Page 1 of A Broody Mate for the Human

Chapter one

Mates?

*DAVE*

“Hereyouare!”Junwaves at me once I enter the pub. He is sitting at the counter, obviously waiting for me. As usual, I am running a little late.

I flash him a smile, take off my jacket, and pull him into a hug. Jun and I had been dating on and off for a few months until we decided to put a stop to it. I’m not Jun’s mate. We both know it as we started dating once he turned eighteen. The only thing we have is a connection of friendship and sympathy for each other, but the reality is… we won’t be able to be together forever. I’m not Jun’s future.

The last thing I want is to be the dirty little secret once he finds his mate. I don’t want them to feel like Jun’s heart belongs to someone else. That’s not fair to his future mate.

I know about the mate bond and how important it is for werewolves. I saw what it did to my friends, how it healed them, and how they grew. I might not understand it fully, but I understand I would never want someone to be rejected because of me.

And quite frankly, I deserve more than an on-off relationship without a future.

I still care for him, but I see him as a friend now.

“You look so serious,” Jun says.

“Just been thinking,” I admit.

“What about?”

“I met Finn, Annie, and the others today,” I explain.

He knows it already because my best friend, Annie, is his luna, and he is her gamma, so obviously he knows what his luna is up to, but he never interrupts me when I tell him about my plans; he always listens.

“Lord Finn’s goodbye party?” he asks with a smile.

“Yep.” I nod. “He is going to be really busy with the final preparations now, and we just wanted to send him off.” I frown. “It’s not going to be too dangerous for him, is it?” I don’t know all the details about his mission because it’s werewolf related, and it’s pack business. Clearly as a human I can’t be involved too much, but my friends never let me feel ignored or like an outsider and fill me in on the most important details.

Finn’s brother and father are both alphas of neighboring packs. I know his brother, a cool guy and mated to my best friend, Annie. As for his father, he apparently doesn’t like humans all that much and doesn’t mingle with them.

However, Finn is a great dude and one of my closest friends. We bonded on a different level than we did with the girls. His brother and father chose him to lead this mission to investigate a dangerous pack that’s said to be enslaving orphans and weaker wolves.

I look at Jun again. “So, is it? Really dangerous?” Jun needs some time to answer, and his silence tells me more than I need to know. “Don’t answer,” I say.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to be lied to,” I say evenly.

“Lord Finn is of alpha blood and a lycan,” Jun explains. “He is a strong lycan, and he is going to travel with a bunch of very capable and strong fighters. Is it dangerous? Yes. Am I too worried? No.”

I smile slightly at his honest words. The difference between us is that he sees everything out of a werewolf’s eyes, and I see it out of my own… I’m Finn’s friend, and because of that, I’m very worried for him.

Jun sighs. “Not convinced?”

I shrug. “Maybe some distraction helps. How about drinks and food?”

He nods. “Sounds good. Want to stay here for food?”

“Yes, but not at the bar counter,” I tug him off his bar stool and towards a table. “I hate to eat while standing.”

“That’s not the only thing you hate doing while standing,” Jun deadpans.

Goodness gracious, his dirty comments got me from the first moment on. That and his stunning looks. His parents were from Japan, and he hit the jackpot with his genes. His whole face is just so incredibly handsome. He is not particularly talkative, though, but sometimes he would say the most hilarious things with the straightest face ever.

There is just something about the stoic way he says teasing or dirty stuff that always takes the wind out of my sails. Due to the lack of an answer, I just grin and shake my head at him.