Her Professor Mate Read online

  He hoped the weather wouldn’t delay his date with Parker tomorrow.

  Mac winced inwardly when he thought about how much he’d messed things up with Parker.

  She had been his student teacher a few years ago, when he’d still taught at Tarker’s Hollow High School. At that time, he had admired her budding teaching skills and forbade himself from noticing her good looks - or at least from acting on his instincts about her.

  He’d done what he thought was an admirable job, and she’d gone on her way. Then, during his brief tenure as the interim alpha of the Tarker’s Hollow pack, he’d bumped into her at a party.

  Being alpha had lit his libido on fire. And as his wolf slavered after every female in town, craving a mate to secure its position at the top of the pack permanently, Mac had tried desperately to control his raging desires.

  As a result, he’d made an unforgettable ass of himself at that party. And Parker would probably never look at him the same way again.

  When Ainsley finally became the permanent pack leader, Mac’s wild urges fell away. Mostly.

  And Mac became aware of a wonderful and horrible set of facts.

  Parker Everly was his mate.

  And she wanted nothing to do with him.

  At first he tried to resign himself to a life alone. After all, Parker was a human. It wasn’t her problem that his wolf was bonded to her.

  Then she’d volunteered to be auctioned off for a date to support the Women’s Shelter at the charity auction.

  And Mac had spent a month’s salary to win that single date with her.

  Tomorrow was the big day - his one chance to prove to her that despite his past mistakes, he was a decent person. Maybe even someone she might want to get to know better.

  He studied the gray sky, trying to convince himself he didn’t smell snow on the air.

  4

  Parker

  Parker walked down the shaded path toward her date.

  Ahead, Mac leaned casually against one of the gateposts, watching her, a lazy half smile pulling up one corner of his mouth.

  A teenaged guide, whose nametag identified him as Anthony, led two horses their way.

  The horse on the left was an enormous gray stallion. A dainty black mare pranced on the right.

  “Is this your date?” the attendant asked Mac, jutting his chin toward Parker.

  “Yes,” Mac said, turning to the horses and looking almost surprised for a moment.

  “You ever ride before?” the kid asked Parker.

  “Sure,” she said, taking the mare’s reins from him.

  “You?” he asked Mac.

  “Once or twice,” Mac said vaguely.

  Parker wondered whether he actually had. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea.

  The mare butted her chest and she laughed out loud.

  “Hi, pretty girl,” she said, stroking the velvet muzzle.

  The horse snuffled back.

  “Okay, then, stay on the paths,” the kid said, uninterested in pushing for specifics. “Purple path has you back in an hour, blue is two hours. Either way, you need to have them back by six.”

  “Understood,” Mac said.

  “What are their names?” Parker asked.

  “The big one is Marshmallow,” the teen said. “And that’s Shadow.”

  She nodded, deciding not to dwell on the fact that everything in her life seemed to point to the shadows lately.

  “Parker, do you need a leg up?” Mac asked.

  She didn’t. Though she almost couldn’t resist the idea of his hands on her.

  “You can just use the platform,” the teenager noted.

  “We’re good here,” Mac said dismissively.

  The boy shrugged and slumped away to saddle up for the next riders.

  “Ready?” Parker asked, swinging gracefully up into the saddle.

  “Yeah,” Mac said.

  She watched as he approached his horse.

  It tossed its head once, but he placed a hand on the creature’s chest and it steadied.

  Funny, Marshmallow had seemed the more laid back of the two mounts.

  Mac climbed on and smoothed his hand unconsciously down the animal’s neck.

  Parker approved. He wasn’t treating the horse like a machine.

  “So do you want the purple path or the blue?” he asked.

  “Why do I feel like you’re offering me a way out of the matrix?” she teased.

  “How about purple, so we have plenty of time for dinner,” Mac suggested.

  His voice was deep and sexy. It definitely sounded like he meant plenty of time for things other than dinner.

  “Works for me,” Parker said, ignoring the curl of desire in her belly.

  The mare read her tone and started off along the path that led between the bare trees.

  The Springton Wildlife Preserve went on for miles, with paths for hiking, picnic areas, playgrounds and climbing rocks. Parker loved spending time there. She could pretend she was a million miles away from her stacks of ungraded papers and worried parent phone calls.

  There in the woods, she felt like her best self - relaxed and ready for adventure.

  “It’s beautiful,” Mac said. “Thanks for choosing this as your date.”

  “Why did you bid on me?” Parker decided to ask the biggest question up front.

  He didn’t answer right away.

  She looked over at him and was surprised to see the ponderous expression on his face.

  Mac was nothing if not confident. At least that was how she remembered him from their days together when she had been a student teacher in his classroom.

  “I like you, Parker,” he said at last. “A lot. I figured this date was the best way to remind you that you might like me too.”

  Fair enough.

  “You couldn’t just ask me out on a regular date?” she asked.

  “This is your dream date,” he said.

  Wow.

  He wasn’t wrong. She had designed her idea of the perfect date in order to attract the largest charity donation she could pull in. It was literally in the description.

  And in doing so, she had shown him exactly what she wanted.

  “Well played,” she said, allowing him a smile.

  “Besides, it’s for charity,” he added, one brow arched.

  “Of course,” she replied. “I’m sure the women’s shelter was foremost in your mind when you blew a month’s salary to go horseback riding with me.”

  “And dinner,” Mac added.

  There it was again, that sexy voice.

  “You know you didn’t pay for anything else, right?” she asked warningly.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of presuming anything about the way you want to spend your time with me,” Mac replied. “I’m at your service tonight.”

  “Let’s go a little faster then,” Parker said, enjoying the look on his face before he realized what she meant.

  She gave her mare a squeeze and they took off into the trees.

  She could hear Mac’s deep laugh behind her over the thundering of hooves.

  It was twilight, and the sky was pink above the trees.

  Their shadows stretched out before them, but for once Parker wasn’t worried. She gazed into the woods, listening to the birdcalls and watching the squirrels scramble over the lumpy sycamores and fragrant pines.

  The mare had a perfect stride for Parker. They moved in tandem, smoothly in spite of the uneven turf.

  Happiness bloomed in Parker’s chest. She couldn’t help but smile as they sailed through the woods and the sky deepened from pink to lavender.

  Knowing that Mac was there, behind her, part of this moment, brought her more satisfaction than she would have imagined.

  There was something about him these days. She was pulled to him in a way that she hadn’t been before. She’d always liked him, but back then it had been a crush. Now it seemed as if something tied them together, invisible but real.

  Suddenly, the mare broke
her stride and Parker was nearly unseated.

  “Easy, girl,” she gasped, reaching down to stroke the silken fur.

  But the mare reared back slightly and then broke into a full gallop.

  Parker clung to the reins and lowered her body, trying to regain the trust they’d had a moment ago so she could calm the poor creature. Her necklace banged against her chest, the amulet suddenly feeling heavier than normal, and she prayed it wouldn’t come off its cord.

  That was when she saw it.

  The shadows at their feet were rioting, roiling against the trunks of the trees, in complete chaos and at odds with the movement of the branches, as if they had a mind of their own.

  As if they were alive.

  5

  Mac

  Mac clutched the reins.

  He didn’t get along particularly well with horses anyway. They seemed to sense the silent predator always hovering along the edges of his consciousness.

  Now that Parker was in distress ahead of him, her horse shying and breaking into a gallop, his protective instincts rushed to the forefront, prickling his skin, urging him to shift.

  It’s just a spooked horse, he told his wolf, trying to placate it.

  “Easy, girl,” Parker crooned ahead of him.

  But her horse wasn’t having any of it, and neither was Mac’s inner beast.

  And that was when he saw it.

  Shadows swirled in the path, moving out of time with the horses.

  He strained his eyes in the fading light, but the shadows didn’t fall into obeisance.

  Something was happening.

  Suddenly he thought of Carol Lotus, her assertion that she had felt something out of place in the woods - something magical.

  Maybe this was why he was already restless inside. Whatever was stirring the darkness here had already affected him, without him even knowing it.

  Parker.

  She was still ahead of him, flying along the trail now, vulnerable.

  His wolf tried to leap out of his body, and he shook with the effort not to shift.

  His horse must have sensed the wolf on him.

  It screamed and reared back, leaving him just enough time to recover his balance before it thrashed into the trees ahead, trying to catch the mare.

  Mac held on tight, grateful for his muscular body and his wolf’s easy grace. He would not fall.

  If his horse could outrun Parker’s, he could cut her off, slow her down enough to save her from the danger.

  Though what he would do when faced with the issue of the shadows and a vulnerable human in tow, he had no idea.

  Keep our secret.

  He always heard Ainsley’s father’s words in his head at times like this. Michael Connor had been the pack alpha when Mac was first chosen as beta. He had heard the words spoken, over and over, to every new young shifter in the pack.

  Keep our secret.

  Of course the wolves of Tarker’s Hollow would protect the humans where they could.

  But keeping the secret was their first mission.

  This was why they weren’t allowed to shift in public, and why they were never supposed to fall for humans.

  His horse had nearly caught up to Parker’s. Unfortunately, the mare was spooked by their sudden approach. She reared up without warning.

  Everything moved in slow motion as Parker flew backward.

  Mac threw himself off his horse, not caring if she saw how preternaturally agile he was.

  He just managed to get his hand under her head before it hit the ground.

  But he heard the crunch of her ankle as it made contact with the path.

  Parker moaned lightly and Mac prayed the shadows wouldn’t be too much trouble as he watched the spooked horses thunder off into the trees.

  6

  Parker

  Parker looked up at the darkening sky.

  Somehow, Mac had reached her in time to save her from a concussion.

  But her ankle throbbed painfully.

  And the shadows could still be gathering.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She ripped her gaze from the trees to meet his eyes.

  God, he was so handsome. Those Caribbean blue eyes, the messy hair…

  “Parker?”

  “Yeah, yes,” she said. “I’m fine. I just hurt my ankle.”

  “I heard a snap,” he said sympathetically. “Can you move it?”

  She looked down at the ankle in question and wiggled her toes.

  “It hurts, but I don’t think it’s broken,” she said, wincing.

  “It’s getting dark.” His voice was low.

  Had he seen the shadows too?

  “If you help me up, I think I can walk on it,” she offered.

  He wrapped an arm around her, supporting her weight effortlessly.

  But when she attempted to put her bad foot down, the ankle sang with fresh pain.

  Parker hissed in a breath in spite of herself.

  “Nope, I don’t think so,” Mac said. “Ready?”

  “For what?” she asked.

  But he had already hoisted her up, one arm around her ribs, the other supporting her legs, the hurt ankle out, so it wouldn’t jostle against him as he moved.

  “I’ve got you,” he told her.

  She looked around, hoping he could find her horse quickly and get her back in the saddle.

  But Shadow and Marshmallow were nowhere to be seen.

  “My God, the horses,” she breathed.

  “It’s okay. We’ll round them up later,” he said. “Right now, I’m worried about getting you someplace where we can elevate that ankle. And a little more worried about the fact that the air tastes like snow. Do you have your phone on you?”

  “The signal won’t work out here,” she told him. She’d been in this part of the preserve often enough to know that.

  “Humor me,” he suggested.

  She slid it out of her pocket and showed him the screen.

  No bars.

  He nodded thoughtfully.

  “There’s a campground about a quarter mile from here,” she told him, thankful to be familiar with the area. “It has a shelter. We can wait there until they come for us. But you can’t carry me that far.”

  He chuckled in response.

  The rumble of laughter in his chest felt amazing.

  She stole a glance around the trees, but the shadows had retreated.

  That made sense. Real darkness was stealing in. The sky had gone royal blue and stars had begun to twinkle above. The purview of shadows was over now.

  “Don’t worry about the horses,” he told her. “I’ll find them.”

  He thought she was looking for the horses, thank God.

  That meant he probably hadn’t noticed the shadows misbehaving after all.

  She leaned her head against his shoulder. He was so big and warm. It felt good to be held.

  “So was this part of the plan?” he asked after a moment. “Spook the horses and hurt your ankle, like something out of a Jane Austen novel?”

  “Yes,” she said. “This was my exact plan. Do you like it?”

  He laughed.

  “Next we’re going to run into your arch rival, have a terrible misunderstanding, wind up in an unexplainable mess, and you’ll duel for my honor,” she added.

  “Is that all?” he asked.

  “No,” she said. “Then we have dinner.”

  “Ah, dinner,” he replied.

  She could feel him smiling.

  “You like being a knight in shining armor, don’t you?” she asked.

  “I liked it better when I still had the horse,” he teased.

  “Put me down, seriously. I can hop faster than this,” she said, pretending to smack him.

  “Oh, you think I’m slow?” His voice went dark and low.

  She giggled nervously.

  “I forgot you liked to go fast,” he said.

  Suddenly he was running, faster than she would have thought he was capabl
e, even without carrying her.

  She clung to him, thrilled and laughing, until he sped up further and her ankle swung too hard.

  “Ow,” she yelped.

  He stopped on a dime.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I almost forgot about your ankle.”

  “You’re really fast, you know that?” she asked.

  “Am I?” he asked.

  She lifted her head to look up at him.

  He was smiling.

  “We’re almost there,” she said.

  Up ahead, a copse of sycamores stood pale against the darkening forest. Just beyond was a campground with a shelter.

  Something cool and wet brushed her cheek.

  “It’s snowing,” she breathed, wondering at the magic of it all, even though the cold meant they were in trouble.

  But the slowly swirling flakes were so beautiful.

  “Let’s get you inside,” he said gruffly.

  He carried her carefully, heading between the trees as the snow began to fall harder.

  At last they reached the clearing. The shelter was typically used by the local scouting programs. It would be abandoned in the wintertime.

  “Okay, in we go,” Mac told her.

  It was dark inside, and it smelled a little musty. The shelter was basically a cabin without a front wall. It wasn’t like being all the way indoors. But the break form the wind and snow meant it was warmer than outside.

  Someone had left a sleeping bag in the corner.

  “Are you afraid of spiders?” Mac asked.

  “Wow, you’re so romantic,” she teased.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” he said. “I’m going to put you down. Don’t let that foot hit the ground.”

  “Don’t worry,” she told him, bending her knee to make sure.

  Together, they eased her onto the sleeping bag.

  One moment she was babying her ankle…

  The next she was lying beside him, fully aware of his big warm body stretched out next to hers, his hands still on her waist.

  “Parker,” he groaned.

  She tilted her head back, ready for his kiss.

  7

  Mac