The Alpha Prince's Mate (Book 7 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 4

Her face had been bruised.

Ethan stared out the window of the truck as they headed back to packlands. He wanted desperately to get out and go back to the garden center, but he couldn't.

Was that your mate?

His gaze moved to the front seat and his sister's mate, Nick. Why do you ask?

Your reaction. Her reaction. It was rather obvious.

Yes. She's my mate. Hadn't that been a shocker.

Well, congratulations.

She's human and lives in Texas. He didn't know what to think about that.

Well, I guess you're staying in Texas for a while, then. Nick smirked at him.

Ethan frowned as the full force of having a human mate hit him. He was going to have to date her. Get to know her. Life couldn't be simple.

He'd half expected to have a human mate, though. It was so common in his family. But he hadn't let it lately enter his thoughts. He'd been more focused on being a liaison and all that entailed. It would have to be put on the back burner, though. He had a mate now. A beautiful female with a gorgeous body that he couldn't wait to explore.

They'd been at the Alamo Pack now for a week, just trying to get everything running the way it was supposed to. William had done a lot of damage, and it was quite a mess.

Ethan had found himself doing the most simple tasks, like fixing things, bringing in food and clothing, stuff that an Alpha shouldn't even need to worry about really, but there had been no money for these things before. He did what he needed to though, and saw the gratefulness on the people's faces.

They knew it was temporary, and more than likely, Levi would be taking over as Alpha. Nick, Noelle, Oliver, Aubrey, and he had discussed it quite a bit and spoken to several in the pack regarding new leadership, and Levi was the most highly recommended one.

But now it looked like Ethan would be staying anyway, though he still would transfer the leadership. He'd help when and where needed, but he had somewhere else to focus his attention on.

He hadn't even planned to go with them to pick up the load of mulch, but had decided to at the last moment. The Texas heat was brutal, but he'd wanted to get out of the pack house for a bit.

They'd been just about loaded up when the females had appeared from inside the garden center. He'd been aware that someone had been watching him, had felt her eyes on him before she had come outside. And then he'd caught her scent on the breeze.

He'd turned and met her gaze, and his world had stopped. She was it. The only female for him, and he didn't even know her name. Brown hair, which she had back in a ponytail, and big amber eyes; her skin tanned from the Texas sun. She was taller than his sisters, but not by much, and her body was nice and curvy, just the way he liked it.

She'd been affected too, unable to tear her eyes away from him, and he smiled as he remembered her gaze raking over his bare chest. She'd barely gotten a word out, unable to peel her gaze off of him. Even now, he could still catch her scent on the water bottle, though it was faint and wouldn't last long, which was disappointing. He'd been careful not to touch her when he'd taken the bottle from her, knowing the tingles would throw her off even more than she already was. That would come; just not yet.

But then he'd noticed the bruise on her face that she'd tried to cover up, and he'd almost touched her. He'd stopped himself, though. It would be odd for him to do such a thing, even though he belonged to her. She just wasn't aware of it yet. She'd had a black eye. It hadn't been noticeable, but he'd studied her face so carefully, trying to remember every detail, and he'd seen it. It was probably why she was wearing so much makeup. He wondered how she'd gotten it. Hopefully, no one had hit her. Maverick was now pacing in his mind.