Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 10

More stone there in a stunning silver dress that brought out the amber in her eyes, her dark hair swept up in an intricate braid. She looked like she belonged in the moonlight, like she was made for moonlight and music and joy.

I must have looked something the cat dragged in.

Her eyes narrowed the moment she saw me. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing. I told you, I’m just—”

“You’re wearing a scarf.” She pushed past me into the room, circling me like a predator. “In the middle of summer. And you smell… weird.”

My heart stopped. “Weird how?”

“I don’t know. Like you dumped a whole bottle of that fancy herb stuff you’re always making.” She wrinkled her nose. “Did you try some new perfume or something?”

“…yes.” The lie came easier than I expected. “I wanted to try something different. You know. Change things up.”

“Because of Derek.” It wasn’t a question. Mira’s expression shifted from suspicious to furious in half a heartbeat. “That absolute bastard. I heard what happened at the arena. Blake was bragging about it in the dining hall.”

Of course he was. My humiliation was probably the highlight of his week. And it wasn’t a surprise for Mira to know about it.

“I heard more at the dance prep too,” Mira continued, her voice rising. “A fucking bet about how long Derek could string you along. And that bitch Celeste knew about it the whole time. They were all laughing about it.”

Each word was a knife, even though I already knew. Hearing it confirmed, hearing that it had spread beyond that small circle of cruelty, made it real in a way that hurt worse than the initial betrayal.

“I know,” I said quietly.

“You—” Mira stopped, really looking at me for the first time. Her anger softened into something gentler, sadder. “Oh, Eileen.”

She pulled me into a hug, and I let her, careful to keep my neck turned away so she wouldn’t feel the mark through the scarf. She smelled like cinnamon and warmth, familiar and safe, and for a moment I wanted to tell her everything—about the forest, about the Alpha, about the mark burning against my skin and the way I couldn’t stop thinking about ice-blue eyes in the darkness.

But I couldn’t. Because Mira would try to help, would try to fix it, and there was no fixing this. There was only hiding it and hoping that whoever he was, he’d forget. That the bond I’d felt wasn’t real, or wasn’t strong enough to matter, or would fade with time like a bad dream.

“Thanks, Mira,” I managed. “Have fun tonight.”

“Try. But it won’t be the same without you.” She flashed me a grin that didn’t quite reach her eyes, then disappeared down the hallway.

The moment the door closed, I sagged against it, my carefully maintained composure crumbling. My hand found the mark again, that traitorous warmth that pulsed in time with my heartbeat.

Your mate is out there somewhere.

But what kind of mate would want someone like me? A wolfless nobody who couldn’t even shift, who’d been used as a punchline by the boy she’d thought was kind, who’d given herself to a stranger in a forest clearing like something out of a cautionary tale?

And even if the bond was real, even if what I’d felt in that moment when our eyes met had been genuine… he was an Alpha. Powerful enough to survive shadow poison, to heal from wounds that should have killed him, to mark me with a bite that still burned hours later.

What would an Alpha like that want with me?