The Panther's Second Chance (Book 10 of the Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 1

Dominic Beckham stared at his computer screen for a long time, his mind a million miles away. He wasn't even registering what was on the screen at all, and hadn't been for a good while.

He was bored, lonely and unhappy. Not terribly unhappy, but unhappy enough. He had been for a while. He mostly ignored it. There was nothing he could do about it. He had moments of happiness, but mostly he was just moving through life. His much too long life.

Thoughts of moving on from his current home had crossed his mind but he knew it wasn't the answer. He wouldn't be happier elsewhere. At least here, he had purpose. Which was sort of laughable anymore.

He knew what the problem was. He craved the mate bond. He'd experienced it for such a short time, and he wanted it again. He hadn't even gotten the chance to fully explore it before it had been ripped away from him. He'd been rejected by his mate.

It had happened over thirty years ago, and while the woman he'd been mated to had found her second chance, he had not, and had come to the conclusion that he wasn't supposed to have a second chance. He thought the first one was a fluke. He wasn't a werewolf; he was a panther shifter, and panthers didn't mate for life.

But somehow, he'd ended up with a mate, for less than forty-eight hours. It had to have been a fluke. A cruel fluke, that had given him a brief taste of what the bond was like. He now understood why the men in his pack were the way they were about their mates. And he was jealous. Envious. He wanted that again.

It was like a drug. He'd experienced it once, and he was constantly chasing for that high again. Except that it was always out of his reach. The women he slept with didn't make him happy. They just eased his stress for a short time. Gave him something to focus on besides work. They were a small distraction in his mundane life.

He'd disappeared for two years after the rejection, roaming the wilderness as a cat. A large black cat, who'd had free rein to do as he pleased. Dominic hadn't cared. He'd been lost, heartbroken, and shattered. He'd allowed Zampa to be in control, to hunt and enjoy being in the wilderness.

But finally, he'd taken back control and returned to Pennsylvania and his pack. He'd been welcomed home, his pack members that he'd left behind for two years understanding. He'd slid right back into his life like he'd never left, picking up the reins of his business dealings. No one had judged him here. Instead they'd accepted him back in, making him feel like he'd never left.

He'd gone on a spree when he'd returned, finding a woman to bed night after night, taking out his frustrations with sex. Meaningless sex that hadn't fulfilled him. And after a bit, he'd slowed down. Way down.

Dominic?

The mind link startled him, pulling him out of his thoughts. Hi Nick.

Can we talk?

Of course. Where?

My office.

I'll be there shortly.

He shut his laptop and stood, stretching, then left his room, and headed down the hall towards the pack offices.

Dominic had joined Regal Eclipse over fifty years ago. He'd been invited by the former Alpha at that time. He'd never been a member of a werewolf pack before in all of his long years on the earth, and was pleasantly surprised to find out he was able to mind link.

He'd been happier in the pack than he had been in a long time. His existence had been a lonely one, and joining the pack had given him purpose and friends. He had a home. He could come and go as he pleased, and no one minded.