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

Chapter 18

Jenna had lost her phone. It had taken her a bit to remember exactly where she'd left it, and she'd searched through every box she'd brought, hoping it had somehow ended up in one of them, but it was long gone.

She'd called her provider and had the number disconnected. She hoped no one else had found it. What saddened her the most was that she didn't have Talia's number memorized. Her friend was gone forever.

Jenna didn't have time to go get another phone, nor did she have a car. She knew Tyler or Michael would take her if she asked, but she was so preoccupied with her mother that she didn't have time to give it much thought.

Jenna had become immersed in her mother's care almost immediately upon her arrival home. Her brother, Tyler was the one administering Caroline's chemo.

Jenna had learned somewhat from her father that Tyler had worked in the medical field while in the Navy. Her father had explained that when Tyler was deployed, he'd seen a lot, flying into hot spots and taking out the wounded. He had asked Jenna to never speak to her brother about it, unless Tyler brought it up first.

Once Tyler had been discharged, he had chosen to become a Registered Nurse. He had a job at the local clinic, where the old doctor who owned it used to be an Oncologist in Cleveland.

The doctor had diagnosed Caroline and was treating her. He also happened to be their neighbor, and had no problem conducting home visits. Between him and Tyler, Caroline rarely had to leave the house. She received her treatments at home, Tyler did all of her blood work, and the doctor visited her regularly.

Jenna had learned that Caroline had begun losing her hair right after the first treatment. Her poor mother didn't even have eyelashes. Her head was sore, and her mouth was sore, making it uncomfortable for her to eat, and everything caused acid reflux.

Jenna spent a good deal of time trying to get her mother to eat, as she watched her fade in front of her eyes. She spent most of her time with Caroline, reading sometimes to her, or to herself when her mother was sleeping.

And when she wasn't reading, she was thinking about Daniel. She couldn't get the man out of her mind and her heart ached for him. She'd never thought that a one night stand could become so ingrained in her soul.

She fantasized about him in her time alone, imagining that he missed her just as much as she missed him, and that he was looking for her. In her darkest fantasies, she was his mate.

At night, she lay in bed going over every detail of their night together, every kiss, every touch. She remembered the way he had made her feel, like she was his most prized possession, how he'd been so gentle with her. She remembered every word spoken between them.

You're mine, Jenna.

Always.

Had she cursed herself somehow with that? Was that why she couldn't get him out of her head, out of her heart? She had thought once about going on a date with someone else, sleeping with someone else, just to get Daniel out of her mind, but even the idea of allowing anyone else to touch her made her physically ill, like she would be cheating on him. When Talia had said Daniel would ruin her for all other men, she hadn't been joking.

The spot where he had bit her had healed, but his teeth marks were still quite visible. Jenna wasn't sure what to make of it.

I'm going to mark you, Jenna.

He sure had, leaving his mark on her for all to see. She kept it covered around her father and brothers as best she could, but Tyler ended up spotting the bite.

"What happened to you?" He'd pushed her shirt out of the way, eyeing the bite mark with concern.

"I uh, was visiting a friend with a new puppy and he bit me," Jenna didn't know what else to say. It was a stupid lie, and she hoped Tyler wouldn't see right through it.