Page 14 of Chased Bear

I grinned. “Me neither.”

“Great.” He left the room, leaving me standing there watching his ass flex as he walked away. It wasn’t until he was on the bed, his legs spread as he stroked his cock that he called out to me. “Are you coming?”

Chapter 9

Jayce

I was used to disappointment. It wasn’t a new feeling for me, but something about waking up in Aydan’s bed completely alone hit harder than usual. It was my own fault. I allowed myself to feel things I knew were off the table. And really, why would people want to live with my stench?

It wasn’t like Adyan had been a dick or anything. He’d been clear that it was a one-time thing and definitely wasn’t serious. He had responsibilities that didn’t include banging his houseguest. I got that. I did. I hadn’t thought it would be serious either, butsomehow, it still felt earth-shattering. It was my own stupid fault for feeling this way. I knew better.

The skunk smell still lingered around me, though not as terrible as it had been. I worried that it would never go away and that the den members would hate me for it. They didn’t. If anything, everyone in the pack got a good laugh out of it. Even if they hadn’t, I wasn’t going to let it stop me from mingling today.

Aydan might not think his den needed a floater to help out with random tasks, but I had already seen the need around the place. They needed at least one, possibly a handful, at least initially. Corey had mentioned a few things too, and I imagined it wouldn’t take long to settle into a routine. Maybe it wouldn’t take long to find a place of my own, either. No way was I staying under the Alpha’s roof for long. As much as I hated to admit it, it would hurt too much.

At least Aydan didn’t have to worry about his scent clinging to me. Nothing clung to me—except the asshat skunk. I showered anyway, because even if others couldn’t scent Aydan on me, I swore I could still feel him there. Sleeping with him had been a bad idea, as fantastic as it was. He wasn’t the kind of alpha I could have a one-and-done with, and a part of me knew that going in.

Once I was dressed, I left the house and made my way to the diner. No way was I eating here and risking the awkward conversation that would ensure. He’d pretend last night was no biggie, or worse, to him it wouldn’t have been, and then I would use all my best acting skills to convince him I felt the same all while dying a little inside. Yean, no good could come of it.

Corey met me there with his baby in a stroller, the sweet cub our breakfast buddy even if she was still on a milk-only diet. I grinned when I saw him. He fit so perfectly into his role as a father. I loved this for him, this den, his mate, his everything. This was exactly where he belonged.

“You’re glowing.”

He laughed. “No, that’s just sweat. Some of these hormones after having a kid are wicked. I swear it feels like I’m going into heat.” That was interesting. No wonder so many shifters had back-to-back kiddos.

“Oh, will little one have a brother or sister soon?”

Corey laughed harder. “No, absolutely not. Not if we can help it. One takes up all my time.” Not that he sounded like he minded that.

His comment had me thinking back to the condoms we used last night. They were the responsible thing to do, and I wouldn’t change it, but also there was a sadness in needing to use them. It was a barrier and a needed one. Why did I wish it had been gone? Argh, I needed to stop my pity party for one already. This was a nice meal out with my bestie, and I refused to let my bad decision-making of the night before get in the way.

Once we were sitting down, another alpha approached the table, smiling broadly when he saw us.

“You must be Jayce. We’ve heard so much about you.” That was interesting. At another time I might’ve been interested in the guy. He was good-looking and had a nice smile. But today? He was just a random dude.

I grinned. “I am. And you are?”

“This is Olen,” Corey said, introducing him. “He works at the flower shop.”

“Would you like to join us?” I asked.

Soon enough, we had three alphas at the table and two more standing nearby, all chatting and laughing. But even in the middle of all that attention, I couldn’t help but notice when Aydan entered the diner. He was like a stupid magnet drawing me to him. I both loved and hated it.

Doubly hating it as I noticed the omega standing beside him. Worse than that, Aydan had his hand on the small of the omega’s back, gently ushering him to a booth in the corner. Fuck that noise.

I forced myself to relax. There was no reason to make a scene—nothing to make a scene about, really. Aydan was just having dinner with another omega. Not a big deal. Or so I kept telling myself.

It wasn’t like we were dating or anything really. It was a one-and-done. I knew the score from the get-go. Stupid feels always getting in the way.

“Is everything all right, Jayce?”

No, it was not.

“Would you like anything else to drink?” one of the alphas asked. I thought his name was Stephen. It didn’t matter. All that did was getting out of here so I could breathe.

“Oh, I’m fine, thank you,” I said. Turning to Oliver, I added, “Tell me more about your business.”

“Sure,” he said, and he continued for another ten minutes. If nothing else, alphas did seem to enjoy hearing themselves talk. Corey grinned the whole time, of course, adding little tidbits about me and egging the alphas on.

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