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

Chapter 21

Lincoln walked into the dining room for dinner, breathing in deeply. Roast tonight. Brianna made an excellent roast. Linc had watched her make it more than once and knew exactly how she did it. Dinner would be delicious.

He'd never made her roast himself though, but he supposed if he was cooking for the pack, he'd probably give it a try. The pack was spoiled after her excellent cooking. But Lincoln knew he'd also make some of his own dishes. Meals he'd only ever made for himself and Gina.

Lincoln glanced around as he walked over to the buffet line, his eyes searching for silvery hair. He found his cousin and frowned.

Aidan was alone in the dining room for dinner. Well, not alone, but not with his mate, which Lincoln found rather disappointing. He'd noticed that right away. He noticed that Xavier was also alone and his mate was missing as well. Hm. That was interesting. He had a feeling they'd both become werewolves since lunch.

Linc got in line at the buffet, made himself a plate and headed over to the table and sat down. "How come you two are all alone?" He glanced back and forth between the two of them.

Xavier looked up at him. "Well hello to you too," he deadpanned.

Lincoln gave him a sardonic smile. "Hello." Yeah, he guessed that hadn't been much of a greeting. Though if Xavier's mate was upstairs asleep, that might be the reason he was stressed out.

Lincoln stiffed a sigh, wondering if he'd have to go through this, if his mate was currently a human. At some point, she'd be a werewolf though. Maddox knew her wolf's name. Jules. It was a pretty name.

"Our mates were changed after lunch. They've both shifted and now they're both sleeping it off," Aidan informed him.

Lincoln nodded as he sat down. They'd probably sleep most of the night. Shifting for the first time took a lot out of you. He remembered when he'd shifted for the first time. He'd slept for almost sixteen hours.

"What's your interest in my mate?" Aidan suddenly asked, looking up at Lincoln.

Leave it to Aidan to get straight to the point, but now he'd piqued Xavier's interest as well, and the Alpha leaned forward, studying Lincoln. "Speaking of women, what are you even doing here? You never eat here. Did you move back in while I was gone?"

Xavier had been in a plane crash and had ended up suffering from memory loss. He'd disappeared for the last four months, and it had taken Regal Eclipse quite a while to find him. He'd only been back a few days. This was only the second time Lincoln had seen him since he'd disappeared.

"He hasn't moved back in," Aidan said before shoveling another forkful of roast into his mouth.

"Actually I did move back in," Linc told them both. Well mostly he had. He'd slept here last night.

"Why? I thought you and Gina were staying together out at your house."  Aidan frowned at him.

"We broke up yesterday." Linc stabbed his roast with his fork, half wishing it was Gina's lover.

Both of their eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What?" Xavier sat back, shock on his face, as he looked Linc over.

"Can I ask why?" Aidan asked him. "You've been with her for what? Five years now?"

"Almost. She cheated on me. Has been for months apparently," Linc said quietly, which made more surprise show up on their faces. Yeah he'd been surprised too.

"That sucks," Aidan muttered, a look of disgust on his face.

"Sorry to hear that," Xavier said quietly.

"So you're moving back in then?" Aidan asked him. "Or are you keeping the house?"

"Yeah. I've been moving stuff back in all day. There's too many memories in that place. I have no desire to stay there by myself," Lincoln said. "Though she showed up there this afternoon trying to get me to take her back." 

"Are you considering it?" Xavier asked him.

"No. She cheated on me. She walked in late smelling like another man yesterday. I had made her dinner and taken two days off to spend time with her, and she shows up smelling like sex and another man. And then she had the audacity to ask me to fuck her one more time today when she showed up at the house." Lincoln shook his head. He hadn't expected that, and almost wished he hadn't gone there earlier. She was a temptation he didn't need.

"Did you consider it?" Aidan asked curiously.

He huffed out a breath. "Yeah. Sex with her was great. She liked it kinky."

"How kinky?" Aidan asked, lifting a brow.

Linc lifted a brow at him. "She was a masochist. She liked it rough."

"Damn," Xavier muttered. "I didn't take her for that."

Aidan's eyes widened. "Neither did I."

"I had a lot of fun with her. She was pretty much up for anything. But here's the thing. We weren't technically living together. She has an apartment, and she's been trying to get me to move in with her and I kept telling her no. Her apartment is like a half hour away from my house. And then the other night, I dreamed about my mate for the first time, and I started thinking about Gina and how good it was between us, and I'd decided I wanted to take her as my Chosen. I had a nice dinner planned and all that and she comes in late smelling like another man. She fucked him right before she came home to me."

Both men immediately got disgusted looks on their faces. There was nothing worse than having the woman you cared about showing up smelling like sex with someone else. Yeah, it had been the ultimate betrayal, and for a few hours last night, he'd almost hated the fact that his sense of smell was so good. Almost.

'But wouldn't you rather know? Especially if we're to take her as a Chosen Mate?' Maddox had asked. 

Of course he was right. He didn't want to be having sex with a woman who was having sex with someone else when she wasn't with him. He could never trust her. Especially if she'd been cheating on him for months. He wondered if it was with the same guy, and if that guy knew Gina had been sleeping with Lincoln too. It was better all the way around that he knew.

He knew he'd been hurt, betrayed and also furious. He still felt that way. He'd been so furious with her last night. It was part of the reason he hadn't moved from the table. He'd been too angry with her, and so he'd kept a tight rein on his emotions, remaining seated there in the kitchen, not bothering to touch the meal he'd made. What a waste that has been. What a waste all of it has been.

"Still doesn't explain your interest in my mate," Aidan told him, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Why do you think he's interested in your mate?" Xavier asked Aidan.

"Because I kept looking at her throughout lunch," Linc explained ruefully. "But I'm truly not interested in her. She sort of resembles the woman I keep dreaming about. Not totally. Their coloring is similar. It was just a shock to see her. That's all."  He left out the fact that he thought she was absolutely gorgeous. Aidan already knew she was and wouldn't appreciate Linc reminding him of it. Aidan would no doubt kick his ass if he did, and he'd deserve it.

Aidan's eyes widened in surprise at Linc's words as he leaned forward, resting his arms on the table, though he finally nodded. "So you started having mate dreams finally?"

Linc shot a glare at him. "When you guys had your mate dreams, did you always have sex in them?" It was something he'd been thinking about quite a bit that day while he'd been packing up his crap. Of all the dreams he'd had of her, they'd never had sex. She'd never been naked. She was always wearing that blue dress. He hadn't even kissed her though he had held her in his arms.

Aidan's eyes flickered at his question and Xavier just smirked. His mate has already made an impact on him, softening him a bit. It wasn't a bad thing. He'd noticed the same thing with Aidan.

"I didn't start having them until after I met Ana. Then, yes. Every single night. I love it and hated it," Aidan muttered with a sigh, stabbing his baked potato in annoyance.