My bear had growled at me for that, then gone silent. The asshole was actually giving me the silent treatment.
All my bear and I’d wanted when Kian had stood in my office looking like he was about to break down was to comfort him, but I knew right then, my touch would not have been welcomed. Not that I could blame him.
I wanted to go over to Rhys’s and see Kian…explain. But what was there to say, really?
“Hey, I know I didn’t approve your designs, but how do you feel about going on a date with me?”
That would go just swimmingly.Not.
And my brother would definitely pour gasoline on that fire, calling me an ass and every other inventive name he could come up with. Even Bailey had called me an idiot.
I sighed, pushing my hands through my already messy hair. This wasn’t how it was meant to go. I was supposed to meet my mate. He was supposed to know who I was…what I was… He would then agree to be mine, and we would spend a couple of weeks locked away learning everything about each other. Mind. Body. Soul.
On the heels of that thought, I knew without a doubt—whoever that mate was, he wasn’t Kian, and I wanted Kian.
Instead, here I was about to spend yet another night alone when my mate was two doors down. And this time, I couldn’t pop over for dinner. I had a feeling the door would be slammed in my face if I did.
I blew out a breath and rubbed the back of my neck. Yeah, thinking wasn’t helping. I needed a run. When I let my bear out, things were less complicated. I was still me, but a lot of the human worries were dulled for a while.
I wasn’t sure that would work this time since my bear and I wanted Kian with staggering ferocity.
My cock stirred, thinking about my mate’s trim body in his slacks and shirt.
My hand and I had gotten very reacquainted since I’d scented my mate, but even that was getting hollow. I didn’t want to jerk off over him. I wanted to lick and suck every inch of him before sliding my cock into his welcoming heat. I wanted to mark him and hold him close so that when he was covered in my scent, there would never be any doubt he was mine. Great Urs, I wanted more than a solo jerk session. I needed Kian in my home, in my life, in my bed where he belonged.
With that depressing thought, I walked out back to my patio, and I quickly took my clothes off and left them on the chairs before walking down the stairs and letting the change come over me. Like always, it was smooth. My bear and I had always been in tune with each other. Although he wasn’t too pleased with me at the moment because of the way I was dealing with our mate.
I ambled through my garden out into the night, the sharp vision of my bear guiding me even in the dark. I loved this land. My great-great-grandparents—I always forgot how many greats—had come here from Europe and settled here. They’d built Asheville as a safe place for shifters. All kinds of shifters. Back then in Europe, the mating between two species hadn’t really been accepted, and as the story went, the two of them, a wolf and a bear, had decided to leave. Start their life elsewhere.
Which was why my cousins, who lived not too far away from here, were wolves.
I let my bear roam for a while, enjoying the freedom he gave me. I wouldn’t get lost, no matter how far I went in this form. I would always find my way home.
I stopped at one of the smaller ponds on the property and lay down there. Even being in this form didn’t stop the yearning, and for the first time, I was fighting my bear, trying to stop him from doing what he wanted.
Sighing, I lay down still in bearskin and watched the stars. All the while wondering what Kian was up to right at this moment.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed—it couldn’t have been that long—but being out here wasn’t doing much to help. I didn’t have any more clarity, and my mind wasn’t any clearer, so I got up and headed home.
* * *
“Eeeeeep.”The sound had me freezing.
“Please don’t eat me.” My mate stood frozen on the deck of Rhys’s home, and he looked like he was about to pee his pants.
Shit, how hadn’t I noticed that I’d headed to Rhys’s? If I’d been paying attention, I’d have scented Kian before my bear and I scared the heck out of him.
I shook my head and backed away a little.
Kian’s head tilted to the side, and I could read the confusion on his face. I knew he couldn’t hear me in this form, but I hoped the mate bond that existed between us would help him see that he wasn’t in danger with me.
I sat and put a paw up. Kian looked confused for a second, but then his body relaxed slightly.
“I should run, but you seem nice,” Kian said.
I nodded, at least as best I could like this.
“But bears can’t be nice. I forget, am I supposed to stay super still or make myself really big?” Even as he spoke, he didn’t move a muscle.
