The Teacher's Mate

Part 22

Drake stumbled into the dining room and got in line for breakfast. Whatever his uncle had put in that whiskey had knocked him out cold.

He saw her and had to do a double take. He rubbed his eyes again. She was so beautiful. Her jeans hugged her curves and her hair was like a halo. Her scent finally came to him but it was faint. Damn drugs were still messing with him. She glanced his way and started before picking up the honey jar and quickly scooping honey into a coffee mug with a spoon. What was she doing? He watched entranced as she filled the mug with coffee and stirred it with a spoon. No creamer, no sugar, just honey, how strange.

A sharp impact hit his ribs, "Come on Drake, you're staring like a creep." His cousin John said. John's elbow snapped him out if his trance and he began to pile food on his plate.

"Easy there, start with just a cinnamon roll for now and then see where your stomach's at." Beta Charles suggested. "That drink last night was supposed to be sipped while snacking on food, not downed in two swallows."

"A little warning would have been nice." Drake said. "What was that by the way."

"I put a couple drops of Oleander extract in the whiskey. It's deadly to humans so i didn't put it out where one of them might grab it by accident, but our wolves can take it. It just makes our bodies shut down for a while and if sipped properly, can make the affects of alcohol stronger."

John snickered. "Look at the responsible teacher getting drunk at a party. With his students no less."

"John," Beta Charles said, "I don't think that's appropriate. Remember, you have to respect those put over you, otherwise how can you expect their respect when the time comes for you to lead them?"

John looked at the floor and apologized before going to grab a plate.

"You ever think you might ge to hard on him uncle?" Drake asked. "He is only a boy still."

The beta sighed. "Maybe, but I don't want for my and his mother's decision to hold him back in any way, which means he needs to keep his nose as clean as possible. Whether he likes it or not, being the child of unfated mates will follow him. Every decision he makes is under scrutiny and can affect his future."

"This pack was built to be a haven for wolves like him. He'll be a fine example to help lead it."

Drake's Uncle smiled at him gratefully and then left to sit towards the front of the table with his wife.

Audrey knew that to the outsider she would look as if she were lounging, but her mind was racing. It was an effort to keep her muscles on the edge of relaxed to complete the look. She had finished her breakfast and was casually sipping her coffee while keeping an eye on Mr. Newman as he made his way through the long line for breakfast. Luna Evelyn had been right, most of the wolves wanted something small they could grab and then go. He hadn't been on the morning run for which she was very grateful. She glanced at his shirtless frame again and felt her cheeks heat up. Hopefully she wasn't blushing to badly.

Currently, her mind was at war with itself about whether or not she wanted Drake to come sit next to her in her secluded corner. Well, as secluded as she could get, she wasn't the first thing people saw when they walked through the door anyway.

One side if her brain was screaming for her to escape another social interaction and the other really wanted to discuss what was happening and get on the same page as the man who was supposed to be her mate. It didn't help that both sides seemed to be at maybe half capacity seeing as how the damn man didn't have anything but a pair of low hanging pajama pants on. She took a long pull of the still very hot coffee. She drank until her mouth was on the brink of actually being seriously burnt before setting it down and eating what was on her plate. Jealousy stirred in her as she watched him work his way through the line, how dare he put himself on display for everyone to see like that? He was supposed to be hers, and hers alone. She took a deep breath, where had that come from? He was a wolf, hadn't she just seen the Alpha himself running naked? She had no desire to see a 55 year old man running around naked but here she was. Nudity didn't mean anything to them. She took another deep breath, and when had she started thinking of him as hers? She didn't have the right to do that until she wore his mark.

She was almost finished with her breakfast when he sat down across from her. "Good morning," Drake greeted before taking a bite out of his cinnamon roll.

"Morning," she replied before scooping up her last bite and attempting to hide behind her coffee mug as she drank the last swallow.

"Do you really only put honey in your coffee?" He asked as he sipped his water.

"Yes," she replied. "I'd better go wake my dad up before breakfast is gone." She couldn't do it, not this morning where she already had to interact with so many different people and with him being shirtless. There was just no way. So she picked up her dishes and made her escape.