Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 204

Mated to Her Alpha Instructor

Chapter 204

Mira’s wolf was going absolutely mad inside her—I could see it in the way her hands trembled, how her pupils had blown wide and dark. She took two stumbling steps toward the bed as if pulled by invisible strings, then caught herself on the doorframe with a strangled sound.

“Mira,” I said gently, moving to block her view of the Beta. “Look at me.”

She did, finally, and the helpless confusion in her eyes made my heart ache. “Eileen, I… I don’t… He smells like…”

“I know.” I squeezed her shoulders, steadying her. “It’s okay. Just breathe.”

“But I don’t even know him,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I’ve never—he’s—” Her gaze darted past me to the bed again, hungry and desperate and terrified all at once. “Why does it hurt to be this far away from him?”

Behind us, I heard movement—a shift of fabric, a low groan. My medical instincts screamed at me to turn around, to check on my patient, but Mira needed me more right now.

“It’s the bond,” I said softly. “You know that. Your wolf recognizes him.”

“But—” Mira’s face crumpled. “What if he doesn’t want—I mean, look at me, I’m a mess, and he’s probably—”

“Mate.”

The single word cut through the room like a blade.

I spun around. The Beta—Owen, Regis had called him—was awake, propped up on one elbow despite the bandages restricting his movement. His amber eyes were locked on Mira with an intensity that made the air feel charged, electric.

Mira

Moon Goddess help me, I couldn’t breathe.

The stranger’s eyes found mine across the room, and everything else ceased to exist. Not Eileen’s worried face, not Alpha Vane’s imposing presence, not even the medicinal smell of the treatment room. Just him. Just those amber eyes that seemed to see straight through to my wolf’s frantic, joyful howling.

Mate mate mate—

“I…” My voice came out as barely a whisper. I tried again, forcing the words through my constricted throat. “You’re hurt.”

Brilliant observation, Mira. Really showing off your stunning intellect there.

But he smiled—actually smiled despite the pain that must have been screaming through his torn shoulder—and it transformed his entire face. Made him look younger, softer, like maybe he laughed often and easily when he wasn’t bleeding all over someone’s medical station.

“I’m better now,” he said, his voice rough from disuse but warm as honey. “Now that…”

He tried to sit up fully, and I watched the color drain from his face as the movement pulled at his injuries. Before I could think, before I could stop myself, I was moving—practically shoving past Eileen, my hands reaching for him with a desperation that should have embarrassed me.

My palms landed on his chest, pressing him gently but firmly back against the pillows. The moment our skin touched, the world exploded.

Home, my wolf whimpered. Finally home.

Oh Moon Goddess. I was going to combust. Right here in the medical station, I was going to spontaneously burst into flames from pure mortification and joy and terror all mixed together.

The raw honesty in his voice undid me. I sank onto the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle him, and nodded mutely.

Eileen cleared her throat. “We’ll, um. We’ll give you two some privacy.”

I barely registered her and Alpha Vane leaving, their footsteps fading down the corridor. All I could focus on was Owen, on the way his eyes tracked my every movement like I was the most precious thing he’d ever seen.

“You should rest,” I managed, scrubbing at my eyes with my free hand. “Really rest. I’ll stay—if you want—but you need to sleep.”

“I want.” His eyes were already drifting shut, exhaustion finally catching up with the pain medication Eileen had administered. “Don’t leave?”

“I won’t.” The promise came easily, naturally. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

His breathing evened out almost immediately, his hand going slack in mine. I should have pulled away, should have given him space to heal properly. Instead, I stayed exactly where I was, watching the rise and fall of his chest and marveling at the impossible reality of the last hour.

Mate.

I had a mate.

His name was Owen Hayes, he was a tracker from Northridge Pack, and apparently he’d nearly died trying to deliver an invitation that might just save us all.

And somehow, impossibly, wonderfully—he wanted me too.
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