My Professor Is My Alpha Mate

Third Person POV

Rachel sat in the dungeon of the Calypso Packhouse, still wearing her blood-soaked clothes. She was in a daze after all the events that happened earlier. She could hear the guards speaking about her like she wasn’t even there.

Telling one another that she was crazed and shouldn’t be allowed to walk free.

She was interrogated until she was blue in the face and now, she just wanted to rest.

They interrogated her in Alpha Jonatahn’s packhouse, but once they were done, they transported her to the dungeon in the Calpyso pack. They said they wanted to get her away from Alpha Jonathan’s pack and to a place where they knew she’d be safe.

Alpha Bastien told her they were only holding her in the dungeon until they knew for certain she wasn’t a threat.

After she killed her father, she was so sure the darkness that once resided in her body was gone. She felt it dispersing from her and watched as it slithered out the window. Her memories from the past week were foggy, but she remembered the details of killing that girl in the academic center.

She remembered killing those guards and killing also her father.

Rachel had framed Rodrick for those crimes… Rodrick…. Her hybrid mate.

Oh, Goddess.

He was still rotting in jail because of her.

She lifted her head to peer at the metal gates that locked her in the cell as tears streamed down her face. She could see the outline of the guards that stood outside the gate.

The blood on her clothing and skin was beginning to dry and become sticky and itchy. Some parts of the blood were crusty enough to peel off with her fingernails.

She was the reason Lila was gone. Darkness had taken her away and she had no idea where her friend had gone. She was the reason for a lot of horrid things.

She lowered her head and allowed fresh tears to wash over her features. She deserved whatever punishment she got.Footsteps sounded at the entrance of the dungeon doors, drawing Rachel’s attention. She lifted her gaze, and she noticed the guards were also looking in the same direction with identical frowns.

They hadn’t said much to her while she was there. they’d stare at her with strained expressions and only talk to each other.

Bastien, his Beta, and a couple of Gamma warriors were the ones who interrogated her. After the initial shock wore off and she was finally able to speak in a coherent sentence, she was able to explain the events from the last week or so.

The warriors and the Beta seemed reluctant to believe her, but Bastien did believe her, thankfully. But it was obvious these guards didn’t.“What are you doing down here?” One of the guards asked, staring into the abyss of the dark dungeon.

Rachel couldn’t see who the guard was talking to, but he didn’t sound angry, just wary.

“Let me see her,” a woman, she sounded a bit older, maybe middle-aged, said as she neared the guard.

“It’s not safe. She’s dangerous—”

“According to Alpha Bastien, she’s not dangerous. She’s a young girl and she deserves to be treated with respect,” the woman said. “I wish to see her, gamma.”

There was a moment of pause where Rachel thought they were speaking quietly now. She thought the guard was going to refuse and turn this woman away.

But to Rachel’s surprise, he sighed.

“Okay, fine. But I’m not getting in trouble for this,” he murmured.

“You won’t,” the woman assured him as she came closer.

A knot formed in the pit of Rachel’s stomach. She wondered who this woman was and what she wanted. The voice didn’t sound familiar. Then again, she’s never been to this packhouse before.

It didn’t take long for the woman to come into view and recognition flashed through Rachel’s eyes.

It was Deanna, the house mom. She was the head maid and chef for the Calpso pack.

Rachel remembered her from when she came to the school and helped Lila with the bake sales. She’s always been very nice, but Rachel was confused as to why she wanted to speak to her.

When Deanna’s eyes found Rachel, her gaze softened, and her expression shifted into what seemed like sadness. Or maybe it was pity.

Either way, Rachel didn’t like being looked at like that. She felt like she was in a zoo like a caged animal. Or a freak.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Deanna breathed as she stepped closer to the cell. She glanced over her shoulder at the guard. “Let me in.”

He furrowed his brows together and was about to protest but he quickly pinched his lips together and grunted as he grabbed a set of keys and began to unlock the cell door.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he muttered as the door swung open.

Rachel was frozen against the wall, not daring to move a muscle while this woman stepped into the cell and closed the door behind her.

She brought a large bag that reminded Rachel of a beach bag. She set the bag down in the corner and turned to face Rachel, a small smile showing on her lips.

“Hello, my darling,” she breathed, her voice soft and motherly. “Do you remember me?”

“D…Deanna…” Rachel stammered.

It was the first time she used her voice since she was interrogated, and she had no idea how long ago that was.

Deanna’s smile only grew.

“You can call me Dee,” she said gently. “How are you feeling?”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Rachel wasn’t sure how to answer that question. It was certainly loaded.

How was she feeling?”

Rachel felt sick to her stomach. She felt remorseful and disgusted. She had taken lives, framed others for the crimes she committed, got her best friend taken, and betrayed her mate. She most likely lost all her friends and everything she worked so hard to gain when it came to school. There was no way they were going to let her back at school after what she had done.

She killed her father.

She was covered in drying and sticky blood.

Rachel doubted she would ever feel okay again.

Seeing her expression, Dee sighed and knelt in front of her so that they could be at eye level.

“You are not a criminal, Rachel,” Dee breathed, lovingly. “You had something terrible happen to you. It wasn’t your fault. You are a victim…”

A victim?

Rachel didn’t feel like a victim. She felt like a criminal. A murderer. She felt like she should never walk free again.

That tightness in her stomach only intensified and she found herself holding onto her stomach to keep from vomiting.

Dee stared around Rachel’s clothing with a deep frown.

“They didn’t even clean you?” She asked, shaking her head with dismay written all over her face. “No wonder you feel crummy. Thankfully, I brought stuff.”

Rachel watched as Dee went to her bag and pulled a change of clothes, some wash clothes, and a spray bottle.

“It’s the best I could do,” Dee murmured as she walked back to Rachel. “Let’s get you cleaned and changed.”

Dee was the first person, besides Bastien, who spoke to Rachel like she wasn’t a crazed villain. She appreciated that about Dee and once she was cleaned from all the blood and changed, she started to feel like herself again. Besides the unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach due to the memories that live in her mind from this past week.

Those memories were going to stay with her forever.

They talked for a little bit more and then Dee went back to her bag, pulling out some homemade food. Rachel didn’t realize how hungry she was until Dee sat the food in her lap.

“You won’t be here for long,” Dee said with a kind smile. “I’ve talked to you long enough where I know there is no darkness left in you. I’m going to speak with Bastien and see what I can do.”

The guards outside the cell huffed with displeasure, making Dee roll her eyes.

“Don’t let them get to you,” Dee murmured, grasping Rachel’s hand. “Eat up and get some rest.”

“Thank you, Dee,” Rachel breathed, giving her a small smile.

It was the first time Rachel smiled in days; actually, it was the first time she felt capable of truly smiling in weeks.

After a little while Dee left, and Rachel was once again alone in her cell with only the judging eyes of the guards left.

Rachel kept her head down and tried to keep herself from crying, but she knew it was no use. Tears were beginning to spill before she could stop them. She wished Dee would return, but she knew it wasn’t likely.

After she finished eating, she found herself falling asleep only to be woken an hour later by the jingling sounds of keys and the cell door opening. Rachel lifted her head to see Alpha Bastien and Beta Aiden opening the doors.

“What’s going on?” Rachel found herself asking, staring between the two of them.

They both looked at one another.

“I think it’s safe to say that there’s no darkness inside of you anymore, Rachel. Especially after we spoke to Dee.” Bastien was the one who answered. “We are taking everyone to the Nova pack. We are trying to get them as far away from the territory as possible. Darkness is coming and when it does, there's no telling what it’ll do.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Alpha,” Rachel said, lowering her gaze. “Darkness was already here.”

Rachel went with Bastien and Aiden to the Nova packhouse.

She didn’t want to face anyone, so Bastien took her in a separate car and Aiden drove Becca and the others in his car. By the time they reached the Nova packhouse, Becca wanted to speak with Rachel, but she refused. She didn’t want anything to do with anyone at that moment.

Rachel found a guest room and kept herself inside it, despite the pleas of her friends. After what she had done, she didn’t deserve anyone to care about her.

Rachel didn’t want to see anyone even when word got out that darkness had been stopped and everybody was returning home. She was relieved that Lila was okay, and she too was returning home, though Rachel still felt an overwhelming sense of guilt about her part in all of this.

“Did you want to return with the others?” Bastien asked, leaning against the bedroom door with narrowed eyes fixed on her.

He’s been back for a little over a day and he was bringing her friends back to Higala. It was her understanding that Lila was recovering in Higala and Sarah was recovering in a hospital; Brody was with Sarah.

Becca, Luis, and Kayla have been at the Nova packhouse with Rachel, but Rachel refused to see them in the last 24 hours they’ve been there. The only ones she allowed to see her were the guards who were appointed to keep watch over her and of course, Bastien.

She shook her head.

“I don’t think I’d be welcomed there….” she murmured, staring down at her hands.

Bastien frowned.

“Everything that happened wasn’t your fault,” he said, cocking his head to the side. “None of it was your fault. We all know that.”

She was quiet for a moment longer.

“And Rodrick?”

Bastien raised his brows.

“He was released yesterday. He’s already back at the school,” he answered.

That gave Rachel a sense of hope; if she returned, she’d be able to see her mate and explain everything to him.

Would he believe her? Would he forgive her like everyone else?

“Before I got back to the school…. There’s someone I’d like to see first,” Rachel said, looking up at Bastien.

“And who would that be?”

“I’d like to see Lila.”