Where the fuck was Bria?

I paced around the front of my classroom to lecture about Ovid, but I couldn't get my mind off of Bria or what happened last night. Every time the door opened or a pen fell or a paper flipped on someone's desk, I looked up at the exit doors to see if it was Bria Benton.

She didn't seem like the type of girl to skip class.

From the moment I met her, she seemed very particular and anxious about missing any sort of event, had stumbled into the classics building in a rush and a complete mess of nerves, hair crazy from the wind and eyes wide in fear that she'd be late.

"Professor Lee?" Jasmine said, sitting in Bria's seat in the front row.

After cursing to myself, I stood behind the podium and rubbed my sweaty palms together, giving her a nod to ask whatever kind of question she had for me now. She had been the only person asking questions all class. And while on any other day, I would find it refreshing, I couldn't think straight now.

Between Bria and Alpha Adan showing up on my property, I hadn't shut my eyes to sleep once last night. He had threatened me with war if I didn't find him information on a new student at the university, and normally I would gladly accept war with someone like him.

But I had Bria to worry about now.

And she still hadn't showed up.

"Can you give us your opinion on mythology in pop culture?" Jasmine asked.

I blew a steady breath through my nose so as to not come off as pissed off to my other students and gave her a tense smile. "Maybe some other time. We have an exam in a couple weeks and need to get through this material."

"An exam already?" she asked, the rest of the class starting to groan about it.

"Yes, Jasmine," I said, wanting nothing more than to scold her through our mindlink.

Once I guided the class back into the material, I finished my lecture early, placed my hands on either side of the podium, and tightened my grip until the students started to pile out of the classroom. My mind reeled with thoughts, worries, scenarios about what could've happened to Bria.

What if someone tipped Alpha Adan off that I had been paying special attention to Bria? What if he took her as collateral until I found him that fucking information—which I wouldn't—but I needed to at least make it seem like I was until I could come up with a plan. He had our pack and this school surrounded.

After class, Jasmine walked up to me with a grin on her face. "Professor Lee, I—"

"Where's Bria?" I asked bluntly, unable to hold myself back any longer.

Jasmine might've been part of my pack, but my mate was somewhere on campus, thinking that I pushed her away last night because I was a shitty person. I needed to talk to her, and I needed to talk to her now. I didn't care where she was, I would hunt her down.

"I don't know," Jasmine said. "I, uhm, matter of fact, I haven't seen her since yesterday."

"You haven't seen her since yesterday?" I growled. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She widened her eyes even more and shook her head. "I didn't know that you wanted to know about her. She's just a human. There are tons of girls like her in this school. I... I..." She furrowed her brows and glanced back up at me. "Oh my goddess, she's your mate, isn't she?"

Pressing my lips together, I closed my eyes and blew out a breath. I didn't want anyone to find out yet. I had Adan and the council to worry about, and I needed to keep Bria safe. But... it was difficult to keep something like this a secret to everyone around, especially when Bria was my mate.

"Yes, she's my mate," I said, lowering my voice so nobody else would hear.

Jasmine straightened out her shoulders, pulled up her shirt to cover her breasts, and looked down at her feet. "Sorry, I didn't know. If I did, I wouldn't have... uhm, switched into your class or, uhm..."

"It's fine, Jasmine. I just..." I rubbed a hand across my face. "I need you to watch and protect her for me. If you find her today, please tell me. I haven't seen her since last night, and we have a pack on our borders ready to attack."

Jasmine nodded. "I'll let you know, Alpha."

And, with that, she turned on her heel and hurried up the auditorium steps. Beta Milo cleared his throat and waited by the door. Jasmine passed him and bowed her head, scurrying down the hallway.

I snapped my textbook shut, on edge and needing to find Bria to make sure that she was safe. I didn't want to deal with pack drama right now or Alpha Adan; I needed to be with her. She drove me fucking crazy without even trying.

"What's wrong?" I asked, running a hand through my hair.

"Alpha Adan is looking for one of your students."

My stomach tightened in knots. "Who?"

"Bria Benton."