Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 216

Chapter 216

“I don’t know, I just found-

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“We’ll ask.” He paused long enough to frame my face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away tears I hadn’t realized were falling. “Breathe,

love. We’ll find her.”

But his jaw was tight with the same worry I felt, and through the bond I caught flashes of his thoughts: she wouldn’t just leave, not without saying goodbye, something scared her, drove her away-

We found Adrian in the garden.

Or rather, he found us–appeared on the path ahead as we were rushing toward the stables, already dressed despite the early hour. His hair was disheveled and there were shadows under his eyes that suggested he’d slept as poorly as I had, if at all.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, but there was something off about his tone. Too careful. Too measured.

Regis handed him the note without a word.

I watched Adrian’s face as he read it. Watched the color drain from his skin, watched his hands curl into fists around the paper hard enough to crumple it. For just a second–so brief I might have imagined it–his eyes flashed amber, the wolf rising to the surface before he shoved it back down with visible effort.

“When did she leave?” His voice was absolutely level, but there was something underneath it that made the hair on the back of my neck

stand up.

“We don’t know,” I said. “Sometime last night, we think. Adrian, what-”

“Get horses. He was already striding toward the stables, his movements sharp and precise. “Check the north road first–that’s the route back to the medical camp. She can’t have gotten far on foot.”

“How do you know she’s on foot?” Regis asked quietly, falling into step beside him.

Adrian didn’t answer. He was already shouting orders to the stablehands, his Alpha authority turning suggestions into immediate action. Within minutes we had horses saddled and a small search party assembled–Declan, two of Adrian’s Betas, Regis and myself.

Adrian led us and spurred his horse toward the tree line.

We found her half a mile down the forest path.

She had her back to us, a traveling pack slung over one shoulder, walking with the kind of mechanical determination that suggested she’d been moving for hours. When she heard the hoofbeats she stopped, and even from a distance I could see the way her whole body went

rigid.

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Chapter 216

Adrian was off his horse before it had fully stopped, covering the distance between them in long strides. “Nina.”

She didn’t turn around. Didn’t move. Just stood there with her shoulders hunched like she was bracing for a blow.

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“Please, Adrian said, and there was something raw in his voice that made my chest constrict. “Please. Just give me a chance to explain.”

Slowly–so slowly–Nina turned to face us. Her eyes were red–rimmed and her face was pale, but her expression was perfectly, eerily calm.

“There’s nothing to explain,” she said softly. “I understand completely.”

But Regis had dismounted too, and he was standing beside Adrian now with his hand on the other Alpha’s shoulder, and through our bond

I felt his shock and understanding crash into me like a wave.

Oh, I thought, pieces suddenly clicking into horrible place. Oh no.

“Nina,” I started, dismounting as well, my legs shaking. “Nina, we didn’t know-

“It’s fine. She cut me off with a small, brittle smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Really. I’m fine. I just need to go.”

“You can’t just- Adrian started, then stopped, his jaw working like he was physically restraining the words. “Please. Let me at least–we need to talk about this. About what happened.”

Nina’s laugh was hollow. “What’s there to talk about? You made your choice. It was the right one. I’m not going to stand here and-

“My wolf wants to meet yours.”

The words fell into the silence like stones into still water. Nina’s eyes widened, something flickering across her face too fast for me to

read.

“My wolf, Adrian repeated, his voice rough. “It wants to apologize. To her. For what I’m about to do.”

And I realized, as the implications of that sank in, that whatever was happening here was so much bigger and more complicated than I’d

imagined,

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Mated to Her Alpha Instructor