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

Chapter 34

"Xavier!"

Aidan lifted his head and looked up to see Xavier walk in, a red-headed female by his side. He'd finally found his mate. Aidan watched Xavier's family gather around them, greeting them both happily.

"Isn't that the Alpha Prince?" Bianca asked him.

"Xavier. He's back," Aidan said, then glanced at Bianca and gave her a smile. "He'll come this way eventually."

She nodded. "That's his mate?"

"Yes." His red-headed mate.

"She's human?" she asked in surprise.

For now. "Yup." His gaze darted down to Bianca's plate. "You don't eat much, do you?"

Her cheeks pinked a bit. "I haven't in a while."

"Because of..." His gaze met hers.

She nodded, looking down. "I haven't had much of an appetite."

He reached over and lightly touched her arm, causing her to look back up at him. "We'll get through this, Bianca."

She gave him a half smile, then picked up her fork, and Aidan turned back to his meal. He needed to be patient with her. This sucked for him, but it probably sucked for her even more. She'd been in love with her mate and probably completely adored him. He had a love/hate relationship with his, and he'd spent less than twelve hours in her presence nd never had a fully completed bond with her.

He watched Xavier get in line at the buffet with his mate, and Dylan and Damien joined him a few moments later. They'd be headed this way here shortly, he'd imagine. They were all mated now, except Zane, whom he still hadn't heard from. And Lincoln. Though Aidan had a feeling Linc was perfectly fine with that.

Aidan could feel Xavier's eyes on him a few moments later as he approached their table. Aidan looked up at him and smiled as he stood. "Good to have you home."

He could feel Xavier studying him, and it annoyed him a bit. He was just like Daniel and Caleb in that regard, looking at him like he was a bug under a microscope. He watched Xavier eye Bianca and wondered what he was thinking. No, she wasn't Ana, though Xavier had known Ana was missing.

"Good to be home," Xavier finally said and hugged Aidan. "You okay?" He said it in a very low voice.

"Yeah." He pulled back. "Zane went to Colorado yesterday. Something's going on there." He looked at Xavier's mate. She was quite beautiful. "Your red head."

Xavier chuckled. "Yeah. My mate, Madeline. Maddie, this is Aidan. He'll be my Beta one day."

Aidan nodded to her, his gaze sweeping over her briefly. He hoped she made Xavier happy. "Nice to meet you, Maddie." He turned back to Bianca and gave her a small smile. He could tell she was nervous. "This is Bianca Simmons. She's from The Great Lakes Pack." Maybe he should have introduced her as his mate, but right now, that would open up a whole conversation he wasn't ready to get into yet.

Bianca stood and bowed her head. "Alpha."

"I believe we've met before?" Xavier asked her.

"We have. It's been a while, though. It's good that you're home," she said, giving him a small smile.

Xavier smiled back at her. "It's good to be home." He looked back at Aidan, who knew he was going to be asking questions, then looked at his mate. "We're sitting here, Princess."

Aidan sat down as well next to Bianca, waiting for Xavier to link him. Maybe he wouldn't now, but he would soon. His gaze darted back to Bianca's plate. She'd eaten some more, at least.