Page 5 of His Protective Bear

Shit, when I came over, I never thought I would have to explain to my mate’s father why I was here.

“I was over at the diner last night. I’m not sure he told you?” I said.

He shook his head, “Was there a problem with something you ate?”

“No, No,” I shook my head, “nothing like that. Everything was perfect as usual.”

He nodded, clearly satisfied. “So, what’s wrong?” I could tell I was clearly testing his patience.

“While I was there, there was a fire,” I hurried on, “I just wanted to check up on Sage to make sure he was okay.”

A look crossed the man’s face I couldn’t quite read, but it was gone before I could ask or figure it out. He folded his arms and stepped back, “I’m sure he’s fine. He would have told me if it was serious, but thank you for coming, Sheriff. I appreciate it.”

I knew a dismissal when I heard one. His actions told me there was something I was missing, and my bear felt it too. And our instincts were so rarely wrong.

I decided to put my cards on the table. Maybe talking to his father would give me something about why Sage pretended I didn’t exist.

I cleared my suddenly desert-dry throat, “He’s my mate,” I blurted. “And I guess I wondered why he hadn’t… why he’s not… has he said anything to you?”

Colin’s eyes widened, “You’re sure?” he asked.

I nodded, “Completely, one hundred percent certain.” I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly feeling very awkward, “I guess I was wondering why he never acknowledged me… us.”

“You’re his mate,” Colin said again, slowly like he was double-checking.

“Yes, sir, I am,” I didn’t care how desperate I sounded. “He’s mine.”

He studied me for a moment, then nodded, “Come inside,” he said.

I nodded and moved to follow, shutting my door. He looked back at me and said, “Don’t forget the snacks. They’re Graham’s, right?”

“Yeah,” I chuckled and opened the door, reaching across to grab the box of muffins before shutting it and hurrying up the steps to meet Colin.

He led me into the house, straight to the kitchen. I stood at the door, waiting and watching as he put a pot of coffee on. When the coffee maker was going, he turned to face me, “I guess this explains why you buy so much pie from us when your brother owns—”

I chuckled, “Well, you guys have good pie.”

“Not as good as Graham’s. My mate is a fantastic baker if I do say so myself, but even he gets treats from Three Bears Cafe.” He shot me a pointed look.

“Sage didn’t seem to… I tried to speak to him, but he didn’t seem to want to speak to me. So I thought maybe if he got used to seeing me, it would make a difference,” I blew out a breath, “it hasn’t.”

Colin sighed, “Take a seat, son.”

My heart jumped at the look on his face. Was something wrong with my mate? Was there someone else? He hadn’t been claimed. I would know. He still smelled like mine.

I folded my arms, “Please, if there’s something, just spit it out.”

Colin blew out a breath, and I watched as his chest expanded, and then he let it out. “I suppose that’s fair,” he acknowledged. He seemed to have an internal debate, and I saw the moment he decided. “Sage is special.”

“Sir, no offense, but the fact he exists is special to me. He’s everything,” I said simply.

His lips curved slightly to acknowledge my statement, but a frown quickly replaced it. “My son will kill me for telling you this. It’s not something he shares if he can help it. But I know I can trust you with this information.” The look he gave me told me that there would be repercussions if I broke that trust.

“I would never do anything to hurt my mate.” My voice was fierce. But I didn’t care. Sage was my life, he didn’t know it yet, but he was. I would rather die than hurt him.

“I know. I know your family and how you were raised, and more importantly than that, he’s your mate. Hurting him,” he shook his head like he was thinking about his own mate. “Sage is my first child, and Seth and I couldn’t be more proud of him if we tried. To us, he’s perfect— ”

“Of course, he is,” I said.

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