Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 245

Chapter 245

Eileen

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I stayed with Nina until her tears finally subsided into exhausted silence, her breathing evening out against my shoulder. When I helped her lie down to rest, she clutched her mother’s handkerchief like a lifeline, but there was something different in her eyes now–not peace,

exactly, but the first fragile shoots of hope pushing through frozen ground.

“Rest,” I whispered, tucking the blanket around her. “You’re not alone anymore.”

She nodded, eyes already drifting closed. I slipped out of her room and made my way back through the quiet quarter.

Back in our room, I lowered myself onto the bed with a weary sigh. My body still ached from the transformation, from channeling that impossible power. But more than the physical exhaustion, I felt the absence–Regis was still out there, hunting down the last of Cornelius’s conspirators. Through our bond, I could sense him moving, focused and determined, but the distance made my chest tight with

worry.

Come back safe, I thought, sending the feeling through our connection. Please come back to me.

I lay there in the lamplight, one hand resting on my rounded belly, feeling the baby’s occasional flutter. Soon. So soon now. And I wanted Regis here, wanted him safe, wanted-

The door opened.

I sat up so fast my head spun. Regis stood in the entrance, still in his battle leathers, streaked with dirt and dried blood. But his eyes–his eyes found mine and lit with such fierce relief that my breath caught.

“You’re awake.” Three strides brought him to my side. He knelt beside the cot, his hands framing my face, trembling slightly as though he needed to confirm I was real. “I felt you through the bond. I tried to get back sooner, but-”

“You’re here now,” I whispered, covering his hands with mine. “You’re safe. That’s what matters.”

He pressed his forehead to mine, breathing me in. “We found him. Silas. He was hiding in a cave near the eastern border, terrified since we killed Cornelius. His voice hardened. “Kieran’s handling his transport back for trial. It’s over, Eileen. Truly over.”

Relief crashed over me so intensely I nearly started crying again. “All of it?”

“All of it.” He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. “Cornelius orchestrated everything–the shadow wolves, the border attacks, years of preparation. He used witch magic to transform and control ordinary wolves, turn them into weapons. The night we met in the Whispering Woods…” His voice cracked. “If you hadn’t found me that night, hadn’t healed me with whatever power was already stirring inside you, his plan would have succeeded. He would have had made the whole pack under his control.”

I stared at him, the implications settling over me like heavy snow.

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Chapter 245

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‘Don’t you see?” Regis cupped my face, his thumbs stroking my cheekbones. “You saved me that night. And you saved everyone again in that ritual circle. From the very beginning, you’ve been our savior. Moon–blessed power or not, you’re the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

“I’m not I started, but he silenced me with a kiss.

“You are, he murmured against my lips. “And I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you believe it.”

I wanted to argue, wanted to protest that I’d just been scared and desperate and trying to survive. But the look in his eyes–the absolute

certainty there–made the words die in my throat. Maybe he was right. Maybe strength wasn’t about never being afraid. Maybe it was

about being terrified and doing what needed to be done anyway.

“Come here,” I whispered, tugging him closer. “I’ve been waiting all day to hold you.”

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