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

Chapter 18

"I hope you went to the doctor with that," Tyler frowned at her, his trained eye zeroing in on the mark.

"Of course," Jenna muttered, covering the spot again as quickly as she could.

Jenna was melancholy most days, her mood swings all over the place. She worried about her mother, she missed Talia, but most of all, she longed for Daniel.

She knew, though, that more than likely Daniel had forgotten about her. He'd probably woken up and was glad she was gone, so it wouldn't be awkward. She didn't let herself dwell on that though. It was too heartbreaking.

She remembered the day her mother asked her about Daniel. She'd been home for a few weeks and Caroline has been receiving a chemo treatment. Tyler had left the room to take a phone call.

Jenna was seated in one of the two chairs in front of the large window overlooking the lake while her mother was seated across from her, hooked up to the IV administering her chemo.

Jenna was looking out over the lake but her mind was back in New York City, in the hotel room beneath Daniel as he made love to her.

You're mine, Jenna.

"Who is he?"

Caroline's words startled Jenna from her thoughts and she looked back at her mother. "What?"

"Who is the man you're pining after?"

Jenna didn't say anything for a moment. She knew better than to lie. Caroline would see right through it. "How do you know?"

Caroline scoffed. "I'm a military wife. I've seen that look many times on other wives; and a million times in the mirror." She looked out over the lake herself. "The longing, the uncertainty, the resignation that there's nothing you can do about any of it except to keep going."

Jenna looked at her mother and sighed. "I met him right before I left, and I fell hard, Momma."

"Was he your first?"

Leave it to Caroline to get straight to the point. "Yes."

"Did he take off right after?"

Jenna groaned internally, knowing her face was on fire and she looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "No, I did."

"Well. If I had eyebrows, they'd be practically up to my non-existent hairline right now," Caroline muttered.

A small laugh escaped Jenna and she quickly threw her hand over her mouth. "Sorry, Momma."

Caroline laughed herself. "It was meant to be funny. Better than crying. So what happened?"

Jenna bit her lip, debating internally how much to tell her mother. She looked back out over the lake and sighed again. "I was with Talia, and she wanted to leave. He was still asleep and we snuck out. There was...alcohol involved and I never thought about exchanging numbers until it was too late. I lost my phone anyway." She felt the tears start to fall. "He was just.. so kind and gentle with me. Afterwards he held me until I fell asleep."

"Oh Jenna." Caroline held her arms out, and Jenna slipped out of her seat, kneeling on the floor next to the chair. She hugged her for a long moment, then pulled back.

Caroline wiped the tears off of her face. "If it's meant to be, Jenna, you'll cross paths again."

"I.. it's just.. complicated," Jenna murmured softly, laying her head on her mother's lap. He's a werewolf with a mate somewhere.

"Well my treatment is almost done. Why don't you go make us some scrambled eggs?"

Jenna looked up in surprise. She had the worst time getting Caroline to eat and the fact that her mother was volunteering to try she knew was just to cheer Jenna up.

Caroline was looking at the door, and Jenna followed her gaze to the door and saw Tyler standing there watching them. She saw a tender expression cross his face as he glanced at her and she wondered how much of the conversation he'd overheard.

The beeping of the machine startled them all and Tyler came forward to flip it off. Jenna stood and smiled at her mother. "I'll get breakfast started." It would take Tyler a bit to get her mother unhooked and then he would want to check her vitals. He was thorough, especially with Caroline.

She walked out of the bedroom and stopped, leaning against the wall to compose herself. Complicated was an understatement. She brushed the tears away and took a deep breath, then headed into the kitchen to make them all breakfast.

***

The days passed quickly, and finally, Caroline's chemo treatments came to an end. After, she began to feel better and get stronger. She went in for scans, and her doctor was optimistic.

She slowly began to return to the woman Jenna knew. Hair began to sprout on her head, and her energy began to slowly return.

Jenna would take her outside frequently to enjoy the summer days. They would walk down the dock and watch the wildlife.

Her father was now retired and living at home, and true to Michael's word, he bought a boat. They would take her mother out and cruise around the lake.

Jenna came to love the sound of her mother's laughter as her brothers would ride tubes off the back of the boat or wakeboard.

All in all, she was happy to be home, but Daniel was always there, lurking just under the surface of her mind, never long out of her thoughts, keeping her from being truly happy.