Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 116

Chapter 116

“I can- 1 started, but my voice cracked, and I had to swallow hard before trying again. “I can manage,”

‘I know you can. His response was immediate and firm, but not unkind. ‘Humor me anyway.”

My cloak fell away, then the outer layers of my dress, and when his fingers brushed the bare skin of my shoulders to ease the fabric down, I flinched–not from fear but from the sudden overwhelming sensation of being seen, being touched, being cared for in the aftermath of being so thoroughly rejected. His

hands stilled instantly.

“Eileen. My name was barely a whisper. ‘Look at me,

love.”

I forced my gaze up to meet his, expecting to see pity or perhaps anger on my behalf, but instead found only an aching tenderness that made my throat close up completely. Slowly, giving me every chance to refuse, he cupped my face in both hands and pressed his forehead to mine, letting me feel the steadiress of his breathing, the solid warmth of his presence.

“You’re safe,” he repeated, and through our bond I felt the absolute conviction behind the words–not a hollow reassurance but a sworn truth. “They can’t hurt you anymore. You never have to go back to that place. You never have to see them again unless you choose to.”

The tears came then, hot and silent, tracking down my already tender cheeks to drip off my jaw. I didn’t sob–I had cried myself empty in the carriage–but I couldn’t stop the overflow either, couldn’t contain the sheer relief of hearing someone else say what I had been too afraid to even think.

They can’t hurt you anymore.

Regis held me through it, murmuring soft reassurances in a voice gone rough with his own emotion, and when the tears finally slowed, he eased me the rest of the way out of my clothes and guided me into the bath with a gentleness that bordered on reverent. The hot water was a shock against my chilled skin, and I gasped involuntarily as I sank into it, but then the heat began to seep into my muscles and bones, loosening knots I hadn’t known I was carrying.

He knelt beside the tub, heedless of the water soaking into his sleeves, and reached for the soap–but I caught his wrist before he could begin, my fingers closing around the strong bones in a grip that trembled despite my best efforts.

“I want this to be the last time,” I said hoarsely, the words scraping out of my raw throat like a confession. “The last time I cry over them. I don’t want to–I don’t want to give them any more of my tears.”

Something fierce and proud flared in Regis’s eyes, bright enough to rival the sun streaming through the window, and he turned his hand in my grip to lace our fingers together. “Then this will be the last time,” he agreed, his voice carrying the weight of a vow. “Cry now if you need to. Let it all out. And when you’re done, we leave them behind.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and released his hand so he could tend to me. He worked in silence, his touch so gentle it made my chest ache- washing away the dust of the road, the salt tracks of tears, the invisible stains of rejection and grief. And as he did, as the warm water and his careful attention combined to slowly thaw the frozen knot in my chest, I felt something inside me begin to shift.

By the time he wrapped me in a soft towel and helped me from the tub, my tears had dried completely, leaving behind not emptiness but a strange, fragile calm–as though some long–festering wound had finally been lanced and cleaned, painful but necessary.

“Better?‘ Regis asked quietly, and I surprised both of us by nodding.

“Yes,” I whispered, and found I meant it. I think… yes.”

11:51 am

M

Mated to Her Alpha Instructor