Chapter 134

As Lucas and I walked out of the coffee shop, the chill of the evening air hit us making me shiver slightly. I found myself leaning closer toward Lucas for some warmth, or possibly, some comfort.

The conversation with Professor Black had given us a lot of insight, but it also left a lot of frustrating unanswered questions. It seemed like we were never able to catch a break.

"That was kind of helpful," Lucas commented as we walked.

I snuck my arm around his pulling myself into his side. "Helpful, but now I'm just more confused."

"Don't you love when that happens?" he asked sarcastically.

"No," I said bluntly.

As we walked towards our car, Professor Black's voice suddenly stopped us in our tracks.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you two," he said before turning his attention to me. "Shana, if anything unusual or concerning happens, please don't hesitate to contact me. I want to be the first to know, aside from Lucas, of course."

I blinked in surprise at the professor's request but then realized the reason for his concern. I supposed it would make sense for me to stay in contact with the professor. As much help as Lucas is, the professor has much more knowledge on wolfless and our history in general.

"Could we exchange contact information?" Professor Black asked me.

"Sure, Professor, I'll give you my number."

Professor Black handed me his cell phone and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lucas's jaw tense.

I could feel his unease even though there was nothing for him to worry about. Despite sensing Lucas's mood change, I exchanged contact information with Professor Black and promised to keep him informed.

He waved us goodbye and walked off, still holding his coffee from earlier in his hands.

Once Lucas and I were alone in the car, his voice carried a hint of frustration. "Did you have to do that?"

I turned to him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Give him your number," Lucas clarified, his tone slightly accusatory. "I don't like the way he was looking at you, examining you like you're some kind of mythical creature or some kind of alien."

I frowned, feeling a mixture of confusion and frustration. "Do you think I liked that he was staring at me like that? Not really, but I can understand his intrigue. Just look at me." I gestured to myself. "I'm nothing special, but beneath the surface apparently I am."

"That's not what I meant, Shana."

"Well, I don't understand what you want then," I said, feeling myself getting annoyed by his possessiveness. "You introduced me to Professor Black and now you're mad that he wants to keep contact with me in case something happens?"

Lucas groaned in frustration. "I don't know. I can't explain it. I just don't want him trying to take advantage of who you are or treating you like you're different."

"Lucas, I am different," I stated plainly. Even though it sounded harsh, it was the truth. "Professor Black is here to help me, to find answers just like we are. He's genuinely concerned. It's nothing more than that."

Lucas sighed, his grip on the steering wheel tight. "I know, Shana, but it feels like he's treating you like some kind of specimen under a microscope. I don't like it."

"Well, you're just going to have to deal with it because we need him on our side. That's the only way we'll be able to figure out what the hell is going on."

A heavy silence filled the car as we continued our journey back.

I could sense that Lucas still wasn't over our conversation about Professor Black, but I didn't want to talk about it anymore. He was being completely unreasonable.

I understood that he only wanted to protect me, but Professor Black was on our side. He wasn't a bad guy. Sure, he was a little odd, but he was just passionate about his work.

I was like a living science experiment for him, and honestly, I couldn't even blame that.

I would probably look at myself the same way if I were him.

However, the closer we got to home, the more I wanted to fix this tension between me and Lucas.

Suddenly, I remembered the phone call that he got from his father.

"Hey, Lucas, speaking of calls," I began cautiously, "did you ever call your father back? You know, after he tried to reach you?"

Lucas's jaw clenched again, and he hesitated before responding. "I saw Kendrick the other day."

"Really?" My eyes widened in surprise, and a mixture of emotions swirled within me. "You did? Where?"

"He was following me to hockey practice in his black SUV. Apparently, that's his favorite form of intercepting me."

I couldn't shake the feeling that Lucas was keeping something from me, something related to his father. I decided to bring it up.

"Why didn't you tell me anything sooner?"

"Honestly, I didn't think it was a big deal." He sighed, his grip on the steering wheel relaxing slightly. "It's always the same old thing. He just wants to extend his control over me, or assert himself. Really, Shana. It's nothing that he hasn't done before. You shouldn't worry about it."

Concern etched across my face as I probed further. "Why can't you just tell me what he said? It seems like you're hiding something."

"I'm not hiding anything, I just hate bringing this up." Lucas rolled his neck. "Talking about him just makes me upset. He basically just threatened me saying that he's making my cousin the heir of the family business since I'm not doing what he wants me to."

"Oh..." I trailed off, peering outside of the window. I had no idea Kendrick would go through such lengths just to convince Lucas to be back in his control.

I didn't even know Lucas had a cousin. I thought he was the only viable option as heir for his father's business. But I also know how much Lucas wanted to be heir. Did all of that change now? And if it did, why?

He had told me that he's been in Lucas's control ever since he found out he was an Alpha. He's been preparing to take over the family business. It made no sense why Kendrick would just give that to his cousin who probably knew nothing about the business.

"Do you think he might do something rash?" I asked, voicing one of my biggest fears.

Lucas's expression grew somber, and he glanced out of the car window as he drove. His voice was tinged with uncertainty. "With my father, we can never be sure. But with everything else going on, I just don't want to think about him right now."

I felt a pang of worry and frustration. It seemed like Lucas was keeping a lot from me, and it left me feeling like he was shutting me out.

I understood that talking about Kendrick overwhelmed him. This was his life, his future, his family. We both had our own struggles, but I knew pressing further would only make things more complicated at the moment.

So, I decided to let it go for now and hope that Lucas would open up when he was ready. I also hoped that Kendrick wasn't planning something we weren't aware of.

As much as Lucas wanted to keep me safe, I wanted the same for him.

But like he said, with Kendrick, we could never be sure.