Mateless And Rogue Bound (Self Published)

Chapter 14: Some Rest and Relaxation

"Are you sure you're okay with it?" Max asked Nick. His childhood friend had been one of the reasons for his worry for a while now.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Max," the chef said. "I was planning on going to lunch with Ed anyway. He's been getting lonely with Emily still gone on her internships."

"Alright," he frowned. He had planned on having lunch with him that day, but him and Charlie had finally gotten a day off together and he had missed having a whole day with his mate. "As long as you're okay with it."

"I'm doing fine, Max," Nick smiled at him. He had been unusually happy the past week. Everyone that knew him was relieved to see the old Nick back, rather than the hollowed-out man that he was when Katy left.

Max still felt bad about that. He worried about one of them finding their mate before the other. Both of them would be devastated. He had hoped that they would both find their mate around the same time. But it seemed like that wasn't going to be the case.

He knew that Nick was destined to find a mate though. Whether or not the man thought he did. If anyone heard the story of how he was born, they would think the same way too. There was a reason why the chefs mother told him that he was a blessing from the Moon Goddess. And Max believed that the goddess wouldn't ever want him to go without someone.

For now, he was glad that Nick found something to make himself happy. Maybe his brothers brought up his spirits or something. Max had been so worried, he contemplated calling Nick's oldest brother to come and visit him. Nick was always so happy to see him.

Max left the kitchen with a weight being lifted from his shoulders. Now that he didn't have to worry about Nick, he could actually enjoy the day with Charlie. Hopefully the man would still be asleep, but he doubted it. Charlie never stayed asleep long after Max got up. They had gotten so used to sleeping next to each other, it was impossible for them to not.

He was going to just talk to Nick through mindlink, but that would take out the personal feeling to it. And he wanted to make sure that Nick was going to be alright before canceling their plans. Now, it seemed like the man was happier that he did. Whatever him and Ed were doing was making him happy. And Max was just happy that his friends were happy.

Ed seemed to find more information on the Rogues than he thought he was going to be able to. Sometime last week, they had started to open up to him more. It was fascinating hearing all the stories that these strangers told.

A part of him wished he could go and talk to them all himself, but he had already tarnished all possibilities of them being able to talk to him normally. He made himself appear as the serious leader so that they wouldn't see him as weak in any way.

Getting them to talk more about themselves was more Ed's expertise anyway.

Max walked into his room and, low and behold, Charlie was nowhere to be found.

"You better be in here somewhere, Apple," he mind linked with him. It was nice to be able to do that with him now. Especially if he missed him when they were both stuck in their offices.

"I'm in the bathroom!" Charlie yelled. He didn't like using the mind link unless he absolutely needed to. Max had learned just how taxing it was for his mate from the first month of him being a member of the pack. He would get horrible headaches from it. When they went to Dr. Button about it, he told them that it was something that would pass. Max was grateful when it did.

Breakfast was already out on their dining table. Most times, the pack didn't all eat together unless it was a holiday. It would be too difficult trying to get everyone together for that three times a day anyway. And it allowed the pack to pick out what they wanted to eat rather than have to eat whatever the Alpha wanted.