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

Chapter 40

"Talia, you have a new table."

Talia groaned and stood. She had slipped back to the break room for a few moments to give her aching feet a rest. She needed to get new shoes or something. She'd grown soft since she'd given birth.

"You okay?" Avery, another server at the Blue Moon asked, glancing her way. She too was sitting in the back with her feet up.

"Yup. Baby kept me up all night. Again." Talia retied her apron strings, and checked to make sure her pen hadn't disappeared. It annoyed her to no end when someone tried to keep it.

"It'll get easier," Avery said, patting her shoulder.

"It better. I might like this kid a little more if he'd learn to sleep through the night," Talia muttered in disgust.

Avery laughed.

Talia really loved her son with all of her heart, but she didn't always like him. James had recommended that she start back to work a few nights a week to give herself a break and she'd whole heartedly agreed. She desperately needed a break some days.

James would come home a little early those days, taking care of their pup for the evening while she got back to her job and exchanged an evening of one small person wanting her to a whole bunch of people wanting her. At least they weren't crying. Mostly.

Talia walked back out to the cafe floor, looking for her new table. She stopped, staring at the table in shock. Seated facing her was Tyler Browning and across from him were brunette waves that Talia would recognize anywhere. "Jenna!" she screeched, causing other tables to look up, startled by her outburst.

Jenna stood and held her arms out. Talia ran into them and hugged her friend tight, laughing and crying. "Omigosh, why haven't I heard from you? What happened to your phone? And why haven't you come looking for me before now?"

Jenna sighed. She'd known this was coming. "I lost my phone. The day I left New York City, my phone disappeared. I looked and looked but it wasn't in any of my things I brought home. Since then, I've been so busy taking care of my mother, it just became less of a priority."

Talia sat down at the table next to Jenna. "How is your mom?"

Jenna's face fell. "She passed away a little over a month ago."

"Oh Jenna, I'm so sorry," she said, rubbing her friends back, her gaze darting to Tyler who was watching them both.

"Thanks," she said softly, hugging Talia.

It was like they'd never parted, and Talia was glad for that. She'd missed Jenna like crazy. "So what are you doing here?"

"Tyler has a seminar, and I came with him to see you," Jenna smiled.

"Oh my gosh Jenna, I have so much to tell you! I had a baby!" Talia said proudly.

"What?" Jenna looked at her friend in astonishment. "You're a mother?"

"Yes! I'm a mother," Talia smiled. She wanted to say so much more, but with Tyler sitting there and in such a public place, she couldn't. "Can we visit? Outside of this place?"

Jenna smiled. Rule number one. If Talia had a baby, she'd probably found her mate and wanted to tell Jenna all about it. "Yes, we can get together tomorrow. Tyler will be in his seminar all day."

"Okay, I'll give you my address and you can come over and meet my little man."

Jenna smiled, feeling excited. She and Tyler ordered food and chatted some more with Talia every time she came to the table. She noticed the mark on Talia's neck. The same as her own, though hers was covered. They had so much to talk about and Jenna couldn't wait. She would make a point this time to make sure she had Talia exchanged numbers and she wrote it down and kept it somewhere safe.

***

Talia stared out the window of the taxi later that night on her way home, though her mind was elsewhere. She wanted to talk to Jenna before she contacted Daniel. She planned to somehow bring him up tomorrow to see if Jenna remembered him. She hoped so, for Daniel's sake. Hopefully Jenna wasn't seeing anyone, though from the way she talked, she'd been too busy taking care of her mother to have much of a social life.

She couldn't wait to call Daniel and let him know that she had found Jenna. She sincerely hoped everything worked out. Otherwise, Daniel would be heartbroken and miserable for the rest of his life.

***

Jenna showed up the next morning with bagels from one of their favorite bakeries. Talia hugged her tightly as she let her in, then grabbed plates, napkins and silverware for them to eat.

"Where's your little one?" Jenna asked, glancing around the apartment. It was a good size for the City. She knew this was the pack house apartment and that most of the residents here were werewolves.

"My pup?" Talia said with a laugh, remembering Jenna's shocked expression when she'd first told her that werewolf offspring were referred to as pups. "He's sleeping. He thinks day sleep is better than night sleep. You can take a peek at him." Talia led her into her bedroom and let Jenna catch a glimpse of the sleeping baby. Her chest swelled with pride as Jenna smiled down at him, reaching out to gently touch his downy soft head. They slipped quietly out of the room a few moments later.

"He's adorable, Talia! So, you met your mate?" Jenna asked, excited for her friend.

Talia smiled and showed her a picture of herself with James. "Yes, the day you left New York. Remember I came here to bring a load of my stuff? Well, as I was leaving, I caught his scent. We didn't get back out of bed for a few days after that," Talia said sheepishly.

Jenna looked up at her. "That's why I never heard back from you. Besides the fact that I lost my phone."

Talia nodded. "I'm sorry. I meant to come back and see you off, and I feel like an ass about it."

Jenna took her hand. "I think we both made mistakes that day," she murmured, thinking about what an idiot she'd been to leave Daniel's bed. Maybe things would be different now, and Daniel wouldn't have forgotten about her. She knew Ben had said he was still unmated.

Both women were quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts, reminiscing about how different the last year would have been if they'd kept in touch.

"So, are you seeing anyone?" Talia suddenly asked, trying to find a way to bring up Daniel.

Jenna scoffed. "No way. I haven't had time. I was so busy with my mom, and I just started working at a diner. Plus, I had a baby, too."

"Shut the front door!" Talia's mouth hung open in shock. Jenna had just said she hadn't had time for anyone. How had she ended up pregnant? Unless...

Jenna pulled out her phone to show Talia the myriads of photos she had taken of Noelle. She couldn't take enough of them as she never wanted to forget her sweet little girl at this size. Noelle was a star and didn't even know it.

Talia looked quietly through the photos. "She's adorable," she whispered, her heart aching for Daniel. How would he react when he found out Jenna had given birth? She needed to think about that, and she needed to find out who the father of that baby was.

For the next several hours, Jenna and Talia chatted about anything and everything, except Daniel. Talia knew time was running out and she needed to bring him up at some point. She needed to find out how her friend felt about him, if Noelle was his, and if she'd like to reconnect with him.

She watched Jenna pace the floor, Matthew in her arms as she rocked him. "Jenna, do you ever still think about that night?" She asked as Jenna sat down in the rocking chair.

Jenna looked up in surprise. She knew exactly what Talia was talking about. She thought about it way more than she liked, especially after their last meeting. "More than I'd like to admit to."

"What are your feelings?"

"I regret leaving. I wish I would have stayed. I still, for some stupid reason, miss him. He's on my mind frequently. Ugh, Talia, when you said he would ruin me for all other men, you were right," Jenna whispered with a small sigh. "Oh, did you ever find out who he is?"

Talia chewed on her lip as she studied Jenna. Might as well not sugar coat it. "Yes. He's the Alpha King."

"The what?"