Page 3 of Chased Bear

All of these things would be easier to manage as soon as I secured myself an Alpha Mate. An Alpha Mate would provide balance to the den and also be the person I could offload some of these tasks to. At least that’s what I’d been told my entire life. I wasn’t exactly sure how that would all work. The list would still be a thousand miles long. But I had to believe it to be true, because if I didn’t, there was no hope of me being the Alpha the den needed. None.

I let out a long sigh. Maybe I needed to go for a run, let my bear out for a while instead of getting all up in my head and making my life harder. It wasn’t like I was doing this alone. I had my Betas. Sure, they had their own to-do lists and their own businesses to run, but I helped form those to-do lists, and maybe I needed to reevaluate how I did them

My thought had always been that since they had other jobs and I was the den Alpha full-time that I needed to shoulder these tasks until I had a mate to share them with. In a way that was true,but maybe spreading things out a little more was in order. Heck, maybe I needed to consider adding another Beta to the mix. The den had no rules about how many an Alpha could have, and I went with tradition.

One glance at the piles told me shifting would have to wait, and I got started. I took all of my random notes and rewrote them into one list, then went through and started scheduling when I would do what. Two hours later, I had the next week perfectly planned out, nearly to the minute—who I would visit, when, and what supplies I would have to gather. It was finally manageable.

I could do this.

I was the Alpha.

It was my job, my responsibility.

I could do this.

Maybe if I kept telling myself it, it would be true.

My phone pinged, and I picked it up. It was my brother. Normally, it was the break I needed. He had a knack of knowing just when I needed the interruption. He might be my annoying little brother, but he was also the best brother I could ever ask for.

Jayce is running late.

Of course he was. I rolled my eyes.

Not for the first time, I wondered if allowing Jayce into the den was a bad idea. He was my brother’s closest friend. Besides me and Corey’s mate, Zane, Jayce was the most important person in his life. There were some days and some times in my brother’s life when he’d been more important than me. I knew Jayce had helped Corey get through school, and they had lived in Jayce’s den while I built this one. I was indebted to him.

But from what I knew and from what I could gather based on the stories my brother told, Jayce was a nuisance. He didn’t have a plan for his life or even a plan for his day. Case in point, being late to show up at your new Alpha’s house was not a great first impression to have. I had expected it, though, and had nearly forgotten that today was the day. But now that he was going to be late, I was irked… irrationally so, perhaps, but it was what it was.

Initially, I had my reservations about Jayce staying in my home, but it was my responsibility as den Alpha to take care of the members, whether I agreed with them or not. Had my brother not been mated, I’d have made sure they had room for him there. But he was and he deserved his happy ever after with his mate. Having a bestie in the mix was asking for trouble.

Over the past few days, I’d pushed some things back to get ready for him. I had his room ready—sheets perfectly folded and placed on the bed. I didn’t know what all he had, so I had den members pick up some toiletry items he might use, and new clothes. He might’ve been irresponsible, but he was a new member of our pack. I wanted him to feel welcome. Ideally it would be in a different space, but we didn’t have that right now. This would have to do.

It was nearing nine o’clock. If he was going to be even later than now, I might as well get a bit of stress out.

“Ready for a run?”

Fish.

“Fine. We can fish.”

I made sure that everything was where I needed it for the morning and walked out my back door. It was a gorgeous night, and my bear was already pushing to get out.

“Patience. I like these jeans.” Not particularly, but that had him waiting until I took off my clothes before demanding control and jumping off the back porch and into the cool grass.

He picked his head up and sniffed the air. Pleased with what he scented, he took off toward the river like a bear on a mission. And he was. My beast loved nothing more than fresh fish caught in his paws, and I enjoyed having the brief time where I wasn’t in charge of anything, when I could just fall back and be.

Soon enough I was going to need to deal with an irresponsible house guest and my mile-long to-do list. But for now, for this brief glimmer of time, the only things that mattered were the moonlight, the cool water, and my bear’s need to fish and eat. It was exactly what I needed.

My brother said that’s how it was with mates. You both knew what the other needed and were able to provide that for them. Iwasn’t sure if that was true, but if it was, I really could use my mate about now.

Chapter 3

Jayce

There was no way I was going into the Alpha’s house in the middle of the night, reeking of skunk. The man would have me kicked out faster than I could blink. Heck, if I could kick me out, I would.

My car. My poor car and possibly everything in it were going to be horrific to clean out. What was it they said people should use? Tomato juice? As if that is a stain-free option. Ugh. Why did I have to try and make a few bucks? I doubted a store would even take them now.

I needed a good night’s rest and to talk to Corey before I faced Aydan. How the hell was I going to explain that I got into a skirmish with a skunk and ended up sprayed? This was the kind of thing teenagers did. I knew that Aydan already thought I was an immature child, and this was not going to help.

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