𝔹𝕝𝕖𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 -𝕁𝕚𝕞𝕚 ℍ𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕣𝕚𝕩
"Have mercy,
have mercy now"
Cedric POV
"This one has been tampered with, dammit." Savannah groans out in annoyance as she fiddles with the object in question. She tries to delicately take the camera from the tree, but it's stuck. She finally just rips it free of the wood and tosses it to the ground with a thump.
I stand on the sidelines with my hands shoved in my pockets as I rather impatiently wait for her to be done with this. Not that it will make the time go by any faster, but I'm too riled up to be stuck out here in the first place. At least being in my classroom will somehow convince me it's almost time to meet with my mate again.
It's funny how decades of my life can pass me by like a blink, but a few hours of waiting seem like an eternity. It's all Hendrix's fault.
My Beta has dragged me out into the forest for the second time, and I still don't know why I have to be here for this. Again. It's a pointless effort, and I can't help but feel as if she's purposefully trying to waste my precious time.
She doesn't seem concerned about the cameras being broken. I would think it would anger her, as most things tend to do, but she just shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. Savannah's been quite somber today, and I don't know how long it's been going on, and I still don't know why.
It's hard to pay attention to anything when Hendrix is all that I think about. I'm antsy to get to her. The sight of her alone calms the darkest parts of my soul. I almost feel normal when I'm around her, if that's even possible.
"Is that all the cameras? They're all broken?" I ask, my voice holding a hint of the strain I'm experiencing behind closed doors. I don't care for conversation now, or ever really, but Savannah is acting off right now.I need something to reassure myself that my Beta hasn't completely lost her mind.
She furrows her black eyebrows as she stares down at the spy cameras strewn across the forest floor between her feet.
"Yeah. I'm not too worried. They won't suspect anything, the news of wolves in the woods would cause anyone to put up surveillance." She explains, kicking the autumn leaves with her black boot and huffing a dramatic sigh. She puts her hands on her hips.
"And... you're not freaking out about it?" I ask dubiously. Savannah shakes her head.
This definitely isn't normal for her. Maybe she's just tired? I can't claim to understand females. They are confusing if nothing else. They're always changing their moods.
I can only hope that my inexperience won't harm my relationship with my mate. The human species is strange, but females take it to a whole new level. My mate just happens to be both.
"I didn't know if it would work in the first place." She admits, and I shake my head. It's better to distract myself with this conversation than be anxiously waiting to see Hendrix in a few hours. I want to pace back and forth instead of standing so still like this.
"And yet, we wasted time and money with this." I gesture to the cameras with a glare. Savannah purses her lips in amusement, shaking her head.
"Yeah, like you don't have enough of those things in the first place." I close my mouth, because she's not wrong, and I don't feel like arguing with her. Or talking to her.
Savannah gathers the cameras, keeping busy with the mess while she continues to glance at me. She arrests for a moment, crouched on her feet while her light eyes run over me. My second in command is looking me up and down, and I don't like how observant she's being.
"What's your deal?" She wonders out loud. At first, I don't respond because it's really none of her business, but my stubborn friend continues to press me for information. "You look constipated."
I glare at her words, knowing full well that she's trying to rile me up. It's not going to work, not this time. Because for once I actually have something to look forward to.
"I'm tutoring my mate today." I inform her, holding my scowl in place to show her my disapproval of this conversation. It's not amusing to me when my Beta tries to interrogate me for information. I'm the one in charge, not her, and sometimes she forgets that. She needs to remember her place.
Her face falls slightly, all traces of humor vanishing. A sudden look of vulnerability comes over her before she rushes to cover it up with narrowed eyes and a smirk. How strange.
"She really must be your mate if you're acting like this. You never act like this." She tells me over her shoulder as she returns to pick up the cameras and shove them into her bag with little to no regard. They are broken after all I suppose.
"Acting like what, exactly?" I ask in mild frustration.
Savannah turns to glance at me with a sad smile that I don't quite understand.
"Isn't it obvious? You're holding your breath, Veiler."
✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰
Hendrix POV
I fiddle with my pencil restlessly as I flick my gaze over to Cedric for the 100th time. I've only been sitting here for 10 minutes and I still can't focus on a single thing except for him and his stupidly beautiful face. Why does he have to be so handsome? Can't he see I'm trying to be a good pupil and learn my stuff.
He brought a stack of old books, much to my chagrin. I've never been much of a reader. Of course, I've done required reading for school and all that, somehow I forced myself through those. Reading for fun, however? Never my thing. I've been too busy memorizing every word of every song by Prince to do that.
"I'm sure you'll like this one. Most young girls do." He holds out a copy of Pride and Prejudice with a sly grin that always makes me a bit light headed.
I don't need a man. I don't need a man. I don't need a man.
As I continue to chant in my head, I take the brick sized book, looking down at it dubiously before shifting my attention to my Professor who stands in front of my desk like a rugged biker in his leather jacket and dark jeans.
"This is a romance novel, right? How can a book about romance change literature as a whole?" I ask him, because I would honestly like to know. It makes no sense to me, but I can't say I know much about literature.
He chuckles a little bit at my tone, and shakes his head like he's talking to a toddler.
"Well, it was revolutionary at the time for a woman to be successful at writing... or anything at that. It was quite the scandal. Many men disapproved of her novels being read by their woman because it encouraged women's rights and the idea of free thinking of the female mind. It was still successful, and remains famous till this day." He gestures at the maroon book with his large hand and I glance down at the thing with a grimace.
Even the title on the cover looks old fashioned. It's in swirling gold lettered cursive. The ink glitters from the overhead lights and I sigh. It's a bit too big for my liking. That's a lot of pages.
"You talk about it like you were there." I joke, hoping to defuse the embarrassment I feel, but Cedric doesn't laugh. I nervously look back up at him to see him smiling at me. It's kind of unnerving. He's acting like he knows something that I don't.
Which I'm sure he does know a lot that I don't. He's older and smarter, and just better overall in every single way imaginable. I scratch the back of my neck at the thought before observing Cedric with a more speculative eye.
From the slight wrinkling around his face to his eyes brimming with wisdom, it's not hard to tell he's quite a bit older than I am. I curse myself for the crush I've already formed on my teacher. Even going into this I knew that I was in danger of having my heart stolen and shattered, but I'm already becoming infatuated with him. And I didn't even want it! It just happened.
As if it would actually work out between us. I could be expelled and he could get fired, not to mention why would he want me anyway? A girl almost half his age with crazy hair and trust issues? Yeah. That sounds appealing, that's for sure. He'd probably rather date any other girl on campus than me. I'm not much to look at, and I'm not very smart either. I remember when Cedric asked me if I wanted to him to tutor me, and I agreed thinking it was deeper than it actually is. I thought he liked me, how pathetic is that? He's just being nice and..
"Hendrix? Hello?" A hand waves down in front of my face and I startle, my knees banging against the bottom of the desk with a sickening thump.
"Ouch!" I cry, rubbing at my knee caps that are already aching in protest.
"Are you alright?" The gruff voice comes from right beside me, and I turn to see that Cedric is on his knees beside me, inspecting my knees already with scrunched up eyebrows and a firm set jaw. When his hands brush up my calf and over my knees, I grow self conscious. I haven't shaved since yesterday! I wonder if my prickly legs are noticeable.
He doesn't seem to notice, or care for that matter. Goosebumps break out across my tan skin at the warm sensation that his touch always causes. I take a shaky breath. I like him touching me. I shouldn't like it, but I do. I really do.
"It will probably leave a bruise." Cedric states, and when I look at him he's glaring down at my knee caps with an intense glare. Why is he so upset? I'm the one who got hurt, not him.
"Oh, that's alright. I reckon I'll get over it, I am a tough girl after all." I inform him, nervously rubbing at the sore area while his large hands continue to hold my legs in place, but something about his gentle grip is changing. His grasp is getting tighter, his strong fingers slowly curling into my skin until I gasp in pain.
"Cedric! Stop, stop it." I tell him, trying to wriggle out of his hold in discomfort. It's not unbearable, but it definitely doesn't feel good. "You're hurting me."
In a moment, the hands are gone and my Professor is panting as he rocks back on his heels. He holds out his hands, his palms towards his face, to stare in horror at them before glancing at my legs that they once held only seconds ago. He's sorrowful, his face brimming with regret and turmoil.
"It's fine, I'm just, uh, sensitive is all. I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it." I comfort him, but when I reach out for him he backs away before standing up on two feet in a swift motion and taking a few steps back.
"I'm very sorry Hendrix. I don't know what came over me." He shakes his head, rubbing at the side of his face in frustration. His rough voice is trembling.
"I need to be more careful, dammit." He angrily murmurs to himself. After that, there's just a tense silence while he stands there. Cedric won't look at me, and his hands are clenched at his side.
Before I can stop myself, I'm out of my chair and walking towards him. I tentatively go up to him. Even though I have no explanation, somehow I can palpably feel his self hatred. The emotions he has pent up inside beat at me like a sore thumb, begging to be healed.
I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know what I'm supposed to do, but I just follow my natural instincts.
Slowly, I wrap my arms around his waist and lean into his chest. My whole body is tense when I first make contact. This is kind of risky. It's a big move. I don't even have a clue what he'll do in retaliation to this.
He freezes also. His body is stiff, and I wonder if I've made a mistake. He stands as straight as a board. Cedric probably thinks I'm some silly little girl. I nearly groan at the thought, I am small, a lot smaller than him too. Compared to his massive height, I barely exist. So much for making the situation better. Before I can pull away and apologize, arms of steel wind around my back and I'm being pulled to him.
Cedric is hugging me back. He's actually hugging me back!
I relax against his chest, finally letting myself go slack in his embrace. The warm tingles are everywhere now. I love those things. When we touch, I feel like I'm some sort of giddy school girl. Oh wait, that's exactly what I am.
After a few wonderful minutes of connection, Cedric leans back so he can look down at me. His dark eyes still don't seem to fit his face well at all. I wonder why that is. Maybe I'm just crazy.
His fingertips touch my chin so he can look closer at my face with his searching gaze. I can't help but exhale in wonder at the rugged beauty of his face, even with those scars, they just add to his handsome appearance. And that dark stubble. I can't get enough. It's as if I could look at him all day.
"We better get back to work, or I might be tempted to do other things." Cedric tells me, and I immediately glance at his lips. In this moment, I wish we could do anything but talk about stupid love stories, and then we could just get started on our own.
✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰
If you're reading this, you're a beautiful person:)
Sorry this took all day to get up lol. I've been busy and every time I would sit down to edit this chapter I would get distracted.
But here it is! I hope it was worth the wait. I really need to remember to write down ideas I have for my stories and things I want to happen. I come up with stuff and forget to write it down! I hope those things will come back to me haha
Next update will be Monday! See you later my amazing, fantastic readers! You make this all possible, and inspire me to write every single day ❤️❤️❤️