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

Chapter 29

Aidan had a private jet.

Apparently, Aidan had money. He would be able to take care of Ana, which was good. Gen was a bit floored by it all but went with it. She wondered what exactly Aidan did for a living.

But then he'd told Melissa it wasn't his; it belonged to his pack, though he could use it whenever he wished. He had access to it and used it for work. He told them that he was a pack liaison and what all that entailed. He also did business for the company owned by the Remington Family, and that was what supplied money to run the pack. It was all rather interesting.

Aidan sat now on a couch on the small plane, with Ana cuddled up against him, while Gen sat in a chair watching Melissa crochet in another chair across from her. She smiled. Leave it to her mother to keep herself busy.

It had been almost three weeks since Ana and Aidan had shown up at the house with her news about their father. In that time, Gen and Melissa had packed up the entire house and put it on the market to sell. Melissa intended to use the money to finish paying off Gen's medical bills, which didn't thrill Gen in the least, but Melissa had told her she preferred it that way. "Neither one of us will have to worry about it then," she'd said.

They'd put some things in storage, while the rest had gone in a moving truck Aidan had shown up with. He'd paid for it, refusing any money from Melissa. "We're family now. Ana and I are tied together forever. You're basically my mother-in-law, and I will take care of you and Gen," he'd said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

He had been busy helping Ana pack up her stuff. Ana had been working the two weeks left of her job and spent most of her days at work, while Aidan packed. It was how Gen knew how much he cared for Ana. It would take that to sit at home and patiently pack up someone else's things while they were working. At least Ana didn't have a ton of stuff.

But now here they were, on their way to Pennsylvania and Aidan's pack. He'd told them it was called Regal Eclipse. Their Alpha was the Alpha King, the King of Werewolves. Xavier was his grandson. And one day, Aidan would be Xavier's Beta, his second in command.

'Sister's Mate is very powerful,' Jules had told her. 'Sister is too from mating him.'

Was that how it worked? She had no idea, but this entire thing was so crazy to her. A few months ago, she hadn't even known what werewolves were until Jules randomly appeared in her life. She had no idea how many werewolves were out there. This whole thing seemed rather crazy to her. But why couldn't she ask questions? She'd been wanting to for a while now, and now she had the opportunity. "How many werewolves are out there in the world?"

Everyone looked up at her, and she suddenly sort of wished she hadn't asked. She hated having a ton of attention on her. She twisted her fingers nervously as she sat waiting.

"Over a million," Aidan told her, giving her a smile.

Her gaze flew up to meet him, her eyes widening in surprise. Way more than she would have thought. She highly doubted they were all in Pennsylvania then.

"And there are well over a hundred packs out there. They're all over the world," Aidan continued.

That too was shocking. She wondered if she'd ever come across a werewolf before. Well, probably not, unless they worked at the hospital. Ana probably had, though. Her father definitely had. She squeezed her eyes shut, realizing her father had not only come across one but had also taken him prisoner so he could run experiments on him. And of all the werewolves in the world, her father had picked the one who would be King.

Gen turned her attention back to her book, wondering if she was going to be meeting this King. Probably. If she was going to be in his pack. Though Aidan had said he wasn't the King yet. She wondered how old he was. She sighed softly. She felt like she didn't really know anything, but she supposed she had an eternity to learn it all.

The plane finally landed, and they all grabbed their bags and followed Aidan off the plane. He'd told them they would come and get their stuff later. Apparently, the pack had a box truck they could load everything in, and he would get several members of the pack to help out and make it easier than what moving out had been. But for now, they would just get settled and have dinner and a good night's sleep, which Gen was looking forward to.

The house was not too far from the airport, and Aidan had said that it all belonged to Regal Eclipse, which was the name of his pack. Apparently, they had money. There were several small planes at the little landing strip. Though she supposed that made sense. Aidan had referred to this pack as the Royal Pack. She wondered if the other packs had to pay taxes or something.

Her gaze darted around the pack territory. Lots of woods, which didn't surprise her, and quite a few mountains. It excited her, though. She couldn't wait to be able to explore the territory with Jules. She wondered how much freedom she'd have. It's something she'd have to talk to Aidan and Ana about.

For the time being, Melissa and Gen would be staying in a guest room at the pack house. Aidan had assured them that the pack knew they were coming, the Alpha was well aware, and they would have their own apartment. The place was just empty, and their stuff would need to be moved in. Gen wondered about that. They had to be aware of their ties to the man who had kidnapped Xavier. The fact that they would allow them here meant that there had to be more to the story than Gen was aware of. She wasn't sure she wanted to know either.

Gen knew she would be living with her mother. She'd already accepted that as the way it would be. She had a feeling she would always live with Melissa. It wasn't that big of a deal, but part of her wanted to live on her own. She felt like Melissa would always be hovering, waiting for her to get sick again.

She knew how to cook. It was one thing she'd taken the time to learn over the years, something to occupy her time when she was feeling well. Cooking shows were one of her favorite pastimes besides reading and crocheting. She'd cook occasionally, though frankly, she wouldn't mind being able to do more. She didn't always feel like it, but now, things were different, and she was pretty sure she'd be just fine on her own.

But they were living with Regal Eclipse, and she couldn't ask for her own place. It would be rude, especially given the atrocities committed against Xavier by her father. She needed to take whatever she was given and be thankful for it. Besides, this was all going to be new, and she hoped she'd make friends, and it wouldn't matter. She was an adult after all, and that didn't mean she would constantly be under her mother's thumb.

'We'll be living with Mate eventually anyway,' Jules reminded her.

Gen didn't bother to acknowledge that. She and Jules were already at odds over it. There was no point in arguing with her wolf. No point at all. They would always butt heads over it until the day they met their mate, and he rejected them. And then they would still be living with her mother until her mother passed. Maybe at that point, she'd leave the pack and begin to age again. There was no point in living forever alone. What kind of life would that be?

"We're here."

Aidan's words pulled Gen out of her dark thoughts, and she looked out the window. The packhouse was beautiful and huge. Aidan had driven an SUV, and he pulled into a small parking lot off to the side, parking the vehicle. They all got out with their bags and followed him up onto the porch. He opened the front door.

It was cold out, and there was snow on the ground. Gen wrapped her arms around herself as they walked inside. She had a coat; she just hadn't wanted to wear it on the plane. She'd half expected Melissa to say something about it, but she hadn't. She'd caught her mother eyeing her for a long moment, but she never said a word.

A man greeted Aidan and Ana warmly, hugging them both. He was young and had blond hair and blue eyes. A woman was with him, and she had black hair and blue eyes. The man had an arm wrapped around the woman.

"This is my father, Cade, and my mother, Calypso," Aidan introduced. "This is Ana's mother, Melissa, and her sister, Gen."

Gen stared at them now in surprise. They looked way too young to be parents to Aidan. She had no idea how old Aidan was, but part of her wondered if he was actually younger than Ana. His parents had to be in their late forties or early fifties. They didn't look it, though. This whole immortality thing was going to take some getting used to.

"Welcome to Regal Eclipse," Cade greeted them. "We have rooms ready for you both down this way." He gestured down the hallway to the right of the front door.