Destined Bear (Windridge Den #3)

8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Patrick

“I didn’t want this.” I regretted the words the second they fell from my lips.

Finn stiffened in my arms, then bolted out of the bed. He wrapped the blanket around him protectively, all the while his eyes fired daggers at me. I deserved it.

It was morning now, and we had spent the entire evening and night alternating between sleeping and making love. It had been beautiful and better than I’d ever thought possible.

“Wait, no, that’s—” I held up a hand as if approaching a wounded animal. “That’s not what I meant. That came out incredibly wrong.” Fuck.

He eyed me hesitantly but didn’t run. That was a good sign.

I ran a hand through my hair. Only a few hours in, and I was already messing this all up. My dad was fucking right.

Finn sat down on the bed. “Explain what you meant,” he said calmly. He was far more understanding than I deserved.

“I didn’t ever expect to have a mate. I didn’t think I would be good at it, and therefore, I never looked for one. It never occurred to me that fate would give me one.” Shit. This was harder than I thought it would be, and I thought it would be impossible.

“My dad… he told me there was no way I’d ever have a mate because I wasn’t good enough. I’m afraid I’m not cut out for this.” I paused, swallowing hard. “I’m terrified that I won’t do right by you, that I’ll work too much, not pay attention to you, say the wrong thing and terrify you—as I clearly did just moments ago.”

There it was, all of my insecurities laid bare for my mate to see.

“I’m afraid that you’re not going to want to be mated to me once you realize just how wrong I am for you.”

Finn’s features softened, and he scooched closer to me, wrapping an arm around my neck and pulling me close.

“We’re right for each other,” he said. “You worried so much about this that you didn’t let yourself see what was right in front of you.”

He pulled back enough for us to look face to face. “It’s me. I was, am, and will always be right in front of you.”

Finn pressed his forehead to mine. “I have my own insecurities which meant I didn’t let myself approach you until now, when I had nothing left to lose. Fate works in their own time. Now that we’re together—and I’m assuming that we’re together?”

I nodded. “After last night, I would never let you go. Unless, of course, you wanted to. I’m not holding you captive.”

Finn chuckled in my arms, his laughter vibrating through his back as I settled him against my chest.

“Fate’s done their job. Now it’s up to us. Being mated is work, Patrick. It’s not going to be easy, but it doesn’t have to be difficult either. The biggest thing is communication—which, up until now, apparently both of us have been terrible at. I’m communicating now. You are, too, and thank you for that.” He kissed my cheek. “And if I could, I’d find your father and slap his face for ever putting those ideas in your head.”

I chuckled at that, picturing my petite omega mate approaching the Alpha of a den and avenging me. It was hot as fuck.

“What are the odds we can just stay in bed for the rest of eternity? Things seem simple here.” If we were humans, we could live on food delivery from the diner… if someone took it over. Yeah, that was a plan. Archer could take over, Stacy could leave food on our doorstep, and my mate and I could live in bed. Perfection.

“Are they simple here? Or do you just like that there’s no clothing between us?” Finn winked.

I liked this playful side of him. It was a nice contrast to the more serious side I’d seen of him at the diner as he worked each day.

“That is a nice perk. And also, I won’t have to deal with any other alphas looking at you.”

He scoffed. “None of the alphas look at me.”

“You, my dear mate, are blind.”

“Me? You’re the one who didn’t notice I was in your diner for an entire year, Patrick.”

Except I did and I was too weak and scared to do anything about it. That ended now.

I kissed his cheek. “Okay, you’ve sorta got me there. But now that I know you’re mine, and you want me back, there’s no getting away.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

We stayed in bed a while longer. I enjoyed the silence, letting the world go by around us without having to worry about getting up or doing anything. Eventually, I’d have to let Aydan know what had gone down. He knew Finn was here. His car was here, and I was sure the entire den was already chatting about it. That was the way of things. But he wouldn’t know why. Of course, I was sure he could put two and two together and come up with the right answer. Heck, everyone knew about Finn before I even allowed myself to believe it.

Eventually, my mate’s breathing evened out as he fell back asleep. I carefully extracted myself from his arms, found my phone, and sent a quick text to the Beta group.

Finn and I are mated. How soon can we put together a celebration?

I didn’t want 20 questions or a deep conversation. This was me letting them know that they were right and to help me welcome Finn into the den fully. He’d been in such a weird not-a-guest, not-a-member space for far too long.

The responses were immediate.

Congratulations!

Knew it!

Our mates are already working on it. Don’t make any plans for tomorrow evening.

I raised a brow. That was quick. I half wondered which of them saw the car and jumped straight to planning mode. Knowing them, it could be any of them.

My mate was going to be up soon, and I wanted to do something nice for him. I went to my kitchen, made a cup of coffee, and looked through my cupboards for something I could put together for my mate. In the diner, he liked his egg sandwiches for breakfast. I could quickly whip that up for him, keep it wrapped in foil so it’d stay warm for when he woke. It wasn’t fancy, but it would do. I set to work.

Within a few minutes, there was a knock on the door, and then Aydan walked in.

“So, you’ve come up for air.”

I fought back the growl that threatened to escape, but Aydan just laughed. “I know you don’t want anyone in your den right after you’ve found your mate, but you’re going to have to get used to it.”

Jerk.

“I don’t have many visitors here.” Never had. This wasn’t a new thing for me.

“You will now. You have a mate, someone who’ll be living under your roof with you—starting immediately I’m assuming, since he has nowhere else to go.”

“Well, of course he would stay here,” I said, realizing we hadn’t really talked about that.

“I just came by to congratulate you. I’m glad you finally saw what the rest of us have been assuming for quite a while.”

“Was I so obvious?”

Aydan nodded.

“You were going to let him leave and not say a word?”

“I can’t force those things, Patrick. I’d hoped Finn would say something—and he did.” After the way things had started with his mate, this surprised me.

“I’m not sure I would’ve ever wised up. I would’ve just let myself be miserable forever.”

“Eventually, your bear would have insisted you go find him.”

“Maybe,” I said, sighing. I shouldn’t have been surprised I’d almost messed all this up. My father’s words rang in my ears. Failure followed me everywhere, it seemed.

Aydan clapped me on the shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. I didn’t have the best start to my mating, either, and my mate literally lived in my house. He reeked of skunk. And your mate’s scent was drowned out by burger grease because you never leave that kitchen.”

I chuckled. “That’s fair.” But also, it was my inability to accept what fate had offered whereas he was thwarted via a skunk spraying incident. It wasn’t quite the same.

“Jayce and Corey are working on a party.”

“I can’t wait to celebrate my mate.”