Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 233

Chapter 233

I uncorked the vial, dabbing the oil on my sleeves, my collar, the hem of my cloak. The sharp, medicinal scent made my eyes water.

“Wait twenty minutes,” I said quietly, pressing the vial into her palm. “Then follow the silverleaf scent. Bring Owen and as many warriors as you can spare from the battle.”

“Twenty minutes?” Her voice cracked. “Eileen, he could kill you in five—”

“He won’t.” I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt. “He needs me alive for whatever he’s planning. But Nina and her mother are expendable.” I gripped her shoulders. “Twenty minutes, Mira. Please.”

She stared at me for a long, agonizing moment. Then her jaw set, that familiar stubborn fire igniting in her eyes.

“If you don’t come back alive, I’ll hunt you down in the afterlife.”

Despite everything, I almost smiled. “Deal.”

I glanced one last time toward the battle—toward Regis’s silver-black form tearing through rogues with savage precision, his focus entirely on protecting his warriors. On protecting me, even from a distance.

I’m not breaking my promise**,*** I thought, even though he couldn’t hear me through the bond. I’m coming back. I swear.

Then I turned southeast and ran.

I moved as quietly as I could, one hand pressed to my belly, the other clutching a silver dagger—the only weapon I had. The myrrh scent grew stronger with each step, undercut by something fouler.

Keep moving. Nina needs you. The baby needs you to survive this.

Two figures lay motionless at its edge, bound in silver chains.

Mira. Regis. Anyone.

But the bond was silent. The forest was silent.

And Cornelius’s smile widened as he pressed the dagger’s tip to my throat.

“Now then,” he murmured. “Let’s begin.”