Page 12 of A Broody Mate for the Human

“Well, as a new dad, you can’t be blamed.” Dante smiles.

Liam frowns. “Annie told me recently not to forget my friends. She thinks I work too much.”

“She might have a point,” Dante mutters and exchanges a gaze with me.

Liam narrows his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing, Alpha.” Dante smiles politely. “But the offer still stands. We could go and see your friend, Jun, and then have a drink.”

“My friend works in a bar too,” I explain, suddenly feeling a bit motivated again. “I think he will mix us some drinks.”

“I can’t believe it.” Dante squeezes my shoulder. “We have a date.”

“Don’t let your mate hear that,” I joke lamely.

They both chuckle. Dante and Liam are both older than me. Dante is already in his thirties and already like a big brother to my alpha. I like them both. They are great mentors to me. They’re demanding but fair, and they deeply care for their friends and family, and for the pack. I have no family left, which is why I enjoy having mentors like them so much. They might be patronizing at times, but I don’t even mind that. Before Liam took over as alpha, Red Claw was a horrible place… with a tyrant as a leader who abused his pack members.

It’s such a pity my sister didn’t live long enough to meet them. She would have felt so much happier with Liam as her alpha and Annie as her luna.

“I think Ella will like it too when I go out, and she has the evening for herself,” Dante says.

“What’s that about having the evening for myself?” Right on cue, Ella and Luna Annalise appear.

“We’re going out with Jun tomorrow,” Liam explains, wrapping Annie in his arms and pulling her close.

“That’s a great idea.” Annie beams.

“You know what else is a great idea?” Ella grins. “Taking advantage of the fact we have a mate-free evening.”

“Right.” Annie beams. “Let’s have the kitchen prepare something for us and then watch some movies. We could invite Celine too. She was so busy during the last month we hardly saw her.”

“Great.” Ella smiles. “I’ll organize everything.”

“One might think you are glad to get rid of us,” Dante teases, but his warm smile betrays his words. He reaches out his hand to cup Ella’s face.

I smile while watching them. When I met them for the first time, they only just found out they were mates, and both of them were quite reserved towards each other. Affectionate but guarded. Dante had lost his first mate to a rogue attack, and Ella was a fellow pack member like me… shunned and bullied by our past alpha.

I nod at the two couples. “I’ll book three tickets for us and a place in the bar.”

While I leave, I can hear Dante. “What exactly will we be watching, Liam?”

“Does it matter?” Liam asks.

“Not really.”

They probably just agreed to come with me to keep me company because they feel bad for me for being a bit lonely, but it’s genuine, and I don’t mind it as long as it isn’t just pity. I chuckle to myself. They have no idea I’m going to drag them to a classical dance performance.

It’s about time we get serious about our mate too.My wolf Akio suddenly pops up.

I know that most other werewolves have a very persistent wolf spirit, but most of the time, Akio just lets me be. We don’t talk much, but our bond is still strong. It’s like we don’t need words.You want me to search for our mate?I ask him, mainly because it’s rare for him to pop up like that. It means it has to be important to him.

It’s a suggestion,he states calmly.But our mate will give us more strength.Another pause.We deserve to find him.

I nod tentatively.Maybe I could ask Alpha Liam to let me visit other packs. During the last year we mostly stayed here at home.

Akio seems content with my suggestion and quietly retreats again, returning my mind and thoughts to me. He is right, I think. I cannot expect my mate to basically knock on my door. I need to put effort into finding him too.

*LUCA*