Page 19 of Manifesting a Mate

I seriously hope the mate bond settles down in time, otherwise neither of us are ever going to get things done.

By the time midday rolled around, I had to convince, or more accurately bribe, Henry with promises of constant open lines of communication between our link and our phones to get my mate to go to work. I know Austin understood, or at least is aware that it’s the newly forming mate bond making Henry overly protective. He isn’t flaking his responsibilities on purpose. He just feels an overwhelming need to make sure I am safe at all times. It's equally adorable and frustrating. I think if I wasn’t so determined to show my alpha I was a worthy omega it would have been easy to just give up my job, drop out of college and live off Henry. Probably take a job at the bar so we could always be together. That's not me though. I want to contribute and the first step in that is buying my own car.

Stepping through the door of my dorm room for the first time since I met my mate feels almost surreal. Like this is not my life anymore, not my room, not where I should be. How strange that things can feel so foreign after only a few days. Dropping my backpack on my desk, I drop onto my bed with a sigh. I am exhausted and now that I’m laying down, I can feel the ache in my muscles not only from being on my feet since four, but the aftereffects of a weekend of non-stop fucking.

“Where have you been?” Jack's voice startles me out of my musings, making me sit up in bed with a groan. Even with the pain in my ass and the throb in my feet, I have the biggest smile on my face.

“It happened Jack, it worked. I found my mate and he is everything I’ve ever dreamed of. I manifested the fuck out him,” I tell him excitedly. “We met Saturday morning, he just came into the cafe in all his lumberjack glory. Apparently, he had caught my scent and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from so he showed up planning to sit all day in the cafe until his mate made his appearance. It was so fucking romantic.”

“Saturday? And you what just went with him for the whole weekend? A total stranger? He could have killed you!” Jack exclaims. That is not at all what I thought he was going to say.

“He’s my mate silly, he would never hurt me. Besides, I came back here to get changed but you were still asleep and then he took me for a date, a picnic in the forest by his house.” I sigh wistfully, remembering how nervous we both were and how incredible Barney looked. I make a conscious choice not to think about the whole choking thing.

“There are bad alphas out there Everett, you have to be more careful.” Jack is not being the hype man I expected. He almost seems pissed. Which is weird. Why wouldn’t he be happy for me? Standing up with a slight wince, I cross the room to study him closer.

“I know there are bad alphas, but Henry isn’t one of them. He is wonderful, kind and caring. Just how I manifested him.” I smile, hoping he can see how genuinely happy I am. I guess it's sweet that he's so concerned for me. I didn’t think we were that close, but maybe I was reading it wrong. I’m not mad at it. Who doesn’t want to have friends that look out for you like that?

I watch as his body deflated, the anger seeming to bleed out of him as he releases a long breath. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’m glad you found your mate, Everett. I guess that manifesting thing really does work. Although I’m still not convinced there isn’t a little magic at play here.” He grins, his demeanor switching fast enough to give me whiplash.

Chuckling softly, I sit back down on the side of my bed to kick off my shoes and fill Jack in on everything that happened over the past few days. I spare him the details of my heat and the things that transpired in Henry's bedroom. That feels private and not something I should be sharing so freely.

The whole time I talk, Jack listens attentively, nods in all the appropriate places, but it's almost like the smiles he offers me don’t quite reach his eyes. Instead of dwelling on it, I leave him to his studies and grab my cell phone to call Christopher, already preparing for the tongue-lashing he's about to give me for waiting so long to tell him. At least I don’t need to worry about an adverse reaction from my bestie. I know he’s going to be so fucking happy for me.

CHAPTER 16

“I got friends in low places.”

Henry

It’s been two weeks since I found my fated mate. Time has flown by, yet I feel like I’ve known him forever. Everett fits so seamlessly into my life. His ever-positive attitude compliments my more realistic view of the world. He radiates happiness and joy in abundance, so much that anybody in his orbit has no choice but to smile. Some days I struggle to remember what life was like before I met him. It became clear pretty quickly I’d just been trucking along in the dark without realising I was missing the sun.

The first time I met Everett's squirrel I simpered, actually simpered at how cute he was. Tiny little face and giant fluffy tail. I had no idea a squirrel's tail feathers were almost transparent. It's only the fact there were so many of them that makes it look full. What a cheeky chappy he was, too. The memory pulled a smile to my lips.

Now that I’ve been exposed to the overwhelming sense of light and all-consuming love that comes with bonding, I just want to scream it from the rooftops. Why Austin is so dead against finding his fated mate is beyond me. Why would anybody actively avoid feeling this fucking good?

A little pulse of happiness thrums through my connection with Everett. It does that from time to time. I like to think it means he's thinking about me, and I hope he feels those little tingles every time I think of him when we are apart. Which has been more than I would like. Between both of our jobs, Everett's classes, and the fact he is still living at his dorm for the time being means our time together has been somewhat limited to texts and calls throughout the day and weekends spent under the duvet in my cabin.

My bear is less than pleased, to say the least, that Everett has yet to move in with us. I understand why from a logical standpoint. My little squirrel doesn’t have a car and with how early he starts his shift at the cafe, it just makes more sense for him to stay at the dorms until he can buy one, or I can convince him to let me buy one for him. Stubborn omega refuses to let me spoil him. Hasn’t stopped me researching used cars for sale in Valleywood that are both a good deal and a safe car.

I would much rather just buy him a new car, I need my omega to have reliable transportation. Especially with his grand plans of having babies as soon as possible. The hope that we created a little magic that first time is still lingering in the back of my mind. I know Everett is disappointed, but we have all the time in the world to make babies. I’m not sure I’m fully on board with the ten kits he wants, but who am I kidding? If my omega wants ten babies, then ten babies he will have. Considering squirrels generally have multiples in their litters, it's not actually that far a stretch to imagine us with an army of kids. If nothing else, I'm up for making all those babies. However many times he wants.

“For fuck’s sake, Henry.” Austin’s voice jolts me out of yet another daydream, forcing me back to the boring reality of this work meeting. I used to not only enjoy these weekly bar meetings with Austin, I advocated for them. A debrief of such. We can discuss how the previous weekend went. The takings, the staff, any problems that popped up or things that have the potential to become a problem for the next. It's just smart business practice.

I apparently lost the ability to fully care about the business when I met my mate. I’m sure it's just the newness of it all, and things will settle eventually. This is the first Monday briefing I’ve not missed entirely. Having convinced Everett to stay the past few Sunday nights, I've driven him to work at the ass crack of dawn, waited for him to finish, gotten my treat and taken him to school. I swear if my bear had his way we would just follow Everett around all day, driving him place to place. Fuck, he would happily carry him from class to class if he wanted me to.

“Am I having a meeting with my business partner or his dick, because right now your dick is the only thing reacting to anything I'm saying.” He grumbles, nodding toward my lap as I sit sprawled back on the couch in his office.

“It is most certainly not reacting to you, my friend.” I huffed a laugh at his exaggerated eyeroll. Sitting up, I straighten my jacket and quickly rearrange my cock to make its perpetual hardness less obvious, giving my full attention to Austin who is sitting behind his desk narrowing his eyes at me in distrust. He’s right, though. I need to get my mind off my mate and into this bar. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’m listening. Tell me how the weekend went and I’ll go over the suppliers invoices.”

“Are you sure you’re capable of focusing on business, or do you need a minute to take care of the issue winking at me from your crotch.” He asks, making a laugh bubble out of me.

“Oh, I see what's happening here. You’re jealous,” I accuse playfully. “Is witnessing how blissfully happy I am changing your mind?”

“About what?”

“Finding a mate of your own.”

“Why on earth would I want that, when I can enjoy a varied diet?” He smirks at me. “Plus, one of us needs to keep their blood in the brain and not between their legs or this bar is going to flop.”