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The bitterness and anger in her tone was definitely real, I just wondered what of her words were true.
“Well, audience, it seems we’re going to have to be patient and watch all the drama unfold,” Grady started, before ending the call with Morgan and turning to the camera. “Tell us, viewers, what do you make of all this? Don’t forget to use the hashtagBackstage Pass!”
Collin was the first to move, shutting off the TV before sitting back down. “I know we didn’t all come together for a meal to watch that shit.”
“No, but after she threatened us on the phone we wanted to be sure she wasn’t going to make up lies,” I countered. “Though, Atlas threatened her with legal action. She’s not stupid, after all.”
“And you’re right,” Ezra said to Collin. “We’re ready to know what’s going to happen with Bear. We gave you time, Ellie gave you time, but this man is sitting in limbo and now we’ve just moved up the timeline of Morgan and the rest of that pack to show up.”
“I know,” Collin said. His voice was hollow and laced in defeat. I hated to see him like this but none of us could make this decision for him. He had to decide if he wanted to pass on a fated mate, or give it a chance. I’d made my stance clear.
Throwing away a mate was the wrong move.
“Did you watch the videos Bear sent over?” I asked gently as I sent reassurance through the bond. We’d scoured far too many of them but he had always avoided it. I sent them to his phone so he could watch when he was ready.
“I did,” he said, meeting my eyes. His swam with worry and hesitation. “He seems to be innocent but what if he’s only making it seem that way? It could be lies too.”
“He didn’t seem the type,” I offered.
“Did the others?” Ezra asked as gently as possible. It was a fair question. I’d given Jacob and Trevor the benefit of the doubt.
“They were charming when they needed to be. But everything with the others was surface level. Bear and I talked about real things, like books we liked and our pasts. Trevor and Jacob were more concerned with flirting and trying to fuck me,” I admitted.
It made me sound like an idiot to explain it out loud. But as I explained, the easier it was to realize that I was willing to excuse the lack of connection with them because I genuinely liked Bear.
“I don’t want to have regrets,” Collin admitted. “Just one meeting and I felt a connection with him, but I was obviously conflicted, too.”
“Then you need to go on a date with him,” I said. “Give him a chance, one on one, without holding back on him.”
“You’re honestly okay with this?” he asked, throwing his hands up. “That’s what makes it so hard. He’s not your mate, Ellie, just mine.”
“That doesn’t mean that something might not develop between us,” I said simply. “Bear was different than the others. And I’d never stand in the way of you and a fated mate.”
“We also need him to get to know us as part of a pack,” Ezra said. “We all have to move past the feelings we already had about him.”
“Let’s do that first,” Collin said quickly. “I’d like to ease into this as well and see how he reacts to all of us.”
“Whatever you need,” I said. “Who has his number?”
“Here,” Ezra said, pulling it out of his pocket and handing over it. Instead of putting him into a single chat, I put him right in our group chat. Whether they all wanted to dance around it or not, he was pack now.
Fate made that decision for us.
Ellie: Welcome to the pack chat, Bear.
Bear: This is unexpected.
Ellie: We’re wanting you to come with us on a pack date tomorrow. Get to know us as a pack and dive right in.
Bear: I love that idea, but could we talk before then? I don’t want to go into it with all this shit hovering above us.
Ellie: We’re together right now, go ahead.
The phone rang within seconds and I put it on speaker. Bear’s voice wasn’t timid this time, but strong.
“I’m sorry, Ellie. I want to start with that,” he said. “I’m not even sure who Trevor and Jacob are anymore.”
“Were they different before?” I asked.
