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

Chapter 23

His hand tightened around her breast, squeezing it before his lips fastened around one of her nipples, pulling it into his mouth. She moaned, her body writhing against him. His fingers found her entrance and thrust up inside her. "So wet for me."

"Please, Alpha Rowen. Please make love to me. Mark me. Make me yours forever," she cried out, her hips moving up to meet his hand.

"Of course, my love." He moved between her thighs and thrust up inside of her, setting a punishing rhythm.

She clutched him to her as the throes of passion swept through her, as Rowen's lips found hers and he plundered her mouth. Her orgasm hit, sweeping through her as his canines sank into her neck, marking her as his for all eternity.

Her ringing phone roused Gen from the book she was reading, and she rubbed at her eyes. She glanced up at it, then grabbed it. Ana. She hadn't heard from her sister in a few days, even though she knew Ana was on vacation. She answered the call. "Hey Ana."

"Hi, Gen. How are you feeling?" Her sister's voice sounded calm and curious.

"I'm fine. How are you?" It was her standard answer, but today she really meant it. She'd felt better over the last few months than she ever had in her entire life. Or at least as far back as she could remember. She'd gained a bit of weight too, surprisingly, and her hair had grown out to her shoulders. It was nice and thick, unlike the way it usually grew in. Usually, it would be thin, and some spots just didn't seem to want to grow at all. She never knew how it would grow back, and she almost hated looking at herself in the mirror. She just wanted to be normal.

Her gaze darted across the room to the mirror. She almost looked pretty. Almost.

"Is Mom home?"

Ana's question brought her attention back to the call and surprised her. Gen frowned. "She is."

"Not working tonight?" Ana asked.

"No, she has the night off." Gen wondered what Ana wanted. It almost sounded like she was coming there, which Gen sort of hoped she was. She hadn't seen her sister in several weeks. She missed Ana. If Gen had her way, they'd live closer together and she'd see her more often, but she highly doubted her mother would ever move. They'd lived in this house for Gen's whole life.

"Okay. I'm coming over. I'm on my way now. And I'm not alone." She grew quiet for a moment, making Gen wonder who in the world was coming with Ana. Their father? He was still missing, and Gen was pretty sure he wasn't coming back. He was either in a shitload of trouble and had to disappear, or he was ... "You know the guy I told you about that I had a one-night stand with?"

Gen's eyes widened. Ana hadn't mentioned him again, but it sounded like that's who she was bringing over. "You found him?"

"Yeah. He and I are together now. He's coming with me," Ana said.

Gen smiled. After their last conversation, she truly believed that Ana deserved some happiness. She needed a guy who would remain faithful to her and not cheat on her. Ana sounded happy. Hopefully, this guy would make her happy. "Okay. When will you be here?"

"We're about an hour away. Are you up for the visit?" Ana asked.

Gen knew exactly what that question meant. Ana wanted to truly know how she was feeling. If she were able to handle the company. Or at least for a little while. She knew part of it was because of Ana's new boyfriend. Gen was surprised Ana was bringing him to the house. She had never brought any of her boyfriends over before. She must be pretty serious about this one. Gen frowned, trying to remember his name. Aidan. Yeah, that was it. "Yeah. I'll be alright."

"Okay."

Gen frowned at the change in her sister's voice. Something was off. "Is something wrong?"

She heard her sister sigh. "Yes. But I'm not going to tell you until I get there. It's better if I tell you in person."

"Okay. We'll see you then," Gen said and ended the call. She stared at her phone in her hand for a moment, then set it back down on her nightstand. She had a bad feeling about all of this. She was excited to meet Ana's boyfriend, but it would be overshadowed by some bad news. Her thoughts drifted to her father, and a nauseous feeling came over her.

'Calm down. You don't know if that's what it's about,' Jules said quietly, and Gen felt her body warm a bit. Jules was the best thing to ever happen to her. She'd become Gen's best friend and confidante over the last few months. She loved her wolf so much.

'Love you too, Genevieve. You'll be okay. I've got you.'

Gen took a deep breath and stood. She needed to let her mother know about Ana and her boyfriend's impending visit. She walked out into the living room, where her mom sat in her chair, crocheting something. Probably a blanket. Her mother made them frequently and donated them to the hospital. Gen had done so too at times, though she'd been more into reading lately. "Mom?"

Melissa looked up from the baby blue yarn she was working with. "Hey, baby, how are you feeling?"

If she got a quarter for every time someone asked her how she was feeling, all of her hospital bills would be paid in full. "I'm fine. Ana just called me. She's going to be here in an hour." Gen sat down on the couch and pulled her legs up underneath her.

Melissa stopped crocheting, her gaze darting up to Gen. "She is?"

Gen smiled and nodded. She could see the excitement on Melissa's face. They didn't see Ana as much as Melissa and Gen would have liked, but they both knew Ana was incredibly busy with her job. Melissa was very proud of Ana, and so was Gen, though frankly, she wished she could make her mother proud as well. Instead, she was the one everyone hovered over, waiting for her to fall apart. Waiting for her to get sick again and end up back in the hospital.

Her smile wavered. She'd been out of the hospital for much too long as it was, and she knew they were all waiting for her to go back. They all knew it was just a matter of time. "She's bringing her boyfriend with her."

Melissa looked back up from her crocheting in surprise. "Ana has a boyfriend?"

"Apparently." Ana hadn't called him her boyfriend, but she had said they were together.

Melissa stared off in the distance for a moment, and Gen wondered how much she knew about Ana's last boyfriend. She had no idea if Melissa knew that he'd cheated on Ana. Finally, she muttered, "Hope he's better than the last one."

Gen's eyebrows flew up. Apparently, her mother knew more than Gen had thought she did. But her family was pretty close-knit, even with the fact that her parents were divorced. She appreciated that about them all.

Melissa looked back at her, her eyes searching Gen's face. "Are you going to rest before she gets here?"

Gen bit her lip. That was typically what she did. But she didn't need a nap. Some days, she went and hid in her room for a while, resting, even though she had so much energy, she really couldn't help but want to get out and run. Usually when she and Jules went out, that was what they did. Run as if their lives depended on it. "I'm going to take a shower first, then I'll rest."

Melissa stared at her for a long moment, then nodded. "Okay." She turned her attention back to her current project, though Gen wondered what her mother could really see. Did she know? Not that Gen was a werewolf, but that she was healthier than she'd ever been. That she was brimming with energy. That her face actually looked normal and not thin and sunken. That her body had finally started to fill out a bit, and she actually had boobs and an ass now. That her hair had grown in rapidly and was nice and thick. That she actually had eyebrows and eyelashes. Thick eyelashes, though they were so blond, they weren't that visible. Maybe she needed some mascara.