You can join us after but I'd feel more comfortable if | knew everyone else was safe,” Bastien said calmly.

“I'm not leaving,” | said through my teeth. “I'm searching for Ella.” “You can return to us after,” Bastien said firmly. “You need a clear head before you do anything. You are too wound up. Take an hour to bring them to your pack and then rejoin us.” | opened my mouth to argue, but Selene grabbed my arm.

“I'd feel better if you cwith us. | need to speak with you anyway,” she said sounding almost urgent.

“What is it?” Bastien asked before I could.

She gave him a small smile and then kissed his cheek gently.

“Go search for our daughter. We will be fine and we will speak later,” she said before stepping away.

From his scowl, he didn’t seem to like that, but she paid him no attention. | was trying desperately to keep my wolf under control; he didn’t want to leave, and he was going to do what he could to preventfrom moving.

But Selene was stronger than she looked and grabbed my arm, pullingalong with her, much to my dismay.

We went into the living to grab the others. Everybody looked to be distraught, but not as distraught as me. | was still trying to keep my wolf under control and fighting the urge to break things. Becca was curled up on the couch with Luis and it was obvious she was crying. | wasn’t sure how much information they knew, but the less they knew the better, so | didn’t fill them in on everything that was happening.

Kayla was pacing back and forth; she looked stressed, and | could feel her anxiety from just looking at her. Brody was also on the couch; he looked pale, and he was staring down at his phone with a crease between his brows.

| looked around the room for a minute until my eyes landed on Beta Ethan. | hadn't realized he snuck off and cin here. His back was turned from me, so | couldn't see what he was doing.

| furrowed my brows together and cleared my throat loudly, getting his attention. When he turned, | was stunned at what | saw.

Brianna, Ella's best friend and Gamma Donovan's niece was curled up in his arms. He held her protectively as her body trembled and she cried.

| cocked my head to the side and met his eyes.

“Mate?” | mouthed the word and Ethan nodded.

| raised my brows in response.

Well, I'll be damned.

“I'm being forced to return to Calypso to make sure they get back safely,” | explained to my beta. He nodded, still holding a crying Brianna. “I'll take her back too. But | need you to stay here and search for Ella with the others. I'll be back as soon as | possibly can.” “Will do,” he said, kissing the top of Brianna’s head.

He turned around with her so they could speak in private for a few minutes.

“We need to leave,” she announced to the rest of the room. “Alpha Colton is going to take us back to his pack for the tbeing. It’s not safe here...” “Can't | stay?” Brianna asked through sobs. “I want to help search for Ella.” “We'd feel better if you were safe,” Selene told her calmly. “You don’t need to worry; we are going to find her.

But right now, darkness is lurking in the region, and we need to get to safety. We need to get away from here.” They all stood and began to make their way out of the living room; most of them walking with their heads held downward.

Selene and | were the last to leave the room and she looked up at me; | saw this determination in my face that maderealize she was up to something.

“You have a prisoner in your dungeon still, right?” She asked.

| raised my brows, but | nodded.

“Xander, yes,” | answered.

“Good,” she said, turning and walking toward the door. “I need to speak with him.”