Mated to Her Alpha Instructor Chapter 103

Regis

"—so Kieran, you'll oversee all combat evaluations and handle any disciplinary issues that need Alpha authority." I kept my voice level, scanning the notes in front of me. "If something urgent comes up, contact me immediately through the link."

"Understood." Kieran leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "But honestly, Regis, you've prepared for every possible scenario. Three months isn't that long. We'll manage."

*Three months at the Eastern Border with Eileen.* The thought should have settled the restless tension that had been building all week. Instead, something sharp twisted beneath my ribs—a discomfort I couldn't name.

Through the bond, I caught a flicker—Eileen's unease, faint but there. I told myself I'd text her after this.

The sensation smoothed out, fading into background hum.

I forced my focus back to the meeting. "The updated duty rosters are—"

Ten minutes later, that thorn of discomfort twisted hard, sharp.

"—here, and I've already briefed the second-years on—"

Fear.

Not the jitter of nerves. Not mild anxiety. This was raw, immediate—the kind that comes when danger is inches away.

It slammed through the bond like ice water. My words died mid-sentence.

Valdor lunged against my control, snarling. Mate. Danger. GO—

"Regis?" Kieran's voice cut in, sharp. "What's wrong?"

I was already on my feet, chair screeching back. Terror, helplessness, shame—layered with that fierce, golden thread of protectiveness that could only mean one thing.

The baby.

"Eileen." Her name tore from my throat, half-growl. I was moving before thought caught up, Valdor's rage bleeding gold into my vision. "Something's wrong—she's—"

*Kieran,* I shot through the mind-link as I hit the door. *Eileen's in danger. I'm going to her—*

*God. I'll wrap things up here and join you.*

I barely registered his response. The bond pulled like a compass needle, dragging me through the administrative building and out into the afternoon sunlight. Students scattered from my path, taking one look at my face and deciding they had urgent business elsewhere.

Through the bond, Eileen's fear spiked—mixed with humiliation, desperation, the frantic need to protect something precious. I felt her arms wrap around her belly, felt the baby's distress echoing hers.

My vision hazed red.

*Hold on,* I thought uselessly, knowing she couldn't hear me. *I'm coming. Just hold on.*

I rounded the corner toward the main quad at a dead run—

And stopped cold.

A crowd. At least thirty students packed in a tight circle near the oak tree. Their voices rose in an ugly chorus, and at the center—

*Eileen.*

Small. Pale. Arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. Mira stood in front of her like a shield, but they were being pushed back, overwhelmed—

The bond *screamed.*

Valdor went silent. Utterly, dangerously silent.

Then I was moving again.

"**Move.**"

The word came out wrapped in Alpha command, absolute and unyielding. Students jerked aside as if physically shoved, and I strode through the gap, gold fully bleeding into my vision.

I reached Eileen in three strides.

The sight of her—eyes swollen and red, tear-tracks on her cheeks, trembling as she curved protectively around our child—nearly shattered what little control I had left.

"Eileen." I kept my voice soft despite Valdor's snarling. My hands found her shoulders, running down her arms. "Are you hurt? Did anyone touch you?"

"Regis." Her voice broke. She swayed forward and I caught her, one arm banding around her waist. Relief crashed through the bond so hard it staggered me.

"I've got you." I pressed my lips to her hair, breathing in chamomile and fear and that unmistakable sweetness of pregnancy. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't here."

She made a small, wounded sound and buried her face in my chest.

Every instinct screamed to shift, to bare teeth, to make absolutely certain everyone here understood what happened to those who threatened *mine.*

But Eileen needed me present. Stable.

I lifted her into my arms. She curled against me immediately, seeking shelter, and something in my chest cracked wide open.

"Wait—Alpha Vane—" A female voice cut through the silence, shaking but insistent. I turned slowly.

She stood a few feet away, eyes still half-shifted gold, claws extended. Her face was blotchy with tears and rage. "You don't understand—she's been sneaking around with my boyfriend—with Derek—"

"I suggest you stop talking." My voice came out wrong—too low, halfway between human and wolf.

But she didn't stop. Trembling, she gestured wildly at Eileen. "Everyone *knows* she followed him for years! And now she's *pregnant*—she doesn't even know who the father is—"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. I heard them clearly, each word stoking Valdor's fury:

"Why would an Alpha defend *her*?"

"She should be expelled—breeding without a bond—"

"Probably seduced someone for grades—"

"She's wolfless. She doesn't belong here—"

My hands flexed, claws pricking through. Eileen's fingers tightened in my shirt.

Then another voice—male, trying for confident but edged with panic:

"Alpha Vane." That man, whom I recognized as the one who had harassed Eileen before, stepped forward from the crowd, his face pale but chin lifted. "I—I don't know what she told you, but—"

"I told you to stop talking." Each word dropped like a stone.

He swallowed hard but pushed on, and I realized with cold clarity that he was gambling. "She followed me around for a year. Everyone here can confirm it. And now she's pregnant and pointing fingers—do you really want to risk your reputation for someone like that?"

The crowd held its breath.

"Someone like that," I repeated softly.

Derek's bravado wavered, but he nodded. "A wolfless—I mean—Alpha Vane, you're a Vane. Your bloodline is—she's not worth—"

"Finish that sentence," I invited, voice dropping to a lethal purr, "and see what happens."

He went gray.

I looked down at Eileen. Her eyes were huge, swimming with tears, but when she met my gaze there was something fierce there too. Frightened but *certain.*

"What do you want me to do?" I asked softly.

Her voice trembled but held steady. "I don't want them to hurt our baby anymore."

*Our baby.*

Valdor settled, watchful and ready.

"Alright," I murmured, and kissed her forehead.

Then I turned back to face them all.