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

Chapter 25

She rubbed at her eyes as she sat back and took several deep breaths. She felt like she was being crushed under the weight of heartbreak and betrayal. It hurt to breath right now, and she was beyond miserable.

She felt so alone even though she was surrounded by humans. They all had their own problems, she knew. The smell of werewolf floated under her nose, and she looked up to see a couple walk by. They both looked at her and nodded. She nodded back, feeling slightly less alone, even though she had no idea who they were. Hopefully not members of Everglades Pack, she thought ruefully.

The sound of her flight being called caught her attention and she stood and swung her bag over her shoulder. She felt a bit relieved. If she never returned to Orlando again, it would be too soon. She knew it would be inevitable at some point but hopefully not any time soon. Alex had just put a major strain on his relationship with the Royal Pack. Rejecting her would have been one thing, but he'd taken it way beyond that.

Once she was seated on the plane, Noelle tried her best to focus on anything and everything but Alex and her heartache. She pulled out her book and buried her face in it, but it was hard for her to concentrate and the words blended together. The thought of dozing crossed her mind, but she was uncomfortable doing so. The man sitting next to her had already eyed her in a way she hadn't appreciated and she wasn't about to drop her guard. Could this day get any worse?

Halfway through the flight, her phone went off and she breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw a text from her father. He was going to wait in New York City for her. She texted him back, letting him know what time her flight would arrive. Just a little bit longer and she could fall apart. She was so thankful Nick had managed to reach him before he left. She needed the comfort he would provide.

A few hours later, she was walking through the airport in New York City, happy to be almost home. Her father was standing there waiting on her. She'd never been so glad to see him in her life, and for a moment, she let herself be a little girl again and hurried over to him and into his arms. He scooped her up. "Daddy," she whispered.

"Who do I need to kill?" He asked, hugging her tightly for a long moment, before setting her back down.

"Let's go and I'll tell you. I need to get away from everyone," she muttered.

"Okay." He took her bag and they walked outside and got into a car. A man drove them to their plane and they boarded it.

Noelle threw herself down into a seat and waited impatiently for the plane to take off. Daniel sat down next to her and took her arm in his.

Her father had brown hair like her own and blue eyes. He still looked as though he was her age. He was a very good looking man even though he was getting close to being four hundred years old. Like all werewolves, he was heavily muscled, his dress shirt stretched tightly across his chest. She didn't see him dress up much, as he preferred jeans and a T-shirt. "Do you want me to go kill him?"

"No." She was afraid of how badly that would hurt. She was already hurting enough as it was.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay. You know I love you, right?" He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb.

"I know. I love you too." She wanted to break so badly. She bit her lip hard.

Daniel pushed the armrest up between them and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against him. "Go ahead and fall apart," he whispered.

She cried then, letting it all out as he father held her. She was so heartbroken and wondered if she would ever recover. She was so hurt. She sobbed into his chest, gut wrenching sobs and he held her, stroking her back and not saying a word.