The Chef's Sick Mate (Book 17 of the Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 9

Gen jumped at the strange voice and glanced around the bedroom. "Who's there?" There shouldn't be anyone there. The house was empty, and her mother wasn't due back from work for several hours yet. She was fairly certain she would have heard if someone had come in.

'No one is here except you and I,' the voice said calmly.

Gen glanced around wildly. Was she losing her mind? Maybe she really was getting sick, though hallucinations were new. Maybe it was a side effect from the medication she'd been taking? Or whatever it was her father had given her?

'No, you're not losing your mind. But I am inside your mind,' the voice said quietly.

She was losing her mind. What the hell was going on? Was she being possessed? "What do you want?"

'To introduce myself. I'm Jules. Your wolf.'

Her what? She really was losing her mind. She gripped her head in frustration. Why was she even surprised by any of this? She'd been through hell and back. Hallucinations weren't really that bad, were they? In the grand scheme of all of her sickness and side effects? No not really.

'Close your eyes.'

"What? No. I don't trust you." This voice was crazy and Gen wasn't about to let it control her actions. She wasn't that far out of her mind. Yet.

She heard a huffing sound. 'Why would you not trust me? I'm your wolf. We're going to be together until death.'

Gen rolled her eyes. Great. So, she was going to be hallucinating and crazy until she died. At least her death wasn't that far off.

'Wait, why do you think you're going to die so soon?' the voice asked, concern evident in her tone.

"Well if you're in my mind, you tell me," Gen told her sarcastically. Why this? Why on top of everything else that was wrong with her was she now going to be hallucinating and hearing voices?

The voice grew quiet for a while, and Gen frowned, wondering if she'd imagined the entire thing. Maybe that was part of the hallucinations. She closed her eyes then and could see a wolf in her mind. A large beast with dark fur that was sitting, it's large bushy tail flicking back and forth. What the hell was going on?

Fear raced through her as she realized something was seriously wrong with her. Maybe she was dreaming. Maybe she'd fallen asleep. She had been reading that werewolf book. Maybe that's what it was.

'You're not dreaming, Genevieve,' the wolf told her.

Gen sighed softly, as fear raced through her. Something was seriously wrong with her. She took inventory of her body. She felt fine. No, that wasn't true. She felt good. Better than she had all day. A small sigh from the wolf caused her to turn her attention back to the beast. "What are you doing?"

'Going through your memories,' the wolf said solemnly.

Gen froze. That wasn't at all intrusive. "Please don't," she whispered. Like she ever wanted to share her deepest darkest thoughts with anyone. Her longings. Her insecurities. Her morbid sense of humor. All those things she kept to herself, locked right away where no one could see them.

'Genevieve. We share a body now. Your memories are my memories,' the wolf told her softly, her tone laced with concern.

Gen felt a tear fall. "I don't understand what's happening to me." She was scared now about all of this. Something was off. She felt... different. She couldn't pinpoint how either. Everything just seemed off and it was scaring her. Maybe she really was asleep. It was about the only thing that made sense.