Chapter 3 Matilda's POV

Matilda’s POV

The mistake I made was thinking that Cedric still considered me his teacher when I dragged him out of the hall to discuss what had just happened.

He waited for me to lead him into a room before he grabbed the hand I was using to hold him. After closing the door behind us, he took my hand and turned me to face him. But instead of starting a conversation, he slammed his lips onto mine.

“I have always wondered what it would feel like to taste those rosy lips of yours, Lady Matilda, and…”

This man pressed his lips against mine, tangled his tongue with mine even without my response, and hugged me tightly.

“…it is a dream come true, my lady. I have to have you,” he completed his statement, but believe you me, I was still stunned.

Did he just say that he had been fantasizing about me?

But did you know that the moment he embraced me, kissed me, and spoke to me that way, I forgot about the age gap and the impossibility of us being together?

He tasted wonderful, I mustn't lie to myself.

He smelled so good. It felt like I was in the right place, in his arms.

My lips.

He wasn't my first kiss, even though I had always waited for my mate.

When I started my job as a teacher, I accidentally connected too deeply with an alpha prince. He invited me to his chamber and kissed me that evening. I was taken aback then, just as I was right now.

That was my first-ever kiss, and it taught me a lesson—not to become so close to a student. If only I had taken that lesson seriously.

“Do you know what you smell like, Lady Matilda?” he asked while I took my time to accept what was happening.

“What?” I asked curiously.

“Sweet,” he answered before biting my neck hungrily.

I couldn't believe I was doing all this with my student. A man whose weakness I had witnessed.

He was just twenty-one, and I was thirty-one. Why did the Moon Goddess have to punish me this much? I bit my bottom lip.

“Are you not aware that I am older than you, my lord?” I asked softly.

My plan was for us to come in here and break the bond, but he was making me want something I shouldn't even think about.

“I do not care about that. You belong to me now, Matilda,” he groaned.

I had to push him away to regain my senses. The bond, the string, our wolves—they were clouding my mind. I couldn't think straight.

While every part of me wanted him, another part of me seemed to know better.

“I advise that we break the bond,” I said without confidence, and he could sense it.

I was embarrassed. He was my student, for heaven's sake.

“Why?” he whispered softly.

“That is just the way it is. Break the bond. I promise you'll find a good she-wolf,” I concluded before leaving the room.

But the feeling of his lips against mine, his bite on my neck, the taste of his mouth, and above all, the words he had spoken to me lingered.

He had flirted with me, winked at me, and bought me gifts several times when I trained him, but I never imagined he would be this mature when he discovered that I was his mate.

Who would have thought that I would blush so deeply because of his words?

Every night after the banquet, I regretted my decision because of the cravings I had for him. My wolf, and everything within me, yearned for his presence every moment.

My wolf was weak, starved of his presence and his touches.

A month later.

I was reading a book when my sister rushed in like a criminal to tell me that the prince was here to see me.

So he came searching for me.

I smiled secretly to myself. Only my wolf and I knew how much I yearned for him every night.

I climbed down the stairs and saw him sitting in the parlour with my mother. She had been asking him questions, and I overheard him say that he would make me his queen.

It was the kind of romance I read about in books.

He saw me at the top of the stairs and stood the moment his eyes met mine.

“I've never seen a woman this beautiful,” his lips mouthed without making a sound.

I found myself blushing, which was a crime. I shouldn't entertain this. I shouldn't fall in love with him.

“Is he the one, Mat?” my sister, the one born after me, asked when she noticed the stares we were exchanging.

“I do not know,” I replied without taking my eyes off him.

My two other sisters had already found their mates and were married.

The only brother we had was part of the king's army. Since my father was a knight to the king, he had helped my brother become a soldier, which had always been his dream.

So it was just my sister and me at home, hoping for a better life, although Janet wasn't a special wolf like me. No one in my family was.

Cedric waited no longer. He walked over and gently helped me down the remaining stairs.

We returned to his carriage, having been given privacy.

“I have missed you, Matilda,” he said, no longer addressing me as "Lady."

“Why do you ignore the fact that I am much older and once your trainer?” I asked as he interlocked his fingers with mine.

“Why do you talk about it so much? It doesn't bother me in any way.”

“Lord Cedric, spare me, please,” I breathed, but he kissed my neck.

“Your scent,” he growled.

His skin was against mine, and I couldn't resist him.

I had spent weeks suppressing my feelings.

The pain of knowing he was out there without me.

The pain of wanting each other while distance lingered between us like forever.

“I want you, Matilda,” he whispered before biting my ear.

And as though I were bewitched, I finally surrendered.

“I want you just as much, Lord Cedric Hawthorne.”

And he kissed me roughly, holding me as though he had dreamed of doing so for years.

I was dressed in a blue gown with my hair spread over my shoulders as I sat on a bench in the garden.

The weather was pleasant, and sitting in my room wasn't enough, so I decided to lay myself in the sun for sometime while enjoying the breeze.

I was reading a book and decided to take a break after finishing an intense chapter.

I leaned back against the bench and covered my face with the book because the sunlight was too harsh on my eyes, allowing myself to drift into the moment.

Suddenly, images of Lord Cedric appeared in my mind, and as though he were sitting beside me, I could feel our bond.

My wolf whined excitedly as I thought about the man I had grown to love.

I knew the mate bond was one of the reasons we were drawn so strongly to each other, but this felt like more than that.

How I wished Lord Cedric were sitting beside me.

As though it were a dream come true, the moment the book slipped from my face, the sunlight struck my eyes but he stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body.

A smile spread across my face as I looked at him.

“Am I dreaming?” I wondered, not realizing I had spoken the words aloud.

His face drew closer and closer as I held his gaze.

If this was a dream, I wanted to live in it forever.

So I closed my eyes, waiting for his lips to touch mine.

“There, there,” he whispered softly. “You are not dreaming.”