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

Chapter 16

Lincoln spent most of the evening packing up his things. It was past time to go home. At least he was off today. He'd made sure of it as he'd planned to spend the evening with Gina. Making her cum. Making her scream his name. He shook his head. No more of that. 

He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she'd cheated on him, and had been doing so for months. He wouldn't dream of cheating. It was such a foreign concept to him, but she'd done so. Repeatedly.

He took one more look around the place. He'd come back, but he wanted to make sure he had everything he might need for a few days. He wasn't sure he wanted to come back right away, but then again, he might come back sooner rather than later so that he could get it over with.

Linc climbed inside of his truck and tossed the bag down in the passenger seat, then headed back home. Home. He really needed to spend some time with his pack. It would improve his mood. He hadn't spent much time with them lately.

He usually only was back at the pack house to use the gym or to hang out with his friends, though most of the time that was at Dylan and Damien's house.  

Dylan and Damien had both found their mates. Identical twins for the identical twins. But their mates had been separated when they were very young and just recently were reunited. Linc liked both of them quite well, though they were young. Not that it mattered. They were happy and that was all that was important.

Aidan, Linc's cousin, had found his mate as well, and then lost her after a night of sex. He wasn't quite sure what was going on with him, but knew that if Aidan didn't find her, he would be forced to take a Chosen Mate. Linc shuddered at that. Yes, he'd considered taking Gina as his Chosen, but the situation was different. He'd been in a relationship with Gina for quite some time, and didn't have a bond with another woman. Aidan had that bond, and it would make it extremely difficult for him to even touch another woman unless he broke it. 

Zane, Aidan's younger brother, was still single, and Xavier, Dylan and Damien's cousin, had apparently found his mate as well. Linc had yet to meet her, but as of right now, he knew Xavier had just come back with her. His great, great grandfather had been keeping him informed about that situation. Xavier had been in a plane crash and disappeared for four months. He'd found his mate during that time.

It somewhat annoyed Linc because out of all of them, he was the eldest, and he was still unmated. Maybe if he'd found his mate before now, he wouldn't be hurting the way he was. Months of her sleeping with someone else. He shook his head. It really hurt to know how callous she'd been. Giving herself to both him and someone else. He sighed softly. He had to let it go and move on.

Linc pulled into the garage and into his regular parking spot. He grabbed his bag and got out of the truck then headed up to the pack house and on inside. He took the elevator up to his room and walked inside, glad that he'd never had Gina in it. He would have though. He was definitely glad he'd found out she was cheating on him before he'd told her what he was and asked her to be his. 

He walked back to his bedroom and on into the closet, quickly putting his stuff away. He wanted a shower and bed. 

His thoughts drifted to his mate, and he sighed. He should have picked her over Gina. It would have been the wise thing to do. Instead, he'd made the wrong decision and it had bit him in the ass.

'Could have told you that,' his wolf, Maddox, said sharply. 

Linc snorted. 'Did you know she was cheating?'

'Not certain. But I did suspect,' Maddox told him.

'Why didn't you say so?' 

'Because you were too busy thinking with your dick. We need a she-wolf. Mate is perfect for us. Gina is not. Never was,' Maddox said, annoyed.

'You should have told me that you felt that way,' Linc told him, rubbing a hand over his face. He would have never even considered it if Maddox had spoken up.

'You learned your lesson. Mate is the only one for us,' Maddox replied confidently.

Lin sighed as he slipped off his clothes and got in the shower. Once he finished, he crawled in bed. What a day it had been. And he had probably almost made the biggest mistake of his life.

He rolled on his side, getting comfortable and dozed off.

His mate was there in his dreams again, beautiful like always. He walked up to her and pulled her against him. It was the first time in his dreams he'd touched her. "What's your name?"

She smiled at him and shook her head. "You don't need to know that yet. You'll learn soon. Are you going to reject me?"

"No. I want you. You'll be mine, beautiful," he murmured, leaning down towards her, his eyes on her lips.

"I'm not beautiful," she whispered and suddenly disappeared, leaving him standing there alone. 

Linc suddenly woke. He glanced up at the time. It was 2am. He breathed out slowly as his mind went back to the dream he'd just had. Why did she seem convinced he was going to reject her? How would she even know anything about that?

He rubbed a hand over his face, then turned on his side, staring off into space. Why did she think she wasn't beautiful? That one blew his mind. She was gorgeous.

Linc had heard plenty of mate dream stories over the years. He knew it didn't always happen, and typically after you met your mate, it happened only when you were apart from them.

He also knew sometimes it sort of worked as a way of communication, not that the other person could control what was said, but maybe it was a way of their wolves communicating. He had no idea. 'Maddox?'

'Why are we awake?'

Linc snorted. Maddox hated being woken up. His wolf could be rather crabby about it. 'Mate dream.'

Maddox was quiet for a long moment. 'Her wolf is dark. Black. Solid black. Beautiful.'

'Why does she think we're going to reject her?'

'I don't know. Maybe because you sort of were,' Maddox mumbled, annoyed.

Link frowned. He supposed in a way they were going to. But it wasn't quite the same thing as a rejection. Would she have gotten another mate? He really had no idea. He cursed under his breath. He might have been seriously screwing her over. And the thought had never even crossed his mind until now. 'I'm an asshole.' He felt sick thinking about it.

Maddox didn't reply to that. 'Mate is beautiful,' he said instead.

'I agree. I'm not really sure why she doesn't think she is. She's gorgeous. Do you know her name?' Probably not, but he figured he'd ask. He was surprised Maddox knew what her wolf looked like.

'No. But I do know her wolf's name,' he said quietly.

'What is it?' Linc found himself suddenly wanting to know everything about her.

His wolf didn't answer him right away seeming to think that over. Finally, he responded. 'Her name is Jules.'

Jules. He like that name. 'So, she's a she-wolf.'

'I don't know. Probably but she may be human destined to be a wolf,' Maddox said, then yawned.

That wasn't helpful but at least he learned something about her tonight. About this mysterious woman that he was destined to be with. That he'd almost walked away from. He'd been such an idiot.

Not that it really mattered at the moment. He really didn't need to get into another relationship right away. Mate or not. Though if she showed up in his life, he wasn't about to let her go. He at least wanted to be her friend, if nothing else. 'How about we go for a run?'

'How about we go back to sleep?' Maddox retorted.

'Lame ass.'

'Sensible.'

Linc rolled his eyes but got comfortable. 'Good night, Maddox.'

'Night. And we'll meet her soon. Really soon.'

Linc started to respond, then stopped himself. How soon? He doubted Maddox knew but he supposed he'd find out soon enough.