Mated to Her Alpha Instructor (Eileen and Regis) novel Chapter 7

Mated to Her Alpha Instructor
Chapter 7
Regis

The bond is real. Valdor said quietly, all his earlier aggression gone. “You can’t deny what we both felt. What she felt. That kind of connection doesn’t lie.”

“Real or not.” I took away her choice. I pressed my palms to my eyes, trying to block out the morning light that suddenly felt too bright, too cheerful for the magnitude of what I’d done. She saved my life, and I repaid her by… by…”

I couldn’t finish. Couldn’t put into words the violation of it, the way I’d let my Alpha instincts override everything I’d been taught about honor and consent and treating potential mates with the respect they deserved.

“Then find her.” Valdor said, and for once his voice held no demand, only gentle insistence. “Find her and make it right. Apologize. Explain. Give her the choice you should have given her last night.” A pause. “But she’s still ours. The bond won’t just disappear because you feel guilty.”

He was right. I could already feel it, that pull in my chest like a compass needle seeking north. Faint but growing stronger as my body fully recovered, as the mate bond settled into place. I could sense her direction if I focused—somewhere to the east, toward the academy—and underneath that, the ghost of her emotions. Fear. Confusion. A deep, aching shame that made my wolf whine in distress.

I had to find her. Had to face what I’d done and take responsibility for it, no matter the consequences. It was the only honorable path forward.

But first, I had duties to attend to.

I gathered the remains of the healing supplies carefully, tucking them into the pouch along with her jacket.

Then I shifted, letting Valdor take control for the run back to St. Helena’s territory. He was unusually quiet, no longer fighting me, just lending his strength as we covered ground with the efficient lope of a wolf who knew these woods. We passed the markers I’d left on my way out—the scratches on trees, the scent marks—and I noted grimly that they’d been crossed by Blackthorne Pack signs.

So it had been a deliberate ambush. Not random hunters stumbling across me, but a coordinated attack meant to send a message. Or to eliminate a threat.

The implications made my hackles rise, but I forced myself to stay focused. First, report to my father. Then, find her.

The academy boundary appeared ahead, marked by the shimmer of protective wards. I shifted back to human form in the designated transition area, where I kept emergency clothes stashed in a hollow tree. Black combat leathers, dark cloak, boots. I dressed quickly, tucking her jacket inside my shirt where it wouldn’t be visible but where I could feel it against my skin.

The moment I crossed into academy grounds, he stirred again. A low, insistent rumble that had nothing to do with territory and everything to do with her.

My father’s voice was steady and commanding as ever, even at this early hour.

I found him at his desk, silver hair catching the morning light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the academy grounds. He looked up from the defense reports he’d been reviewing, and I saw his eyes, the same ice blue as mine, narrow.

The moment he saw me, he already knew something had changed.

Regis? He set his pen down with deliberate care. “I wasn’t expecting you back until this afternoon. The border training was scheduled for another two days.”

“There was an incident.” I kept my voice level, professional, even as Valdor prowled restlessly in the back of my mind. “Blackthorne Pack.”

My father’s expression hardened. “Sit. Tell me everything.”