Bernard growled, his irritation growing each day. For months he had been travelling across the vast expanses of land between him and the person he sought, becoming soaked by storms, battered by winds and baked by a sweltering sun.

But never did the notion of giving up cross his unsettled mind. It was not only in his nature to persevere through hardships, but his mission was far too important for returning home to even be an option.

He was journeying to find his mate.

You see, almost a year ago, a dream came to him. It was more akin to a sleeping vision where he never saw the person destined to be his, nor did he hear their voice, but the soul he'd been connected with in those moments was... Pure. Sweet. Kind and full of endless amounts of love- a love that Bernard sought to make his own and return with the entirety of his being.

Huffing and pawing one last time at a nearby tree out of restlessness, his large limbs landed back on the ground with a resulting tremor. Ignoring the various small creatures that ran away out of fear, he continued walking in the direction he last felt the presence of his mate.

Some weeks ago, he'd entered an incredibly large forest. It was in part of a region he'd never visited before, seeing as his homeland lay further south and was very different to his current location. 

Home...

Bernard missed it terribly. The fishing village he had been born and raised in was everything to him, along with its people. His family and friends fully supported and understood that his time had come to leave the village boundary and join with his mate, but that made parting no easier. His mother had cried, his half-siblings fretted, and his many fathers had teased him about all of the cubs he was going to sire.

They may even be more excited about me having a mate than me!

Bernard continued his journey, conserving energy by walking rather than running. He was a predator- a ridiculously large one at that- but all it took was one moment of distraction or multiple threats at once to spell his downfall.

It was better to be safe than sorry, especially when so many people were awaiting his return.

Papa James will have my balls if I don't bring back a pregnant mate, he smiled inwardly. James was one of Bernard's favourite fathers, and the biological parent to one of his sisters.

This train of thought made the bear pause in his steps. If his mate was not a fellow Bear-Shifter, would they find his family dynamic odd? For most in his fishing village, it was common to have multiple parents as the females could carry two cubs at a time, both of which were capable of being from different sires. 

Bernard was one of six cubs- all of whom had separate fathers. Most of those males had stuck around after conception rather than abandoning their cub-bearer, which was one characteristic their species was thankful to have not inherited from their animal counterparts, who often left after breeding. 

Or, well... committed infanticide so as to breed new ones. Bernard shivered, disgusted at the mere idea of doing the same to any child.

I could never do that, and hopefully my mate will trust me enough to believe that I am not an evil creature, nor completely animal. My children will be loved and cared for, by me and all in the village. And so will my mate, whoever they are. We will be a family. 

Having lifted his own spirits, he carried on his way, the journey fairly slow considering his size. The last thing he wanted to risk was sprinting like an adolescent in heat searching for something to rut against, only to find that somewhere along the way he'd accidentally crushed his mate to death.

That was one thing he was sure of; his mate was smaller than himself. Well, it would be quite the challenge to find something bigger than him that could travel through the dense forestry he could faintly sense his mate resided in. Unless, of course, they happened to a large cat, but even then... Bernard would weigh almost a thousand pounds more. 

I wonder what they'll look like. Maybe, like Papa James, they will be a slender yet masculine male who will climb upon my back as we travel. Or, like Mama, she'll be a soft and round bellied female, perfect for warm hugs. They could be a snail, and I would love them. 

Thinking upon that last train of thought again, Bernard huffed a snort through his wet nose. Okay, he was a very accepting man, but a snail may have been pushing it too far. Yes, the person mattered more than the animal in terms of love, but... the slime. 

No. A snail, he would prefer to not be mated to. 

Ah. Mama, I think I may be going insane. 

***

Bernard almost leapt around like an excited puppy at his newest discovery. It was such a small thing to fixate on, and yet, it filled him with such joy he could barely maintain his animal form.

A small pile of berries.

That was all. Just a group of eight berries or so, all laid in a neat circle as though placed with deliberate precision. But although the snack itself seemed mighty tasty, the purple and red berries plump and no doubt juicy, it was the scent that clung to them that had his mouth watering.

His mate had touched these wonderous offerings from nature. The smell swimming into Bernard's nostrils and swirling into intense butterflies within his stomach was so very sweet, soft and ugh...

Arousing.

The bear could not stop his animal spirit's instincts from having him lay down, rubbing his neck and large snout against the berries. He and animal both desired that scent to mark his fur, declaring him mated and claimed. Unavailable, sworn to another by a connection deeper than words.

Ah, Gods, they smell so good. Like the wild of nature and sweet pine. But why did they do this with the berries? Do they know I'm in the forest too, only we keep missing each other?

See, the act of offering food was also an act of courtship. So, either Bernard was being courted by his mate, invited to keep pursuing them, or... they were seeking to mate with another.

Mine!, his insticts snarled, a gutteral growl escaping his chest and making small rocks tremble. He would not share, and he would not allow his mate to choose another before ever giving him a chance to try win their heart.

So, out of childish spite, he ate every one of the berries. Each spurt of sweet juice tasted bitter to his petty tongue, yet he swallowed them just to make a point.

And his journey continued at a swifter pace, new burning determination keeping the large paws of the bear moving. Because now there was a threat to Bernard and his mate; the threat of someone else claiming them before he got the chance to hold them in his sight.

Unacceptable. Hurry. Find them.