The Alpha Queen's Mate (Book 5 of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 24

Noelle walked into the airport and got in line. She was so used to flying private and didn't think she'd ever flown commercial before. Spoiled, she thought to herself.

She approached the desk. "Hi."

The clerk looked at her. "Where to?"

"Pennsylvania. Um Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Harrisburg? Anywhere in Pennsylvania." She just wanted out of here.

"No flights to Pennsylvania until tomorrow. I can get you on a flight to New York City in two hours," he said.

That would have to do. She didn't want to stick around here any longer than she had to. "That's fine."

She got everything situated as quickly as she could and realized she preferred flying privately. She really was spoiled, she thought, rolling her eyes at herself.

The thought of calling for someone to come get her had crossed her mind, but she didn't want to sit and wait that long. She wanted out of Florida as quickly as possible, and away from Alex Artino.

New York City was where her father had met her mother. She suddenly remembered Jenna telling her that he had flown there that morning and she wondered if he was still there. Maybe she could catch a ride back with him, if he hadn't left already. She knew he wouldn't stick around long. He wouldn't want to leave her mother for any real length of time. She knew he wouldn't stay the night there unless he had to. He'd probably fly home, then come back the next day.

She dialed his number, but it went straight to voicemail, and she sighed, not bothering to leave one. This was most definitely not her day. It had quickly become the worst day of her life. She hoped to never surpass it.

She walked through the airport slowly, looking for a place to sit down away from all of the hustle and bustle. The place was a bit overwhelming, and she was tired and her heart ached. All she wanted to do was to curl up in her own bedroom by herself and cry. She was physically and emotionally exhausted.

She finally found a place to sit for a bit before her flight took off and pulled her phone back out. She'd try to call her father again and hope she could reach him. She saw a text, and hoped it was from Daniel. She had no idea if he knew she'd found her mate or not, or if her mother had told him who it was. Did he know Alex was married? But the text was from Nick.

Heard you found your mate. Congrats!

She groaned. Did her whole pack know? Who all had her mother told? She hoped not, but at the same time, she supposed it was inevitable. The pack would be happy that she was mated, but no one knew of the disaster it had turned out to be. Not yet. She dreaded the pity looks from everyone. Queen of all werewolves rejected by her own mate.. Well might as well rip the band-aid off. She shot a text back to Nick. He rejected me. And if he hadn't, she would have rejected him.

A few seconds later, her phone was ringing. Nick. Yeah that wasn't something she'd expect him to text her back about. Not after all the time she'd spent with him over the last few days. "Hello?"

"What happened?" No greeting, just straight to the point. She could hear the concern and the underlying anger.

Noelle took a deep breath to hold back the tears. She really needed to cry. She focused on her anger instead. "He's an Alpha. Married. Has a kid and another one on the way."

"What? Are you kidding?" Nick sounded shocked.

"No." Like she'd kid about this, but she knew what he meant.

He sighed. "Oh Noelle. I'm so sorry."

"Me too. But the biggest kicker? He didn't bother to tell me he was married. He just expected me to be okay with it. And he was pissed because I wasn't. He told me his marriage was none of my business. He didn't like that I was disrespectful to him when I disagreed." She was growing angrier the longer she thought about it. What man in his right mind thought that was okay?

"What? He was upset that you were disrespectful to him? After he disrespected you?" She could hear his growing anger as well, and was glad someone was finally in her corner.

"I don't know. My heart aches. I just want to sit and cry and I can't." The airport was annoyingly crowded, the scents overwhelming, the noise annoying.

"Where are you?" Nick asked her, his volume dropping some, as the concern became apparent again.

"At the airport in Orlando," she said with a small sigh.

She heard him curse quietly. She knew he was putting two and two together rather quickly. Especially since he was the liaison.  "Alpha Alex Artino?" he asked after a moment.

"Yes." She heard Nick curse again at her confirmation. The anger was back.

"Did he just drop you off at the airport?" he asked incredulously.

"No. His Beta did."

"I'm going to kill him," Nick muttered in disgust. His accent got much stronger when he was pissed, she noticed.

"It's fine, Nick." She said automatically and rubbed at her forehead. If she could get headaches, she'd have one now. She could feel a bit of pulsing at her temples, but a headache would never set in. Her body healed too quickly for that.

"No, it's not fine. What he did to you is not fine. He had the audacity to fly you to Florida, probably on his own private plane, didn't bother to tell you he's married and has pups, because he has two already, and his wife is about to give birth to a third, and then he rejects you and has his Beta dump you at the airport? That's a load of crap, Noelle," Nick growled.

She'd never heard him that angry before. He sounded almost as angry as she felt. He'd laid it all out before her. She hadn't known that Alex had a third child as well. That made her even angrier. All of their lives had been affected. She hoped his pups were none the wiser to what he had done.

"You still there?" Nick asked her softly, his tone changed as he got his anger under control.

"Yeah. Just thinking," she said softly. She was so drained.

"I'm sorry. I know this is all still fresh and you're hurting. I shouldn't have.."

"No, you should have," she cut him off. "I need the reminder of why. I didn't know he had another child. His wife and sister only rubbed the other two in my face." Now she could understand why Flora had been so angry with Alex and her. She couldn't blame her.

"Which airport are you flying into?" he asked. "We need to get you home."

"New York City. I couldn't get one to Pennsylvania any time soon. I want out of here as soon as possible." She desperately needed to be alone.

"Do you want me to send a plane to New York City to pick you up?" Nick asked.

She sighed. "I don't know. I should come home, but at the same time, I just want to be alone so I can fall apart. I might just go back to my dorm in Ohio." Where she'd been with Alex. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

"You need your pack. It'll help you being around those that love you. You have the week off. I still haven't held the meeting yet because your father has been gone all day. Why don't you call him and have him wait for you? He hasn't left New York City yet, though he's supposed to here shortly," Nick informed her.

She was close to breaking down. She took several shuddering breaths and a small sob escaped her as the heartache overwhelmed her.

"Noelle," Nick said softly, catching her attention. "Focus on me."

She forced the tears back. Not yet. She was stronger than this. "I called him a little bit ago. It went straight to voicemail."

"I'll get ahold of him. You just get to New York. If I have to come pick you up from there myself, I will. Someone will be there for you," he reassured her.

"Okay. Thank you, Nick," she whispered.

"Always," he said softly, before disconnecting the call.