Page 7 of Alpha's Hated Mate

“That’s enough,” Yarra said, raising her voice. “Nadia, thank you for the invitation, but I think I’ll have to decline. Saffron, let’s go.”

I’m letting Yarra pull me away, but I’mhot. Nadia has a lot of damned nerve. I wish Yarra let me wipe the floor with her.

Chapter Four—Aydan

Ican smell her all over campus. It’s starting to drive me insane.

Sometimes, it’s far off, well on the other side of campus. But most of the time, it’s strong. Like she’s following me or something. Over these last few weeks, I could tell if we were sharing a class as soon as I stepped into the hallway. And whenever I walked into a room she’d been in, I could still smell her long after she’d left.

It’s crazy. I’ve never been able to pick up any wolf’s scent like this before. Maybe it’s because she’s a Scarlet. I’ve never heard of Scarlets being particularly scent-heavy. It also doesn’t appear to bother anyone else. While I’ve noticed other Scarlets around campus, I don’t seem to pick up their scent as strongly.

It must be a perfume. Something cheap that she likes to wear. That has to be a violation of some kind. Aren’t there rules about people wearing heavy perfumes? There has to be. Wolves have very acute senses, after all.

It’s already time for midterms, and I can’t afford this kind of distraction. As soon as I got up this morning, I decided to talkto Professor Robertson about it. I had half a mind to go to the dean, but that just seemed like an overreaction. The subject of a female wolf’s scent should be handled with tact, and, well, I just don’t think it would be right for me to be discussing this with a male wolf.

Professor Robertson’s office door is open, but I knock on it anyway as I peek my head in. Her office looks more like an apothecary than anything else. Shelves and shelves of books and bottles with strange liquids in them. Clusters of talismans carved out of wood and bone. Papers, folders, and books clutter her desk, and a tea-stained cup rests in the center.

She’s sitting there with her messy hair and glasses hanging on the tip of her nose, reading an open book on her desk.

“Professor?”

She looks up at me and smiles. “Mr. Vaultmore. Hello.”

“Hello. I hope I’m not interrupting you.”

“No, no. Come in, please. What can I do for you?”

I step all the way into the room, stopping just a few feet from her desk. “I just wanted to ask a question about any policies that the school might have about heavy perfumes.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Heavy . . . perfumes?”

He nods. “Being that it’s midterms and we’re not supposed to be distracted from our studies, I’m sure you would agree that students walking around drenched in heavy perfumes are a distraction.”

A slow smile creeps onto her face, and she closes her book. “You’re concerned about being distracted from your grades. Interesting.”

I don’t know what that means, but I don’t think I like it. I take a breath and start again. “The thing is that as wolves, we’re sensitive to certain smells—”

“Do you have a Luna yet, Mr. Vaultmore?”

The question throws me off. “I’m . . . I’m sorry?”

“A Luna. With the sudden death of your father, I realize that you’ve been thrust into your role as Alpha, but many families like to get the whole Luna thing settled well beforehand.”

“Professor . . . I’m sorry. What does that have to do with anything?”

She gets up and walks around her desk, leaning on the corner. “I’m just trying to discern the source of this complaint of yours.”

She really isn’t making any sense. I shake my head at her. “It’s not a complaint, per se. I am just concerned that heavy scents on female students—”

“Mr. Vaultmore, as you can imagine, I’ve been at this school a very long time,” she says with a little laugh. “And usually when a male starts complaining about the scent of a female, it’s got nothing to do with the perfume she’s wearing.”

Ah. Okay. I see where she’s going now. Great. Now I’m having a spiritual conversation. “You’re referring to fated mates, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

I sigh. “EvenifI believed in that sort of thing, that isn’t the problem here.”

“Oh? Okay, well, I find it interesting that we’re several weeks into the school year and you are the first complaint about heavy perfumes on female students.”

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