Page 10 of Chased Bear

Since there was no way Jayce was being allowed in the kitchen, we were outside.

“You are welcome here anytime, sir. This is perfect. I will call on you during that prank day that humans have. We can serve one of these to every customer who orders a burger!”

“Oh, that would be hilarious! Starting with our Alpha here, don’t you think?” Jayce elbowed me, and Patrick gave Jayce a smile.

Something about it set me on edge.

“All right, we’ve got to stick to a schedule,” I said, hoping to move things along.

“I was hoping Patrick might make me something. I’m hungry, aren’t you?” Jayce asked.

“No, we have to go,” I said firmly.

Jayce pouted. “I’ll come back soon. Yeah, one of these days I won’t smell like a skunk.”

Patrick laughed. “I’ll set up a special table for you right in the kitchen.”

My bear growled at that. No one was allowed in Patrick’s kitchen. What made Jayce so special? And why was Patrick making special accommodations for him.

“We have a private room in the back you can use,” Patrick continued.

“That’s for den events, not everyday visits. Come along, Jayce,” I said, nudging him along.

“Well, that was rather abrupt and kind of rude. You’re not usually like that. Patrick is one of your Betas, isn’t he?” Jayce asked.

“Yes,” I replied, more harshly than I needed to.

“Has he done something wrong? Is there something I should know?”

I opened my mouth to say something, but what could I say? I didn’t like the way Patrick looked at Jayce.

Except, the whole point of bringing more omegas here was so that omega and alpha pairings could happen. Yet here I was, dragging an omega away from a perfectly acceptable mate prospect.

“No, it’s just... he has to get back to work, and we have to go. Our last stop is Dorothy’s.”

“Oh yes, Corey told me about her—gluten-free and allergic to berries. So unfortunate for a bear, but I have the perfect thing for her.”

“How is it that you knew all of these things? I didn’t see you referencing any notes.”

Jayce shrugged. “I just remembered.”

“Oh, so Corey gave you a list?”

Jayce shook his head. “No. He just happened to mention that Dorothy avoids the berry fields because she’s allergic, and I remembered. And Patrick—he doesn’t actually like sweets, but Corey mentioned that he’s into puns and funny things, so I thought the hamburger cake would win him over. And Rissa... well, I know it was hard for them to leave their home in Northbay, so I figured something like a personalized baked good from there would be a good choice.”

“Huh,” I muttered, feeling a little stung. I worked so hard to give my den the exact personalized attention that seemed to come so easily to Jayce.

“Well,” I cleared my throat, “thank you for doing this. It’s meant a lot to the people here.”

“I’m happy to,” Jayce said. “This is my home now, and honestly, I would do this anywhere. Isn’t it fun, just to see people smile?”

Yes. Yes, it was.

Chapter 7

Jayce

“We have an hour before I need to get back to the house and get some paperwork done.” Stupid paperwork ruled that man’s life. No wonder he had a stick up his ass half the time. No, scratch that. Three quarters of the time. “Would you like to see the rest of the territory in our bear form?”

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