Page 8 of Destined Bear

“Do you need someone to drive with you?” Aydan asked.

I shook my head. “No, I’m sure Griff would prefer that, but I’m a grown adult. I can drive back to my home den. It’s not far.”

“Of course. Thank you for everything, Finn,” Aydan said.

“Thank you,” I replied quietly. I turned and left before I did something incredibly humiliating, like cry on my Alpha’s shoulder.

I walked home, the cold slapping my cheeks. It was good, feeling pain that was physical and not the emotional. Instead of going inside, I walked around back and sat down on the steps, opening my jacket and welcoming the cold long enough to make it the forefront, putting my heartache back enough to give myself some reprieve.

Shucking my clothes, I dropped them on the step and fell back, letting my bear rip through me. If I went inside, my brain would be replaying the day over and over again until I cried myself to sleep. I needed to run, to let my bear wear us out, to fish, and to distract me from my life.

All of my problems would still be there in the morning.

He took off, lumbering through the snow toward the tree line, in the direction of the river. And because my bear felt my pain, my needs, he did exactly what I needed, pushing me so far back that the world faded away.

Chapter 6

Patrick

I tossed and turned all night. Knowing that Finn was hurting hurt me, and not being able to fix it… that had me wanting to give myself over to my bear and hide away. The problem with hiding was that everything was still there when you were found, unless you were found by my father, because in that case, you had the addition of being bled to the mix.

I was awake hours before I usually was and was five coffees in before I walked to the diner to begin my day. I threw myself into my work, prepping for the day in the most labor-intense ways.Did I even pretend to turn on the dishwasher? Nope. Doing the manual labor was good for me. It kept me busy and distracted.

My bear was restless beneath the surface. I thought it was because he hadn’t slept well. I was wrong. It wasn’t until 8:30 rolled around and Finn hadn’t arrived that I suspected why.

The clock clicked by so slowly. 8:40: still no Finn. 8:50: his booth was empty. He’d been late the day before, when his brother called. I tried to convince myself that the same thing happened again. But my gut knew better—my bear knew better.

At nine, I caved and called Aydan. More than anything, I wanted to run to Finn to make sure he was okay, but that wasn’t my place—it was Aydan’s.

Still, as the phone rang, it took everything I had not to shift and search the territory for Finn.

“Something happened to Finn.” I had nothing to base this on. Still, I led with it.

“No, he’s fine. I just left his house.”

I took a measured breath, my bear wanting to roar, even though this was my Alpha.

“He’s all right? Unharmed?” That didn’t explain his absence, but it didn’t need to. That wasn’t my business.

“Yes, of course he is. He’s taking some time off work.” That didn’t sound like him. “Other than that, he’s fine.”

“He didn’t show up to the diner this morning.”

Aiden chuckled, and my hackles rose. “Months ago, you were complaining that he was taking up a table in your diner all day with his laptop. Now you’re upset that he’s not there. Pick one.”

I had picked one, even then. I never wanted him not there, I’d just been foolish enough to think it would be easier if he wasn’t. His absence today called my bluff. He belonged here.

“You promise that he’s all right?”

“He’s fine, Patrick. If you’re that concerned, why don’t you go see him?” He said it as if it was no big deal. It was a huge deal.

What would I even say? Yesterday I’d barely been able to make casual conversation with him. I simply handed him a cinnamon roll, mumbled a few words that basically told him to seek comfort elsewhere, and walked away.

I hung up the phone, knowing I’d have to apologize later for my behavior. There wasn’t anything I could say that would’ve been better anyway. I went back to work.

My bear wouldn’t settle.

The hours crawled by, and both Stacy and Archer mentioned missing Finn. If they thought they were being helpful, they weredead wrong. I just grunted in response—what else was there to say?