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

Chapter 22

Linc nodded slowly. He could understand why. Well not really because he hadn't experienced it himself thankfully, but just watching his cousin go through what he had the last five months had been painful enough. Aidan had a one night stand with Ana and then she disappeared, leaving him unable to find her. He'd grown more and more restless over those months. Each time Linc had seen him, he could easily see how agitated his cousin was getting. Aidan would be forced to mark another woman, one he didn't care about, or he'd become completely obsessed with marking his mate, that literally being the only thing he could think of.

Lincoln was fairly certain he had been getting to that point, too. Every time he'd seen Aidan lately, he'd been distracted, half paying attention to the conversation around him, his mind elsewhere. Linc wouldn't want to trade places with him.

But somehow, Aidan had found his fated mate, though Linc still wasn't exactly sure how. He knew eventually he'd find out, but for now, Aidan was more relaxed and calm than Linc had seen him in months. He'd noticed earlier that Ana was marked, which explained Aidan's calmness. Ana would probably be marking him within the next twenty-four hours, and completing their bond.

"I did, for months on end. Probably a good six months before the plane crash, then it slowed down some after that. When I was being held ..." Xavier stopped, and a dark shadow crossed over his face. "I dreamed of her and my wolf. It was one of the few things that kept me sane. Or at least somewhat sane. I was convinced vampires were taking my blood." He smiled and shook his head, his eyes widening as he stared at his plate. 

"You what?" Linc asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"And the whole time, you were an actual werewolf," Aidan laughed, then sobered. "Though frankly, I can't blame you for thinking that."

Xavier smiled as he looked up at him. "Yeah, my thoughts were all over the place." He pushed his palm against his forehead. "I had way too much time to think. It wasn't like I could do anything else. I was too weak."

Aidan studied him for a long moment, and Xavier looked up and smiled. "Don't worry, Aidan."

"What am I missing?" Lincoln asked, watching the two of them.

"My mate's father was one of the two men who was holding Xavier," Aidan said, his eyes on Xavier, a frown on his face.

Lincoln stared back and forth between the two of them. "And you're okay with this?"

Xavier shrugged. "I never saw him. Just his partner."

"The cruel sadistic bastard of the two of them," Aidan muttered in disgust.

"Aidan read through the notes on the laptop Ozark took from the place before they burned it down," Xavier told him. "And Ana is a cop. Well, a detective. She was kind enough to come here and return my things to me. I'm not worried about her."

His mate was a detective? Lincoln's gaze swung back to Aidan. "Is that how you found her?"

Aidan nodded. "That was a shock, finding her here at the pack house."

Lincoln snorted. "I bet. But I guess if it was meant to be, it was meant to be."

Both Xavier and Aidan nodded distractedly.

"And frankly, at this point, I think it would be rather selfish of me to ask Aidan to give up his mate," Xavier mused. "She had nothing to do with any of it."

"She's just as appalled by it as I am," Aidan said quietly.

"So why are you asking?" Xavier asked him. "About the mate dreams?*

"I've dreamed about her every night for the last, what? five nights now? And I have yet to mate her in any of those dreams," he mused. It annoyed him to no end. He frowned at himself. When had he become such a horny asshole?

"Is she naked?" Xavier asked him.

Linc frowned at him. Why was he asking that?

"It's a legitimate question," Aidan told him.

"No, she's not," Linc finally conceded. "And she always asks me if I'm going to reject her." He felt his heart clench at her words last night. I'm not beautiful. Why did she think that? She was absolutely beautiful. He could easily get hard just thinking about her and her beautiful smile. He couldn't imagine how it would be once he actually met her. Hopefully he wouldn't embarrass himself.

"You were sort of thinking about it. Not outright, but ..." Aidan stopped. "If you happened to come across her before you had marked Gina, and you still wanted to mark Gina, it would have made it extremely difficult. Just touching her would be difficult. You wouldn't have been able to have sex with her in order to mark her."

Linc met his gaze, eyeing his cousin. He almost sounded like he was talking from experience. "Did you think about it? Taking a Chosen? "

Aidan snorted and shook his head. "I did more than think about it. I came this close to marking another woman. Bianca." He held up his index and forefinger about an inch apart.

Bianca? Where had he heard that name before? And then it clicked. "Zane's mate?"

"Asshole didn't tell me she was his fated. He's her second chance so she had no idea either," Aidan grumbled. "He went with me to go meet her and then he left, not telling me who she was to him."

Linc stared at him with a confused expression on his face, then shook his head as he looked at Xavier.

"Yeah, I don't get it either," Xavier muttered. "I love you like a brother, Aidan, but I wouldn't give up Maddie for you." He stopped and then frowned. "Though I almost did give her up."

Linc frowned at him. "Why?"

"Her mother thought I cheated on Maddie with my own mom." He rolled his eyes. "And she convinced me it was best that I left her. She was awfully manipulative."

"You let her convince you that it was a good idea to leave your mate?" Linc asked him incredulously.

"He didn't have his memories at the time," Aidan explained.

"I was overwhelmed, and I didn't realize Maddie's mom thought I cheated on Maddie. I didn't realize the significance of the mate bond either."

"Did her mother know who you were?" Linc asked him.

"I don't know if she did at the time, but she did by the time I came back. Maddie did too, and the guys from Sierra Nevada told Maddie and her mom that I could never mate a human." He shook his head, then smiled. "Maddie was expecting me to reject her."

"Well, it doesn't matter either way. Gina has been cheating on me for awhile, so it's over with her." He sighed, sitting back. He'd never expected to have a woman cheat on him. He thought he was enough for her. The sex between them had been amazing, but apparently not enough. And he'd been ready to offer her more. So much more than she could even dream of.

"Well, hopefully you meet her soon," Aidan said, standing. "Your mate that is."

Xavier and Linc stood as well and followed Aidan over to get rid of their plates.

"You guys heading back up to your mates?" Linc asked. He already knew the answer to that question. There was no way they weren't doing anything else.

"Yup," Aidan said.

Xavier nodded.

"Okay, I'll catch you two later." Maybe he could go for a run. He watched the two of them get on the elevator.

"Linc, you up to play cards?" Damien suddenly asked him.

Lincoln turned around to see Damien standing there with his mate Vanessa. "Sure." It was something to distract him. He followed them out of the pack house and down the path towards their own house. He already knew Dylan and Violet would be there as well. it would be a welcome distraction

Something happen with your girlfriend?

We're not together anymore.

All the more reason to come hang out and get drunk.

Damien was right. And it would give Linc something else to think about besides Gina's lips wrapped around his dick and the fact that he could probably call her and ask her to come over. He needed to delete her number out of his phone and get her completely out of his mind.