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

Chapter 3

Noelle woke the next morning and after getting ready for the day, packed up her bag for the trip. She wasn't sure if she would be coming back here or going to her dorm to stay until the ball. She tossed everything she might need inside. Her dress was already at school, waiting for her.

She'd talked to her father last night about going on this trip. He'd been surprised Nick had agreed to take her. "Just be careful. Be very observant. Always be aware of your surroundings."

Her mother had been less thrilled by it all but Daniel had reassured Jenna that Noelle would be fine and she would one day be doing pack visits herself.  Noelle could still see the conflict in Jenna's eyes over it all. But she never said a word.

After breakfast, she'd spent time with her little brother, Oliver. She took him swimming in the pool for a bit, then they sat up in his room playing with his toys. Noelle had been seventeen when Oliver had been born and she had spoiled him rotten before she'd left for college.

Aria, her sister, had also spoiled him as well. Noelle knew it had been hard on him having both of his sisters leave for college when he was so young. Like her, Oliver was more attached to their father than he was to Jenna, and Daniel brought him everywhere in the pack house. But Oliver also spent a good deal of his time with Caleb and Charlotte as well. He had his own playroom at their apartment and she knew for a fact that Caleb sat in there on the floor, playing with whatever toys Oliver wanted to play with. It cracked her up that the most powerful werewolves in the world were completely enamored with a five year old boy.

The new pups were also both boys and Dr. Ben said they were identical. He'd been keeping a close eye on them throughout Jenna's pregnancy and was happy that everything was going well. But as her pregnancy progressed, Noelle could see her mother was always tired and she was glad Jenna had plenty of help from Charlotte, her father and everyone else.

"Noelle, it's still easier than being pregnant when I was human," Jenna has told her more than once. Jenna had started life as a human, and Daniel had turned her into a werewolf. He, his father, and Noelle were the only werewolves in the world capable of turning humans.

Jenna had been pregnant with Noelle while she was still human. She'd had a lot on her plate then, as she'd been taking care of her own mother, who'd had cancer and passed away a month after Noelle was born. She'd also been separated from her mate at the time, though she hadn't known Daniel was her mate, but she still was feeling the effects of the bond and the sadness of being separated from him for so long.

Her mother had slept with her father and then left, unaware of the fact that she was mated to a werewolf or that she was pregnant. It had taken Daniel a year to find her, as Jenna's own father, Mitch, had done everything he could to keep her hidden from the man who was looking for her. He hadn't been aware of the full situation either and had regretted it later. He now lived at the pack house himself and had become a werewolf as well. Between her mother and Noelle's uncle Tyler, Mitch Browning had nine grandpups with two more on the way.

Noelle also had two more uncles that were both human, Jonah and Michael. Both were well aware of the werewolf community and visited the pack house frequently. Michael was a police officer and married with two children, while Jonah was retiring from the Marines, following in his father's footsteps. He never had married, and he was going to be moving into the pack house as soon as he was out. Noelle wondered if he would end up becoming a werewolf as well. She also wondered if he had a mate out there. Having a human mate was rare, but it tended to run in human families. Jenna and one of her brothers both had mates, and since her father had become a werewolf, he had also recently been mated as well.

Noelle had seen Nick at breakfast and lunch, though he didn't speak to her until lunch. Nick usually sat with Ragnar and his mate Talia and their pups, and Elijah and Cora who also had one pup. Elijah was Nick's older brother and Daniel's Gamma.

He had surprised her by sitting down next to her at lunch. She'd chosen to sit with Oliver who had greeted him very enthusiastically. Nick had spent several moments talking to Oliver, melting Noelle's heart. They'd discussed certain toys and movies and Oliver had told him all about going swimming that morning.

Once they were done chatting, Nick had turned his attention to her, giving her his half smile. "Meet me out front at three?"

"I'll be there," Noelle told him.

He'd left after that and headed over to his usual spot. Noelle turned her attention back to her food and her family. She was surprised he'd even stopped. He could have easily mind linked her. But he'd made Oliver happy and she knew her brother would probably talk about Nick on and off all afternoon.

Noelle made a point to be outside early at the appropriate time. She didn't want to keep him waiting and start the trip out on the wrong foot. She sat in one of the rockers on the front porch, staring out over the front yard, though her mind was elsewhere. Hopefully by this weekend, she'd be with her new mate.

Nick walked out a few moments later, his bag slung over his shoulder. "Ready?" he called as he stepped off the porch.

"Yup." Noelle stood and slung her own bag over her shoulder and followed him out to the small fleet of black SUVs that belonged to the pack. Nick tossed his bag in the back seat of one and she did the same, then crawled into the passenger seat.

The drive to the pack's private landing strip was short and he was quiet. Noelle stared out the window, hoping he wasn't going to be like this the entire trip. She was going to have to get him talking some. She wondered if he was regretting bringing her.

Noelle boarded the plane and settled down in a seat, waiting for it to take off. Nick walked over and sat down across from her and buckled his belt. He pulled out his phone.

"So what's the plan?" She asked him once they'd taken off.

He looked up from his phone and shrugged. "I don't always go in with a plan."

"You don't?" She stared at him incredulously. How did he not have a plan? She would have everything planned out before she went in. It just seemed weird not to.

"You know how long I've been doing this?" He asked her, his gaze fully focused on her now.

He was right. He'd been doing this for forever. She sighed, not bothering to answer him. "But you don't walk into this type of situation very often."

"No, but you always observe anyway. Look to see if something is off. Is everyone happy, and healthy looking? Things like that. Though generally Luke can sense when something is wrong," he said, referring to his wolf.

Noelle nodded slowly. It made sense, and she was supposed to be learning from him. "So just observe."

"Yup. How do you want me to introduce you?" His phone dinged and he looked down at it.

Noelle thought about that for a moment. She actually didn't go by Noelle in school. She went by Caroline, which was her middle name. She'd wanted to be there anonymously. It gave her a chance to observe the Alphas in her class without them being on their best behavior. Not that it mattered now. Of the five in her class, three knew who she was.

But, it might be best if Salt Flats didn't know that she was Daniel Remington's daughter. She and Nick were looking for something to be wrong and having the Alpha King's daughter suddenly visit would probably make them nervous. She was a little surprised Nick had asked though. "Just Caroline."

Nick raised an eyebrow at her but nodded. "Okay." She saw him smile as he looked back down.

"Do you think that's dumb?" She asked him curiously.

"In this situation, I think it's smart. Mason has dealt with me before. He knows me. You're the wild card," Nick said.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Noelle asked him.

He shrugged. "Depends on how much of a threat he thinks you are. You're mostly just there to observe though."

After that he was quiet for a bit, and Noelle pulled out her book to read. She wondered if it was because he was just used to being alone. But to her surprise, he did ask her about school, curious about what she was learning and they ended up chatting half the flight, and she found she enjoyed his company.