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

Chapter 15

Talia flipped on the shower, turning the water to hot. She ached all over and a shower would be just the thing to soothe her sore body. She'd never had so much sex in her life as what she'd had over the last few days. It had been like a marathon, one that she wasn't likely to ever forget. 

Large, strong hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against a hard, muscular chest. "Where are you going?" A voice asked in her ear, causing shivers to run up and down her spine, as a hand cupped her breast, and the other slipped down between her legs, cupping her pussy. 

She moaned softly, grinding her sex against his hand. "We can't stay in bed forever."

"I think we can," he said, slipping his fingers up inside of her. She turned her head so that he could reach her lips, as he pressed the palm of his hand up against her clit, then began to finger fuck her. 

She groaned, responding eagerly to his kiss as she felt her orgasm begin to build deep down inside of her.  "What day is it anyway?" She asked when the kiss finally ended.

James gripped her nipple, tugging gently on it as his lips met hers again, kissing her deeply. "It's Wednesday," he finally said when the kiss had ended. 

Talia's mouth dropped open in shock, her arousal immediately dissipating. "What?"

James kissed her shoulder, not noticing that she wasn't focused on him anymore. 

Talia groaned, and grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand away from her. Her shower was all but forgotten as she hurried out of the bathroom. "I've probably lost my job!" 

She had brought a load to her apartment last Sunday and on her way back out, she had run into James, her mate. The mate bond had kicked into overdrive and Talia hadn't left his bed as they had mated like bunnies. That was three days ago. They had lived off of fast food deliveries and sex, shutting the world out from their cozy little love cocoon.

She groaned again, forgetting about the running water as she went to find her phone. Her purse was still near the door, where she'd dropped it on Sunday. She dug through it, looking for her phone. She was so screwed if she'd lost her job. James might have lost his as well. 

"Thirty-five missed calls?" She screamed as she stared at the screen. She looked through the call log and groaned before listening to the first voicemail. It was from her Alpha. "Oh no! I'm so screwed!"

James followed her into the kitchen, his brow furrowed as he watched her panic. "What's wrong, Love?" he questioned, feeling her anxiety kick into overdrive. 

"The Alpha has been trying to reach me since Sunday!" she said, starting to feel hysterical. Something was wrong, and she'd been missing for a week. What if something had happened to her parents or worse? She'd never even spoken to Alpha Quinton before, and had figured he didn't even know she existed. And he'd called her a crapload of times. 

"Calm down and call him back," James came over and rubbed her back, helping her to calm down some.

Talia swallowed hard and dialed his number. She was so dead. Would he kill her for ignoring his calls? Probably not, but she might be in huge trouble.

"Talia?" Alpha Quinton said by way of greeting when he answered his phone.

"Alpha! I am so, so sorry I missed your calls. I um, found my mate and ..." she stopped. She was so screwed.

"...you haven't been out of bed since then," the Alpha finished for her, his tone a bit disapproving. 

Talia blushed. "No Alpha."

"Well, I'm glad you are okay. We were beginning to worry something might have happened to you," Quinton said calmly, the annoyance she'd heard at first disappearing. 

We? "No Alpha. I am okay," Talia said sheepishly. This was bad. "Are my parents alright?"

"What? Oh, as far as I know, they're fine. That's not what this is about," Quinton said. "Can you meet me at my office in an hour? There's something very important we need to discuss. It's what I've been trying to get ahold of you about, Talia."

Talia frowned, her stomach twisting into knots. What the heck could he want from her? "Yes Alpha. I'll be there."

She ended the call and looked at James. "I have to be at his office in an hour."

James nodded. "Go take a shower and get ready, then you can worry about the rest of your messages. The Alpha comes first. I'll go with you."

Talia breathed a little sigh of relief; glad he was so supportive. "Okay." James was quickly becoming her rock.

***

Quinton hung up his phone and shook his head. Finding her mate was the one excuse Talia could get away with for not calling him. It was still embarrassing as the Alpha King had been breathing down his neck the last few days while he couldn't find one of his own pack members. At least now Quinton could give him some good news. He dialed Daniel's number.

"You have news?" Daniel greeted him hopefully.

"I do. Talia just called. She will be at my office in one hour," Quinton said.

"Did she say where she's been all this time?" Daniel asked.

"She found her mate," Quinton explained with a wince. It was a stupid excuse, but he was hopeful that Daniel would be understanding. He was usually very levelheaded, but Quinton knew the Alpha had been on edge the entire week.

Daniel didn't say anything for a moment as a small dash of jealousy reared its ugly head. What he wouldn't give to have spent the last few days in bed with his own mate. "Will she show?" he asked finally.

"I believe so," Quinton answered.

Daniel hung up and sent a quick text to his father, updating him on the situation, then he got ready to head for Quinton's office. The last few days had been some of the worst of his life as he'd waited for some sort of word on his mate. 

He'd gone to Talia's apartment three times a day, every day, hoping to find Jenna. But he'd quickly realized Jenna's scent was fading. She hadn't been back to Talia's apartment since Sunday. Given that Talia hadn't been back there either, he could guess that Jenna didn't live there. So where was she?

He'd also visited Talia's pack apartment several times as well, though there was no trace of Jenna's scent, or Talia's either. It was like both girls had just disappeared. No one seemed to know where either of them were either. Quinton had even contacted Talia's parents, but she didn't live with them, and they hadn't heard from her since the middle of last week. 

Both he and Rafe were angry and frustrated. His wolf wanted out, but Daniel knew the moment that happened, he'd probably kill someone. His wolf was angry at both him and the situation. 

He arrived at Quinton's office early, but the other man was already there. Daniel greeted him, then seated himself on the couch to wait for Talia to arrive.

***

Talia got ready as quickly as she could, then she and James caught a cab to Big Apple Industries. She listened to her messages on the ride. Most were from the Alpha and Beta wondering where she was at. Some were from her boss, frustrated that she hadn't shown up for her shifts. The last few were from her parents wanting to know where she was, and that Alpha Quinton was looking for her.

She was surprised to see only one text from Jenna. A text that confused Talia. What does it mean when you get marked?

Where had Jenna heard that at? The message was from Sunday. Had Jenna overheard it at the club? It was the only thing that made sense. She would text Jenna back later. Talia already felt guilty that she had missed saying goodbye to her friend. She hadn't even really gotten the chance to talk to Jenna about Saturday, and she was dying to know about her time with the mystery Alpha. She would have to call her that night, though away from James. He couldn't know that Jenna knew Talia's secret.

She wanted to find out how the sex had been with the handsome Alpha. She was surprised that he'd been so interested in Jenna. He'd barely let her out of his sight the entire time they'd been at the club. He'd almost acted like Jenna was his mate. But that wasn't likely.