"Love can make the irrational seem rational."

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"Come in." The professor looks up from the faux leather chair he was sitting on, behind his desk. The handle turns and the tutor is faced with the student. "Emmanuel…. I've been expecting you. Come, sit." Professor Kelly gestures towards the chair in front of him. Mani momentarily stays statuesque, trying to size up his tutor. He may claim to want peace, but where did his allegiances really lie?

The professor can see the hesitation and tries his best to relax his posture. "It's ok. You are safe. I promise, I won't bite."

"Then neither will I.'' Mani is quick to respond. Causing the professor to chuckle in amusement.

"Touchè Mr Blake. But I promise you. I'm not the fighting kind. Not in that sense." Mani smiles as now he chooses to take a seat. "So, what can I do for you?" The professor laces his fingers together as he rests them upon the desk.

Mani takes a moment as his eyes gravitate towards the very human hands of the tutor, resting rather innocently on the wooden surface. "You're a halfblood." He utters as he looks up at the man.

"Yes, though I prefer the word Being." He momentarily unlaces his hands and casually gestures towards Mani. "You are an omega."

"I'd prefer it if you just call me Mani." Comes the reply. The professor takes in the hard face of the wolfkind before him. It makes him smile.

"You know, I'd like to think we're on the same side." Professor Kelly says as he sits back, only to reach to the left of him to retrieve something from his desk. He opens it and pulls out a rolled up document, held together with purple string. He then puts it on the desk before Mani.

Mani now looks at the rolled up parchment which had been placed before him. "What is this?"

"Take a look." The professor gestures as Mani now reaches forwards to take the scroll in his hands. He pulls at the string, which falls onto the desk, allowing the parchment to unravel, to reveal a few sentencences in handwritten ink.

"The common values." Mani reads the words in bold written across the top of the document. "What is this?"

"Have you heard of the underground wars?" Professor Kelly looks to Mani with hope.

Mani raises an eyebrow. "Of course. Everyone knows about the underground wars. The worst and most undocumented war in the history of this planet. It's why everyone seems to despise each other. But I never really understood how it started."

"It started because an alpha and a vampire had a disagreement over territory. A petty arguement between two individuals caused bloodshed and the loss of multiple species in the worst war in undocumented history. Sound familiar?"

Mani looks at the professor with a rush of adrenaline in him. Tyler's father. His mate. Was this about to happen all over again? He then looks again at the paper in his hand. "So what has that got to do with this document?"

The professor now takes the document from Mani, unravelling it a little more and spreading it across the table with the flat of his hands. "Not all of it was undocumented. This document was drawn up by a few who wanted to end the bloodshed. No one knows which side they hailed from, but they wanted to bring peace, as do I."

"And these four statements were supposed to do it?" Mani questions, once again taking in the four simple sentences.

"They were never given the opportunity. The document was lost, the creators vanished. It was all a myth that such a ledger was ever created."

"But you have it."

"I have it." The professor smiles. "Since becoming a Being, I have dedicated my life to learning all about the history of the blood kind. It's amazing what you find if you really choose to look."

"So you weren't born this way?" Mani wonders, tilting his head a little to the side in wonder. "Were you attacked?"

"No. I simply fell in love. My partner James, he was born a Being with a human mother and a vampire father. He and his brother were in a bad place when our paths crossed, I was a doctor at the city hospital at the time." The professor looks a little into the distance as if to recall the memories. "Love can make the irrational seem rational." He then draws his attention once again to his student, who was looking at him with interest. "Did you want to ask me something?" He says.

Mani shakes his head, but the professor could tell that the omega had something he wanted to say. "Love comes in many guises Mani. Do you still fear your mate?"

Mani gives off a weak smile. "He's an alpha, but not any alpha. He will one day be leader of the Ashen pack, the most well known pack, notorious for their fighters, so of course I fear him. I would be a fool not to." Mani stops his words as if going into deep thought.

The professor tries to catch the stare. "I sense there is more."

Mani smiles warmly at his tutor. "Even though he is all that. I am drawn to him. I feel I understand him in a weird way and he is trying his best to understand me."

"That is why you are the key." Professor Kelly says, again drawing their attention back to the parchment on the table. "Your alpha will listen to you. I know it. I don't want you to feel the pressure, but I believe only you could persuade the wolf to sign this agreement."

"I've heard that already." Mani replies, reminding himself of the task set before him. "But what if I can't do it? What if he won't listen to me? What if he wants to go to war with the bloodkind?"

"All I want is a meeting. I believe we can solve this if we just talk to each other. I just need you to get him to agree with that."

"Just a meeting?" Mani questions. "That's all?"

The professor opens a smaller drawer from his desk and pulls out a card with a number on it. He pushes it across the desk for Mani to pick up. "This is my other number. Call me when you are both ready to talk with us."

Mani takes the card, momentarily looking at it before putting it in the pocket of his shirt. "You sound like I will talk him round already." He sighs.

"I know you will do everything in your power to prevent this conflict. You are Emmanuel Blake after all." Professor Kelly smiles.

"Have you been researching me too?" Mani raises an eyebrow.

"Only what I needed to know." He smiles. "The Onyx are a peaceful pack. It's inevitable you will become mates."

"It seems I just cannot escape my fate. Maybe I should just give in and accept it." Mani sighs. And it was true. Whichever path he took, it always led him straight back to that one place. Right back to Teddy.