One Night With My Alpha Professor

Audrey

Erik and Stella stood in the doorway like ghosts that never should have returned to this plane of existence.

Stella’s expression was as frosty as ever, making no attempt to hide the disdain in her icy gaze. Her lips were pressed into a tight, unmoving line, and her hands, clasped primly in front of her, were the only sign of restraint.

I knew she remained silent not out of choice but because of Edwin’s Alpha command that had muted her since the charity gala.

Still, her silence felt more ominous than any words she could have spoken.

Erik, in contrast, looked.. Empty. Hollowed out. As if some essential part of him had been scraped away since we had last seen him.

His skin had taken on a pallor, and his eyes-those same eyes that had once burned with cruelty and cold calculation- darted nervously between Edwin and me, unable to settle for more than a second.

Fear. Regret. Shame.

Those were not the emotions I felt, but rather the emotions that Erik Brooks’ gaunt face conveyed.

Edwin stiffened beside me. Eliza, who’d previously been banging on the bathroom door and asking Peter why he was running away from her, suddenly materialized at my other side.

“What are they doing here?” she hissed, not even pretending to be glad to see her parents.

Erik’s voice was tight, strained, as he spoke. “Edwin. Audrey. May I have a word?” He glanced at Eliza, then the others, and even Stella, before adding, “Alone?”

I felt Edwin’s unease rip through the mate bond like fire.

I met my mate’s eyes, giving him a small, uncertain nod. “It’s your call,” I told him through the Mindlink.

Edwin stood still, his face betraying little. I could feel his uncertainty, his emotions warring between vile hatred for his parents and curiosity as to what his father had to say.

Eventually, it seemed that curiosity won out.

After a long moment, he gave a single, slow nod. “I’ll give you two minutes to say whatever it is you have to say.”

With that, we followed Erik out of the room, leaving the others. As we left, I could see Eliza advancing on Stella, her lip curled in a hateful sneer. Whatever Eliza said to Stella in those moments, I closed my ears to it, giving them privacy

Once we were in the corridor, Erik turned to face us. He looked smaller now. He’d lost weight, that much was clear, but it was as if his skeleton had caved in on itself.

His previous ramrod straight posture was now curled inward, his shoulders slumped, head bent. His hand twitched nervously at his side, his forehead creasing then smoothing itself out then creasing again.

For a moment, he just stood there, silent, like he was trying to gather the strength for whatever he was about to say.

“Spit it out,” Edwin said, folding his arms across his chest.

Erik almost seemed to flinch at that.

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“Audrey,” he began, turning toward me but not meeting my eyes “when you showed me your memories-your death, the void-it… it changed everything for me.”

I blinked in surprise, caught off guard. That was not what I expected. Not at all.

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Erik’s words began to spill out faster, as if once he started, he couldn’t stop. “Realizing that there is no afterlife… no second chances… It opened my eyes. To everything. To my actions. To all the horrible choices I made. And the weight of them-the weight of those regrets-they’re crushing me. And they will for the rest of eternity.”

He turned then, looking directly at Edwin, his eyes glazed over with exhaustion. “Son, I… I need to apologize. For everything. For the way I treated you. For the beatings, the cruelty… everything. I was wrong. So terribly wrong.”

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The hallway grew impossibly still after that, as if even the constant beeping of the hospital machines went quiet.

Edwin stood rigid beside me, his face unreadable, his hands clenched at his sides. But through the bond, I could feel everything-his shock, the anger that still simmered just beneath the surface, and something else, something small and fragile that fluttered in his chest like a dying ember.

Hope. As tiny and brittle as it was, it was there.

“This is your decision,” I reminded him gently through our link. “Whatever you decide, I’ll stand by you.”

Time seemed to drag on forever in that empty corridor as Edwin pondered his father’s-and my-words.

My mate said nothing for what felt like an eternity. His gaze was fixed on some invisible point just beyond his father’s shoulder, his breathing slow, deliberate. In through his nose, out through his mouth. Calming himself. Steg himself.

Then…

“No.”

Erik flinched as if the single word had struck him, his eyes widening in disbelief. “Edwin, please—”

“No,” Edwin repeated, and this time his voice was colder, harder. “Your apology… It’s too little, too late. Do you have any idea what you put me through? What you put all of us through? You do realize that what happened with Axel today may never have happened if you and Stella hadn’t emotionally tormented us our entire lives, right?”

Erik opened his mouth to respond, but Edwin wasn’t finished.

“No. You don’t get to show up now, after years of torment, after all the pain and suffering and pitting us against one another, and expect me to forgive you just because you’re scared of what comes after death.” His voice cracked slightly, and a bitter laugh slipped from his lips. “Fear doesn’t absolve you of anything.”

The color drained from Erik’s face. “Son, I-”

“I’m not your son,” Edwin cut him off, the words as sharp as a knife. “Not anymore. You lost the right to call me that a long time ago. And I’m under no obligation to forgive the people who made my life hell. Not even if they’re my parents.”

Edwin paused and glanced at me for a brief moment before adding, “Especially not if they’re my parents.”

I remained silent, my face a mask of calm. But inside, I was utterly more relieved than I’d expected.

In those moments, my mind wandered back to my graduation, when my adoptive parents had come slinking back in search of so-called ‘forgiveness’ in the form of monetary benefits. This was no different.

Erik didn’t give a shit if Edwin truly forgave him,

He was just looking out for his own neck. Trying to make himself feel better so he wouldn’t have to spend eternity feg like shit.

And even if he had been in search of true forgiveness, Edwin was under no obligation to give it to him. Abusers didn’t hold some kind of special ‘right’ to forgiveness. Even if he had apologized a thousand times over, Edwin didn’t have to say those words.

“I… I understand,” Erik finally whispered, his voice barely audible. “I’m sorry, Edwin. Truly”

“No,” Edwin hissed. “You’re not. Now get out of my sight.”

Erik’s eyes widened slightly, his mouth parting, but no words came out. His shoulders slumped then, and he turned, walking away without saying a single thing. Stella saw him through the hospital room window and quickly followed him. I could hear Eliza’s harsh words as Stella slipped away.Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

“Run, coward,” Eliza growled. “If I ever see you again, I’ll-”

The door closed, and I couldn’t hear what else she said. But if my friends’ wide eyes were any indication, it was something along the lines of ‘I’ll fucking kill you.’

For a long moment, Edwin stood frozen in place, every muscle in his body coiled like a spring. I could feel his discomfort radiating off of him, not just through the bond, but from the physical heat I felt emanating from his body.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly, slipping my hand into his.

He startled as if he’d almost forgotten I was there.

“Uh… Yeah,” he murmured. “I think… I think I am.” He paused for a second, then added, “I released my mother’s voice just now Not that I expect her to use it.”

I rested my head against his shoulder, letting him absorb what little strength I had left.

After a moment, I tilted my head slightly, glancing through the small window back into the hospital room. Inside, our friends were gathered around, laughing and talking, already moving on from the tense encounter.

Eliza and Peter stood off to the side, where Eliza was gesturing wildly at Peter as if scolding him-no doubt for going off into Coldclaw territory on his own and endangering his life.

But Peter wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was fixed on Betty, and I couldn’t help but notice the faint blush that tinged the tips of his ears.

“You see them?” I whispered, smiling faintly. “That’s our family now. Sometimes, the family you make is better than the one you were born into.”

Edwin’s arm tightened around me, and I felt some of the tension melt from his body. A small, tentative smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he followed my gaze through the window.

“You’re right,” he said, the words barely audible over the hum of the hospital. “Let’s go to them. I’m starving. There’s a diner not far from here-”

He started to move toward the door, but something caught my eye. I gently pulled him back, resolve hardening in at the sight of the sign hanging at the end of the corridor.

“Cancer Ward: Children’s Center. Next Right.”

“Wait,” I said, a sudden thought forming in my mind. “There’s one last thing I want to do before we leave.”

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