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

Chapter 16

Quinton watched the couple leave, then turned to Daniel. "So?"

"I'll probably be leaving New York City tomorrow," Daniel said quietly as he sat down on the leather couch in Quinton's office again, feeling emotionally worn. Why did this have to be so difficult?

"Did you speak to her?" Quinton tapped his pen nervously on his desk. He was thrilled that the Alpha King had found his mate on Big Apple territory, but embarrassed by how much of a disaster it had turned into.

"Her phone has been disconnected," Daniel said, looking down at his own phone with annoyance. He felt like breaking it for not giving him what he wanted.

Quinton frowned. "Do you think she gave you the right number?"

Daniel looked back up at him. "Yes. I verified it with her." He stood up and placed his phone in the inside of his tailored suit jacket. "I'm going to go get a bite to eat. I have some phone calls to make, and a plane to catch. As always, it's been a pleasure."

Quinton stood and bowed his head to the Alpha. "I'm happy you've found your mate and sorry that we haven't been more helpful in locating her. If there's anything else you need, please let me know."

Daniel nodded and left the office. He took the elevator down to the ground floor, before exiting the building and climbing into his car.

"The Blue Moon Cafe," he told the driver.

"Great place," the driver said, before taking off.

The drive took about 20 minutes through mild traffic. Daniel couldn't get visions on Jenna out of his mind. Her when he first saw her standing on the balcony at the club, when he'd held her looking over the city, and her naked bed in his bed under him while he made love to her.

'Mate is so perfect,' Rafe sighed appreciatively.

The driver pulled up in front of the building Jenna had lived in and stopped. Daniel smiled to himself. He'd barely noticed the cafe before. He got out of the car and headed inside.

Daniel stopped and looked around. The cafe was a nice little place, very clean and smelled delicious. Daniel could see Jenna working in here, her gentle smile when greeting guests, her gorgeous wavy brown hair piled up on top of her head, baring her graceful neck.

A few moments later, he was seated at a table near the back of the restaurant where he could watch everyone coming and going.

The cafe was modern looking, and looked like it had been updated recently in grays, black and white. The servers were all wearing red, with half black aprons. They were a mixture of both werewolves and humans working.

A server came over and gave him a big smile. "Hi. I'm Sandy. What can I get you to drink?"

"Coke please, and is the owner here?" He asked the girl. She was a pretty little thing, and very human.

She smiled brightly at him. "Yes Sir, he is. Would you like to speak with him?"

"Please." When she had left, Daniel released his scent, letting others know he was a Werewolf. Being able to mask his scent was a gift of his and those in his pack. He could hide the fact that he was a werewolf, and he could also hide his powerful aura. He typically kept both under wraps, allowing him to move around undetected and not gaining unwanted attention.

An older wolf came out five minutes later, approaching the table with a Coke. Daniel studied him as he approached. The man eyed him warily, a strange unknown werewolf in his cafe that was not from his pack asking for the owner was probably not a common occurrence.

"Yes sir, I was told you wished to speak with me?"

He looked tired, Daniel noted. "What's your name?"

"George." He didn't offer a last name.

"Have a seat, George," Daniel indicated the bench across from him.

George gave him a side eye, but nodded and sat down. He was happy for a small break, but wondered what this strange werewolf wanted from him. Not a rogue, but not from the Big Apple pack either. He was really getting too old for this.

"George, my name is Daniel Remington," Daniel paused and took a sip of his drink.

George stared at Daniel skeptically. No way this young wolf was the Alpha King. What was he doing in his cafe? "Prove it." George blustered.

Daniel raised his eyebrows at the old wolf and almost laughed at his cheekiness. He briefly released his power, and the old man's eyes grew wide, as he bowed his head.

George raised a shaky hand. "Okay, I believe you. Sorry Alpha. What brings you to the Blue Moon Cafe?"

"I'd like you to give Talia back her job," Daniel started. Talia was Jenna's best friend. He would do for her what he could.

The old wolf frowned. "She hasn't been here in a week," he muttered with a shake of his head. "Never missed a day in three years, and then she disappears for an entire week without any explanation."

"She found her mate last Sunday," Daniel explained.

The old wolf cracked a smile. "Did she now? Okay, she can keep her job. She's one of my best servers anyway. Does a damn fine job."

"What can you tell me about Jenna Browning?" Daniel asked, watching George carefully.

If the old wolf was surprised by the Alpha King questioning him about a human, he didn't show it. "Jenna was another good server. I was sorry to see her go. She and Talia made more in tips than any of the others. She moved back home to Virginia," George sighed, folding his hands. He'd hated to see her go, but having Talia disappear in the same week that Jenna quit had been a major blow. He was secretly thrilled to have her back.

"Did she leave a forwarding address?" Daniel asked.

"No Alpha, she sure didn't," George shook his head.

Daniel nodded in disappointment. "Okay George. Thank you for your time. You have a wonderful cafe here."

The old wolf nodded, and stood. "Glad to have you here. What would you like to eat?" he asked.

Daniel smiled. "What would you recommend?"

An hour later, he was in his car and headed back to his hotel suite. He would fly back to Pennsylvania in the morning, then he would get serious about finding Jenna.

Once Daniel was in his room, he texted Talia and told her to call her boss, then he called his father to update him on Jenna.

"I have a good detective you can use," Caleb told him.

"Good. Rafe is going nuts, not knowing where she is," Daniel groaned, rubbing at his temples. He grabbed the last of his clothes and tossed them in his bag.

"You need to let him out," Caleb said. "Should help some, though things won't be right until you find her. Are you feeling her emotions?"

"She's sad most of the time. Talia said she returned home to care for her mother," Daniel wondered if her sadness had anything to do with her mom. It bothered both him and Rafe that Jenna just seemed upset all of the time, and there was nothing either of them could do for her.

"She may be missing you, as well," Caleb suggested. "We'll find her, Daniel. If we have to rip the whole country apart, we'll find her."

"I know. I just hate not knowing where she is, why she's sad, if she's safe," he muttered.

Daniel ended the call and took a hot shower, then crawled in bed and pulled his mate's discarded dress out from under his pillow. He flipped the TV on to distract himself. He hadn't slept well the entire week, and knew he wouldn't until Jenna was safe in his bed. Might as well prepare for a long restless night.