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

Chapter 23

Mila stood and walked over to Ethan and he pulled her down on his lap. He brushed away her tears, then wrapped his arms around her, holding her close against his warm body. He could feel her relax into him, drawing comfort from him.

"I'm really not like this," she muttered, against his neck.

"You've taken blow after blow the last few days. Plus, I dumped a bunch on you this morning. It's okay," he said softly. He usually tried to avoid emotional females, but with her, he didn't want to. He felt the need to comfort her, to be there for her.

She finally relaxed, though she continued to let him hold her. She was enjoying this, he realized, and it made him happy. He really wanted to bury his face in her neck, but he didn't want to freak her out, though she had hers half buried in his own. Not that he minded. Whatever she needed, he'd provide.

"I need.. crap. I need so much Ethan. I have nothing. I'm overwhelmed just thinking about it," she told him.

"One thing at a time then. What's the first thing you need?" They were going to have to take small steps so she could get through this.

"A bath," she said quietly.

"Where?" A bath. He tried to not think about that, about her naked in a tub of water. With bubbles. Or maybe not.

She giggled. "In the bathroom. In the room I'm staying in. With epsom salts. They've really helped ease the soreness."

"How are you managing to take a bath with that cast on?" He asked her. She needed so much care right now, and he wasn't sure if she'd let him fill that roll for her even though he was more than willing.

"Very carefully."

"Okay, let's go get you a bath then. That'll be one thing done," he said. "Then we can focus on the next thing.

"Are you..?" She pulled away from his neck and looked at him.

Ethan's gaze darted down to her lips for a moment as he realized what she was asking. "I'm only going to do what you want me to do, Mila. I'm not going to push you into doing anything you're not ready for. But I will help you with whatever you need. You're perfectly safe with me."

"Sorry." Her gaze settled down on his chest.

"For what? Given what you've been through, you have every right to ask. You do anyway. You may be my mate, but we still barely know each other, Mila Ann without an e Whitlock." He smiled at her.

She laughed, meeting his gaze again and slipped off his lap. "Come on."

Ethan stood and followed her back to the guest room, and into the bathroom. She sat down on the side of the bath tub and flipped the water on, then grabbed the jar of Epsom salts. "Can you open this?"

He took it from her and opened it before adding some to her bath water. Visions of her laying in it naked entered his mind again and he swallowed. He hadn't seen any hint of her body yet, but he was looking forward to it. He was most definitely looking forward to it.

"Do you need to do anything today? Am I holding you up?" She suddenly asked, looking at him.

"There's one thing I need to do, and there's no set time for it. I can do it whenever. My sister and Nick are aware of where I'm at, and they're handling everything today. It's more important for me to be here with you. I'm not at all thrilled with the idea of leaving you alone." He'd woken up to a text from Noelle this morning asking him to call when he had the chance and that was what he intended to do once he had Mila situated. She was his first priority now and Nick and Noelle both completely understood that.

She flipped off the water and looked at him. "Um.."

"You need me to leave." Unfortunately, but he knew she wasn't ready for anything else and he was okay with that.

Her eyes widened. "Just the bathroom."

He smiled and nodded. He'd known what she meant. "If you need anything.." He walked out and back into her bedroom, ready to wait for her, and also close enough that he could help her if she did need it.

"Ethan?"

He turned and saw her standing in the doorway. She looked so lovely this morning. "Yes?"

"I really want you here too. I feel safer with you here," she admitted, giving him a smile.

He shot her a smile. "Good."

She turned and shut the door, and he sat down on her bed, listening to her take her clothes off. It took a while and he realized she was struggling to do it one handed. He wondered how in the world she was managing to undo her bra with one hand. He sighed. If this was any different, he'd be in there right now, helping her. He pulled his phone out and called Noelle for a distraction.

"Hey, how's it going?" Noelle asked cheerily.

"Well, she knows," Ethan started, waiting to see how his sister reacted.

"You told her?" Noelle seemed a bit shocked which made him roll his eyes. It wasn't like he could go for a long time without telling her. He'd been thinking about that. If they dated for months, and then he told her he was a werewolf and she freaked, how hard was that going to be on him? Especially if he'd had sex with her.

"I kind of had to. She needed to know why I was here with her when we barely know each other." He rubbed his hand over his face and leaned back on the bed. He'd known that as soon as Nick had called him and had gone over the whole thing in his head many times now. She would want to know why some guy that she didn't know, and who she'd stood up would show up and be there for her when she was having one of the worst days of her life.

"And?" Noelle prompted.

"She thought I was nuts at first, until she met Maverick. She's okay with it. She knows about Max now, too. I haven't told her everything, but she's so overwhelmed right now." He sighed. "But she wants to get to know me."

"We told Levi. He knows you're staying in the area and I honestly think he's kind of glad. Can you possibly get away to transfer the leadership today?" Noelle asked.

"Yeah, but I'll probably bring her with me. I really don't want to leave her alone. Did Nick tell you about her ex?" He was not at all happy that she'd been dating a rogue. She wouldn't have had any idea, and given that he had a temper, he probably would have killed her. The thought was very sobering.

"Yes, he told me everything. She needs protection, Ethan," Noelle said quietly.

"He better hope he never runs into me," Ethan muttered. If he did, Owen would be dead. Maverick would rip him to shreds.

"He needs put down, before he kills someone," Noelle said quietly. "We went and cleaned up her apartment this morning. Nick, Rebekah, Max and I. We brought back everything that was salvageable. I can understand why she was so upset, Ethan. That poor girl."

He sighed. "Okay. I'll talk to her and figure out what we're doing. She's taking a bath right now."

"Are you struggling, Ethan?" Noelle teased.

"I'm not talking to you about that," he said, annoyed. That was why he was on the phone with her, to distract himself from the fact that Mila was sitting naked and wet in a bath tub less than ten feet from him.

She laughed. "Well text me when you're headed this way."

"I will, Noelle. I just need to talk to her first, and find out what we're doing, but I'll be there at some point," Ethan said.

"Sounds good. See you in a bit, Ethan."

Ethan disconnected the call and stared up at the ceiling. He glanced over, and picked up the book he'd been reading and opened it up. Might as well finish it while he waited on his mate to finish her bath.