Chapter 114

When the administrative assistant in the faculty office told me that mates needed to be registered at the Academy, my thoughts came to a halt. After all, Asher and I were fake dating, not mates! She must have misconstrued our relationship.

I could see how she would be confused. Asher was extremely protective of me, so much that even his own wolf was all mixed up about us being mates.

But to have a stranger so quickly and easily point out our closeness, sent a blush straight to my cheeks.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding…”

The admin narrowed her eyes, looking from me to Asher and back again. “You two act like mates…?”

“We’re not…” My voice wasn’t as strong as I needed it to be. I didn’t sound convincing even to my own ears.

The admin ignored me to focus on Asher. “Asher?”

“It’s true,” Asher said. “We’re just dating. We’re not mates.”

“Oh,” the admin said, frowning. “My mistake. In that case, you’ll need to explain yourself.”

“I understand,” Asher said.

I didn’t. I looked to Asher for an explanation, but he shook his head and mouthed, “Later.”

With that misunderstanding cleared, Asher and I were separated and led into different private offices.

I was nervous being apart from Asher, but the security officer that joined me was nice enough. He offered me a glass of water as we sat in a conference room, taking up the end of a large table.

When I declined, the security officer asked me many questions about Coach and my allegations of sexual harassment.

“Just answer honestly,” the security officer said. “We are only trying to get to the bottom of these accusations."

I answered as concisely as I could, starting with Coach’s very first day, when he’d made suggestive comments about the girls’ bra sizes.

“Inappropriate,” the officer said, scribbling down notes on a notepad.

I then talked about the requirement to wear swimsuits, and how he insisted on having a photoshoot, followed by the swimsuit contest at the local bar.

The security officer’s face darkened more and more as I explained about Coach’s ultimatums, first to have Asher grovel, then to have the private photoshoot.

“Did he try to touch you?” the officer asked.

“No.” Thank God. “But I’m worried about those pictures…”

“Your boyfriend turned in all of the memory cards,” the officer said. “After the investigation, they will be destroyed.”

I nodded, satisfied with that, at least. Though, I still couldn’t help but wonder. “What happened with the pictures he already took and sold?”

The officer pressed his lips hard together. “Unfortunately, short of a full confession from your coach, complete with names, I doubt we will be able to recover the photos that have already been distributed.”

My stomach churned but I nodded. I understood how difficult it would be to track those photos down, but that didn’t make me feel less queasy about it. Who knew what type of people had bought our pictures?

“What about the money?” I asked. “He said the photos were for fundraising.”

“We’re investigating that as well.”

Throughout the meeting, the security officer took copious notes. I couldn’t read what he was writing but I felt comforted by the sheer number. Like he was really listening to me.

As he showed me to the exit, he insisted, “We’ll be in touch. The investigation process is lengthy, but you can rest assured that we take every complaint seriously.”

Outside, some of the other girls waited, talking. Asher stood there too. When he spotted me leaving the building, he approached me.

“You okay?” he asked me.

“I’m better now.” I offered him a shaky smile.

“What do you think will happen?” one of the cheerleaders asked from where they talked to each other a few feet away. “We have to get a new coach, right?”

“I don’t know,” said another. “I think they have to investigate first.”

“Even if we get another coach, who knows what they’ll be like.”

“Can they be worse than this one?” Elena scoffed. “How did he even get the job?”

“He said some things when he was yelling, about a relation in administration,” Asher said. “It seems that whoever that is gave him special treatment, even though he’s clearly underqualified for the job.”

I nervously hooked my fingers together. “That likely means that we haven’t heard the last of him. If he’s connected enough to get the job, they probably aren’t about to kick him out so easily.”

“Maybe not,” Asher said. “But these are serious accusations. He shouldn’t be able to hide from them, even behind his connections.”

He turned to me. “Besides, if he tries something, I’ll just knock him down again.”

A few of the girls laughed at Asher’s bravado, but it made me nervous.

“I can’t believe they let you go without any sort of punishment,” I said softly. Hadn’t Coach threatened to have him expelled?

His jaw clenched, and my stomach dropped.

“Asher?”

“I’m not expelled,” he said.

That felt like the start of a sentence, not a complete one, so I prompted, “…But?”

He looked down and to the side, avoiding my gaze. “I struck a faculty member twice. Of course I will be reprimanded. I’ll have to face a committee and they’d decide what my punishment should be.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Asher was going to get in trouble after all?

“Don’t make such a worried face,” he told me. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Why don’t I explain what happened to the committee? Surely they will understand your reaction if they know our side of the story.”

“I appreciate it, but no. Alphas are held to a higher standard. I lost my cool and now I’ll have to explain myself. They are right to criticize me.”

“But, Asher –”

“It would be different if we were mates,” Asher said. “That’s why the admin misunderstood our relationship. If I had reacted in defense of my mate, my behavior would be more acceptable.”

“Then maybe we can explain that your wolf is confused…”

He shook his head, stopping me. “It won’t work.”

I frowned at him. I couldn’t let him get in trouble because of me, not when it really wasn’t his fault. Asher’s wolf was confused, thinking we were mates. And Asher was so protective of me.

It wasn’t fair for him to be punished when he was only trying to keep me safe.

I wondered then, since we were already pretending to date, maybe we could pretend to be mates as well. It wouldn’t be that different, would it? We’d have to register with the Academy, which might make things awkward when we would inevitably break up.

But I could stand some level of discomfort if it kept Asher from getting into trouble. After everything Asher had done for me, I’d be willing. This felt like the least I could do.

“Asher,” I started.

“Hm?”

“Maybe we could say we are together like that,” I said.

Asher’s whole body tensed. He went so very still, I doubted that he was even breathing.

His eyes changed though, shifting from their typical cool indifference to something much hotter. He looked at me like he wanted to take me apart.

I wanted to let him.

“What… did you say?” His voice was low, rough.

I swallowed the rising lump in my throat. “We could tell them we’re mates.”

He sucked in a sharp inhale.