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

Chapter 11

Over the next few months, Gen had to get used to the fact that she was now a werewolf. It was weird, and she still had moments when she didn't believe it. She thought she might be losing her mind. Hallucinating and Delusion were words that crossed her mind frequently.

Jules liked to talk, though, and she always seemed to know what Gen was thinking and was always responding to it. At times, she drove Gen a bit insane with her constant, incessant commentary.

'I don't understand why it bothers you,' Jules said with a huff, looking a bit offended.

'Because for the first twenty-four years of my life, it was just my own running commentary. Now it's yours and mine!' Gen retorted in exasperation.

Jules had thought that was hilarious. Her wolf had much more of a sense of humor than she did. 'You love me.'

She wasn't sure about that, but she had come to develop some affection for the crazy wolf. Jules made her days much more interesting than they had been. She was quickly becoming Gen's best friend. She also liked to read, which Gen found rather fascinating. 'How do you know how to read?'

'You know how to, so I do as well,' Jules explained happily, her attention focused on the book in Gen's hands.

Jules was happy whether Gen was or not. She was always happy. A pure optimist. And she loved romance novels. She seemed to be a romantic at heart. Her favorite books were the mafia and werewolf romance. Especially the werewolf, which was no surprise. She read every word Gen did, sighing softly in delight at the romantic parts.

Gen learned that some of the werewolf books were fairly accurate, and some were not. Jules would point that out to her, letting her know which parts were completely untrue. 'This author has no idea what's true. They're definitely not a werewolf,' Jules would grumble, which made Gen laugh. Jules seemed to get offended when the books were off.

Her favorite author was Astrid Asgrim, and she was quickly becoming Gen's favorite author as well. The woman had written tons of books and told a good story. Gen enjoyed each and every one of them she read. Her TBR list was full of Astrid's books.

'Her books are very accurate, with minor things that are untrue. I bet you she's a werewolf,' Jules said smugly.

Gen had just laughed about that, but she agreed that Astrid was a fabulous author. She'd read over the parts dealing with mates very carefully. 'Is this what you were talking about, Jules?'

'Yes. Mates are very real. We have one somewhere. We'll come across him soon. We're destined to be with him.'

Gen frowned. She had a feeling her own mate would probably reject her. No one wanted a sick woman as ugly as she was. Or as sheltered as she was. She was completely uninteresting.

'Gen. You're being ridiculous,' Jules protested.

'No, I'm just being practical.'

She didn't know a wolf could roll its eyes, but Jules rolled them quite frequently. She knew this was a discussion she wouldn't win, but then neither would Jules. Her wolf was just as stubborn as she was. Jules seemed to have some of the same qualities that she did.

Jules had told her repeatedly that there was nothing wrong with her, but Gen just couldn't let herself believe that, so she chose not to even think about it. It was better that way. Safer. She couldn't get her hopes up. Ever. It was dangerous for her to do so.

But she had to admit that ever since Jules had shown up in her mind, she had never felt better. She didn't hurt at all now, and she could barely remember being pain-free. She had always hurt before. Always. Now, though, for the first time in her life, she felt amazing. And she actually had an appetite.

She didn't ache all over, and she felt stronger than she ever had in her life. She felt normal for a change. Or at least what she supposed normal should feel like.

She kept it to herself, though, for the most part. She and Jules made the decision that she would tell no one that she was a werewolf. And for now, she stuck to her typical schedule and still remained at home most of the time. Though she didn't want to. The only time she left was when she and Jules snuck out to shift at night, while her mother was at work.

That was usually when she ate, too. Her appetite was unreal, and Jules said it was because her metabolism was so much higher now. If her mother noticed, she didn't say anything. She would occasionally ask Gen how she was feeling, but Gen just told her she was fine, which was her normal response.

Melissa just went about her life like everything was fine, and Gen was just happy she hadn't ended up back in the hospital. This was turning out to be one of her longer stints out, and it made her a bit relieved.

But her biggest concern anymore was her father. Coleman had disappeared after his visit with her when he'd given her that drink. He hadn't called her again after that, or anyone else. It wasn't the first time her father had disappeared like this, but he'd never been gone this long before. It had been over two months now.

Ana had begun investigating his disappearance. Gen knew her mother had insisted that they not call the cops, which Ana hadn't liked. "This is their jurisdiction, Mom. Not mine."

"I'm aware, but your father would not want them to be called. Besides, he's probably going to turn up any day with some silly story about his disappearance. He'll be fine," her mother had said.

Gen knew she was worried, but there was little she could do about it. Ana would be the one to find him. She was the detective. Gen knew she'd gotten all of his things and was combing through them.

Ana had called and asked her about their last dinner together and how he'd seemed. She wanted to know details about their visit.

"He was the way he always is. He was his upbeat, cheery self." Gen wasn't about to tell her about the strange drink that her father had asked her to try or the fact that she'd started to think that's what changed her into a werewolf.

Jules hadn't stated her opinion one way or another on that one. The wolf really seemed to have no idea how in the world Gen had suddenly become a werewolf. 'If you were born a werewolf, I would have appeared much earlier, when you were fifteen. Maybe it was the drink. Maybe not. I truly don't know.'

Gen was still keeping that information to herself, but as time went on, she began to tentatively hope that she really was okay. It made her sad that she couldn't talk to her father about it. Maybe he would know, though she had to wonder where he'd gotten the drink from. Or maybe she was better off not knowing.

She wasn't sure what he'd expected the drink to do to her or even where he'd gotten it. He hadn't offered her any explanation, and she hadn't asked. Maybe she should have. But then, of all the things she'd expected to happen to her from drinking his drink, becoming a werewolf was definitely not one of them. Who would ever expect that? No one. Unless that's specifically what you were going for. Did anyone actually go for that?

Not that being a werewolf was actually a bad thing, Gen was quickly realizing. Jules was right when she said that Gen wouldn't just randomly shift and kill people. They controlled when they shifted, and sometimes Gen was in control, and sometimes Jules was.

Gen loved when she was, though. She loved the feel of stretching out her legs and rushing through the woods behind their house. It was the most amazing feeling. One thing she was definitely glad that she was able to experience.

The more time went by, the more Gen began to think she might actually live longer than she thought she would. She might see her next birthday. Though frankly, now it was like her life had just truly begun.