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

Chapter 2

The gym was empty, which didn't really surprise her. It was used mostly in the morning. She slipped off the t-shirt she'd been wearing and adjusted her sports bra, then walked over to a treadmill to warm up. She started with a brisk walk, then cranked it up to a run.

Nick joined her a bit later, getting on a treadmill as well for a bit. When she slowed down to a walk, he came over and talked her into sparing with him which she easily agreed to. She loved it, but there weren't many people she could fully let loose on without seriously hurting them.

When she was at school, she had to hold back on the Alphas in her class or she'd do some serious damage to them. But with Nick, she didn't have to hold back. She could beat the crap out of him and he'd take it. Of course, he'd beat the crap out of her in return.

Her father's Beta, Ragnar had trained her since she was young and was usually the one she spared with, though she would spar with Nick when he was home. Both of them were much closer to her own strength than anyone else except her own father and grandfather, and given that they were much bigger than her, they made her work.

Nick came at her aggressively today and she took hit after hit from him. She was going to be a little sore from this. If she was a normal werewolf, she'd be bruised up pretty good, but Noelle wasn't normal and the bruising faded quickly. She'd be sore for a bit after, but nothing a hot bath couldn't fix.

"Are you distracted?" Nick asked after a particularly hard hit.

"No." She slammed her fist into Nick's rock hard abs and heard a sharp crack. She looked up at him and saw the pain flash across his handsome face. She'd broken his ribs. She stepped back from him, and watched his eyes close. "Sorry," she muttered. He'd heal up in a few moments but it still hurt badly. She'd had her own ribs broken more than once.

Nick walked away from her, taking a few shallow breaths, and Noelle watched him warrily. She reached up to wipe away the sweat on her forehead and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground, the wind knocked out of her and Nick was on top of her, his much larger body pinning her to the mat. She stared up at him in shock and he smirked at her. "You let your guard down."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Just when I was feeling bad."

"You should feel bad. I think you enjoy breaking my ribs," he chuckled, still keeping her pinned.

She smiled up at him. "Maybe." She squirmed underneath him a bit, and saw his eyes flash as he stared down at her. She bit her lip, and saw his eyes flick down to them.

For a moment, she thought he might kiss her, but instead he got up and hauled her up as well, the moment gone and they continued for a while more before finally calling it quits. She'd avoided punching him so hard in the ribs again, knowing he might not take it as kindly the next time. She couldn't blame him either. She'd probably find herself pinned again under him.

"I'm going up to my apartment to take a shower," Nick said, heading to the door. "You coming?"

"To your apartment?" She joked.

He laughed. "You can scrub my back after you spent the afternoon beating the crap out of me."

Noelle followed him out of the gym and up to the elevator. She slipped on behind him and stood off to the side, watching him use the tail of his shirt to wipe his face. She licked her lips at the sight of his abs. What was it about men's perfectly sculpted abs that made her want to trace them with her tongue?

'Your mind is in the gutter,' Holly commented, making Noelle blush.

"Tomorrow afternoon we'll go," Nick suddenly said to her as the elevator came to a stop. "I'm thinking we'll show up close to dinner. It'll throw them off a bit."

"Okay," she agreed.

The elevator opened and they both stepped off and headed their separate ways.

Noelle entered the apartment quietly. Her parent's bedroom door was shut, and she had a feeling her mother was still sleeping. She headed into her own bedroom. Her sister, Aria was away at college while her little brother, Oliver, was with her grandparents. They'd been keeping him a lot lately so that Jenna could rest. Oliver could be a handful but he loved spending time with Caleb and Charlotte. They spoiled him rotten.

Noelle began to dig through a box, looking for something to change into. She'd spent the last several days that she'd been home from school packing up her things in preparation for her to move out, which she intended to do next week. With the coming twins, the apartment was getting too small. Her parents had talked about building a house but Noelle had convinced them not to, telling them she'd just move out.

"We're not asking you to move out," Daniel had told her, concern on his face.

"I know that. But I'm going to be twenty-three on Christmas. I'm an adult. It makes more sense for you to be here next door to Grandma and Grandpa where they can help easily with the twins," Noelle told him. She was the eldest, though Aria would probably want to move out when she finished college as well. Aria was about to be twenty-one. She was still unmated as well.

Daniel had frowned at her. She could already hear what he was thinking. She was growing up too fast. But when you were immortal and could live as long as you wanted, what did it matter?

She knew though that he would probably keep them as his little girls if he could. He'd adored them, both her and Aria. But she'd been more of a daddy's girl than her sister had been. Perhaps because she knew she'd be Queen one day and would follow in his footsteps.

Noelle loved her mother, but it was her father that she'd followed around as a child. She'd played in his office, attended pack meetings with him and gotten to know the pack leadership very well even as a child. But her father, he'd been her hero, and he still was. He always would be. She wanted to be like him, strong and a force to be reckoned with.

He was a good King, though she knew she may be a bit biased. He was fair, and patient, but he was also harsh when he needed to be. He had to be. But the Alphas respected him, and that's what she wanted. To be respected. She knew it would be more of a battle for her than it had been for him, simply because she was a woman in a world dominated by the Alpha male.

"Besides, if I find my mate I'm going to move out anyway," she'd reminded him.

"I should hope so," he'd retorted, with a smirk.

Next week she would be gone. Not that she was going far. There was an empty apartment on the other end of the building on the same floor. That would be her new home. Hopefully with her mate.

It was the reason Nick had mentioned getting her back in time for the ball. The college she was attending was an all werewolf college, and they held a mating ball every fall. It usually took place the Friday before they got a week off, presumably to give the new couples a week of alone time so that they could get to know each other and complete the mating bond.

Noelle was supposed to be in class this week, but things had changed and she'd ended up with the week off. Those in the pack that were around her own age were either gone, or locked away with their own mates.

Liam, whom she'd become friends with, was spending all of his time with Astrid who he'd been mated to for less than a month, while his brother, Finn was recovering from being injected with silver. He was also spending time with Emily, his mate.

Liam and Astrid were supposed to have a mating ceremony next week but it was postponed as of right now. So much had happened in the last several days, that no one really felt like celebrating.

They would be having three mating ceremonies coming up soon though, she knew. Hopefully four if she found her own mate. She'd have to wait and see.

Noelle headed into the bathroom and flipped on the water. She wanted to take a hot bath to help ease her aching muscles. Nick had done a number on her and she could feel the soreness. She added some oils and Epsom salts, then stripped off her clothes and piled up her hair on top of her head. She grabbed her book and crawled into the tub. She had two hours until dinner and she intended to make the most of them.