Great Bear Wilderness i believe in the things that i am afraid to say.

If the matter wasn't so serious, he might have laughed at her knee-jerk reaction. It wasn't a moment for laughter, though, and Finley deflated like a dying balloon animal. She never admitted it outright, yet it was pretty clear he was right on the money.

"You can't help how you feel," he pointed out sagely, "only how you behave about your feelings." He turned somewhat so that he was facing her rather than the lake, then bent down to touch his nose to the tip of her ear. "You definitely fucked up; I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you. But you can still make this right."

Peregrine paused, deliberating over what advice to dispense to his lovelorn friend. He wanted to argue with her, reassure her that she could make it work and that everyone was made to find their penguin and live happily ever after. He wasn't so naïve, though, and neither was she.

"Nothing obligates you to be in a relationship with him, even if you love him and he loves you," he began slowly, "but Elwood doesn't deserve to be treated like garbage, no matter what. You should apologize to him. He's your friend. Beyond that, well... it's your business whether you want to tell him the truth about how you feel about him and relationships and all that jazz.

Open, honest communication and hard work are the only things that make a relationship of any kind work," Peregrine finished, "so if you can't do that, then, no... you probably aren't cut out for them. But if you can... you could find a happiness and future you never thought possible, Finley. You'll still make mistakes and stuff—everyone does because nobody's perfect—but, you know, Elwood might be worth the risks. And I'm willing to bet, if he knew all the facts, he might think you're worth them too."

Of course, he couldn't actually speak for Elwood. But Peregrine felt pretty sure that the Beta female's feelings were not unrequited, Grimm aside. He decided he would find out for sure, just as soon as he was done here. He would find the Beta male, do some damage control, then gently (or maybe not so gently) poke these two together once and for fucking all.