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

Chapter 43

Bianca sighed softly, knowing the next time she saw him, he would more than likely be coming to mark her. The thought of it made her nervous. Once that happened, she would become his primary focus.

She knew he needed to mark her soon. It was why she'd offered herself to him earlier. She had a feeling that was why he was so tense, because he was having a hard time staying focused on anything except his need to mark his mate. She'd seen his canines earlier when he'd been standing there looking at her. It had surprised her a bit, but her heart had gone out to him as she began to understand him better. This probably wasn't really him.

Her thoughts drifted to this morning, and how supportive he'd been with her and her stupid, out of control emotions. He didn't have to comfort her. He could have completely ignored her, but instead he'd gone out of his way to help her with them. Like a mate would. Maybe he'd make a good mate after all.

She thought about their conversation earlier when she'd asked him about his tattoos, and she remembered him telling her about his piercings. She'd never heard of those types before. She frowned and pulled out her phone. She couldn't remember the names of both of them, but she did remember one and did a search to see what it was.

Her eyes almost popped out of her head at the results. Aidan's penis was pierced? Her mouth dropped open as she stared at the drawings. She found the other one he'd mentioned as well. What the heck had ever inspired him to do that? Now she could understand why he hadn't told her where they were located at. Her face would have turned bright red. How would that conversation have gone? Hey, Bianca. I have my dick pierced.

She snorted. She could hardly imagine the formal Beta being tatted and pierced. There was definitely more to him than meets the eye. She hadn't seen that side of him yet.

And then she remembered his words. If you absolutely hate them, I'll take them out. He'd said he had seven total. In his dick? She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious.

A knock at the door made her look up and she quickly walked over to open it. Aidan. She stepped out of the way to let him into her room.

He walked inside and immediately turned to look at her. "Bianca, we need to talk."

She swallowed at the words but nodded and gestured for him to sit. He did and she sat down across from him.

"My mate showed up here at our pack house today," he started.

Her eyebrows shot up at his words. Was that why him and Xavier had been called out?

"I know, I'm still shocked over it. Her reasons are complicated and not something I want to get into right now but suffice it to say that she was not expecting me to be here." He sighed softly and she noticed how tired he looked. How exhausted. He had to feel like he had whiplash. "I don't know if I'm going to mate her or not. I don't know what she knows, if she knows about mates at all. But I do want to try."

She nodded. "I understand. No offense, but if I had to choose between you and Brian, I would choose him every time." It was the truth. Pure and simple.

"I would expect nothing less." he replied, as he studied her and leaned back in his seat.

"But you want me to wait for you. To be here in case she tells you no." It felt wrong for her to say it, but she could imagine that would be what he wanted.

His eyes widened. "No! Good grief, no. I'd be a complete asshole if I asked that of you. My mother would kick my ass," he muttered, making her own eyes widen at his words.

"Are you sure?" She eyed him quietly.

"Yes, Bianca, I'm sure. At least if she decides she doesn't want me, I can reject her," he said calmly. "I know her name and her address now."

"You'll no longer have your fated." She frowned after she said those words. It didn't seem fair to him. To walk this life for eternity without his fated just seemed so wrong, though she supposed that's what he would have had to do if he'd mated her. He'd just have to find someone else to mark.

He gave her a small smile. "But that's just it, Bianca. Because I'm immortal, I'll have another. A second chance."

Her eyes widened in shock at what he was telling her. He'd get a second chance at a fated mate? She looked down, wondering if she would want a second chance. A chance to feel that again. The moment she'd experienced when she'd first seen Brian, how she wished she could experience that one more time. She wouldn't have felt it with Aidan, simply because they weren't fated to be together.

"And, I have an offer for you, Bianca."

She looked back up at him in surprise, wondering what he was offering. "Okay?"

"If you would like to join Regal Eclipse, you're welcome to. I've spoken to the Alpha about it, and he's fine with it. I know you don't have family here, but by joining, you'd become immortal, and you'd get a second chance mate. Eventually. You'd have another fated mate, Bianca."

Her eyes widened in shock at the invitation. Being invited to just join Regal Eclipse without having any ties to a member of the pack was unheard of. She figured that now that she wasn't going to be mating Aidan, she'd have to leave. Part of her wanted to, to go back home to her family, but a larger part of her didn't. Yes, Aidan was correct that her family was there at Great Lakes, but so were all of the painful memories. Maybe staying wouldn't be such a bad idea. She'd have a fresh start.

"You don't have to make a decision right now. I know it's a big one," Aidan told her, leaning forward.

"Okay, but I'm probably going to take you up on your offer. It's a huge privilege, and Great Lakes holds a lot of bad memories." She stopped. "Not bad. Sad."

"I think it would be good for you to stay here, Bianca. It'll help you to move on. There are people here you can talk to as well. People who have lost their mates," Aidan told her. "But, like I said, it's completely up to you."

"What would I do to earn my keep?" she asked. She'd want to do something. She didn't want to be useless.

He shrugged. "That would be up to Malachi and probably my dad. He runs the liaison schedule. You can talk to them. They'll give you options. But you might want to wait and see what your mate does."

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged and gave her a genuine smile. "Join the pack, Bianca."

"Do you know something I don't?"

He just smiled bigger. "If your mate is already here, in my pack, and they've seen you, they already know you're their mate."

"Who?"

He shrugged. He wasn't going to tell her anything, she realized.

Bianca finally just smiled at him, returning his genuine smile. "Thank you, Aidan. For this opportunity."

He smiled back. "Of course. You were willing to put up with my ass. It's the least I could do." Aidan stood. "I gotta head back up. My brother is babysitting my mate right now and he might kill me if I'm gone too long."

She giggled. "Good luck with your mate."

"Ha. She doesn't exactly like me right now," Aidan muttered in exasperation.

"Really? Maybe you should tell her about your piercings." Bianca muttered the last part under her breath, wondering what that feel like. She looked up and realized he'd heard her and was staring at her. She felt her cheeks turn bright red.

"Did you find out what they are?"

Her entire face was on fire. "Yes." Well, this was embarrassing, but she'd ask him. "Would you have really taken them out for me?"

"Yeah, Bianca. If they bothered you or were uncomfortable, I would have taken them out." He walked over to her door, but right before he opened it, he stopped, his hand on the knob. "But for the record, I've never had a woman complain. And she's aware of them." He opened the door and walked out.

Bianca watched him go and shook her head as the door closed behind him. He'd been different. Still tense, but his smiles came more easily. This was probably closer to the real Aidan. And she was a bit disappointed she'd never get the chance to see his piercings. But it almost seemed like Aidan knew something she didn't. Like someone here might be her second chance. She bit her lip as her thoughts went immediately to Brian.