Rain came out of the building talking to a group of people that were hanging on his every word. Lord only knows what kind of insight he was blessing them with.

The group laughed like they were filming a beer commercial and then broke apart.

“Life of the party, huh?” Fin said as his brother walked towards him. Rain was wearing a fitted shirt looked more like something Quinn might have picked out instead of his brother. Rain’s mate liked his muscles, apparently.

“When you can do an adequate imitation of your environmental law professor, you make friends. The man always looks like he’s just rolled out of bed and often starts class with a recap of his weekend. It gets weird some days.”

Rain took a seat and Finley looked across the grounds as his brother waited.

“I know we’re sorta good, right?” he started.

“Finley, if you weren’t my brother I’d punch you. We’re always good. Even when we aren’t good and you’re pissing me off, we’re still family and I love you. I may think you’re an idiot or acting like a spoiled brat, but you’ll always be my brother.”

Fin chuckled. “You don’t know how much I needed to hear that. Because I’m about to get real dumb.”

“You just started classes again; you can’t possibly be having trouble with them. You know you can afford to hire tutors. No shame in that, you need to get back into the routine of assignments and studying.”

“No, it’s not class. Class is easy, I feel like I’m back in high school getting all my work done before the end of the semester and being bored. I need another kind of advice. I already talked to Cage, but I need your support now.”

“Fin, you know you have it no matter what. I’m right here, man.”

“How do you breathe?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Rain asked confused.

Finley attempted to take a deep breath but couldn’t get his lungs to fill all the way. “How do you breathe when they aren’t with you?”

Finley felt the last words choke in his throat and his bear opened a floodgate of feelings at him that almost had him tearing up. He sucked that back and squared his jaw. He had a mate now, he needed to be strong, damn it, and it was a new world that he was going to be the exact mate she needed. Strength, support, and love. It was going to be his new motto.

“Holy shit… holy shit! No way! Seriously? Are you fucking with me?”

Finley shook his head, looking down at his clasped hands. He could almost see the light shimmer of his bear still trying to break out over the surface of his skin. His animal would never force him to shift, but he was so overwhelmed that he was pushing the boundaries.

“I don’t think I’d ever fuck with anyone about something like this. I fucking can’t breathe, man. She’s across campus right now and I feel like I need to tear down the walls to get to her. How do you stop that feeling?”

“Man, you don’t. It’s inside you all day every day. Nothing in the world matters more than having them in your arms. It’s all-consuming and you actually have to fight past the urge to lock her away and keep her to yourself. Just keep pretending to be a normal average human.” Rain said this with a brotherly tone that made Fin pay attention.

“That’s it. I don’t feel human. I feel like my bear and he is very single minded about what he wants. All I can think about is her, and holding him back. How am I supposed to maintain?”

“You just do. Because it’s what’s best for them. Every decision you make from here on out is going to be for her benefit. It’s the way we’re made. You get up and go to class because you want to support her in the future. You want to be able to provide a home and safe place for her and your cubs. You want to show her you are not the type to sit back and live off your family money. You will let her go to class alone because you know she is capable of it and to prove to her that you know she is a strong woman. I will tell you right now, the Fates put us with women who are not only perfect for us, but that test us to be better men.”

“A better man? I can’t think of anything more important to me right now. I want to be the best man for her. She’s smart, Rain. She’s fucking pre-med and I want to run a daycare? How does that look? I need to get a different job, I need to do something important,” Fin said, even though the words hurt his heart.

“Fuck that. You need to do what feels right. Your mate will understand your needs too. That’s why the Fates picked her. The universe knows who you are even if you forgot for a while. They aren’t going to pick someone that won’t support your needs as well.”

“She wants to be a pediatrician. She’s really smart,” Fin said proudly.

“A kid doctor and a shifter that wants to teach kids. Sounds like the perfect match to me.”

“She’s so fucking beautiful. I couldn’t stop staring at her skin. Do you do that? Stare at Quinn’s skin? Zara’s is smooth and soft looking. I wanted to touch her so bad. Her hair was like this dark waterfall that pulled me in. I wanted to do so many things and I had to run away to the bathroom to avoid getting punched in the throat for overstepping.”

“I get the skin thing. Funny how you never notice skin until your mate apparently has the softest, best smelling skin in the world. I’m glad you didn’t get arrested for listening to your bear. He’s an animal and you are a man. You are functioning in the human world and there are rules that you really don’t want to break.”

“I guess,” Fin moaned. Not listening to his bear didn’t sound as fun as giving in.

“So, Zara?” Rain asked.

“Zara Chadha. She lives at home, her dad is a doctor and her mom is a homemaker. I’m actually going to have to date her. Like meet her parents and everything to get to see her.”

“I’m sure they will love you.”

“Right, and how is Quinn’s mom doing? She baking you cakes yet?”

Rain’s mate’s mother didn’t like him for lots of reasons. The main reason being that he was a man. And men, in her opinion, were only good for a handful of things. Things that a woman could take care of on her own with the help of a good job and a few battery operated appliances.

Second, that the fact that her daughter had rebelled against the way she was raised and shacked up with a man that literally wanted to wait on her hand and foot. That pissed his mother-in-law right off. Quinn’s mother was a tough woman because she had to be; she had raised her daughter all alone and she didn’t want Quinn to go through the same heartache she had experienced. In the grand scheme of things, she really thought she was protecting her little girl. They couldn’t tell her that a shifter would never cheat on their mate, that they could never not care for their every need, and never ever hurt them. It would kill them to do so.

Those kinds of secrets had to be kept for as long as possible to protect their young ones. The Rochon clan never once had a need to broadcast who and what they were. They lived quietly and kept to themselves. Quinn’s mom might not be the best person to keep secrets.

“No, no cakes. She stopped calling me names, which is a nice improvement. She’s also talking to Quinn again, which is more important than her liking me. That relationship needs to be repaired before I worry about getting into her good graces. I told her that only time will show her how much I love Quinn and that I will always take care of her. Maybe in ten or twenty years her mom will start to believe me.”

Finley looked up at his brother. “Is it bad that I really hope Zara’s parents aren’t like that?”

“No way, man, I wouldn’t wish Mona on anyone. Maybe they will adore you and think you’re perfect for their daughter.”

Fin shook his head. “She mentioned that in her family it wasn’t unheard of for the parents to arrange marriages. Not that they’re forced to marry anyone, just that their parents find partners they think are suitable and offer them up. I want to open a daycare. Is that going to ring ‘strong protector’ or ‘good provider’ to them?”

“I think you need to stop worrying about what they think and worry about what your mate thinks. You only have to show her how you feel. I know the details are getting in the way, but they’re just that. Details. You know deep down that you and your bear will take care of her no matter what. Your career choice is what we do to contribute to our clan. They won’t understand that. And I can’t believe no one has thought of this before. Imagine all the mated pairs being able to date again, to be able to go out without begging for babysitters. Our cubs are going to start getting a formal education before school. They won’t get dropped into a class full of humans and feel like the odd ones out because they don’t know the routines. You’re going to be making a big difference in our clan.”

Finley needed those words from his brother. He knew that his decision felt right, but it always helped to have the person you looked up to the most back you up.

“I have a date with her in a few days. Cage told me to give her a few days so I don’t come on too strong. You think that’s right?”

Rain gave a sharp laugh. “Man, I wanted to track Quinn to her room to figure out what window was hers and climb the nearest available tree to watch her all night. I might not be the best judge of rational behavior. But you know she lives at home, she agreed to see you again, and you obviously need some more time to adjust so you don’t do anything stupid. It’s going to be hard, believe me; your bear is going to be tearing at your skin. Do yourself a favor; drive out to the Cascades and find somewhere to shift. Let your animal out and give him some time to roam. It will make you both feel better and give you some much needed time.”

Finley could almost feel the wind whipping across their fur as they ran through the forest. It would be nice to feel the dirt under their feet.

“I may need to so I don’t do anything stupid. I don’t want to screw this up. I want to do so much. You think paying off her school for the rest of the year might be too much?”

Rain started laughing and nodded. “Yeah, buddy, you might want to hold off on the big gestures. Quinn will still look at me sometimes like she is lost in thought and say, ‘You bought me a car?’ Seriously, it wasn’t even expensive. But those big gestures only work sometimes.”

“No paying off student debt or buying cars. Got it,” Finley agreed. He’d already thought about a car too because he didn’t know if she was walking, biking, or riding the bus. She might already have a car she loved. Buying her a new one would come off rude.

“Start with something small. Flowers are nice, but not something she will have to lug around on your date. And keep the gifts small. Inexpensive, but thoughtful. Humans need that build up, and we bears are terrible at that. We go all in, bossy and growly. Luckily, it usually works out for us because we are being sincere in our awkwardness.”

“Alright, this was helpful, thanks,” Fin said, rubbing his hands together.

“Fin?”

Finley looked up to see his brother looking at him with more emotion than Finley could handle at the moment. There was a shine of tears, there was shock, pride, happiness, concern all wrapped up in love.

“Congratulations, man. This is amazing and I’m so happy for you. You found her. She’s yours and you are hers. That’s forever and there is no greater gift in the universe. Be happy.”

Finley swallowed and felt his bear give him a nudge that clearly said, ‘Man up.’

“Thanks. I am happy. I’m more scared and freaked out, but I am happy. I feel so… grounded. I can’t think of any other way to describe it. I’m here attached to the earth for the first time. And I can feel her. Across campus, it’s like there is a string of… something between us. It’s thin right now and I want to make it so much stronger.”

“It will get there. Every step along the way builds on that thread until nothing can break through it. You may be the first Rochon that can really give his mate time to adjust. She will be the envy of all the women and men that have joined our family.”

“Good, if I manage this I want a trophy. One of those nice bowling types, with a little bear on the top proclaiming me most patient or some shit.”

Rain held out his hand. “Deal.”