Page 17 of Chased Bear

He was right there. As much as I tried to convince myself I could make something with Finnegan, I was a realist. He and I weren’t meant to be. I’d feel bad if he didn’t feel the same exact way.

I rolled my eyes. “What the fuck kind of euphemism is that? Don’t you have any respect?”

Zane chuckled. “You’re not denying it. I can respect that. But listen, you’ve always been clear about not having casualrelationships within the pack when we’re in our positions. So, what are you doing?”

I swallowed thickly. That hadn’t even occurred to me when Jayce and I had come to our arrangement. I was so wrapped up in the moment.

“I messed up.” I let out a sigh. “Not with starting something with him—that’s whatever.” Not good, but the least of my current problems. “I didn’t behave very nicely to him today in front of quite a few people. That’s where I messed up.”

“Oh, I heard about that.” Of course he did. The den was pretty gossip-friendly. Or maybe it wasn’t the den at all.

“Let me guess, he came in cursing my name up and down?” I wouldn’t blame him if he did.

Zane shook his head. “No. He really didn’t say much about it. Sounded a little more sad than annoyed, actually.”

Well, if that wasn’t a kick to the gut. Mad I could handle. Hurting the sass out of him… yeah, that was a hard pill to swallow. “I’ll make it up to him.”

The door to the deck opened, and Jayce and Corey came inside. I’d been so focused on my conversation with Zane that I hadn’t noticed them getting up.

Jayce barely looked at me, but my niece reached for me, and I gathered her into my arms. “Well, hello, beautiful,” I said. Just then, she burped and spit up all over me.

I so very much deserved that.

Jayce burst out laughing. “Oh, that just made my day,” he said.

At least I could make him smile, and if it took a baby puking on me, so be it.

“Do you have a minute?”

“Why? So you can be shitty to me some more?”

I deserved that too.

“No. I was wrong.”

“Wait, did my brother just admit he was wrong? Have I entered the Twilight Zone?” He reached for my niece who, like me, needed new clothing. “I think your uncle just admitted he was wrong. Wonders never cease.”

Chapter 11

Jayce

That was weird. I figured that Aydan was going to find me and tell me to get off his den lands or at least kick me out of the house. Instead, he was at his brother’s… why? Was it to find me or maybe to ask his brother for advice? I wasn’t sure which, but neither were what I’d expected.

But that was the thing with Adyan, wasn’t it. He had a way of surprising me at every corner.

And fuck me if I didn’t see him and instantly want to run into his arms, even if he had just been to lunch with another guy and even if he’d been a complete ass to me in front of everyone and even if he had another omega with him.

His brother told me that Finnegan wasn’t his love match but didn’t go so far as to say they weren’t together, and I hated that. My stupid nose was still a mess, so maybe he came covered in his scent every time. Or worse—maybe he’d been drenched in the omega’s scent while we banged it out.

Gods, I was so embarrassed, but also ready to make the same mistake again and again. What was freaking wrong with me? Why was I like this?

I walked back to Aydan’s, not because I wanted to go spend time with him, though I did. But I’d been disrespectful to him in front of others, and as well-deserved as that was, I refused to do it to him again… not today, anyway. So, if he wanted to talk to me, I was going to give him that.

We didn’t speak on the way back and I wasn’t exactly sure why. We weren’t walking where others would be. We could speak freely with ease. Except we didn’t. Instead, we walked side by side, my hand switching to reach for his.

Things would be so much easier if he were my mate. There was no denying the electricity between us. As pissed as I was when I marched out of the diner, if he’d followed me out and kissed me, I’d have kissed him back… and liked it. I was pulled toward him in a way that was going to tear my heart into a thousand tiny pieces.

Freaking fate was cruel. To give me someone who felt like they were mine in so many ways, only to shout, “Just kidding!” They were on my shit list.

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