Page 24 of Chased Bear

“Are you staying?” Jayce patted the ground beside him.

Was I or were we both leaving? What I wanted to do more than anything was to talk to him… to really talk. But with everyone here, no one deciding to leave even with my grumpy comment, there was no way to do that without putting Jayce in an awkward position. None.

“I was getting coffee. Do you want any?” It just came out. Coffee hadn’t been on my mind at all.

He blinked up and me and finally said, “Maybe some tea?”

“Got it. Anyone else?” Because not doing so would’ve had me bouncing into that dick territory.

Gods, that had really bothered me more than I realized apparently. And not because other den members might think it true or anything like that. Nope. It was because I cared what Jayce thought far more than I should.

Ten minutes later I had a list of coffees and teas and headed to get them from the coffee shop. It was small and it took forever to get them all made, which was fine. I wasn’t completely sure I was ready for wild Jayce stories just yet.

“I think I made a rookie mistake.” I glanced down at the plethora of coffees and teas on the counter. I did not have the hands for these, that was for sure.

“Hmmm.” Lili, the barista, rubbed her chin. “I have an idea.”

A few minutes later, I was leaving with two huge bags, each holding multiple drink holders. It wasn’t perfect, and the bags were barely holding on when I got back to story hour with Jayce, but they got there. I called that a win.

I passed them around, and the alphas all gave me a look telling me they weren’t quite sure how to response to my random coffee trip. It was completely out of character for me, and at the same time, felt really good. I’d asked not to be a jerk by only offering for Jayce and nothing more. That much was true, but I was going to do it again.

“Are you going to join us now or are you worried we bite?” Jayce opened and closed his teeth as if chomping me.

How I wished he did bite—down hard on my shoulder, claiming me as his own.

We really needed to talk. Not now, though. Now I needed to sit by his side and listen to him tell more outlandish stories. I learned so much about him and my brother over the next hour, in some cases things I very much didn’t want to know.

At the heart of each and every one of those stories, was Jayce being a nice guy. Not once was the story about him being rudeor disobedient and having the situation go awry. It was often the case that he was either doing or heading out to do something nice for another when not everything went as planned.

Jayce was a good omega, a great man, and a sweet bear. Having him in the den, in my house, and in my heart was everything. But also, it wasn’t enough. And when we were done here and no longer had an audience that included nearly all of my pack, I was going to tell him exactly that, and then, if things worked out well, we could discuss where to go from here.

Gods, I hoped it was him being willing to settle for me, his non-fated, and accepting me as his mate. I couldn’t think of anything in this world that I’d like more.

Chapter 15

Jayce

This is why falling in love was dumb and something to be avoided at all costs. I’d done a great job throughout most of my life not forming connections with people. Corey was the one I was closest to, and that had always been friendship.

But even that had taken a long time to form. It had started out as us just getting in trouble together, but then we formed that unbreakable bond of friendship. He was the only one I trusted.

That was until I met Aydan, who somehow managed to capture my heart despite the fact that we had nothing in common. Nothing except our love of what we did in the bedroom. That wasn’t true. We both loved Corey and cared about this den. Mostly, though, we were complete opposites.

Still, I hadn’t expected his rejection to cut so deeply. I’d expected the rejection. After all, this was just fun and games. It wasn’t serious. He had an arrangement in the works. There were no lies or pretenses. He told me right from the very first kiss.

We weren’t mates, or at least we hadn’t thought we were. I knew the truth now, or at least I suspected it. Between the scents of the tea and coffee filling the air and the wind in the wrong direction, I hadn’t been able to fully scent him. Sure, I could’ve leaned in and taken a big old whiff, but then everyone would know what I was up to and that spelled trouble, or at the very least, embarrassment.

I was sure, though. If I was honest with myself, I knew from the first day. But he didn’t know, or if he did, he didn’t care. That would be so much worse. Why was this so freaking hard? It was supposed to be find your true mate, kiss, and then live happily ever after.

Did we do that? Heck no. We met, fought, had some naughty fun… had more naughty fun… and then some more, then I got pregnant, discovered he was my mate, and had been rejected. Where was my happy ever after? I wanted it so badly. Or at least a not-miserable-on-the-verge-of-crying after. Was that a thing?

I blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. I wasn’t going to cry over this alpha, and I wasn’t going to apologize for my past. Yes, I had gotten into trouble, but I never hurt anyone, and I was not ashamed of the silly things that I did. I was a good person, and I wasn’t going to let Aydan make me question that. And looking back, he hadn’t. Sure, he teased me, especially in the beginning. But after that, he’d listened without judgment.

That or I was reading too much into him being polite. That’s probably what it was, and even if it wasn’t, that didn’t change a single thing. At the end of it all, he still didn’t want me as his.

I grabbed my bag and started placing my clothes inside. I knew there was a hotel not far away. I could stay there until I found a more permanent place inside the den. Or maybe outside of it.

No, inside. I wasn’t going to keep our baby from his alpha father. They both deserved better than that. Gods, it was going to hurt—more than hurt. To see Aydan every day and know he was mine but he never could be. But it wasn’t only me to consider now. And I’d do anything to make sure our child had the life they deserved. They had nothing to do with the crap brewing between Aydan and me.

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