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

Chapter 19

Lincoln made it back to the pack house right before lunch. He still needed to unload his truck, but it could wait. He was probably going to go back this afternoon anyway and get another load of stuff. He grabbed a few things he could carry right now, then headed inside, taking the elevator up to his apartment. He dropped the stuff in one of the spare rooms that had nothing in it. That would have to work for now. He'd go through the stuff later and find somewhere to put it all.

He was also going to have to find someone to go with him eventually to help him move the furniture out, but that would be the last thing he did.

Once he'd gotten rid of his stuff, he went and washed up before he headed down to the dining hall. He walked inside, breathing in the scents. Roast chicken with vegetables and freshly baked bread. His mouth watered. Even if it was the noonday meal, Brianna still made a substantial meal. The werewolves' appetites demanded it.

She was so used to feeding them all that it didn't faze her, and Lincoln realized this was what he would need to do as well. He'd need to make enough food for a pack of hungry wolves. Brianna had outfitted her kitchen, making sure that she had everything she needed to make her job easier. He couldn't even imagine how she did it all back in the day before modern appliances. Had she cooked over a fire? Of course, the pack had been smaller then, but still, it had to have been a lot of work.

Now, she had a walk-in cooler, a walk-in freezer, a huge rotisserie, a huge griddle, multiple stoves, multiple ovens, and all sorts of other things, along with plenty of help. Linc knew that taking on the job would be a lot of work. But it was something he enjoyed. He loved it with a passion. Maybe he'd get lucky and his mate would like to cook too.

He walked up to the buffet and got in line. He hadn't been here for breakfast; instead, he'd eaten in the kitchen. He didn't normally, but Brianna had asked him to keep an eye on things while she slipped out. He hadn't minded.

He got in line at the buffet, aware of eyes on him. No doubt wondering why he was here. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten in the dining hall. He usually did all of his own cooking, experimenting and playing with ideas in his mind. He'd of course cooked for Gina a lot too, letting her try different things. She'd raved over his meals, telling him he was making her fat.

Once his plate was made, he walked over to the table where his cousins and their mates were seated. He did see them frequently, but usually it was at Dylan and Damien's house or his own. His gaze settled on the female seated next to Aidan, and his heart stopped.

Pale blond, almost silver hair cascaded down her back. She had beautiful, pale blue eyes. She was gorgeous, but the thing that shocked him was that she looked like his mate. He frowned. She wasn't, though. He knew that. Her scent didn't call to his wolf, and Maddox was barely interested in her. But still, Linc couldn't help but stare at her. She looked up at him and smiled. No, she didn't quite look like his mate; she just had similar coloring.

"Lincoln."

Lincoln tore his gaze from the beautiful female to his cousin as he sat down. Aidan looked rather annoyed. "Aidan. How are you?'

"Good. This is my mate, Ana." He wrapped his arm around the female Lincoln had been staring at.

This gorgeous female was his mate? Ana? The one he'd been looking for? And here he was, staring at her like an idiot. He knew Aidan had noticed. Which explained why he looked annoyed. Not that Linc would ever dream of touching her. He wasn't an asshole, and given that he'd been cheated on, he definitely wouldn't put his cousin through something like that.

"Ana, my cousin, Lincoln."

She smiled at Linc, making his breath catch. He couldn't sit here and stare at her, he reminded himself. Aidan would get more pissed if he did. He would, too, if she were his. He'd already been pissed enough that someone had his hands all over Gina, and she hadn't been his mate. He was still pissed that she'd allowed it, had wanted it. He sighed internally. It would have been so much worse if Gina had been his mate. "You found her?"

"More like she found me," Aidan smirked.

He bet there was a story behind that. One he'd ask his cousin about when his mate wasn't around. "It's nice to meet you, Ana." He smiled back at her. Mate or not, she was beautiful.

"Nice to meet you, too," she responded.

Linc turned his attention back to his meal, though he couldn't help but glance at her more than once, though he tried not to make it obvious. Besides the fact that Aidan would probably beat the shit out of him, he might weird her out, too. He half listened to the others talk, though he was lost in his own thoughts.

Ana was human, which made him curious. He'd known she was; Aidan had told him that before. It was part of the reason she'd disappeared, and he'd been unable to find her for the last five months. She'd had no idea that she was Aidan's mate.

Linc finished, then stood. "I'll catch you all later." He glanced at Ana one more time before he walked out of the dining hall. Now he sort of wanted to go take a nap so he could see his mate again. If she showed. Part of him didn't like the fact that she'd abruptly disappeared last night in his dreams after he'd asked her for her name.

He sighed softly as he headed down the hall and stepped on the elevator. He had a feeling he'd pissed Aidan off today. He hadn't really set out to, but he couldn't help himself. She was gorgeous. And her coloring was very similar to his mate's. If they were at a bar, and she was single, he might have considered making a move on her. But he had to stop his thoughts there. Aidan would kill him, and frankly, he'd deserve it. But apparently, he has a thing for blonds.

But still, a part of him had wanted to reach out and touch that hair of hers that reminded him so much of his mate's. To see how soft it really was. And then Aidan would definitely murder him. Or cut his dick off. He wondered if it would grow back. He snorted. Immortality might have its perks, but that was one thing he'd never willingly test.

Maybe he should go back to his rental and get the rest of his things out. He was too restless for his own good. Too on edge. He half wished he was working tonight just to get his mind off of everything. Putting all of his focus into cooking would be a good distraction. He usually could focus solely on that and not really think about other things, like Aidan's mate. Or his own. Or Gina. The cheater.

When the elevator dinged, he headed out to his truck and began to load everything onto a cart. He got it moved back up to his apartment and into the spare room fairly quickly. Then he took the cart back down to the first floor via the service elevator and got back into his truck. He started the engine and headed back to his house. It was actually a pretty nice day for it being February. No snow, which was not a bad thing.

His house was only about ten minutes from their territory, and it took him no time to get there. Hopefully, he could get most of it done today.

She was there when he arrived, and he sighed in annoyance as he got out. He couldn't help but look her over, and thoughts of her on her knees with his cock down her throat entered his mind. Of the last time they'd fucked. He felt his body react to it, which annoyed him to no end. He wasn't about to touch her now. Not after she'd willingly cheated on him. He didn't want to be aroused by her. "Gina, what are you doing here?"