Mated to Her Alpha Instructor Chapter 156

Regis

I felt her shift through the bond—the explosion of power, of *completion*—but seeing it was something else entirely.

My mate, my Eileen who'd believed herself broken, stood in the center of carnage as a silver wolf that glowed like moonlight made solid. Larger than I'd expected for a first shift, her frame elegant but strong, built for endurance. Her fur rippled with each breath, catching the light in ways that made her seem almost translucent.

*Lumina.* I knew the name of her wolf from Valdor—he felt her the moment she touched and healed us. She was *real*. Fully emerged, fully *her*.

And she'd saved us all.

Through the bond I felt her working, felt that incredible healing power pour into my chest wound and then Owen's. Not magic—not the way Nina wielded magic—but something older. The moon's blessing, channeled through a wolf who was *born* to be a healer, a guardian.

I'd tried to get up, to go to her, but my body wouldn't obey. Valdor snarled in frustration, wanting to shift, to stand beside our mate as she faced down that ritual circle alone—

But then Nina rose, and purple light flooded the ravine, and I understood.

*They're working together.*

Nina's magic was all offense, all barriers and shields and raw destructive force turned to protection. Eileen's power was the opposite—soft where Nina's was sharp, steady where Nina's crackled with violence. Where Nina held back the corruption, Eileen *healed* it, neutralized it at the source.

The ritual collapsed. Cornelius screamed and vanished. And then Eileen's legs buckled, shift reversing as her strength finally gave out.

I was moving before conscious thought, shoving myself upright despite the grinding pain in my ribs. Caught her as she fell, wrapped my cloak around her naked, shaking frame, and pulled her tight against my chest.

*Mine. Safe. Whole.*

"I've got you," I managed, though my own voice was unsteady.

She burrowed into my neck, trembling hard enough that I felt it in my bones. Her scent wrapped around me—lavender and honey, but now with a new undertone, sharp and clean. Moon-blessed. Changed.

When I confirmed our daughter was safe, something in my chest *cracked*. Relief, yes, but more than that. This woman, this incredible, stubborn, beautiful woman had faced death itself to protect our family. To protect everyone.

"Your wolf," I said, and had to stop, swallow past the lump in my throat. "She's magnificent."

Eileen's fingers curled into my shirt. Didn't answer, but through the bond I felt her exhaustion, her disbelief, her tentative, fragile *hope*.

Footsteps thundered down the ravine path. Kieran burst into view first, twenty warriors at his back, all armed and wild-eyed. They skidded to a stop at the edge of the ruined clearing, taking in the scene.

The shattered ritual circle. Owen struggling to sit up, arrows still protruding from his back but poison clearly neutralized. Nina standing alone by the empty chains, magic fading from her hands. And me, holding Eileen—both of us covered in blood and ash, barely upright.

Kieran's eyes went wide. "What—" He cut himself off, nostrils flaring as he scented the air. His gaze locked on Eileen, and I saw the moment he recognized that new undertone in her scent. Moon-blessed. Shifted.

"Regis." His voice came out hushed. "She's—"

"Mine," I said flatly. "And under my protection. All of you—" I swept my gaze across the gathered warriors. "—witnessed what happened here tonight. This woman is *chosen* by the moon herself. You will treat her accordingly."

One by one, they dropped to their knees. Kieran first, fist over heart. The others followed until every warrior in the ravine knelt before us, heads bowed in respect.

"Luna," Kieran said quietly, and the title echoed from a dozen throats. "Luna."

Eileen's breath hitched. Through the bond: shock, disbelief, fear—but underneath, the tiniest spark of acceptance. She didn't have the strength to protest, could barely hold her head up, but she didn't need to.

I pulled her closer, tucking her head under my chin. Let them see. Let them *know*.

More footsteps—lighter, faster. Mira appeared at a dead run, a medical kit bouncing on her back, two other healers struggling to keep up. She took one look at Owen and made a sound between a sob and a battle cry, dropping to her knees beside him.

"You *idiot*—" She was already pulling supplies from her kit, hands shaking. "You complete *idiot*—I thought I was going to lose you—"

"Sorry." Owen's voice was weak but steady. His eyes found hers, softening. "You were scared."

Mira's face crumpled. She pressed her forehead to his, careless of the blood and dirt, and through the bond I felt Eileen's tired happiness at seeing her friend reunited with her mate.

Across the clearing, Nina remained standing. Alone. She stared at the spot where her mother had dissolved, clutching something small and dark—a handkerchief, I realized. Stained with old blood.

I wanted to go to her, to offer... something. But I was barely upright myself, and Eileen needed me more.

"Kieran." My voice came out rougher than intended. "The girl. She helped save us all."

He rose smoothly, already moving toward Nina with careful, non-threatening steps. When he reached her, he said something too quiet for me to hear. Nina's shoulders hitched once, but she didn't look away from that empty space.

The moon broke through the clouds fully now, flooding the ravine in silver light. It touched Eileen's tangled hair, making it shine, and she stirred in my arms.

"Regis." Barely a whisper.

"I'm here."

"Take me home."

*Home.* Not "back," not "away." *Home.*

I pressed my lips to her forehead, breathing her in. "Always."

Eileen's body went limp in my arms the moment the danger passed, her strength finally giving out. Through the bond I felt her exhaustion—bone-deep, absolute—but underneath it, steady and strong, our daughter's heartbeat. Both of them safe.

I didn't wait for Kieran. I was already moving.

The journey back to camp passed in fragments—warriors clearing a path, healer's voice barking triage orders somewhere behind me.

I didn't stop until I'd been at the medical station, laid Eileen on a cot, and Cora's healing light was already moving over her.

"Exhausted, but stable," Cora said after a long moment, her voice carrying the quiet certainty of someone who'd seen far worse. "The baby too. She needs rest. That's all."

The tension in my chest didn't fully release, but it loosened enough to breathe. I sank onto the stool beside Eileen's cot and took her hand. Her fingers were cold.

"You should rest too," Cora said, not unkindly, when the second hour had passed and I still hadn't moved. "I'll watch over her myself. The moment she stirs, you'll know through the bond before I could even send for you."

She was right. I hated that she was right.

I pressed a kiss to Eileen's forehead, breathing in her scent one last time.

Kieran was waiting outside. He said nothing, just fell into step beside me.

"The ravine," I said. "Let's finish this."

---

The smell hit me first—charred flesh, corrupted magic, and underneath it all, the iron tang of blood. Too much blood. I forced myself to keep moving through the ravine, Kieran at my side as we directed teams to clear the wreckage. Warriors hauled unconscious rogues toward the holding area while healers tended to the wounded.

Owen had been carried back to the medical tent on a stretcher. And Nina had also followed them back, clutching something small against her chest.

But my focus kept returning to the center of the clearing, where the ritual circle had imploded. Where Cornelius had stood before the corruption swallowed him whole.

"Regis." Kieran's voice cut through my thoughts. He crouched near a scorched patch of earth, holding something between his fingers. "You need to see this."

I crossed to him, my ribs protesting with every step despite Eileen's healing. The silver gleam of metal caught the moonlight as Kieran held up a small medallion—intricate, engraved with symbols I'd seen before. My chest tightened.

Kieran's jaw clenched. "It's a command token. Used to control—"

"Shadow wolves." The pieces clicked into place with sickening clarity. I'd assumed Cornelius had allied with the shadow wolves through Silas. But this... this was orchestrated. Planned. "Cornelius was the mastermind behind everything."

"There's more." Kieran gestured toward the treeline, where two warriors stood guard over a line of captured rogues. "The ones we took alive—they're talking. Or trying to. The drug suppresses their ability to shift back, but the healers managed to get coherent answers from a few." His expression darkened. "They all have congenital defects. Weak wolf forms, incomplete shifts, some who never developed their wolves at all. They were promised strength, power, a place in a new order."

A new order. I turned back toward the ritual site, toward the residue of dark magic still staining the stones. Cornelius had orchestrated all of it—the attacks on the border, the infiltration attempts, the shadow wolves themselves. He'd been building an army, using wolves society had cast aside, twisting them into weapons.

And I'd nearly walked right into his trap.

"The night I was attacked," I said, more to myself than Kieran, "in the Whispering Woods. The shadow wolves that ambushed me—they weren't random. Cornelius wanted to slip his soldiers into our territory. But he never expected me to be back alone that night, one day earlier than expected." I remembered the way they'd moved, coordinated, deliberate. "And I walked right into an opportunity to get rid of me. He could kill two birds with one stone—slip his soldiers in and take me out."

Kieran's hand landed on my shoulder, steadying. "But you didn't die. And you met—"

"Eileen." Her name grounded me. She'd been there, terrified and heartbroken, stumbling through the forest. She'd found me dying and saved my life, and in doing so, saved everyone. If I'd been killed that night, if Cornelius's plan had succeeded...

I couldn't finish the thought.

"What else did we get from them?" I asked, forcing myself back to the present. "Did the interrogation turn up anything?"

"Already working on it." Kieran stood, brushing ash from his hands. "But Regis... the rogues we captured, they're not responding to interrogation the way we expected. It's like they're *broken*. Whatever Cornelius did to them, it wasn't just physical."

I nodded grimly. Eileen had mentioned the same thing when she'd analyzed the infected wounds weeks ago—that the corruption ran deeper than tissue damage, that it seemed to alter something fundamental in the wolves themselves. If Cornelius had access to witch magic, to Ianthe's abilities...

Gods. How long had he been planning this?

I understood now how crucial Eileen had been to us all.

"Eileen," I said instead, voice rough. "She saved us all before any of us even knew we needed saving. From the very first night—and she had no idea."