15. Almost a first encounter [M]

He was alone in his office. There was still less than an hour until his next class and more than half of the homework he had picked up from his last class of the morning was already marked. With a sigh, the man put the pen on the desk and leaned back, his head laid on the back of the chair, his long black hair hanging casually.

He had a headache for a few minutes already, which was abnormal given his nature. He felt restless and impatient, ready to pounce and get excited at the slightest word without understanding why. His blood was boiling in his veins. At the tips of his fingers, he felt a strange tingling and his heart was racing, which worried him. There was no way he could get sick, so his sudden state was more than a mystery.

A light chime snapped him out of his thoughts. He checked the notification that had just arrived on his phone. His eyes widened as he read the few lines of the email and a curse escaped his lips. His mood had just gone from mediocre to abysmal in a fraction of a second.

He squeezed the object between his fingers. The weird feeling and uneasiness kept growing and his heartbeat now echoed in his head, deafening every other sound. When he released the pressure in his fingers, the smartphone was bent and the cracked screen had turned black. Glen Red Creek threw the device on the desk and jumped up, knocking down the chair he was sitting on.

He walked out and grabbed the leather jacket from the coat by the door before storming out. The door slammed behind him and he made his way to the third floor without hesitation. He felt dizzy, but he shook his head away and kept walking.

The alpha entered the waiting room without knocking. The dean's secretary rose from her seat, anticipating a problem. She tried to stop the man who came in unannounced and might get her fired.

"Professor Red Creek, if you give me a few seconds I will announce your presence."

Glen glared at her and kept walking forward without answering. He walked through the waiting room and unceremoniously entered the dean's office, who didn't even bother to look up from the pile of files he was reviewing.

"What can I do for you? Just a warning, I'm busy so get right to the point. "

"Uncle Tomas, what is that email you just sent me? Why are you asking me to be here in two hours to meet the Alpha of Bloodhood pack? I thought I made it clear. There is no way I will attend this banquet. I have no intention of mating, let alone an omega. "

"I don't recall that we asked for your opinion."

"Because you and Father think you can force me?"

"This isn't exactly the word I would use," The dean, Tomas Red Creek explained, putting his pen on the document he was reading. He folded his hands and used them to rest his chin. "Using persuasive ways is a more accurate formulation of our intentions."

"Why are you trying to control me after you cast me out? I'm the oldest and an alpha, I should have taken over the pack and yet you picked Heather instead. You didn't want a failing alpha. You kept me away ... "

"You stepped away on your own," said the man, raising his voice. He banged the desk with his fist, the effects of his anger showing on his face.

"Still the same old lies", Glen answered as he shook his head. "You can say whatever you want, there is no way it will turn out the way you orchestrated it. I'm not your little puppet."

"You will do as…"

"I got a girlfriend." The man stated flatly.

"Which one? In the last three weeks of surveillance that our men have carried out, no less than eight different women have spent the night in your apartment. "

"You tracked me?" The alpha growled, irate.

"Stop acting like some hormonal teenager. You are already twenty-five. It's time to take responsibility. ", barked the beta.

"Which ones, the ones where you want me to screw an omega for the sake of your greed? Don't make me laugh. You cast me aside and now that you need me, you think all you have to do is snap your fingers to make me come back?"

Tomas stood up, threatening but Glen wasn't done.

"You are just some shameless bastards thirsty for power and I won't be a part of your scheming bullshit."

"You little shit!"

Glen sneered a wicked laugh. "There it is! Your true nature! "

"A union between our two packs…"

"Would only bring bad luck to two people! Nothing good would come out of our mating! I don't want an omega and he deserves better. Besides not telling them about my condition would be a betrayal on our end of the bargain since they are looking for a successor to lead their pack. I guess they don't know about my condition, do they? " He glanced at the man in front of him and sketched a wry smile. "But of course, that is if I was weak enough to listen to you, which is not going to happen."

He turned away and was about to leave when the voice of Tomas Red Creek stopped him.

"If you refuse, this time it won't be without consequences!"

"Oh? What are you going to do? ", He snapped with a defiant look.

"If you don't obey your alpha's orders, you can say goodbye to your job."

Glen laughed and shrugged.

"Well, I guess that I just have to find another job. Take this as my notice of resignation." He lifted his middle finger and opened the door to walk out of the office.

Anger blinded him and the dizziness that continued to stun him didn't help. He approached the door and caught a scent. It only lasted a second, but the wolf in him suddenly broke loose. His pupils dilated and his breathing became unstable. A sensation he hadn't known in a long time inflamed every nerve in his body.

He had just enough time to glance, and his eyes met two honey-golden irises with amber highlights. His whole body began to ache with what he recognized as the beginnings of a shift. When he realized it, Glen started to run. He had to get out of there at all costs. He didn't know what was going on, but it was forcing him to shift.

He focused with all his might so as not to free the wolf from his chains. The man walked downstairs, growls escaped his mouth and his hands had already taken on the appearance of sharp claws. The wolf in him wanted to return to this room, to dive a little longer into those golden eyes, to detail the face they decorated. His steps slowed down and grew heavier. He collapsed to the ground and placed a hand on his chest in an attempt to calm his unsteady breath.

His jaw crunched painfully and he felt his fangs tickle his tongue. No. There was no more time to waste. He had to get out of here right now before it was too late. The alpha pushed up on his legs to support him and resumed his run out of the building. He managed to get out, not without testing his pain endurance. His whole body was sweating profusely, unbearable heat invading every inch. He reached the parking lot, unable to properly control his movements, but he had no choice. His apartment was in Little Rift, a small town less than twenty minutes away from Red Creek. On a motorcycle, he would arrive in less time than it takes to tell. Even though in his condition it was dangerous, it was his best chance.

He took out the helmet, slammed it over his head despite the heat threatening to cook it, then mounted his mount. Once the dashboard lit, he barely took the time to look at the recorded information and started with a bang. Glen drove with only the sound of the wind and the beating of his heart in his ears. Less than ten minutes later, he braked in front of a house. The man walked across the garden, removing the helmet with a single gesture. He rushed up onto the porch and banged impatiently on the door.

His breathing was still so unsteady and even though the wolf in him stopped pulling on his chains, he still felt restless and had to use all of his willpower not to climb back on his motorbike and return to Red Creek.

The alpha felt that if he ever returned there, everything he had done to escape the world of the werewolves would come to naught. On the other side, the wolf in him stomped, growled, and begged him to turn back. He was about to consider the idea of ​​listening to him when the door opened. A freckled, trumpet-nosed brunette appeared in the doorway and frowned at him. Glen grinned and the woman pulled back to let him in.

"Dammit, what's the matter with you?"

All protests and questions were stopped by a brutal kiss. The man crushed his lips eagerly on that of his friend with benefits. He dropped the helmet on the floor without even giving it a look. He needed to stifle the animal instinct that begged him to come out, that this wasn't what he wanted.

With each cry his wolf uttered to convince him, he made up for it with more ardor. When the growls tuned down, he slipped his tongue into the woman's mouth who let him do it, pleasantly surprised by the fierceness he had never shown before. Glen pushed the woman inside, his hands already slipping under the shirt where he found, to his relief, her chest open. He attacked a nipple which he squeezed and pulled roughly between his thumb and forefinger. His other hand slid through the woman's brown strands, stroking her scalp before grabbing a full hand of the hair to tilt her head back and have a better angle for their kiss. When he broke their embrace and opened his eyes to look at his partner, he couldn't hide the disappointment in his gaze as he saw the hazel-colored irises staring at him with desire. He averted his eyes for a moment and the woman frowned at his expression.

"What's wrong? You don't look well. "

The man shook his head to chase away the uneasiness he was feeling and the howls of his wolf who had used his moment of weakness to launch a final assault. Glen didn't answer and grabbed her, the palms of his hands resting under her buttocks. He lifted her off the ground effortlessly. She wrapped her legs around his torso in a natural movement and they walked to the bedroom where he laid his partner on the sky-blue sheets of the king-size bed. His gaze hesitated again, but he managed to hide it with a flirtatious smile. The woman bit her lower lip and her gaze flared. She raised her hand to stroke his cheek and her face froze. A crease appeared between her eyebrows again.

"Glen, you're burning!" She moved her hand to his forehead to confirm her guess.

The man who had closed his eyes brought his nose up to the inside of her wrists in search of her scent. His expression suddenly became desperate.

"That's not it, it's not the same."

His body suddenly lost its strength and the woman had just enough time to duck and step onto her side as he collapsed onto the mattress. She helped him turn as he started to sweat profusely again.

"I've got to go… I need to go…", the man muttered in a semi-conscious state.

"Glen, listen to me, you can't go anywhere in that state…"

"I need to go, I need him… I want him…"