Page 2 of Destined Bear

“Do I have to make a decision right now?” The thought that I was even considering it was madness. I had a fated mate, for goodness’ sake! I couldn’t mate a totally different alpha.

“Don’t feel obligated to do anything, Finn,” Griff said. “He just tossed the idea out there. So, I’m telling you. If you want to talk to him about it, you’re more than welcome to call him, or we can set up a meeting.”

“Meeting calls. So romantic.” I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, it’s not ideal,” he said, chuckling. “I know your fated is there in Windridge, Finn. Just say the word and we won’t pursue this at all.”

I sucked in a breath. As much as I had told my brother, I hadn’t yet expressed this particular thing. It was humiliating that my fated mate was rejecting me in such a way.

“It’s Patrick,” I said, voice thick. “The Beta who works at the diner.” I blinked back tears that had nothing to do with the cold.

“Has he shown an interest?”

“No,” I said, swallowing hard. “I don’t think he knows I exist.”

“I’m sorry, Finn.”

“I’ve been thinking about just giving up and coming home. I guess… maybe this is a sign.”

“Don’t make any decisions right now, Finn,” Griff replied gently. “Think about it. Sleep on it if you want. I can come visit you. We can talk it over. This is a lot right now.”

I had to give it to my brother. He didn’t always get me, but he was always supportive. If I so much as hinted that I needed him, he’d be leaving before the sentence was out of my mouth.

“Thanks, Griff, can I call you back after I get done working for the day?” He, of course, had no idea that I made the trek from my home to the diner where I worked every day, nor did he know I was standing out in the elements as we spoke.

“Of course. Take your time, okay? No matter what you choose, I’ll support you.”

As far as big brothers went, I had hit the jackpot. Me and my other two omega siblings were quite lucky. “Thanks, Griff.”

I hung up the phone, leaned against the wall, hitting my head a few times to clear my thoughts. It didn’t work. Then I went inside the diner, just like I did every other day. And just like every other day, Patrick didn’t notice a fucking thing I did.

Chapter 2

Patrick

My favorite part of the day was when I arrived at the diner and no one was there for at least two hours. I’d spent the morning prep time completely alone. Sure, I could hire help to have someone come in and it would go a lot faster, but then I’d have someone underfoot, and that was unacceptable to me.

This was my time.

Even as the den got larger and the demands on the diner grew—after all, it served as a sort of central kitchen—I wasn’t aboutto deviate from my schedule unless I absolutely had to. The last time Alpha Aydan brought up the idea, I immediately shut it down. I knew, though, he was just biding his time until he could bring it up again. It wasn’t sustainable for me to run the diner on my own and continue to be a Beta.

Like all good things, this morning’s quiet came to an end as my worker arrived. I liked Archer well enough. It wasn’t about that.

“Morning, boss,” Archer greeted.

I grunted in his direction, earning a half-smirk from him. It was our morning routine.

We worked well together because he put up with my grumpiness and didn’t seem to let it bother him. Not many people could say that. I wasn’t an asshole; I just didn’t like to talk or socialize. I was a solitary bear.

The fact that I was a Beta for the den was, honestly, a lapse of judgment on Aydan’s part. That wasn’t to say I was a bad Beta; I just wasn’t sure I was the best choice. Still, my bear lived to meet his Alpha’s standards, so I did a good job. I socialized when I had to—just not every day. And only when Ihadto.

From the outside, I probably seemed like the wrong person to run the heart of the town, which was exactly what the diner was. And from a people POV, that was accurate. But from a food perspective, I was the right bear for the job. I’d always felt at home in the kitchen, even as a cub.

Archer and I worked together in silence for a while. The routine was familiar. Once we opened, orders started trickling in. We had one waitress, Stacy, and two of us in the kitchen working, which was enough for the breakfast rush. When lunch and dinner came around, we’d have more people working, and eventually, I’d be forced to go home. Alpha was firm about that. He didn’t want any of us overworking and according to him, staying all day was that.

I preferred the mornings by a wide margin.

“I haven’t seen Finn’s order come in.” Archer flipped the burgers he was grilling.