Page 99 of Finlay

“Aye, but the key point there is that he’s Danny’smate. He shares Danny’s strength, healing abilities, and most importantly, his immortality. Killing him would be only marginally easier than taking on Danny himself.”

My mind was reeling with all this new information. “So, what you’re saying is that we need to keep things quiet because I’m not your mate?”

“That’s exactly it.” His thumbs stroked my face. “It’s notbecause I’m ashamed of ye, it’s because I can’t let myself lose you. Not like that.”

“Is that—” I swallowed hard, then forced the rest of the words out. “Is that what you want from me? For me to be your mate?”

Finn exhaled slowly.“I want to be with ye, Chester. If that one day means you becoming my mate, then yes, I can see that. Very easily. Too easily, if I’m being honest.”

“Why too easily?”

“Because I’m falling for you hard, m’eudail,” he said seriously. “I’m trying to slow myself down, but I canna do it. What’s worse, I don’t want to. I’ve spent weeks now lying at your feet as Buddy, listening to you talk. About your childhood. Your gran. What it was like to lose your parents at such a young age. Why you wanted to move to Scotland. Your hopes, fears, dreams. You’ve shared them all with me. You might not be in the same place as me, but I wouldn’t expect you to be.”

He stroked my cheeks with his thumbs. “I’ve had all this time to get to know you and it’s had me falling harder and faster than I could’ve imagined. Now, all I want is for you to get to know me too.”

“I want that too, but…” My voice trailed away.

Finn was able to read me too well. “But you’re scared?”

“Yeah. And it’s not fair on you, I know that. You’re not Matt, but it still doesn’t stop the fear.”

“I’m not expecting it to,” Finn said, hands still on my face. “I know what baggage you’re carrying, Chester, and I’m not expecting it to disappear overnight. But maybe it’d help if you shared some more. What specifically frightens you?”

I bit my lip. Opening up about all my fears…could I do that? What if Finn thought my worries were ridiculous? Or worse, what if he walked away entirely?

“Come on.” He released my face and took my hand again. “Let’s walk and talk. That might make you feel more comfortable.”

I gave a final glance at the cabin as we walked away. That’s when I realised how difficult this must’ve been for Finn. For him to come here and open up about his past; something I suspected he didn’t do often. I’d seen the pain he’d gone through to do it, but he had. He’d opened up because he wanted me to know every part of him.

I squared my shoulders. He’d done it for me. I could do the same for him.

“Let’s take me out of the equation for a minute,” Finn suggested. “What scares you the most about being in a committed relationship?”

I turned the question over in my mind. “Losing my sense of self. That, and not being able to make my own decisions.”

There was a cracking noise—one I recognised this time. I glanced at Finn in alarm, but he just gave me a tight smile and shook his head.

“It’s fine, just Buddy sharing my irritation at your ex. I’ve got it under control though.”

Honestly, it was weirdly reassuring to know how much his wolf protested at the mere thought of me not being in charge of my own life. Surely that had to mean Finn would never do that?

You already know that’s true.

My brain didn’t argue with my heart this time. At some point over the past few days, they seemed to have landed on the same page.

“What else, m’eudail?”

“Mixing my finances with someone else’s terrifies me,” I admitted. “I’m not sure that’s something I’ll ever get past. I need to know I’ve got my own safety net at all times.”

Finn nodded sagely. “A lot of couples don’t mix their finances and are perfectly happy. If that’s what it takes for you to feel safe in a relationship, then that’s a boundary you should enforce. If your partner isn’t accepting of that, he’s not right for you. It’s as simple as that.”

Was it? It hadn’t felt like that with Matt. Then again, there’d been none of these conversations up front. Everything had happened so fast, yet the manipulation had been done slowly. A carefully calculated takeover, executed so precisely that I hadn’t realised he’d caged me until it was too late.

“I worry about being trapped,” I whispered, ducking my head to hide my shame at admitting such a thing. “I’m scared of being in a situation I have no way out of. Worse, I’m terrified of falling in love with someone who’s bad for me.”

“Chester.” Finn tugged on my hand until I came to a stop. “You shouldn’t feel ashamed about that. It’s completely understandable and reasonable that you feel like this.”

“Is it?” I blinked away the burning in my eyes. “Look at the size of me, Finn. Matt wasn’t a big bloke. He was half my size, and I let him reduce me to nothing. What does that make me? Weak, that’s what.”

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