Page 108 of A Broody Mate for the Human

“And it’s alright to just barge in?” I ask.

Again, Dave nods. “She’ll tell us if we’re not welcome.” There is a hint of bitterness in his voice, and I’m starting to wonder if this is such a good idea. We should maybe just continue our travel and sleep in the car.

Before I can voice my suggestion, Dave has already rung the doorbell of a huge mansion. It looks fancy even from outside. It’s clear it was inspired by the European baroque epoch, but it lacks an architect with fundamental knowledge because it’s almost going into corny and cringy instead of stylish.

An old lady opens the door, a cat in her arms. “Yes?” she bellows.

“Hello, Aunt Caydence,” Dave greets her politely. “We were in the area and wanted to say hello.”

Caydence has to be in her 70s. She is dressed in an expensive-looking gown, but what really catches my attention are her cold eyes and the bitter lines around her mouth. Dave certainly didn’t get his kind attitude from this side of his family.

“Oh, it’s you,” she says with a frown. “And this young man?”

“That’s Raffy. He is a friend,” Dave says.

“A friend?” she asks sharply, and I have no idea what she’s trying to hint at.

“Yes, just a friend,” Dave verifies.

She steps aside to let us in, not without eyeing me skeptically. “I will have my cook prepare you something to eat. You’ll stay the night,” she orders. “It’s too late to drive.”

I’m starting to wish we hadn’t come here. Something about Dave’s whole stance tells me his uncomfortable as fuck, and his aunt gives me the weirdest vibes ever. Dave is all smiley, though, so I decide to play along too. “That’s very kind,” I say. “Thank you.”

“So, what’s a fine young man like you doing with my great-nephew?” she asks.

Something about the way she says it makes me want to rip her head off her shoulders. I can feel Nero stirring inside me too. “He saved my life,” I tell her shortly. The fuck I will let her talk down to Dave.

She raises her brows, looking from Dave to me and back. “I have trouble believing this.”

“It’s true,” I say calmly. “Without him, I might have been dead.”

Dave stares at me like I just surprised him too. Didn’t he know? He picked me up from the streets, his presence made me stronger, and he keeps helping me with uncovering my past. Even my wolf is getting stronger again.

Caydence has her maid show us to her guest room, where we place our bags. I want to ask Dave some more about his aunt and family, but we’re supposed to meet her right down in the dining room, as her maid tells us.

Caydence’s cook has warmed up some lasagna for us, and when we sit down at the dining table, we soon have the steaming hot food in front of us. It looks and smells good, but I realize it’s nothing in comparison to what the landlady on our last stay had done for us. It lacks any warmth. Also, it’s with meat, which I know Dave doesn’t eat.

To my shock though he starts to eat some bites of it, although he tries to focus on his salad. When Caydence leaves us for a moment, I make sure to gobble down most parts of my lasagna and swap our plates.

“What?” Dave whispers.

“Just pretend like you ate it.” I might not understand what is going on, but I won’t have Dave suffer through this anymore.

When Caydence returns, I have already eaten most of the second plate of lasagna too, to make it look less suspicious. “My,” she mutters. “Seems like you were hungry.”

“We were,” Dave says with a polite smile.

“So, you grew out of your phase finally?” Caydence asks while sitting down. “I don’t understand why my sister so easily accepted you acting out and allowed you to inherit her wealth.”

I’m confused. What the heck is she talking about? Her sister has to be Dave’s grandmother. I don’t understand the relationship Dave has with his great-aunt, but I hate the tone she uses when talking to Dave.

“How’s the cultural committee doing?” Dave asks instead.

His question seems to have triggered her interest because she completely forgets about us and starts to talk on and on about some boring parties she’s organizing. The whole time, she makes sure to make not-so-subtle stabs at less wealthy members of the committee and comments on a few members of color. There seems to be a Mexican lady in the group she particularly hates. While I keep watching her, something stirs in me again… this time it’s not Nero, but a part of my memory. It’s not really an image I see flashing in front of me like previously, it’s more like a feeling. She could be related to my father, I realize, in terms of her attitude and her coldness, and my heart aches that Dave grew up in a family with her around.

Eventually her maid comes in and reminds her of her favorite late-night TV show starting soon, so thank the Goddess, she finally leaves us alone. Not before turning to look at me. “Don’t allow him to infect you with his sick views,” she spits out.

It takes a while for me to understand that she was talking about Dave, and his sick views are probably… So that’s what this is about. I throw my tissue on the table, ready to go after her and give her a piece of my mind when Dave reaches out to grab my hand. “Let’s just go to sleep and leave early tomorrow,” he says with a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.