Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 27

“Right,” Kieran said slowly, drawing the word out like he was explaining something to a particularly dense recruit. “You sent her one very polite, very careful message, and then you disappeared. You’ve been thinking about her like some lovesick fool, but you haven’t actually approached her. You haven’t followed up. You haven’t-”

“I was giving her time to think,” I interrupted.

“Or,” Kieran said, “she thinks you’ve given up on her.”

I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it again, the words dying in my throat. “What?”

Kieran sighed and leaned back against the wall, tilting his face up to the pale morning sky. “Think about it from her perspective. She’s wolfless, right? So she’s probably spent her whole life being told she’s not good enough, not worth the effort. Then she accidentally bonds with an Alpha–with you, the great Regis Vane, war hero and academy instructor–and instead of claiming her, you send her a very nice, very formal message basically saying ‘it’s your choice, no pressure,‘ and then you vanish into thin air.” He turned his head to look at me. “What do you think that looks like to her?”

“I was trying to respect her autonomy,” I said, but even as I said it, I could hear how it sounded–how it might sound to someone who’d spent her whole life being dismissed and discarded.

“I know,” Kieran said, his tone gentler now. “But respect can look a lot like indifference, especially to someone who’s already convinced she doesn’t matter. You gave her space, sure. But what she probably heard was ‘I’m washing my hands of this.”

The truth of that statement hit me like a punch to the gut, and I felt something crack open in my chest–a realization that I’d been se focused on not pressuring her, on not being the overbearing Alpha who forced his will on his mate, that I’d completely failed to consider how my silence might be interpreted. “I didn’t mean-”

‘I know you didn’t,” Kieran said. “But she doesn’t know that. All she knows is that the mark faded, you went quiet, and now she’s probably sitting somewhere convinced that you’re relieved to be rid of her.”

I dropped my head into my hands, my fingers digging into my scalp. “So what do I do?”

“You stop overthinking,” Kieran said bluntly. “You contact her. Right now. You tell her you want to talk, and you don’t give her room to second–guess whether you mean it.”

I looked up at him, and he was grinning again, that familiar mix of exasperation and affection that had gotten me through more than one crisis over the years. “Just like that?”

‘Just like that,” he said. “And for the love of the Moon, Regis, try to sound like you actually care, not like you’re drafting a formal treaty

I pulled the small communicator from my belt, my hands steadier than they’d been in days, and stared at the blank surface for a long moment. Kieran watched me, his expression expectant, and I took a breath and started to type,

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Chapter 27

39

This time, I didn’t overthink it. I didn’t agonize over every word or second–guess my phrasing. I just wrote what I felt, plain and direct and

true.

[Eileen,]

[I know I’ve been giving you space, and I know you may not want to see me. But what happened between us shouldn’t be buried in silence. If you’re willing, I’d like to talk–today, or whenever works for you. Please give me a chance.

– Regis]

I sent it before I could lose my nerve, and the crystal pulsed once to confirm delivery. Then I sat there, staring at it, my heart pounding in my chest and Valdor stirring faintly in the back of my mind like something waking from a long sleep.

Kieran watched me with a knowing smile. “Now we wait.”

“Now we wait,” I agreed, though every instinct in me was screaming to get up, to find her, to-

The crystal flared to life in my hand, bright and sudden, and I nearly dropped it in surprise. Kieran leaned over, his eyes widening. “That

was fast.”

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