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

Chapter 15

"Good morning Mila. How are you feeling this morning?" Riley greeted her.

"Like I got hit by a Freightliner," Mila grumbled. "Do you have epsom salts?"

"Mmm I think so. That's not a bad idea. I'll look and if not, I'll get you some," Riley said. "Do you want some coffee?"

"Please." Mila stared down at the table with a frown. She should have been having coffee with Ethan yesterday. How would that have gone? What would they have talked about? She wanted to know about him. How long had he lived in Texas? What did he do for a living? Were his parents still alive? Did he have siblings? Did he live with them or did he have his own place? Good questions that she might never know the answer to, and that made her sad.

Riley poured her a cup of coffee and sat it down in front of her, then sat back down herself, watching Mila add cream and sugar. "So, we need to talk about some things."

Mila nodded, stirring her coffee before lifting the cup to her lips. She'd expected this. She was just glad Riley had waited until she was rested and in a better frame of mind. "Okay."

"First off, you can't keep secrets from us. Us meaning the family. My parents, Rebekah, Max and myself. If some guy beats the crap out of you, tell us." Riley looked at her pointedly.

"I did tell you." She knew what Riley meant though. She probably should have told her when it first happened, but then she'd been naive enough to think it wouldn't happen again.

"You should have told me Thursday, after the initial time, or even Wednesday," Riley said. "You could have called after it happened."

"Point taken," Mila mumbled. She was right, and Mila knew it. This side of her family did care a lot about her. They'd welcomed her with open arms, and helped her through her loss. Riley's father was her father's brother. The Whitlocks had lived in Texas for a very long time. The only reason her own father had moved to Chicago was because he'd gotten a great job offer. From a job that had eventually killed him.

"Second, and I don't know how you're going to take this, but I really think you should move," Riley said, looking her in the eye.

Mila swallowed. She hated to agree with Riley on this one, but she did. After Friday night, she was afraid of coming home. "I know, and I want to. But I have one big problem. I'm in a year long lease. I can't afford to pay rent for more than once place right now."

Riley nodded. "We'll figure it out. For now, you can crash here. Don't worry about paying me rent until we figure out your apartment."

"Thank you, Riley, but I've got to do something about my plants," Mila said. She was so thankful to Riley for making the generous offer.

"We'll go get them and bring them here, but we'll take Max with us," Riley told her. "You need to get your things anyway."

Max was Riley's brother-in-law and he was huge. Mila had met him a few times and he sort of reminded her of Ethan. Max was good looking too, and well built.

"And your car," Riley said, as though she was making a mental list in her head.

Yes, she did need that too. Riley lived further from the garden center than she did. Plus, she wasn't exactly sure that she wanted to be walking anywhere right now. She couldn't trust Owen. She highly doubted a restraining order would keep him away from her. It had seemed almost pointless to file it, but she had anyway.

"Also, Ethan stopped by the garden center yesterday, looking for you," Riley said, giving her a smile.

Mila's heart stopped, then gave a small leap at her words. He'd actually come looking for her after she'd ghosted him? She wondered if he was pissed. "What did he say?"

"He wanted to know where you were."

So he had showed up. She didn't think he would. And then he'd come to her work looking for her. "What did you tell him?" Hopefully not the truth, but then what else could she tell him?

"The truth, Mila. If you want a relationship with this guy, you have to be honest with him." Riley stood and poured herself another cup of coffee.

"He wanted to grab coffee, Riley. We're not in a relationship." But she wanted to be. That thought startled her but she realized it was true. She wanted a relationship with Ethan. She couldn't believe he was still interested even after she'd stood him up. He'd gone out of his way to find out why she hadn't shown. At least now he knew she hadn't just not shown because she didn't want to.

"He's still interested in you Mila. He could have just left the coffee shop and went home but he didn't. He came to the garden center to check on you and find out why you stood him up, and when you weren't there, he came and talked to me." Riley brought the coffee pot over and poured Mila another cup.

"What did he say when you told him my ex beat the crap out of me?" Her heart was warmed that he'd actually came looking for her. Maybe she still had a chance with him. Maybe. If he didn't change his mind when he saw her.

"He wasn't happy about it. He'll be back up there again," Riley said.

"Well, I'm going back to work tomorrow," Mila said firmly.

"Mila, are you sure you don't want to take another day?" Riley's voice was full of concern.

"Yes. I have to go back. Now can you see about those epsom salts? I want to soak for a bit, then I'd like to see if Max can possibly go with us to get my stuff." Mila downed the last of her coffee. She couldn't spend another day in bed like she had yesterday. It was her day off and she needed to get her things today so she could work tomorrow.

"Yup. I'll look and then text Rebekah." Riley stood and left the room.

Mila stood as well. She wondered if she'd see Ethan again tomorrow. Would he show up at her work looking for her again? She really hoped so. She wanted to see him, she needed to. It sucked that she hadn't seen him yesterday or today, and she needed her Ethan fix. She wished she had his number so she could call him. Maybe make another date with him.

But she knew she was getting ahead of herself. He still might just give up and not bother. She couldn't blame him if he did. He now knew that she'd be attacked by her ex, and beat. The question was, would he want to be involved with someone that had happened to? Hopefully he did, but after he'd had time to think about it, he might change his mind. All she could do was hope that he'd show back up.

"Mila! I found some epson salts for you," Riley said, walking back into the kitchen with the bag. "I started the bathtub filling and dumped some in for you."

"Thank you Riley. For everything. For taking me to the emergency room last night and letting me stay here," Mila told her.

Riley smiled at her. "Of course. You're family, Mila. We always take care of family."

Mila smiled at her. "You got a new book I can trade mine out for? I've finished my most recent one."

"Yup. Hold on." She disappeared back down the hall towards her room and reappeared a few moments later with a new book. "This one is really good."

Mila took the book from her and looked at the title. The Alpha's Mate. "Sounds good."

"It is."

Mila studied Riley for a moment, feeling like something was off, but then shrugged and headed back to her own room. She was looking forward to the hot bath. And the book, and maybe a few thoughts of Ethan. If Ethan really was a werewolf, would he be an Alpha? Maybe in her fantasy world. Then she could write her own book. Sex with the Alpha. She smiled to herself. Only in her dreams.

***

I need some suggestions for a male main character name. Something I haven't used before