Page 22 of Hexmate

Atlas’s eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn’t quite place. “Maybe you don’t need it, but you deserve it,” he said softly. His hand reached out, fingers lightly brushing my cheek. “You deserve so much more than what those assholes give you.”

My breath caught in my throat at his touch. Every nerve in my body felt electrified. “Atlas,” I whispered, unable to look away from his intense gaze.

He took another step closer, so close I could feel the heat radiating off his body. His scent enveloped me - earthy and wild, with an undercurrent of something that sent a shiver of delight down my spine. My head swam with it.

“Caden,” he murmured, his voice low. “I...”

The sound of approaching footsteps made us spring apart. Atlas cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair as Professor Blackwood rounded the corner. Her sharp eyes narrowed as she took in the scene.

“Mr. Cromwell,” she said coldly. “I see you’ve decided my class isn’t worth your time today.”

I flushed, stammering out an excuse. “I-I’m sorry, Professor. I?—”

“I don’t care about your excuses,” she snapped. She burned a dirty look at Atlas. “Clearly you don’t value your time or your…company. You will come with me immediately.”

I glanced up at Atlas, my gaze apologetic. He just gave me a nod of understanding. With a whispered goodbye, I pulled away from him and followed Professor Blackwood with my head hung low.

But my heart was still pounding. An Alpha werewolf wanted to protect me. Something about that made my stomach flutter in all the right ways.

Chapter 9

Caden

Aten-page paper on the differences between casting spells in Latin versus English. And it was due in three days. That was what Professor Blackwood punished me with for skipping her class. Despite how much work that was going to be, I felt light as I walked back to my dorm room, my thoughts still bent on Atlas.

The way he’d stepped up to protect me from Rowan and his cronies… it made my heart sing. I knew it shouldn’t, that I should be keeping my feelings at bay, but I wasn’t doing a very good job. That combined with his scent, his exceptional physique, and the way his shirt rode up when he stretched… it made me weak. And it also turned me on far too much. That alone could get me in trouble with his werewolf senses able to pick up nearly everything.

I had to admit though, it was pretty exciting on multiple levels. Ever since I’d been torn from my old life and forced into Widdershins Academy, I’d been going it alone. The only company I had was Wild. That meant there was no dating, no flirtatious glances, or anything of the sort. Hell, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d eaten a meal with someone else before Atlas. And with my father’s expectations weighing on me,I didn’t have time to explore anything else. So, this was all new and a bit frightening at the same time.

As I reached my dorm room, I couldn’t shake the image of Atlas from my mind. His golden eyes, the way his muscles rippled under his shirt, the raw power emanating from him. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I had work to do, and fantasizing about an Alpha wolf wasn’t going to help me finish that paper.

I unlocked my door and stepped inside, immediately greeted by Wild spinning around in his chair to look up at me, that same Cheshire grin spreading over his face.

“Well?” he asked, running a hand through his ginger hair. “How was your date?”

I let out a long sigh and rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t a date, Wild. It was just coffee.”

“Uh-huh,” he mocked. “For the second time. And you skipped class for him.”

“Don’t remind me,” I huffed, dropping my bag on the floor and flopping on my bed. “Professor Blackwood found me at the student center and gave me extra work to punish me.”

“That woman is such a cunt.”

I glanced over at him. “She’s not nice.”

“Right,” he nodded. “A cunt.” He leaned against his desk, his bright green eyes still glimmering as he rested his cheek in his hand. “Now stop avoiding the question. How did it go?”

I hesitated, feeling a blush creep up my neck. “It was... nice,” I admitted finally even though I knew I shouldn’t. Wild liked to get carried away with even the smallest details. “Atlas is... different than I expected.”

Wild raised an eyebrow. “Different how?”

“He’s not just some dumb jock,” I said, sitting up on my bed. “He’s actually pretty intelligent. And funny. And...” I trailed off, remembering how Atlas had stood up for me.

“And?” Wild prompted, leaning forward eagerly.

I sighed. “And he protected me from Rowan and his goons. They were trying to make trouble toward the end of our coffee, but Atlas stood up to them and scared them off.”

Wild’s eyes widened. “Holy shit. That Alpha wolf protected you from other witches? That’s... that’s a big deal, man.”

---