"MATE!"
She snapped around, breath catching in her throat as her gaze collided with enraged forest-green eyes burning straight through her.
Sofía froze where she stood.
Alfonso rose beside her instantly, his body angling protectively as he stared at the man before them one who stood rigid, chest heaving, rage rolling off him in suffocating waves.
Inside Fernando's head, Hunter roared, demanding blood, demanding he rip his mate away from the human standing too close to her. It took every shred of control Fernando possessed to keep himself still.
He could not let anyone know what he truly was.
Not now.
Not ever.
One slip and word would spread. His carefully laid plans would collapse into ruin.
But she was his mate.
His.
That same timid girl who had always avoided him, who fled whenever he drew near.
His mate.
He had never believed the Moon Goddess would grant him one certainly not after all the blood on his hands, all the ruthless choices he'd made. If anything, he had been certain she would deny him entirely.
Yet here she was.
Paired to him.
A human.
The most innocent soul imaginable.
"What's going on?" Alfonso asked quietly, stepping fully in front of Sofía, his voice calm but guarded.
Ricardo moved then, positioning himself behind Fernando, his presence steady but alert.
Fernando's hands curled into fists.
He could tear that man apart reduce him to nothing and no one would ever know.
The temptation surged violently through Hunter as well.
Alfonso gently nudged Sofía's shoulder, snapping her out of her daze. She looked up at him, lips trembling.
"M-my teacher," she whispered, barely audible.
But not quiet enough.
Fernando heard it.
So did Ricardo.
Werewolf hearing missed nothing.
Ricardo's eyes widened almost imperceptibly as the realization clicked into place. His student. The mate. Their future Luna.
Alfonso smiled politely and stepped forward, extending his hand.
Fernando stared at it as if it offended him then his gaze shifted to Sofía, standing there pale and shaken.
Jaw tight, he accepted the handshake.
Alfonso noticed the tattoos curling over Fernando's arms, dark and unfamiliar, but he didn't stare.
"Nice to meet you," Alfonso said evenly. "Sofía mentioned you're her teacher. I'm Alfonso her best friend."
Fernando's grip tightened, bones nearly grinding together.
"Fernando," he replied flatly.
Sofía saw the fury carved into his features and hurried closer, lowering her head.
"H-hello, Mr. Ruiz."
Fernando released Alfonso's hand and turned fully toward her, his stare intense enough to steal the air from her lungs.
None of this made sense.
He had shouted Mate, not Ms. Rodríguez.
And the way he looked at her like she belonged to him left her dizzy and unsettled.
She couldn't breathe.
She needed to leave.
Now.
She discreetly pinched Alfonso's back. He hissed softly, shooting her an incredulous look.
She flicked her gaze toward the bus stop.
He understood immediately.
Fernando, meanwhile, watched every movement she made, predatory and unblinking.
"We should get going," Alfonso said politely.
Fernando gave a curt nod.
As they turned away, Sofía offered a tight, forced smile, eyes fixed on the ground.
Once they were a safe distance away, Alfonso exhaled.
"He growled," he said with a nervous laugh. "I honestly thought some wild animal was about to jump us."
Sofía only smiled faintly.
She remembered exactly what he'd shouted.
She just didn't know what it meant.
They boarded the bus and disappeared from sight.
Ricardo let out a long breath, relief washing over him.
Fernando hadn't lost control.
"I—" Ricardo began.
"Shut it," Fernando snapped, already walking away.
Ricardo felt the oppressive dominance radiating from him, heavy and unmistakable.
Back home, Fernando headed straight for the minibar in his study. He poured himself a glass and downed it in one harsh swallow, a low growl tearing from his throat as the burn scorched its way down.
A mate.
He had a mate.
And of all creatures, she was that shy, fragile girl.
What kind of twisted joke was the Moon Goddess playing?
A powerless human paired to him someone who could only ever become a weakness.
A liability.
His enemies would devour her alive.
She couldn't protect herself.
Couldn't survive his world.
Yes, she might be desirable, but she was no Luna.
If fate were fair, his mate would have been a powerful she-wolf.
Instead
A human.
Weak.
"Fuck."
Perhaps this was the Moon Goddess's punishment. His downfall, delivered in the form of a vulnerable girl destined to become his greatest weakness.
A cruel, brilliant move.
But fate had underestimated him.
He was Fernando Ruiz.
A name that made enemies tremble.
The mild-mannered math teacher was a mask nothing more.
Beneath it lived a beast: cunning, ruthless, merciless.
He would not soften for her.
Mate or not.
He would remain exactly as he was.
Cold.
Brutal.
Unforgiving.
If the Moon Goddess believed that girl could change him, she was gravely mistaken.
He would corrupt her.
Break her.
Mold her into something she never imagined.
She had been promised to the wrong man.
An angel bound to a devil.
A dangerously beautiful contradiction.
"Sofía Ana Rodríguez," he murmured, savoring the way her name tasted on his tongue.
The cursed perk of the mate bond.
But the jealousy the rage he'd felt seeing her with another man still clawed viciously at him.
She would learn her place.
An evil glint flickered in his green eyes.
"Perhaps being a teacher won't be so unbearable after all."