Alpha King's Missing Mate (Book 1 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 35

Jenna's world tipped again, as she stared into Daniel's piercing blue eyes, and the feelings she had for him came crashing back down on her, overwhelming her. She'd done her best to forget about him over the last month, which had not been easy for her to do. Not when he was invading her dreams nightly.

Running into him here was the last thing she'd expected. Did he live close by or was he passing through? Was he visiting the pack nearby? Was that a thing? Obviously he'd been visiting Talia's pack. She wondered why.

Daniel studied her for a moment, and for a moment, she'd thought he might recognize her. But then he had looked away, no sign of recognition in his eyes. He probably just thought she looked vaguely familiar but couldn't place her.

Jenna felt her heart drop at the snub. He didn't recognize her, while she could barely stop thinking about him. It didn't seem fair. He'd obviously forgotten about her while she'd given birth to his child. His pup. She could happily walk over and punch him.

She quickly composed herself and approached the table. She needed to get this done and over with. After all of the work she'd done over the last month to forget about him, he had wrecked it all in two seconds flat.

***

Daniel had caught Jenna's scent the moment he'd entered the diner, and had fought to keep his composure when all he wanted to do was race through the place looking for her. His Jenna, his mate, was here somewhere.

While he'd known since Rafe had told him at Christmas that she was close by, it was still like looking for a needle in a haystack. He hadn't expected her to be in his own town and wondered if she was just passing through or came here often.

He'd stood at the hostess stand, looking around and trying to catch a glimpse of her as Rafe had pounced around in his head chanting 'Mate! Mate! Mate! Mate! Mate is here!'

Alpha Jason was already seated with one of his warriors, and as they had approached the table, Rafe had suddenly quieted down, his senses on high alert.

'Is she here or not? I smell her.' Daniel was puzzled by Rafe's sudden change of demeanor. His wolf had been almost frantic a moment ago.

'Mate is here. But this stupid Alpha wants us dead. If Stupid realizes that Mate is Mate, he may use that to his advantage. He may hurt Mate,' Rafe said in irritation.

Daniel groaned inwardly. Jenna was here, right under his nose, and his hands were tied. She was much too vulnerable given that she was human and their relationship was practically non-existent at this point. Keeping her safe wasn't going to be easy for him yet, and if Jason hurt her or worse, it would destroy him. Given what all Charity had told him, he wouldn't put it past Jason to try anything.

He greeted the Alpha and his warrior, then sat down next to Charity. He had been to this diner many times, and already knew what he wanted, so he used the few minutes before their server arrived to covertly look around, while he pretended to look at the menu.

He couldn't see her anywhere though. The diner wasn't very busy as the dinner crowd had mostly cleared out. He was glad they were seated at the back and he had a pretty good view of the entire place, but he couldn't spot Jenna's gorgeous wavy brown hair anywhere. Had she changed it at all? It had been almost a year since he'd seen her last. He couldn't imagine that she'd look exactly the same.

When Jenna stepped out of the kitchen wearing an apron, Daniel's eyes almost popped out of his head. He hadn't expected her to actually be working here. He had to fight everything within him to not jump up and run to her, scoop her into his arms and kiss her. He'd missed his little mate.

She hadn't changed much, but there were little things. Her hair was piled on top of her head with short tendrils hanging around her face, and he found he liked it that way as much as he liked it down. He liked that it showed off her slender neck, but her collared shirt hid his mark.

'Stupid would see it,' Rafe growled in annoyance.

Jenna's hips and her breasts looked fuller. She'd gained a bit of weight, he noticed, and her cheeks had filled out some, not that he cared in the least. She was a bit more curvy and he could easily visualize gripping those hips while he was deep inside of her. 'She looks gorgeous.'

'Mate is absolutely beautiful,' Rafe agreed, looking at Daniel's memories as he couldn't look at her himself. He'd be noticed.

For a split second, Daniel wondered if Jenna would even remember him. She had to. The bond between them would have ensured that she didn't forget him. If nothing else, she would have experienced the mate dreams.

It had been a year now, and he knew she wouldn't expect to see him here of all places. He'd last been here right after Christmas, and he was certain Jenna hadn't worked here then, as he would've picked up on the slightest trace of her scent immediately.

But Daniel knew the moment Jenna met his gaze that she hadn't forgotten him. He felt her emotions roll over him, first shock, then excitement and happiness, followed by disappointment when he looked away from her. I'm so sorry, my Queen.

She approached the table, and plastered a smile on her face, though he could see right through it. He had a feeling she'd rather be anywhere else right now. "Good evening! My name is Jenna and I'll be your server tonight. What can I get you all to drink?"

Her voice remained steady despite her emotional turmoil, and sounded even more amazing than he remembered. It was all Daniel could do to not stare at her like a lovesick puppy, drinking in every inch of her to give himself new images for both him and Rafe to remember later.

Alpha Jason insisted on ordering food right away and Daniel tuned him out, occasionally glancing at the menu before looking back at Jenna, his eyes traveling over her. What would she look like wearing just that apron? He could still easily remember her gorgeous naked body. Rafe had gone through his memories and made sure that she was front and center in his mind more often than not.

She finally glanced at him, and he got lost in her green eyes until suddenly Charity kicked him under the table. "I..." What did he want again? He really couldn't remember.

"He'll have a Root Beer, and the steak dinner, rare, with a loaded baked potato and whatever the vegetable is. Lots of bread." Charity kicked him again but he was barely aware of it.

"Okay. I will be back shortly with drinks." She looked up from her notepad with a smile, glancing around the table, though she avoided looking at him this time. She turned to walk away, and jealousy hit him.

He frowned. Why was she jealous? What did she have to be jealous of? He belonged to her; he just needed to talk to her and fix this mess.

'Mate thinks Charity is our girlfriend,' Rafe said sadly. 'But perhaps that is for the best, for now. It'll keep her safe.'

Daniel didn't answer but he grudgingly agreed with his wolf. He hated upsetting her, but he needed to get through this dinner and get Alpha Jason back to Virginia where he belonged, and without Charity. He also needed to keep Jenna safe, and if that meant pretending like he didn't know her through this meal, he'd do it and get forgiveness later.

He watched her hurry away from the table as jealousy and hurt bombarded him and he sighed. His first encounter with Jenna after so long was not going well at all. But at least now, he knew where she was. He knew she was close by and where she worked. As long as she didn't quit her job tonight, he could find her again. He just needed to have a little patience, as hard as that was.