Page 23 of Destined Bear

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I’d completely forgotten about my mom being sick. Really, I should have thought about that, but… everything happened so fast.”

It really had. I rested my hand over his still-flat tummy, which was even smaller now. He’d lost a bit of weight since he first got sick. I wanted to feed him, but his stomach wasn’t ready.

“We’re gonna be dads.” Finn looked up at me, his eyes filed with emotions.

“We are.” I kissed the top of his head.

He yawned. “Let’s get some sleep.”

“That’s a fantastic idea,” I said, settling in beside him, and dozed off, sleeping well for the first time since he got sick.

Chapter 15

Finn

I needed out of the house. My sickness had run its course, and I was almost back to normal. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. I could barely manage a walk around the block without getting winded, and when I shifted to my bear form, we mostly just lounged around, but every day, I felt a little stronger. And being sedentary wasn’t going to help me get my endurance back.

And best of all, I was eating more… and keeping it down. There was no way I could increase my energy without having fuel.

For the first time today, I could even feel the little cub in my belly moving around, which was the most exciting thing of all. It was almost as if I didn’t believe they were in there until that moment, like I was afraid to, because once I did, everything could and would go wrong.

As I examined myself in the mirror, rolling my sweatpants down to let my little bump peek over the top, I couldn’t help but admire it. I was holding a life in there, and I would never take that for granted. After all, things could have gone much worse if I hadn’t gotten better.

The sound of the door opening and closing jolted me from my thoughts. I skipped to the front room, but as a wave of dizziness hit me, I had to sit down. I was officially not as better as I thought.

Patrick was by my side instantly.

“Finn, are you okay? Do you need me to call Rissa?” He already had his phone in hand, ready to dial.

“I’m fine.” I could still feel my heart racing. Maybe I wasn’t fine. “I just moved too fast. I was excited to see you.”

He settled down next to me on the couch, concern etched on his face. “You’ve got to be more careful.”

“I know. I was just excited. How are you? How was your day? What’s life like out in the world?” I smiled at him, hoping to see a hint of his usual warmth in return.

Instead, he frowned a little. “Things are fine. Do you need anything?” He stood up, fluffing the pillows and then guiding me to lie back down.

“Actually,” I said, feeling a rush of hope, “I was hoping we could go for a walk, maybe go out to dinner? I’d love to see everyone.”

I knew it wasn’t the best time to ask. He’s just seen me being unable to walk across the room without needing to sit down. But I had to try.

Patrick winced. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You’re still recovering.”

“Patrick, I’m fine.” Ish. I was fine-ish

“You just nearly fainted.”

“Because I moved too fast walking from the bedroom to here. I was excited to see you.” Which said out loud made it sound even worse.

“Well, that sounds like risky behavior. Finn, we can’t just—”

“Risky behavior?” I rolled my eyes. “You’re being too cautious.”

“Maybe you’re not being cautious enough,” he shot back, his frustration barely hidden.

That nearly sent me into a growl. “Patrick, you can’t treat me like I’m made of glass. I know it was scary. It still is. But all I’m asking for is a walk around the block or a drive. Think about it, if we went for a drive I wouldn’t even have to move. I could sit in the car!”

He shook his head. “If you want to socialize and visit, let’s call someone to see if they can come over here. In fact, where is Miss Martha? I thought she was staying with you.”