The Princess's Unwanted Mate (Book 8 of the Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

7

Dominic pushed down on the clutch, shifting the car, and then let up as he hit the gas. He loved the speed. The little sports car sped ahead, cruising down the highway.

He sighed. He'd been driving for hours, just thinking. He'd gotten over his shock and anger a while ago. But he still had no idea what he was going to do. He'd never expected this, never expected to have a mate. He'd never expected to be tied down to one woman. He wasn't sure he liked that idea.

He was accustomed to his freedom. He'd always came and went as he pleased, never tied down to one place for too long.  He'd enjoyed that freedom. He'd had homes all over the world, but he'd never kept them. Even the one in Oregon, he'd had when he'd gotten involved with Regal Eclipse, he'd sold off.

He'd been born in England many years ago. He'd stopped counting birthdays a long time ago. It just didn't seem important. He was alive, and unable to die, his immortality both a blessing and a curse. Coming across Ranald Remington all those years ago had made life interesting, as he'd gotten to know about other shifters, different from himself.

Ranald had been a good friend and Dom had valued their friendship greatly. He'd liked Melinda, Ranald's mate, quite a bit too. She was vibrant and absolutely adored her mate. Dominic had been a bit jealous of the bond between them.

As the years had gone by, he'd gotten involved in things he shouldn't have, and he'd had to disappear for a while. He'd lost contact with Ranald, and he'd sunk into a deep depression. It had been the darkest period of his life and he hadn't wanted to live any more. It's when he'd began to realize how immortal he truly was, and that had been incredibly depressing.

He'd eventually pulled himself out of that dark period, and had changed his focus to other things. Mostly women. He couldn't seem to settle though, and he moved from woman to woman, enjoying them all.

Life had passed him by, and before he knew it, the world had majorly changed. He'd gotten heavily involved in business and back into the shifter world again as there were now packs all over North America.

The packs were weary of him at first, but persistence paid off, and he'd developed friendships over the years and now he was welcome at any pack in the world. Of course, it helped that he was a member of Regal Eclipse now.

It had taken him a while to earn Daniel's trust, but eventually the Alpha had asked him to join the pack, and while he was a Panther Shifter, he could still mind link the others. That had been a pleasant surprise. He'd never been in a pack before, but it was home now, and one he didn't want to give up. Of course, now, he might not have a choice if he accepted Gabby's rejection. Would they kick him out for that?

Dom had always had a thing for women. He adored them. He didn't discriminate against shape, size, color, none of that. He enjoyed bedding then and exploring their soft curves. He was well aware of his own good looks, and it generally got him any woman he wished.

But for the last few years, he'd been too restless. He could count on one hand the women he'd slept with, and now, thinking back on it, he realized it had changed after Gabby had turned eighteen. Even the ones he had slept with, he hadn't enjoyed. It had been more like a chore and he'd began to think something was wrong with him.

He realized even now, it had been well over a year since he'd had sex. He just hadn't been interested. Until yesterday when he'd laid eyes on Gabrielle Remington. It had been like a switch had been flipped and he'd instantly wanted her in a way he hadn't wanted a woman in a very long time.

Everything about her had called to him and he'd wanted her, but she'd ignored him, just wanting to get away from him. It was odd for him. Women usually flocked to him; they didn't run the other way.

Then she'd showed up at his door, and his world had been rocked, right before she'd uttered the rejection, forcing him to realize what was happening to him. A mate. He had a mate.

He'd watched them all over the last twenty years, watched them with their mates and how much they loved and adored each other. He'd been envious. He realized he wanted a relationship like that. It was weird, but he did. The question was, did she?

He was much older than her, and didn't know much about her, and how she'd feel about all of this. She might not want to be mated to a much older man. He really hadn't expected her rejection to hurt the way it had, but it did. Even his cat was upset about it, which surprised him.

Zampa had never seemed to care what he did when it came to women. He was disinterested. But Gabby caught his attention and he was annoyed with her rejection. Just as much as Dominic was.

His ringing phone made him glance at it. Daniel. Crap. Not who he wanted to talk to, but he wouldn't ignore it either. He couldn't. "Hello?"

"Hey. You just disappeared."

"Um, yeah. Sorry about that."

"Gabby?"

He knew? He supposed he wasn't surprised. "Did you call to yell at me?"

"No. She blindsided you."

So he knew the entire story. "I, um .." he grew quiet not really sure what to say.

"Dom, you are never one for no words. I can't blame you for leaving. Gabby is fully convinced you're going to reject her. I'm not going to be pissed if you do, just don't leave her hanging for too long. It's going to make her miserable if you do," Daniel said.

"I'm aware." He was well aware of that. He knew she would eventually become driven to complete the bond with him. He either needed to accept her or reject her soon.

"Are you coming back home?" Daniel asked him.

It was still home. Even if he rejected his Alpha's sister. "Yeah. I'm heading back there now."

"Okay. We'll see you around."

"Thanks, Alpha."

Well, at least Daniel didn't seem angry with him, which was a relief. But he knew Daniel was very reasonable. He'd been alive too long to not think things through. He wondered what Caleb thought about all of this.

His thoughts drifted back to Gabby, and her beauty. She could be all his. All he had to do was agree to be her mate. But then, she would be it. Forever. One woman for all eternity. Did he want that?

He did want her. He couldn't help himself. He wanted to touch her, to taste her, to bury himself deep inside her. He was hard now, just thinking about it. About her.

He knew there would be that bond too, that one that would keep him coming back for more. That bond he had the power to sever between them. The question was, did he want to? Did he want that kind of bond with a woman? With her?

He'd seen it over and over again in Regal Eclipse, a bond that he'd been jealous of. And now he had the opportunity to have it himself. But he wasn't one hundred percent sure that she wanted it. She'd rejected him. Did that mean the bond was half severed? He had no idea. He should have asked more questions, but he'd half expected Daniel to be a bit more judgy than he had been.

He pulled his car down the road that led back to the pack house. Packing a bag had been pointless but when he'd left, he'd been pretty pissed.

Dominic parked his car and headed into the house. He'd missed dinner but that was okay. He walked into his bedroom and shut the door. He wanted to go to her, and talk to her, but it would probably be better if she came to him. It would give them some privacy. Gabby?

Dominic?

Can we talk?

Um, sure. Where are you?

My room.

Okay, I'll be down shortly.

And now she was going to be in his room. He glanced around. He was a fairly neat person, and the only thing that wasn't was his bed. He quickly made it, fixing the pillows right before she knocked on the door.

Maybe inviting her to his room hadn't been the best idea either. His scent would be overwhelming to her. He sighed. He really sucked at this. He'd never really set out to impress a woman before. He'd never needed to.