6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Zane

Corey's scent followed me no matter where I went. It clung to me, and as much as I loved it, I hated it… hated the way it reminded me of what I couldn't have… what I would never have. Stupid fate.

After dropping Corey back off at his new home, I tried to return to work and failed miserably. How foolish I'd been thinking that grease and engines and Russ would distract me from my omega. Only he wasn't my omega. He was the Alpha's brother, and there was no distracting me from him.

His scent was there, clinging to my skin, my clothes, and tickling my nostrils. And because I'd taken him all around the territory, that's where his scent was too—everywhere. And worse than that, I saw him everywhere. And not just in my imagination. He wasn't the kind of accountant who stayed home hidden away. No. He was Mr. Social Butterfly.

He'd mingled so well with the rest of the den. There wasn't a shy bone in his body, and the way he interacted with everyone was so authentic and real you couldn't help but like him. He wasn't as serious as his brother. He set everyone at ease when they met. He was going to be a fantastic member of the den, which meant I was never going to be able to get away from his scent.

This sweet torture was going to be my life.

I'd been so focused on not going against my word, that the fact that he would be here permanently, mated to another, had somehow not sunk in until now. How could I possibly continue on as if this was totally normal, as if I didn't desire him with every fiber of my being? I'd say it would get easier with time, only if the past day had taught me anything, it was that the pull toward him got stronger, not weaker.

This went well past physical attraction, although gods, was that there.

My bear craved his touch, but also his conversation, his smile, his presence.

As Corey met members of the den, he'd asked them questions about themselves. He'd set up dinners and playdates and conversations so that he could fully immerse himself into the den. He was perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect. He wasn't just a random omega coming in to even numbers—he was here for all the right reasons, and it showed.

But even so, he couldn't be mine.

I closed up my laptop and put it in my bag. I planned to give it to him so that so he didn't need to work at the actual shop tomorrow. His scent may still be hanging in the air everywhere I went, but I didn't need to amplify it at the place I spent the most time. This was difficult as it was.

But before I saw him to pass the laptop on, I needed to shift. My bear demanded it. I needed to get away so I could get him out of my mind and to let my bear work off all the pent-up frustration he was feeling toward me for not giving into the mating pull. He didn't understand why I was doing what I was. All he knew was that fate sent him our mate and I was thwarting that.

I stripped off my clothes and walked out the back door of the mechanic shop. It led directly into the woods, thankfully. I didn't want any company.

Eventually, we might actually expand the town to have more side streets. It was part of Aydan's long-term plans. If it came to fruition, I'd no longer have direct access to the woods from here, but that would be several years down the road, and I had plenty of other things to worry about without inviting trouble that wasn't even on the horizon yet.

I fell back and gave my bear his fur. He landed on the ground with a thud and took off at a full run. My beast was large but didn't let his size get in the way of his speed. Being a grizzly, when I stood on my hind legs, I was well over nine feet tall. As a shifter, I was larger than regular grizzlies. Stronger, too.

Once I was deep within the woods, I slowed to a walk, letting my bear wander around, sniffing out berries and other things that we both enjoyed, including a squirrel that wasn't wise enough to get out of our reach. He needed this time to be. Heck, I needed it too.

Eventually he was worn out, but also not ready to give back control. He found a nice spot in the sun and took a nap. Any human seeing us would be perplexed at seeing my bear just chilling. He might've been all grizzly when he needed to be, but he was also part me.

I needed space from Corey so I could wash his scent away and regroup myself, and this was the perfect opportunity.

Except his scent seemed to only get further into my soul with each step I took in the woods, each second I lay in the sun, each sound I heard. Everything I saw reminded me of him. Every. Single. Thing.

Did he enjoy blackberries or red berries? We had both kinds growing wild in the forest. Did he like them? Should I come back with a basket and harvest some for him? Or better yet, I could show him this spot where the berries were plentiful.

Only it wasn't better yet. That would only lead me down a path of heartache. So did hearing the stream and yearning to bring him down to the banks with me for a picnic. Did he enjoy fishing in his bear form? I knew that I did.

I got up and lumbered toward the river. I could catch him some fish and take them to him. Alphas provide, right? I shook my head. Dammit, I needed to cleanse him from my mind, get him out of there completely. If only it were as easy as that.

At the river, I sat down on the bank and dipped my paw into the cool water. The fish scattered once they caught a hint of me. I wasn't hungry, so I wasn't going to catch them. Not now, anyway.

What sort of fish did my mate like?

Fuck, I needed to not think of him that way.

I tried to shut off my human brain; only that made it ten times worse. My bear, driven by instinct, didn't care that my mate was promised to another or that my mate was my best friend's brother, my Alpha's brother, and I had explicitly been told that Corey was off-limits. No, my bear did not care about any of that. He'd scented Corey, and that was all he needed to know.

Rolling onto my back, I stared up at the midday sky. It was slightly overcast now, but the warmth permeated my fur. I loved that I could enjoy the warmth without being blinded by the sun.

Why did this mate thing have to be so complicated? It wasn't fair. But then again, what in life was?

The sun moved in the sky, and I could no longer hide from my life. It was time to return to the den, to my responsibilities. I rolled back onto my paws and began the walk toward the garage, slower this time. I wasn't in a hurry to return to my responsibilities. At least that had been my plan.

My bear? Yeah, he had other plans. He knew that Corey was there and refused to delay getting back to him, pushing through my attempts to meander. He moved faster with each step, bringing me closer and closer to our mate. And even though I should've been heading back to the mechanic shop, I found myself on the trail that came out directly to Aydan's backyard—the one that connected to Corey's.

I refused to shift to my human form right there, naked. Even though shifters didn't care about nudity, I wasn't about to expose myself to the man who my beast called mate, especially since just thinking about him got my cock stirring. At the very least it was inappropriate.

As if sensing I was there, Corey stepped out on his back deck. He smiled when he saw me. He might never have met my beast before, but there was recognition in his eyes. He knew who I was, and he was happy to see me. I did that. I made him smile.

All thoughts of how much of a bad idea this was left my mind.

I couldn't deny Corey any longer, and I had a feeling he wasn't going to deny me either.