The Beta's Missing Mate (Book 16 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 15

Aidan looked up as the door to the gaming room, where he was busy drowning his sorrows, opened and Daniel walked in, holding a file. Daniel was the former Alpha King, and Xavier's great, great grandfather, though he didn't look a day over twenty-five. Aidan wasn't even quite sure how old Daniel was, but he was the one who had taught Aidan how to be an Alpha.

Aidan had attended an Alpha class as well, but he'd learned much more from Daniel. He'd also learned quite a bit about business from the old Alpha. Between him and Xavier, they'd both become ruthless about it. No one tried to pull one over on either of them.

Daniel sat down across from him and poured himself a glass of bourbon from the bottle Aidan had sitting out. "How you doing?"

Horrible. "Fine. Any news on Xavier?" Aidan asked, immediately changing the subject, as had become his habit of late. Not that he'd get away with it. Daniel knew him too well.

Daniel frowned at him. "They found him. They're taking a delicate approach though so they don't scare him off. And don't lie to me, Aidan."

Aidan sighed. "Sorry. I'm not fine. I'm not sure I ever will be."

Daniel nodded, and poured him some more bourbon before filling his own glass, though he remained quiet, and Aidan could imagine he was thinking about Jenna.

Daniel knew better than anyone what Aidan was going through. Daniel had pretty much gone through the same thing, with his own mate taking off on him after a one night stand. The big difference was, Daniel had been very drunk and had actually marked his mate, something Aidan hadn't even really thought about doing.

It had been both good and bad for the Alpha, depending on how you looked at it. Good because the obsession of marking his mate hadn't been a concern because he already had. But bad because he always knew what she was feeling with no context to the situation she was in. Once a werewolf had marked their mate, they had access to their mate's feelings. His mate, Jenna had been sad most of the time they'd been apart, as she'd had to deal with the fact that her mother was dying and her overwhelming feeling of loss over Daniel, a man she didn't know was her mate.

Aidan wondered if Ana was missing him like that, like he was her. He was so frustrated with the entire situation, he wanted to scream. He absolutely hated that he had no idea where she was, or whether she was okay. He hated that he couldn't be there for her. It was driving him insane.

"How bad are you obsessing?" Daniel finally asked him, meeting his gaze.

He knew Daniel was going to ask him that. His own father, Cade, had asked him yesterday, but Aidan hadn't really admitted to anything. He had a feeling Ragnar knew though. He could feel the man's eyes on him frequently. Ragnar was old, and it wasn't easy to hide things from him. "Not bad. Not yet, but I'd be lying if I said I don't think about her a lot." It was starting to borderline on obsession.

"Dominic had been keeping me updated on the search," Daniel told him.

Aidan's eyes flickered in surprise. He hadn't known that. He figured most of Daniel's attention would be on finding Xavier, though he supposed he should know better. "He is?"

Daniel nodded. "I asked him to. I know how ridiculously difficult it's been."

Aidan nodded, lifting the bourbon to his lips and downing it in one gulp. He needed it to spit out the next words he was about to say. The ones that had been in the back of his mind for the last couple of weeks. The ones he had yet to voice, though he had a feeling that was why Daniel was here right now. "I have to think about taking a Chosen, don't I?"

Daniel pursed his lips. "You have to do more than just think about it, Aidan. You're running out of time. I give you another month, maybe. It's going to be worse for you than it was Dylan."