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

Chapter 37

The apartment was nice, but this was most definitely her mother's home. She had the beautiful master bedroom, and Gen had a smaller room, though she still had a walk-in closet and a full bathroom of her own, which she loved. She wished she had her own place, but she knew that wouldn't happen. Maybe one day, years from now, but then again, there was really no point.

Gen glanced up at the knock on her open door with a frown. Everyone had left, all of their things moved in now. She saw Aidan standing there. "Hey, what's up?"

He walked inside, his arms crossed over his chest. "You getting settled?"

She forced a smile and nodded. "Yea. I am. Thank you for all of the help."

Aidan moved over and sat down on her chair in the corner. "Do you want to know about him?"

Her head whipped up to look at him. "Who?'

"Your mate."

The word hung between them like a ticking time bomb, and for a moment Gen forgot how to breath. She stared at him incredulously. How did he know? Well, she knew Ana had probably told him something, but Gen hadn't told anyone who he was. Not that she even knew his name. She didn't know anything about him except that he was probably the hottest man she'd ever laid eyes on. She hadn't given Ana any sort of description of him. "How do you know?"

His eyes flickered. "About him?"

"Who my mate is," she clarified. Aidan must know him, but they were both a member of this pack, so why wouldn't he?

"He asked me about you," Aidan said, as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

He'd asked about her? Why? And what had Aidan said that made him not interested? Or maybe it wasn't Aidan's fault. "Oh." She said it so quietly, she wasn't even sure he'd heard her, but his hearing was as good as her own.

Aidan studied her quietly for a moment, making her uncomfortable. He sort of intimidated her and Jules had said it was because he was such a powerful werewolf. Instinct told her that she needed to submit to him, and she had no idea what that even meant. He'd been nothing but kind to her though, but it still felt awkward talking to him. She could barely meet his gaze.

Aidan was a big guy too, but then so was her mate. She had a feeling they were close in height, but then it seemed like all the men here were pretty tall. Of course, it didn't help that she was short. She was barely over five foot, and much shorter than Ana. She knew it was because sickness had ravaged her body. She'd always been at the bottom of the growth chart. It was just a fact of her life.

Her gaze darted back to Aidan. "Well?" She cringed as soon as she said that, thought Aidan didn't seem to take offense by it at all.

"He's giving you space, Gen. He's definitely interested in you, so please don't think he's not, but he knows you're nervous about all of this," Aidan told her quietly. "He was supposed to come help out this afternoon, but he didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

She was a little blown away by that. He sounded like a nice guy. "How does he know that I'm nervous?" What all had Aidan told him?

"He wanted us to sit with him earlier but decided not to push it with you and let you come to him," Aidan told her quietly.

She breathed out slowly at his words. Her mate was holding back for her, not rejecting her. She liked that he was taking her feelings into consideration. "I thought he didn't want me," she mumbled.

Aidan smiled. "He doesn't even know you."

That was true. He probably didn't know anything about her. "So, you know him?"