Alpha King's Missing Mate (Book 1 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 16

Talia looked up at him as all of a sudden, it hit her. Jenna's strange text, asking about marking, how easily she had given herself for a one night stand, the fact that they had bombarded her phone the entire week wanting to know where Jenna was, the Alpha King himself so interested in her best friend.

"She's your mate!" Talia's mouth dropped open as she stared at the gorgeous werewolf.

He smirked at her. "Touché"

Talia snapped her mouth shut. Her best friend was mated to the Alpha King? Jenna was human. How crazy was that?

"And that is another reason why none of this can leave this room."

Talia's gaze snapped back to Daniel, as she realized what a big secret she was being entrusted with. Given her history with secrets.. She swallowed hard. He was putting a lot of trust in her.

Daniel stared hard at her, causing her to stare at the floor. "If word gets out that I have a human mate, and she's not under my protection, any enemies I have will go after her," he explained. "Outside of my own pack, only three people know about her being my mate."

Talia nodded in understanding. The last thing she wanted was for anything to happen to Jenna. She loved her like a sister.

"So, how about you give me her real number, Talia," Daniel said, gazing at her.

Talia frowned. "I.. I did," she stuttered, as she felt the Alpha's power press down on her.

Daniel watched her quietly. Truth. "Then tell me if I dialed it right." He let up on her, and handed her his phone.

Talia compared the number to the one in her own phone. "Yes, it's right." She tried calling Jenna herself.

Disconnected. "I don't understand," she murmured, looking down at the number again.

"When was the last time you heard from her?" Daniel asked.

"She texted me Sunday. I didn't see it until today," she sighed. "We came back early Sunday morning. I took a shower and Jenna went to bed. Her brothers were supposed to be there at two that afternoon to pick her up and take her home," Talia was much more relaxed now that she knew Daniel wasn't going to kill her. If nothing else, she was his mate's best friend, and right now, his only connection to his Luna. She was excited for Jenna but she was also worried. Why would her phone be disconnected?

She watched the wolf sit back in his chair and pinch the bridge of his nose. She knew he had to be frustrated, and probably a lot of it was at her. She had, after all, kept him from his mate this entire week and her hands were tied now. "I'm so sorry," she said suddenly.

Daniel looked up at her, then nodded and smiled. "I'm not going to lie, I was a little pissed at you there for a while, but honestly if it wasn't for you, I don't know how long it would have been until I found her. I've been waiting for her for a very long time."

Talia nodded. "Jenna asked a LOT of questions. She knows about mates too. She asked me if werewolves ever have human mates. I almost think she would become one if she could."

Daniel smiled to himself at her words. While it was widely believed that humans could not be changed to werewolves, it simply wasn't true. But Daniel and his father were the only two werewolves on earth that had the power to change a human to a wolf. It was a closely guarded secret. Daniel himself had never changed anyone, and he was pretty certain his father had only changed his mother, and his Beta's mate. If Jenna was willing to become a werewolf... Daniel didn't want to get his hopes up too much, but he was just happy to hear that she knew what he was. He wanted Jenna to accept him and Rafe first. Then they could talk about her becoming a wolf.

"I don't know why her phone would be disconnected though," Talia murmured, looking down at her own phone with a frown. She had no way of reaching Jenna, and that made her sad.

"Do you know where in Virginia she moved to?" Daniel asked her. Why couldn't she have moved to a small state like Rhode Island?

Talia shook her head. "Not exactly. But her father works in DC, so it has to be close to there. I'm so sorry I'm not much help," she said.

Daniel sighed inwardly. So much for having Jenna back in his arms by the end of the day. At least he had a place to look for her now. He just needed to come up with a game plan. "Talia, what's Jenna's last name?"

"Browning," she replied.

"And you two worked together?"

"Yes, at the Blue Moon Cafe. The owner is a member of our pack. It's below our old apartment," she said.

Daniel nodded, making careful mental notes. "Talia, I'd like to exchange phone numbers. That way, if you hear from Jenna, you can let me know, okay?"

Talia nodded. Daniel handed her his phone, and she added her number. She then sent herself a text so that she would have his. "Thank you for talking to me. I'm really excited for Jenna," she smiled at him.

"Hopefully I can find her," he said wistfully.

"I'll let you know if I hear from her," Talia stood.

Daniel nodded and stood as well. He opened the door and followed her out of the room. "Remember Talia, this all stays between you and me. Do you need me to Alpha command you?"

She turned back to him, gulping. "No, Alpha. On my life, I won't tell a soul."

He nodded to her and they headed back to the Alpha's office.

Quinton looked up when they walked in. Daniel nodded to him. "James, I'll see you on Monday?" Quinton asked.

"Yes Alpha. I'll see you then." James stood as well, and followed Talia out of the office, bowing his head to Daniel as he walked by.

Once they were on the elevator, James turned to Talia. "Is everything okay? What happened? I got worried when you were gone for so long."

Talia smiled. "Everything is fine. We just talked. He's actually pretty nice."

James studied her. "And?"

"Sorry, James, but I can't tell you anything else," Talia said. She hated keeping things from her mate, but she had no choice.

James frowned. "You can tell me."

"I can't. I believe his exact words were, 'I will hunt you down and kill you' if I tell anyone anything we discussed," Talia pushed her hair back behind her ear.

James raised his eyebrows. "And you think he's nice?"

She laughed. "Actually, yeah."

He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. "I have to admit, I was afraid he might kill you. You were so scared."

Talia shivered. "For a little bit, I thought he might too. He's nice, but he's also very scary."

They exited the elevator and headed home.