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My stomach twisted. Hopefully Griff’s brother was more understanding about the whole thing than mine seemed to be. It wasn’t as if I sought out my fated mate, though I was incredibly glad that I found him. And really, I’d asked the goddess for him, so maybe in a way I had sought him out.
I refused to be sorry about finding him. How things played out? Sure. But never for Zane. Never.
It made me sick to my stomach to think that at one time I’d been willing to throw away the chance at ever finding my fated, just because having an arranged mating was easier. And it wasn’t really because it was easier, but I’d convinced myself that at the time, so same difference?
Finnegan grinned. “After he came all this way to marry you sight-unseen and you denied him?”
I nodded.
“But instead, you found your fated mate and kept it a secret?”
I blushed. “Yeah that.”
Finnegan shrugged one shoulder. “He’s over it. I think it sounds quite romantic how you and your mate met. Griff isn’t going to stand in the way of fated mates. He’s bummed and his pride took a hit, as often happens to alphas. My omega brothers and I came here to find mates. There are too many omegas at our den. It only makes sense that we’d come someplace where there are too many alphas. They don’t know that I know, but my Alpha and Alpha Aydan have talked about he and I mating.” He was talking a mile a minute. It was adorable, but also, I could only half listen. My brother and Zane having their pissing match had most of my focus.
The mating-my-brother thing pulled me right back into focus. “Oh, and how do you feel about that?” My brother was a good guy, but being a good guy and being the person you should mate weren’t the same thing.
I turned and watched my brother and my mate spar. He was not putting his best foot forward if he was looking to mate Finnegan, that was for sure.
So far, the hits were pretty mild, though they did seem to be having fun, which was good. Probably. I initially feared it was going to be my brother taking out his frustrations on my mate, and there was still time for that—which I learned oh too well a few dozen punches later.
Aydan landed a heavy blow against my mate’s muzzle. I winced. The omega wrinkled his nose. Maybe I hadn’t been so far off in my initial assessment of this whole boxing thing, after all. Alphas.
“No, I don’t think that I’d like that—your brother is great and all, but he’s not my mate.” He lowered his voice to nearly a whisper. “The romantic in me is still hoping to find our fated mate. The realist in me…thinks he probably doesn’t exist. Griff says I live with my head in the clouds and my paws off the ground. But I can’t help it.”
The omega shrugged one shoulder.
“You should speak up then.” May he learn from my mistakes. “There is nothing wrong with wanting to wait for your fated mate. Trust me. You should tell him.”
“I will,” he said. “I’ll just take my time at it.”
I hoped whatever stubborn-fueled alpha-headiness my mate and my brother needed to work out got handled soon because I was ready to have my brother back. Whatever the heck this was that I was watching was at least entertaining, though. The crowd was sure into it. There were screams and cheers with every blow that landed. I’d be shocked if this didn’t become a regular thing, not just with them but with all the bears.
The loud crack of a landed punch to my brother had the crowd erupting, the conversation I was having with Finnegan abandoned. Yeah, the den was for sure going to want this to be a thing.
“Ow, that stings.” Zane winced as I pressed a cloth to his swollen face. The split in his eyebrow hadn’t quite healed but was off to a good start. And he had plenty of shifter ability to ward off infection, and the cut would likely heal overnight, which was good. I still felt the need to baby him a bit. I crossed my fingers that maybe the sting of the antiseptic might persuade him not to go rounds with my brother again. At least not for a while.
“Serves you right. Fighting like that is silly.” Even if I did kind of enjoy it near the end. Once I figured out that it wasn’t going to escalate and the two of them started playing to the crowd, I was all in. I’d have liked it a lot more if my brother and mates hadn’t been the ones throwing the punches.
“Well, I think Aydan took it a little bit beyond the playfulness that it was supposed to be.”
“Or you were both showing off for the crowd?”
He blushed slightly.
“Anyway… at least now, in his eyes and the eyes of the den, we are mated.”
“We are indeed.” I pressed a kiss to his cheek, careful to avoid the injury. “There’s no getting away from me now.”
Zane settled in my arms. I was sitting on the couch with him between my legs. We were at my home now and finally alone. I’d hated not being able to be with him the way I’d wanted to while all this crap with my ex-arranged mate was worked out. This was where we were meant to be.
We’d given up all pretense of having him stay anyplace else. There was no longer any need for it, and even if there was, I couldn’t do it anymore. My bear needed to be with our mate. Full. Stop.
Tomorrow we’d officially move all his things from the apartment over here, along what little things he had in my brother’s home. I couldn’t wait.
“You sure that Jayce won’t mind staying here, even though I’m here?” It wasn’t the first time he’d asked, and I appreciated him giving my bestie the respect he deserved.
“Yes, we talked about it during… recently, and he knows the story. He’s convinced that we’ll have outlived our honeymoon phase by then, so it’ll be safe.”
