Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Today, I told myself firmly, gripping the edge of the sink, you will keep your distance. No more touching her face. No more lingering looks. Give her space.

The resolution felt hollow even as I made it.

Breakfast was an exercise in self–discipline. I sat across from her at the table rather than beside her, kept careful distance between us, avoided letting our hands touch when I passed her the honey for her tea. My questions were light, impersonal–how had she slept, did the oatmeal suit her stomach, would she need anything for her classes today.

She answered softly, her eyes flicking up to meet mine before darting away, and I could feel through the bond that she sensed something different in my behavior. Confusion mixed with a trace of hurt that made Valdor whine.

She thinks we’re pulling away, my wolf growled. She doesn’t understand.

She doesn’t need to, I told him firmly. This is for her protection.

But when I helped her into the carriage for the drive to campus, I couldn’t quite maintain the distance I’d promised myself. My hand lingered at her elbow, steadying her as she climbed up. I asked if she was warm enough, if the cushions were comfortable, if she needed anything at all.

Her soft “I’m fine, thank you made my chest ache.

We rode in careful silence, and I kept my gaze on the road ahead rather than on her profile, on the way the morning light caught in her hair. At the Healing building, I helped her down with the most minimal contact necessary, my hands barely grazing her waist.

*I’ll pick you up after your afternoon session,” I said, and heard the roughness in my own voice, the way it wanted to crack into something more desperate.

“At the main gate.”

She nodded, her eyes searching my face for something I couldn’t give her. Not yet.

I watched her disappear into the building, felt the bond stretch and thin as distance came between us, and had to physically restrain myself from following.

My advanced combat class that afternoon was a disaster.

I demonstrated a defensive counter and nearly fumbled the footwork–me, who’d been executing these techniques flawlessly since I was fifteen. When a student asked about proper weight distribution, I stared at him blankly for three full seconds before my brain registered the question.

The students noticed. I could see the confused glances they exchanged, hear their whispered speculation. Regis Vane, the youngest senior combat instructor in Academy history, was distracted. Unfocused. Off..

Because all I could think about was her.

The way she’d looked at me across the breakfast table, shy and uncertain. The phantom sensation of her lips under my thumb. The faint luut I’d felt through the bond when I’d kept my distance. The knowledge that in just a few hours I’d see her again, smell her chamomile and apple scent, feel the bond settle into contentment just from being near her.

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Chapter 49

Time moved like honey in winter. I checked the sun’s position four times, calculated and recalculated how long until her afternoon session would end. My students must have thought I’d lost my mind.

Finally, mercifully, the class ended. I dismissed them early and headed straight for the main gate, unable to wait in my office a moment longer.

The carriage was already there, the driver nodding respectfully as I approached. I took up position beside it, scanning every figure that emerged from the various buildings, searching for that particular small, slender silhouette.

Minutes crawled past. I forced myself not to pace, not to let my agitation show. Through the bond I could feel her–steady, calm, safe. But still. Where is she?

The sun was sinking lower, casting long shadows across the grounds. Students streamed past in chattering groups, but none of them were her.

My jaw clenched. My fingers drummed against my thigh. Valdor prowled restlessly in my mind, wanting to go find her, to make sure she was truly safe..

Patience, I told myself. She’ll be here.

But the waiting was agony.

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