"Fixing" The Problem Part 2

I sighed as Kraven began to nose Marsha to make sure she was actually asleep, not that he had to. There was not a bear in history that had been able to fight the sleeping dust. That’s what made it so good. Not only was it strong, but it was also rare. It was hard to get a hold of. One either had to be a sleuth doctor or have a really good bond with the vines. After sinking her even deeper into unconsciousness, Kraven began to review her memories from the day while projecting them to me.
As he moved through them, he changed the parts that hinted at her mate. He changed the topics of her and Scarlett’s conversation while putting a block up around every mention of Logan in her mind. The second thing he did was block every word of the argument between Osprey, me, and her up until we came up to the room, replacing it with false memories of playing games and happy conversation. When she stirred in her slumber, I pulled Kraven back a little, anxiously waiting for her to settle down again. When she was still again, I let out a sigh of relief before giving Kraven the okay to start working again.
I didn’t know how long it took to put up enough blocks for her to forget that she had found her fated mate and that I had found mine. When we were done, I sat next to her on the bed with my hands clasped between my thighs. I leaned down to kiss her cheek before kissing over her cheek to her ear.
“I love you, Annie. I know that you would probably be really upset with me, but I swear to you that I really am doing this for you.” I took her hand. “For us.”
I sat next to her for a while, just listening to her breathe as I tried to calm my anxiety down. When my heart was beating wildly in my chest with the adrenaline rush I had when I walked into the room, I kissed her lips.
“When you wake up, come find me, baby. We can’t sleep in the same room. If we do, Osprey and Scarlett will know that we are together. And after what I just did to protect us, they can’t find out, so I am going to the other bedroom. I hope that you understand, my love, why I had to do it. To them and to you.” I took a deep breath. “I can’t lose you again. You are my mate. And I won’t let you leave me, so please don’t even try.”
I brushed my fingers over her face before standing up and rolling my shoulders back. Now there was only one more thing I had to do before I went to bed. And he would be lucky if I didn’t kill him for mistreating my Annie. I wouldn’t tolerate anyone upsetting my mate, and he had done just that. I locked my front door behind me. I waited until I was off my property to strip down and shift. Kraven wasted no time in heading toward the school. We knew that most of the professors lived within ten miles of the school, but that was a lot of area to cover in just a few hours, and school had been over for several hours so whatever scent would have been lingering would be gone.
We hurried to the main office, where all the information I needed would be located. I shifted back before grabbing the clothes that I had hidden there earlier that day in anticipation of having to fuck someone up over Annie. I pulled the mask down over my face before creeping inside the building to the dean's office, where I quickly picked the lock and entered. I hurried over to the file cabinet to comb through the files until I found the one I was looking for. *Xavier Ioma.* Fucking with my mate meant death, and just because he was her professor did not mean he was going to get away with it. It just meant that I had to be sneakier about how I did it.
I put the file back before making my way down to the security office to review the footage from Annie’s class building. She had refused to tell me who had been messing with her, and that was aggravating to me. As I crept up to the door, I let my aura out to surround the guard inside. When I was sure he was under my control, I walked in and up to the table he sat at and leaned down to look into the monitor. I tapped it.
“I need to see the Agave building,” I told him.
He pulled it up, and I guided him through the footage until it got to the part where two males, whom I recognized as the future Alphas of the Orion and Stargazer sleuths, approached Annie and Giselda at lunch. I frowned as Curtis, the future Alpha of Orion, touched her, and she immediately pulled away from him. When I heard what he told her about me, I wanted to put my fist through the screen. I knew I had previously promised Annie that I wouldn’t kill anyone else, but these little fuckers were going to die. There was no way I was going to allow them to get away with not only telling her that I dated Katie, but they had also flirted with her. That was a double strike.
I continued to watch until a third male that I also recognized approached Annie and asked her if he could walk her back to class. I cursed out loud, angry that I couldn’t touch this fucker. He was under Corey’s protection because the boy was supposed to be Corey’s future gamma, and if I was going to be his beta with Annie by my side, I couldn’t afford to lose the offer to be his beta. Once satisfied that I didn’t have to kill anyone else, I walked out of the room with my hands in my pockets.
I had a game plan along with a way to ensure that Annie didn’t suspect that I was involved with these fuckers’ deaths. I quickly made my way to the address in Xavier’s file, wanting to get as far into my plan as I could. I stopped outside of a small brownstone, where I knocked on the front door. When it wasn’t answered immediately, I knocked again. A moment later, it was yanked open, and a very angry Xavier stood there.
“WHAT?!” He roared.
I smiled as I took my mask off. “Good evening, Xavier. May I come in?”
He narrowed his eyes pointedly at me. “I know you. You’re Alpha Sow Natasha and Alpha Timothy’s son, right?”
“Yes. May I come in?” I repeated.
“No. What do you want?” He snapped. “It’s almost 3 AM, and you’re banging on my door!”
“I wanted to speak to you about Annaria Parker,” I told him pleasantly.
“What about her?” He asked angrily.
“You yelled at her today. I don’t appreciate that!” I told him.
“She was being disruptive, distracting all of the boys. Now, if that’s all, I’m going back to bed!”
I slammed my hand into the door, forcing it back open as my aura came out so fast that his legs buckled. I kicked him in the ribs as I glared down at him before squatting in front of him.
“You are going to do something for me as a way to apologize for your actions concerning Annie. There is a boy named Molton in your class. He is the future gamma of the Realm Sleuth. He also needs to be punished. You will attack him during one of your classes, and you will kill him.” I paused to smile coldly at him. “And then you will throw yourself off the roof. If you don’t die, I will come for you, and I promise you it will be worse for you if I have to be the one to kill you.” I let one of my fingers shift so that I could rake my claw down his neck. “Do you understand me?” I growled.
“Yes, Alpha,” he answered me immediately.
“Good.” I stood up, kicked him in the stomach, and rolled my shoulders back. “And when it comes to Annaria, you will treat her with respect, and you will not allow anyone to harass her.” I paused to let out a low chuckle. “That is until you die.” I kicked him again. “Don’t make me come for you.”
After my parting shot, I turned around to walk away from his house. I jogged back to my house, eager to check on Annie and sleep myself. An hour later, I was strolling into my house. I hurried up the stairs to check on Annie, who thankfully was still fast asleep. I walked over to kiss her forehead before walking out of the room to go check on Osprey and Scarlett. I bared my teeth at the cuddling couple before shutting the door and going to the other bedroom.
As I threw myself down on the bed, I growled. I hated being away from Annie. I belonged next to her. And when Osprey and Scarlett left in the morning, I was never going to have to be away from her again. I yawned as I rolled over to cuddle the body pillow that was on the bed. They’re just lucky that I loved Annie enough not to kill them. But if he kept up their interference, I would be forced to end their lives, no matter how much I loved Annie. I just hope that the Goddess answered my prayers, because if she didn’t, I was going to have to unintentionally hurt Annie. And I didn’t want to do that, but I would if it meant keeping her by my side…