His Curvy Mate
Chapter 1

Willa rushed to put away the last stack of books on her cart, weaving back and forth through the library aisles. She knew every shelf like the back of her hand and was a stickler for order. Tonight, she was sitting in on a lecture about current economic affairs, but in half an hour, she was tutoring a student at the other end of the campus. She didn’t want to be late.

By the time she locked up and headed outside for the first time since morning, she was out of breath and absently checking her watch every ten seconds. She needed these side tutoring jobs to make ends meet. The university only paid her minimum wage for running the library, but she put up with it because they allowed her to sit in on lectures at no cost. Willa loved to learn but could never afford to send herself through school.

“Miss Young, the library isn’t closed, is it?” shouted a student heading her way.

“Sorry, you’ll have to come back in the morning. I open at eight sharp.” She’d usually bend over backward and open up for a student, but not today.

It still felt weird when students referred to her as Miss Young rather than Willa because she was only twenty-six. Being the campus librarian helped make her invisible. Dressing like her grandmother and being almost a hundred pounds overweight didn’t help. She felt more comfortable being unnoticed because she’d experienced enough teasing through her school years.

The business building came into view. She was horribly out of breath by the time she opened the door. Today she was tutoring an eighteen-year-old first-year student named Tyson. It was their second month of meeting.

He was sitting in the same spot as last time at one of the round tables in the study hall.

“Sorry, I’m not late, am I?” She checked her watch again. One minute to spare.

Tyson shrugged.

Most of the teachers whispered about him. He’d already been suspended once, and the year had just started. They’d ask her why she’d bother to tutor him, but it was more than just the money with Tyson—even if his father was paying more than the going rate. Although Tyson seemed to rub everyone wrong and always got into trouble, she had a good vibe from him. They clicked. If she could help him further his education and get him on track, she’d do everything in her power to make that happen.

“What happened to your eye?” she asked. It looked like a healing black eye but hadn’t been there two days ago.

“It’s nothing.”

She kept her mouth shut and went right on to tutoring him in his business classes. He never appeared to be paying much attention, but she hoped it was just a front. After twenty minutes of going over the business model, he leaned back in his chair and scrubbed a hand over his face. “This is a waste of time,” he said.

“Why? Do you not understand it?” Willa hadn’t gone to school to be a teacher or anything, but she had an eidetic memory and retained all the knowledge she’d learned over the years from taking free courses and listening to lectures. They’d never award her a diploma or degree, but at least she was still learning, which was what she loved most.

The last thing she wanted was to fail Tyson because she was incapable of teaching him.

“I don’t want to be here, that’s why.”

She kept silent, feeling like he had more to say.

“This is all my father’s idea. He thinks an education is the key to the future. Nothing I say gets through to him,” he said.

“I’m sure he just loves you.”

He g*****d. “He’s abandoning our heritage whereas I want to embrace it.”

“Education is always a good thing,” she said.

Tyson shook his head. “I hate being here. I hate the students, the teachers, everything.”

She was glad he was finally talking and getting things off his chest. “And me?” she asked.

He sat up straighter, looking her dead in the eyes. “No, not you.”

Willa smiled, she couldn’t help it. She knew there was something good in him. All he needed was a listening ear and someone who genuinely cared. When she’d been in grade school, even the teachers would snicker when fat jokes were directed at her. All that bullying still messed with her head to this day.

“I’m glad,” she said. “I want to help you. The first year can be a rough transition.”

“It’s more than that. Do you think you could talk to my father? Convince him to allow me to return home?”

She didn’t want to be put in the middle of this family conflict. His father’s orders were rigid and his pockets large. He’d spend anything necessary for his son to succeed and graduate from business school. For some reason, he was putting that responsibility on her shoulders since he lived so far away. Willa was just a part-time tutor, not a social worker or miracle worker.

“You know him more than I do, Tyson. He’s dead set on seeing you succeed.”

He stood up. “Maybe if I get suspended again, he’ll listen.”

“Stop,” she said. “I’ll give him a call.”

Their hour-long lesson ended early. She walked home, a small basement apartment near the campus. It was convenient and cheap, so she couldn’t complain. There were still a few hours until the lecture, so she sat down on her sofa and stared at the number on her phone. She didn’t want to make this call but also didn’t want Tyson to wreak havoc on the campus because he didn’t get his way.

“Hello, can I please speak with Xander Blackhawk?”

“You’re speaking with him.”

Willa bit her l!p. His voice was deep and authoritative, making her nervous about everything she was about to say. “This is your son’s tutor, Willa Young. First of all, our session wasn’t the full hour today, so you only have to pay half.”

“That’s fine. I’ll pay the regular rate. Why was it cut short?”

She took a breath. “Your son hates it here. He wants to go home. He’s not interested in an education and seems hell-bent on causing trouble until he gets his way.”

There was silence on the other line. Her heart raced.

Tyson was eighteen, so there wasn’t much his parents could do to force him into learning.

“He’s not quitting,” Xander said matter-of-factly, no room for compromise in his tone. “An education is the key to the future. Those who don’t adapt will be left behind.”

She remembered what Tyson said about his father. It all seemed true.

“I’m not sure what I can do to help. He’s quite determined to fail.”

He g*****d, a deep, masculine sound. “I’ll drive down to the school tomorrow morning. This bullshit will be put to rest and he’ll continue with his business degree.”

She swallowed hard, wondering what he could say in person that she couldn’t to make Tyson listen. It was a long drive, and he didn’t sound happy about having to come down. She felt like a failure for not being able to help more.

“Can’t you call him rather than coming all the way down?”

“No, I’m tiring of his stunts,” he said. “It’s time for him to remember who’s in charge.”

Xander had been driving for hours and was pissed off he had to make this journey at all. For years, he’d tried to instill his values into his only son, but it was like talking to a wall. The boy hated humanity with a passion and wanted to live feral. Shifters had to embrace both their sides in order to survive in the modern world. It was a matter of adapting or going extinct, but his son wouldn’t listen to reason.

He’d done well in business and wanted to teach his son how to run the empire by his side. Business school wasn’t optional. A thorough education was the key to getting ahead, to maintaining balance as a shifter. His son liked to accuse him of being a sellout, of siding with humans rather than embracing his true nature. Xander may enjoy human luxuries, but he didn’t neglect his wolf. He had hectares of forest around his mansion and spent equal time in his fur and skin.

Today, he’d set his son straight. Not only was he his father, but he was also his alpha.

He parked his Mercedes in the visitor’s lot and headed to the library where he was supposed to meet up with Tyson. His tutor arranged the meeting.

As soon as he entered the library, her scent was potent, stirring his wolf into wakefulness. He had to force his canines down, and he usually had excellent control over his impulses. In all his forty-four years, he’d never scented his mate, but today there was no mistaking it.

She was here in the library.

He looked around, only replaceing students and a few faculty. This couldn’t be right. Why now? Why here?

Then he spotted Tyson and forced himself to focus on the task at hand. Just seeing the boy brought out all his deep-seated feelings of love and the urge to protect him. It would be too easy to let him lead his own way, but he was young and making unwise decisions. He’d raised Tyson alone since he was a baby, learning as he went. Some days he felt like a failure, others he felt such pride. Right now, he’d put his emotions aside and be the authority figure he needed in his life. His hormones were out of whack as he transitioned from a juvenile to an adult shifter. They were volatile years for a male.

“You didn’t have to come all the way here,” Tyson said, his arms folded.

A young woman was with him.

“Apparently, I did. I thought I made myself clear that you will complete your business degree.”

“It’s pointless.”

“Do you need more tutoring?” he asked.

“There’s nothing wrong with my tutor,” Tyson said. “It’s everything else that’s the problem. I mean, look around here. I’m f*****g surrounded. My skin is crawling.”

“You’ll adapt.”

“I won’t!”

He braced both hands on the table and leaned closer to his son. “Watch your f*****g tone with me. Stand up and show some damn respect.”

Tyson immediately stood up, uncrossing his arms.

Xander tested the air, turning to look at the woman still sitting at the table. “Who is she?” he asked, nodding toward her.

“You hired her.”

He narrowed his eyes, looking her up and down. “Willa Young?”

“Yes, sir.” She stood up, and he scented her fear … and more. He had to be certain though. There were many people in the library. If she was the source of the addicting scent, that meant his son’s tutor was his mate.

It couldn’t be true though.

She was a human.

After decades of him searching and hoping, fate had finally gifted him a mate in the form of a human being? Tyson’s mother had been a full shifter, a one-night stand that turned into a pregnancy. She’d been killed almost eighteen years ago by hunters, fueling their son’s hatred of humanity.

This couldn’t end well.

He rounded the table, and Willa flinched as he neared, holding out her hand. Xander ignored her outstretched hand, leaning in close to breathe in along her neckline. “Come to my car. I need to talk privately with you.” He whispered the words, his eyes nearly lolling back in his head. There was no mistaking that she was the one.

“I have accommodations for the week,” he said to Tyson. “Tonight, we’ll talk over dinner.”

His son opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was probably expecting more of a fight, a barrage of angry words from his father. That would come later.

Right now, his focus was on the beauty next to him. This was the woman he’d been talking with on the phone? The young tutor he paid to teach his son?

He wasn’t disappointed. She was all soft curves, lush and pure innocence. He’d come here to put some fear into his son, but now he’d have to figure out how to convince a human her mate was a werewolf.