Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 229

Chapter 229

Nina

She was barely recognizable.

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The woman on the thin bedroll was skeletal, her hair white instead of the dark auburn I remembered. Her skin was papery, stretched tight

over bones. Silver burns marked her wrists and throat–fresh ones, not the old scars.

But it was her. I knew it in my bones.

“Mother,” I whispered, dropping to my knees beside her.

Her eyes fluttered open–still that same pale green, though clouded with pain. When she focused on me, I watched recognition dawn, followed immediately by horror.

“No,” she breathed, her voice a ruined rasp. “You… shouldn’t… trap… run… run…”

She tried to push herself up, got maybe an inch before collapsing back with a strangled sound of pain. I caught her hand–so cold, so fragile and felt tears spilling down my face.

“I’m going to get you out,” I said. “I’m sorry I left you. I’m so sorry-”

“Touching.”

Cornelius’s voice came from the tent entrance. I spun, still crouched over Mother, and saw three more figures materializing from the shadows outside. Wolves, from their scent. Rogue, from the way they moved.

“But we’re running out of time,” Cornelius continued, stepping inside. “The ritual requires fresh blood–yours and hers. A mother–daughter bond makes the magic so much… potent.”

Thea exploded to the surface before I could think.

My bones shifted, claws extending, vision sharpening to wolf–sight. I lunged at the nearest rogue, felt my claws connect with flesh, heard

him yelp-

Then something heavy and burning landed on my back.

Silver net.

I screamed as it seared into my skin, the metal burning through fur and flesh. Tried to tear it off but only tangled myself worse. Another wolf pressed something against my spine–a carved stone, radiating magic that felt like ice and nausea-

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For a moment I couldn’t orient myself–the room was too dark, my heart was racing, and there was this awful pressure behind my sternum

like I couldn’t get enough air.

“Easy, Regis murmured beside me, immediately alert. His hand found mine in the darkness. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t… I don’t know.” I pressed my other hand to my forehead, trying to make sense of the feeling. “Bad dream, I think. But it felt…”

Real.

Someone screaming. Calling for help. I couldn’t remember the details, just the overwhelming sense of terror and pain.

And something about Nina.

I threw back the covers. “I need to check on her.”

“Eileen-

“Please.” I was already reaching for my robe. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”

Regis didn’t argue. He’d learned to trust my instincts about these things. “I’ll come with you.”

The walk was short–one benefit of moving into Dr. Hawthorne’s guest suite. After the recent chaos, I’d insisted we leave the cottage and stay in the main building so that we could help at once if anything happened.

But when we reached Nina’s door and I knocked softly, there was no answer.

“She might be asleep,‘ Regis said.

I tried the handle. Unlocked. I pushed it open slowly.

The room was empty.

Not just empty–still. The kind of cold, undisturbed quiet that said no one had been here for hours. The bed was made with military precision, the desk neat. Everything in its place except-

“Regis.” My voice came out strangled. I’d crossed to the bed, and my hand had automatically checked under the pillow like I used to do

when hiding things from my own parents.

The notebook was there.

I pulled it out with shaking fingers, opened it to the last written page.

If I don’t return by dawn: Western woods, the creek where wild mint grows. Cornelius contacted me through link. He claims Mother is alive. I

had to know. I’m sorry. -N

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Chapter 229

The words blurred as tears filled my eyes. “No. No, no, no-*

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Regis was there instantly, reading over my shoulder. I felt him go rigid, felt the fury that flooded through our bond.

“How long ago?” he asked, his voice dangerously calm.

1 looked at the window. Still fully dark. “It’s past midnight. Sunset was hours ago.”

Which meant Nina had been gone for hours. Walked into a trap we should have seen coming, should have protected her from-

Through our bond, I felt Regis’s control slip just slightly. His eyes flashed gold in the darkness.

“Get Kieran,” he said. “Wake everyone. I’m going to the creek now-”

A wolf’s howl split the night. Long, mournful, coming from the direction of the western woods.

Whether it was a warning or a lament, I couldn’t tell.

But I knew, with sick certainty, that we were already too late.