Mated to Her Alpha Instructor Chapter 70

Regis

I knew something was wrong the moment I entered the library's main corridor.

The bond had been humming with Eileen's focused determination all afternoon—a bright, steady note that helped me endure the tedium of faculty meetings and administrative reviews. But in the last few minutes, it had shifted. Confusion, then disgust, then a brittle sort of anger that made Valdor pace restlessly in my mind.

I'd intended to wait at the Academy gates as usual, but that flicker of distress pulled me inside, my feet carrying me toward the library before I'd consciously decided to move.

Then I caught his scent. Male. Young. Arrogant. And far too close to where I knew Eileen was working.

Valdor surged forward with a snarl.

I rounded the corner just as Eileen emerged from the restricted section, her face carefully composed but her hands trembling where they clutched her books. Behind her, a male student lingered in the doorway—tall, conventionally handsome, with the self-satisfied air of someone who'd never been told no.

The temperature around me dropped as Valdor flooded my senses. My vision sharpened, colors bleeding away except for Eileen's form and the male who'd been standing too close to her in a secluded area. Every instinct screamed *threat, eliminate, protect*.

Eileen's eyes found mine, widening with recognition and something that looked like relief. Through the bond, I felt her pulse of reassurance—*I'm okay, just tired*—but beneath it ran currents of upset she was trying to hide.

Not acceptable.

I closed the distance between us in long strides, watching the male's confident posture falter as he registered my approach. Good. He should be afraid.

"Instructor Vane," Eileen said, her voice slightly breathless. The formal address was both necessary and maddening—she was playing the role of student even as our bond sang with her need for comfort.

I stopped beside her, close enough that my arm nearly brushed hers, and let my gaze rake over the male with open disdain. He was nothing. Less than nothing. A whelp who'd dared approach my mate in a dark corner and said something that left her trembling.

"Good afternoon, Instructor Vane," the male said, attempting charm. "I was just—"

"I didn't ask." My voice came out flat and cold. I turned to Eileen, letting my expression soften fractionally. "Do you need help putting the book back?"

Understanding flickered in her hazel eyes. She hesitated only a moment before nodding. "Thank you, Instructor Vane."

Her fingers brushed mine as she handed over the heavy volume, and through that brief contact, I felt her relief.

The male cleared his throat, drawing my attention back. "Sir, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Derek Ashford. Second-year Combat Advanced. I placed second in last month's tournament, top marks in your tactical formations—"

"I don't." I cut him off without looking at him, already focused back on Eileen. "It's nearly dinner time. Shouldn't you be heading to the dining hall?"

I felt rather than saw Ashford's expression crumble. Good.

"I... yes, Instructor Vane," Eileen said softly. Relief colored her scent now, sweet and warm beneath the lingering traces of distress. "I was just heading that way."

I walked before her toward the exit. She moved with me willingly, her shoulders losing their rigid tension as we left that man behind.

*Mine,* Valdor growled in satisfaction. *Ours. Safe now.*

Only when we'd rounded two corners and were safely out of sight did I allow myself to stop. I turned to face her, noting the careful control in her expression, the way her pulse still fluttered too fast at her throat.

"Are you alright?" The words came out rougher than I'd intended.

She nodded, but her fingers trembled slightly where they clutched her remaining books. "I'm fine. He just... startled me."

"Startled." I studied her face, reading the careful omission in her tone. "Eileen, what did he say to you?"

She bit her lip, clearly debating how much to tell me. Through the bond, I felt her uncertainty—not fear of me, but worry about how I'd react.

"Nothing important," she said finally. "Just being Derek."

The evasion made Valdor snarl. I gentled my voice with effort, though my jaw remained tight. "That male followed you into a restricted area and said something that left you upset. That's not nothing."

"I handled it." Her chin lifted slightly, meeting my eyes with surprising firmness. "I told him no and walked away.."

"You did exactly right," I said quietly. "But I'm still asking what he said. Because whatever it was, it's still bothering you. And that male is still breathing, which means you showed considerably more restraint than I'm currently feeling."

For a long moment, she didn't answer. Then, so quietly I almost missed it: "He offered to make me his mistress. Said I was clearly trying to get his attention by working on this research project. That he'd be willing to... accommodate me. As long as his girlfriend didn't find out."

The words detonated in my mind like an explosion.

Valdor erupted with a roar that echoed through my skull. Claws pricked at my fingertips, vision swimming red, every muscle coiling to wheel around and rip out that whelp's throat. Through the bond, Eileen must have felt the surge of violence because her hand flew to my chest, pressing over my heart.

"I said no," she repeated, her voice firm despite the tremor in her fingers. "I don't want him, Regis. I haven't wanted him in a long time. I only went to that section to research the parasitic infection theory. I have work to do. Real, important work. And he's just... irrelevant."

The touch of her hand and the absolute certainty in her voice helped drag me back from the edge. But barely. The need to return to that corridor, to make Derek understand in the most visceral way possible that she was *mine*, that he would *never* speak to her again—it thrummed through every nerve.

"He had no right," I managed, my voice half-growl. "No right to proposition you like some—to assume he could—"

"I know." She stepped closer, her scent wrapping around me—chamomile and apple, with that honey-warm undertone of our child. "But I also know you're trying very hard not to go back there and do something that would cause problems. So instead, can we just go home? Please? I'm tired, and I really do need to eat."

*Home.* She said it without hesitation now, as if the word belonged to her.

I dragged in a careful breath, then another, forcing Valdor back through sheer will. Eileen's hand remained over my heart, steady and trusting. She wasn't afraid of my rage—she was anchoring me through it.

"Alright," I said finally, though my voice remained rough. "But Eileen—"

"I know." A small smile touched her lips. "If he bothers me again, I tell you immediately. If he even looks at me wrong, I let you know. Trust me, after that? I'm perfectly happy to have my terrifying Alpha deal with anyone who can't take no for an answer."

*My Alpha.* The possessive made something warm bloom in my chest despite the circumstances.

"Good," I murmured. I shifted my grip on her books, offering my free arm. "Come. Let's get you fed."

She slipped her hand into the crook of my elbow without hesitation, and we walked toward the exit together. Outside, the evening air was cool and clean, helping clear the last of the red haze from my vision.

I pressed a kiss to her temple, breathing in her scent. "Then I'll remind you as often as necessary. You're brilliant. Dedicated. Strong enough to tell a male exactly where he can shove his insulting proposition." Pride colored my voice. "And you're mine, Eileen. My mate. My partner. The mother of my child. Derek is never worth it."

"Is that your possessive Alpha side talking?" But she sounded pleased.

"Yes," I admitted without shame. "Does it bother you?"

"Not even a little bit." She tilted her face up, and I couldn't resist capturing her mouth in a slow, thorough kiss that left us both breathless. When we finally pulled apart, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes slightly dazed in a way that made Valdor purr with satisfaction.

"Though for the record," she added, slightly breathless, "I can fight my own battles. You taught me that."

"You can," I agreed, tracing her lower lip with my thumb. "And you're magnificent at it. But that doesn't mean I won't stand ready to back you up if someone tries to push past the boundaries you've set. That's what mates do. We protect each other."

She caught my hand, pressing a kiss to my palm. "Then I guess I chose well."

"We both did," I murmured, holding her close as the carriage carried us home.

Derek Ashford’s name stayed in the part of my mind reserved for threats. He’d insulted my mate and tried to claim her in secret—something that would be dealt with, eventually.

For now, I focused on her warmth, her breathing, and the life we were building. Everything else could wait.