Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 144

The crowd’s murmur grew uglier. I could feel the narrative taking shape, the story they were already telling themselves. Wolfless girl seduces taken Beta. So predictable. So pathetic.

“Mira- I tried to push through the bodies, to find my friend, but hands shoved me back. Someone’s elbow caught my ribs and I gasped, curling protectively around my stomach. “Mira, please-

“She’s not here to save you,” Celeste hissed. “It’s just you and me and the truth you’ve been hiding.”

Through the bond, I felt something shift–Regis’s steady focus suddenly sharpening into something more alert. Had he felt my fear? Could the bond carry that much, even if I couldn’t send words?

Please, I thought uselessly. Please notice something’s wrong-

“Get out of my way!” Mira’s voice, high and furious, cut through the noise. I caught a glimpse of her red hair as she shoved her way through the crowd. “Back up.

all of you-

She broke through and immediately planted herself between me and Celeste, smaller but fearless. “What the hell is wrong with you? Attacking her in front

of everyone-

‘She’s been sleeping with Derek!” Celeste’s voice rose to a shriek. “Ask her! Ask her where he really was last night!”

“I don’t know where he was!” The words ripped out of me. “I didn’t–we didn’t–I was home with-

I cut myself off, but too late. Celeste’s eyes narrowed.

“With who, Eileen?” Her voice dripped venom. “Who were you home with, if not stalking my boyfriend?”

The crowd pressed closer. Someone jostled Mira from behind, and she stumbled into me. I tried to steady her, my hand instinctively curving over my belly-

And a female student, maybe trying to help, maybe not, reached out to catch my arm and her hand pressed flat against my stomach.

For a frozen second, we both went still.

Then her nose twitched. I realized too late–my panic had made my scent flare too strong. The masking herbal balm couldn’t mask it anymore.

Her eyes widened. Her hand jerked back like she’d been burned.

‘She’s- Her voice cracked with shock. “She’s pregnant.”

The world tilted.

The whispers exploded into outright chaos.

‘-pregnant?!”

-oh, I smell that too. She’s been using some ointments to hide her scent—*

-who’s the father, Derek?! Or another man-

1/3

12:22 pm

Chapter 144

pp p

-disgusting, a wolfless breeding-

“No I shoved the girl away, both arms wrapping around my belly now. The baby’s distress pulsed stronger, frightened by my terror, and I felt tears

streaming down my face. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll keep you safe-

Celeste stared at me, her expression shifting from rage to something worse. Triumph.

049

“A baby. Her laugh was jagged, horrible. “Oh, this is perfect. This is perfect. You’re not just a mistress–you’re a pregnant wolfless slut who doesn’t even know

who the father is!”

“That’s not true!” Mira screamed, trying to push people back. “Don’t touch her–get away-

But they were too close, too many, a wall of bodies and hostile faces. Someone shoved Mira and she nearly went down. I grabbed for her, terror obliterating

thought.

Through the bond, I felt Regis’s emotions spike–alarm, then confusion, then something sharper. He knew. Somehow, he knew something was wrong.

But he wasn’t here. And I had no way to tell him where I was, what was happening-

“You need to leave the Academy,” someone in the crowd shouted. “We don’t want your kind here-

“Breeding without a bond-

-probably seduced a professor for grades-”

Celeste raised her hand, claws fully extended now, and Mira threw herself in front of me, arms spread wide.

“Touch her and I’ll report you to the Council myself!”

Everything was spinning. The voices, the accusations, the hate. My vision blurred at the edges. The baby’s distress pulsed through our fragile connection, and I couldn’t tell where my fear ended and theirs began.

Hold on, I whispered silently to the tiny life inside me. Just hold on. Please.

Celeste’s hand drew back-

And then, cutting through the chaos like the toll of a bell, came the heavy, deliberate sound of hoots on stone.

The crowd went still.

Through the bond, I felt him before I saw him–a wall of fury so intense it nearly drove me to my knees. Not rage at me, but rage for me, protective and absolute and terrifying in its intensity.

I looked up, tears blurring my vision.

And there, at the edge of the dorm quad, eyes blazing gold and every line of his body screaming lethal intent, was Regis.