The Beta's Broken Mate (Book 3 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 14

Talia lay in bed the next morning, staring at the ceiling. Charlotte had come in to get Matthew a bit ago and Talia hadn't moved.

Her dream from the previous night played over and over in her head. She'd dreamed of the same place again. Again Ragnar has appeared. And again he'd mated her, calling her his. She blushed as she remembered the things he'd done to her, the pleasure he'd brought her. Guilt coursed through her and she whimpered in shame. Why him? Why not James? She hoped he didn't come to her room today. She hoped he was too busy to think about her.

She lay on her side, staring at the wall, angry with herself, hurt that her own mind had betrayed her.

Charlotte brought Matthew back a bit later, and she sat on the edge of the bed. "Do you want help with putting your things away?"

"No thank you. I need to be alone. I'm sorry, I just need to be left alone," Talia cried, not looking at Charlotte.

Charlotte was quiet for a moment, then stood. "Alright. I'll let Ragnar know."

Talia looked up at the other woman in surprise, but said nothing. Was it becoming obvious that she was dependent on him? Did they think she was having a relationship with him? She buried her face in her pillow and cried.

***

Ragnar looked up from his laptop as Caleb sat down in front of his desk. "What's up?"

"Talia wants to be left alone today," Caleb said quietly.

Ragnar felt his heart drop at the old Alpha's words but he said nothing. What could he say?

"She's spiraling." Caleb sat back and rubbed a hand over his face. "I can almost guarantee she's already thinking about finding someone to care for Matthew."

Ragnar closed his eyes at Caleb's words, pinching the bridge of his nose. He knew it would happen. He'd kept close to her hoping that the mate bond would ease her suffering some, but he knew she felt guilty about her dependence on him. "What do we do?"

"Force her back into the land of the living," Caleb said. "If it doesn't get better, Daniel may need to extend the invitation to her to join the pack. If she accepts, she'll know you're her second chance, and it will help to ease up the ache."

"And if she's as stubborn as you?" Ragnar asked him, pointedly. It had taken him months to accept Charlotte.

Caleb smirked. "Talia isn't an egotistical Alpha." He steepled his fingers together. "Meeting Charlotte made all the difference for me even if I pretended like it didn't. I might need to give her an ultimatum."

Ragnar watched him stand. "Just don't drive her over the edge."

Caleb shot him a glare, then left his office.  He completely understood where Talia was at mentally. Too much time alone, and too much time to think could drive you mad. He'd experienced it himself, and he'd inadvertently put his own mate through the same. But she'd been suffering through the perceived loss of her family, along with her own previous life. He hadn't realized how badly she'd been suffering because he'd been suffering himself, and been too selfish to fully realize what she was going through. He'd almost lost her because of it, and that had been his wakeup call.

He headed back up to his own apartment and walked inside. Charlotte was back in their bedroom folding laundry. He shut the door behind him, then walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her. "Hey."

She smiled. "Hi."

"Has she been out at all?" He nuzzled into her neck.

"No. I haven't heard a peep," Charlotte told him, leaning back against his broad chest.