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

Chapter 29

"Morning, Noelle," Liam greeted her with a smile.

Astrid looked up and frowned. "What happened?"

Noelle wanted to roll her eyes at her, but she didn't. So much for normalcy. Now all four of them were looking at her curiously, and she felt like the spotlight was shining brightly on her. She supposed they hadn't heard the news yet. "Why do you think something happened?"

Astrid shrugged. "Stella says you're not okay."

She sighed and sat down. If she even thought she was going to get away with no one knowing about Alex, she was delusional. "Stella's always right."

Astrid looked at her patiently. "You know you're going to end up telling us. Might as well spill."

She saw Liam smirk as he wrapped his arm around her. Her gaze darted over to Finn and Emily who were both cuddled up close as well. She still felt a bit jealous. She couldn't help it. Her mating had gone so wrong and now her second chance was sitting on the other side of the room ignoring her. "I found my mate."

They all looked at her again in surprise, and she saw them all smile happily at her. Except Astrid. She was frowning. Liam looked at her and then frowned himself.

"That's wonderful!" Emily smiled happily at her.

"Congrats Noelle. Where is he?" Finn asked, glancing around

Noelle frowned at him. "He's in Florida."

Finn's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Florida? Why?"

"Because that's where he lives," Noelle muttered, her appetite lost now. She pushed her plate away. So much for breakfast.

Astrid wrapped an arm around her. "What happened?"

"He's an Alpha, married with two kids and another on the way," she said. She couldn't cry again. Alex wasn't worth it. And she had Nick now, though a small part of her wanted to cry over that too, because she felt so uncertain.

"What?" It was the general chorus of all of them and she leaned into Astrid.

"He's eight years older than me." She muttered, staring down at her plate.

"Everglades Pack?" Astrid asked her softly, gently rubbing her back.

Noelle nodded, and swallowed. She needed to get this out and move on. She was tired of talking about it.

Astrid sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"So what happened?" Emily asked. She was very new to the world of werewolves and had just become one. She was full of questions too.

"They rejected each other, which is very painful for both of them," Astrid explained. "The rejection broke their bond."

"So Noelle won't have a mate?" Emily frowned at that. How horrible for her.

"She will. She'll eventually get another mate. The man who rejected her won't though." Astrid clenched her jaw. She had a feeling there was more to this story than Noelle was letting on, but she wouldn't push her. It was too fresh.

Emily nodded, watching Noelle sadly. She loved having a mate, and couldn't imagine finding out her own was married with children. She'd already come close enough to losing Finn as it was. He'd been promised to another and that she-wolf wasn't happy when he chose Emily over her. She'd practically killed Finn and Emily both. Only Noelle changing her to a werewolf had saved her life. Noelle would always have a special place in her heart because of that. She'd given Emily a gift by changing her.

Noelle sighed as she looked up to see Charlotte approach the table. She saw her eyes dart to her untouched plate and she pursed her lips. "I'm heading up now."