Destined Bear (Windridge Den #3)

9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Finn

I never expected a mating celebration. It wasn’t something we did in my old den, and the way Patrick and I got together… I guess I assumed we’d get some congratulations and done. I most certainly hadn’t expected one to be thrown within twenty-four hours of Patrick and me coming up for air.

Yes, technically, we’d been mated for two days, but we’d spent that time holed up in his house. And during that time, the den kept chugging along, with the addition of event planning to the mix.

We were attending a den celebration. It was a touch awkward, considering everyone knew exactly what we had been doing the past few days. And even more so because apparently everyone and their cousin had realized I’d been pining for him daily. I’d thought I’d been so sneaky. I so very much had not.

It was the first night of our Cold Moon gathering, and though Patrick was usually in charge of food for events like this, not once did they ask him, letting us have time together as a mated pair. I appreciated that. Still, somehow, they managed to put it all together without him. I realized how as soon as we arrived.

Patrick had his fingers laced in mine as we walked together. Once people noticed us, we were met with a round of applause. The entire den was gathered in the field like they did for most of the den gatherings, only this time there were picnic blankets set out for people to sit on and two large tables filled with pizza boxes.

Patrick laughed heartily when he saw it. I didn’t blame him.

“Come on, now. You’re not going to serve real food at my mating celebration?” My mate was teasing. I suspected, he, like me, was feeling pretty proud that his cooking skills were considered unattainable by the rest of the pack.

Jayce shrugged. “We needed a party quickly, and both Corey and I haven’t slept in two years.”

Both of them carried a child on their hip. Corey had a slight swell to his abdomen. I knew he and Zane were expecting their second. I assumed Aydan and his mate would follow suit soon enough. Those two sleepless years were going to quickly grow to three, four, or a dozen depending on how large of a family they settled on.

“Thank you all.” I looked around at all the people there to celebrate us. “I do appreciate it, especially on such short notice.”

“Well, this is both a mating celebration and a celebration of you officially joining the den.” Aydan came over and put his arm around his mate’s shoulders. “We want to officially welcome you,” he said. “That is, assuming you’ll be staying—and not stealing Patrick away to your home den.”

Not once had I considered leaving with my mate to go back to my old den. It wasn’t home. Here was. Even when I’d packed my car, ready to begin anew, I knew that I was making a mistake, I just hadn’t thought of any better options.

“No, we’ll be staying here.” I looked to Patrick for confirmation, and he nodded. We hadn’t talked about it, but I had just assumed. It wasn’t as if I couldn’t visit my home den to see my brother—that was completely allowed.

“Your brother sends his well-wishes,” Corey said. “He also sent a gift, but he couldn’t make it.”

I hadn’t realized the two of them talked, although it made sense that he would contact my old den, to make sure that my former Alpha was accepting of the mating. I wasn’t sure what Ayden would’ve done if he hadn’t. He was very protective of his den, and I had a feeling it would’ve been ugly. Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“I should probably call him.” I chewed at my lower lip. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t yet. It hadn’t been a conscious decision, more that it hadn’t crossed my mind. Sometimes I could be a shit brother.

“You should, when you get a chance. I did let him know what happened as soon as you and Patrick went into your ‘hibernation.’” Aydan winked.

Patrick pulled me close. One thing about this den, the gossip train was always running.

“I look forward to meeting your brother officially,” he said. “The last time he was here, I don’t think he was my biggest fan.”

That entire thing was a mess. Den politics were never easy, but when you mixed emotions with it… yikes.

“He liked the diner. And the club sandwich. He likes your fries.” But yeah, Griff hadn’t exactly gotten along with the Betas of the den, considering the kerfuffle Corey and Zane had caused when they announced they were mates. Knowing Griff, he’d worked hard to find those few things to compliment the den on.

Patrick’s brow furrowed. “Well, I guess they do say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

I poked him in the side. “I don’t think you need to capture my brother’s heart.”

“No, but I do need him to know that you’ll be safe and well cared for here with me.” For someone who had been keeping his feelings hidden for so long, he was sure making up for it in record time.

“He’ll be able to see that I’m happy,” I said. I doubted there was a living soul that couldn’t see it.

There was a sniffle, and I looked over at Corey. He swiped at his eye. “You two are just so cute. There aren’t enough matings in this pack. It’s just so adorable.”

“Get a hold of yourself,” Jayce said, only to get a hard elbow from Corey.

“You cried the day you found out they got mated. Don’t act like I’m such a softy.”

Jayce shrugged, but didn’t dispute it.

Aydan called for attention, singling us out for a moment to congratulate us on our mating. We both waved to the crowd. I knew Patrick didn’t enjoy being the center of attention, but he stood tall and proud with me at his side, and I was thankful for that. Truth was, it made me uncomfortable too, but with Patrick there, I could do anything.

Then came the den’s favorite part: we were let loose to fill our plates. Although based on a few comments, they wished it was my mate’s food, not tepid pizza. My bear pushed forward, proud of our mate and his place in the den.

There was every sort of pizza known to existence, and I was starving. I was still recovering from our “hibernation,” as Corey had called it, and during that time, food hadn’t been front and center on my mind.

I settled onto a picnic blanket with Patrick at my side, three kinds of pizza on my plate. As we ate, people stopped by to wish us well, to officially welcome me into the den, and a couple of queries about when Patrick would be back at work.

“This is nice,” Patrick said. “If they had left it up to me, I would have told them this wasn’t necessary. But I’m glad we’re doing this.”

“Me too,” I said. “I’m happy to be here with you.”

We ate our food, and then came my favorite part of all den festivities… the den run. I’d run with them before, but this time was different. I wasn’t a guest, I was den, and there was not much better than that.