Between the Bear's Sheets (Wylde Brothers 2)

Running a hand through his hair, which was wet with sweat and blood, he let out a heavy sigh. Yeah, he was pretty fucking sure he had just found his mate, and even if there was a part of him that feared what came with that, he knew his bear wouldn’t let her go.

Hell, his human wouldn’t let her go either, but the thought of claiming another female was like him stepping off the end of the world and hoping his feet would touch land.

He never thought he would find his mate. The question he had for himself was: was he going to fight his bear and let the darkness that had been so much a part of himself for so long take him deeper to despair, or give in and let himself experience love again?

Fuck, that was the million-dollar question.

11

Passing out was not on the list of what he wanted to do. He needed some advice, and his older brother was the smartest male he knew. Charlie would help him sort this shit out, even if Ford had never been completely honest with what had gone down with Mina.

They left Slater’s, and he made a call to Charlie.

After talking to him briefly, they headed over to their older brother’s cabin. Ford needed a shower and sleep, but he was more worried about getting the confusion out of his head.

Now, an hour later, they sat around Charlie’s dining room table, a bottle of whiskey sitting in the center of the table and shot glasses in front of them.

Ford and Bram sure as hell didn’t need any more alcohol, but what the fuck, maybe some liquid courage would make him confess this easier. Charlie and Bram stared at him, both with a little bit of anticipation on their faces of what he would say.

It was late as fuck, and Ary was sleeping upstairs. Ford felt guilty for coming to Charlie’s at this hour, but he needed his brother’s interpretation on what the hell was going on. So that was what he did, just spilled everything.

The reason he and Mina broke up, the darkness that consumed him for so fucking long, and then everything he felt when he met Talia.

For ten years, he’d kept that shit with Mina buried deep inside, but then this little red fox had come around and all hell had broken loose inside him. After all of that, his brothers just sat there staring at him with mixed emotions.

“Everything feels so fucked up inside me.” Ford took a sip of his whiskey, not really wanting to throw that shit back to further numb what he felt. He waited not so patiently to hear what his brothers had to say, specifically Charlie, since he knew his older brother had felt this edginess inside him as well.

Bram and Charlie stared at him, and although Bram looked somewhat shocked, Charlie appeared thoughtful.

“Shit, man, I didn’t know the Mina situation had gone down like that.” Bram scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “You should have told us. We would have helped you through it.”

Ford knew this, but he had been a coward and kept everything inside and to himself.

He looked at Charlie. “I’m really sorry about Mina and the fucked-up shit she did, Ford.” Charlie looked thoughtful and concerned. “Bram’s right; you should have told us. We would have helped you get through it and made sure that ugly darkness didn’t consume you. Shit, I feel like an accessory to all the crap that happened with you. Before I met Ary, I pushed you guys to be wild, not settle down, and live life how you wanted and without looking back, but that shit backfired.” Charlie looked at Ford and then at Bram. Ford knew his older brother was addressing Bram’s need to fight constantly.

“I can say that I felt like you, to a point, when I found Ary. You and your bear have found your mate.” Charlie’s grim look turned into one of brotherly love. “Don’t run from it, but embrace the feelings going through you. You have found your mate, Ford, and that is one of the greatest gifts of all.”

Ford was no good for a female, for a mate. He had done a whole lot of shitty stuff in his life, things he wasn’t proud of, and things he just wanted to forget.

“Well, shit.” Bram ran a hand through his hair and looked between them. “Looks like I’ll be the lone man out.” He leaned back and linked his hands behind his head. “That’s all right with me, ‘cause I’m not looking to settle down anyway. I kind of like having a choice on who I fuck.”

Leave it to Bram to try to put a little humor into their tense, serious conversation. Charlie snorted and poured them another round of shots.