Page 128 of A Broody Mate for the Human

Can’t wait to see you.And thanks for the help!

Anytime Dave, but Liam has a say in this too, and he isn’t convinced yet. He needs to see the bunch first. One advice: Make sure to tell them not to lie to him. He can easily detect lies, and he hates being lied to. It’s better to be honest, even if reality sucks.

Got it, Annie! Thank you.

I make sure to add a kissy emoji to it before throwing my phone into my bag. When I look up again, I can see how Hayden makes huge puppy eyes at Esme, and Esme leans her head against him. She looks crestfallen, though. It’s sad to know that she puts up a show for Raffy. I’m sure he wouldn’t want that, and I wonder if I should tell him. But then, is it really my business? They’re siblings, and I’d hate invading their privacy.

Man, this sucks. I wish I had a wolf spirit, too, then I could talk to someone. Though, from what Ella told me, their advice isn’t always so awesome.

Esme and Hayden finish packing swiftly, and I help them carry their bags to my car, noticing how Stella, Lady Portia, and Raffy are wrapping things up too. “How are we going to travel?” Lady Portia asks with a frown while inspecting my car. “Sure, we can all squeeze into this, but we can’t drive the whole way.”

“We won’t,” I tell her. “I booked us tickets for a train that takes cars along too.”

She raises her brows. “You’re truly full of miracles.” She checks her watch. “You think we’ll make it until tomorrow? I need to be at the club tomorrow night.”

“Isn’t that distance quite far?” Hayden asks curiously.

“I will prepare a portal for her,” Stella explains. “I can’t do it out of the blue. I need to know both places, but once we’re there and are allowed to stay in Red Claw pack, then I can open a portal.”

“What are you actually, Lady Portia?” I ask curiously.

“Half-witch,” she tells me, brushing through her long straight black hair. She really has a look going for her. “Half-human. I got some powers, but not all of them.”

“Still cool,” I point out.

“You can chat later,” Raffy commands. “Let’s get going.”

“Look who is looking so dashing when taking the lead.” I beam at him.

Raffy frowns and grumbles something inaudible while glaring at me. I swear I can see the hint of red on his cheeks. Esme stares at our exchange, mouth open and eyes wide. She doesn’t have time to comment on it as Lady Portia shoves everyone into the car while I make sure Sugar is secured in his crate.

“The power of mates,” Hayden whispers towards me.

“Yes, the both of us need to stick together against these two,” I whisper back.

Hayden smiles and climbs into the car.

As usual, I’m the one driving with Raffy next to me. It was diplomatically decided that the bulkiest and tallest of all shouldn’t be part of the squeeze-sweat party at the backseats. Raffy was the only one against it and wanted Esme or Stella to take his place, but everyone else outvoted him. Now he is sulking next to me, his brows furrowed. He’s so cute—not that I would ever tell him that.

“You think someone is after us?” Esme asks nervously. “I mean right now.”

“I cast a spell on us,” Stella explains. “It should cloak our scents, but it’s good that we’re moving. A spell can only do so much, and these men know how you look, and they have been trailing Dave and Raffy. The two guys Sugar killed were most likely acting as the vanguard.”

I grip the wheel of my car tighter. I swear, I’m getting us out of here. No way I’ll allow anyone to take Raffy from me.

“How much time’s left until the train leaves?” Hayden asks. “We’re pretty tight on schedule.”

“That’s on purpose,” I point out.

“Yes, if we linger around the station too long, we’ll just raise suspicion,” Lady Portia agrees.

I’m worried throughout the whole drive, crossing my fingers for there to not be any traffic—although we’re in the middle of nowhere and barely pass two other cars on the way. It looks like my fears and worries were unfounded as we made it to the train, both in time and without anyone behind us.

Stella runs off to get our tickets approved and have someone help with our car. The staff is a bit grumpy because we came so late, but I dish them some lame excuse about how we had a flat tire and had to repair it. As if anyone would believe it… they drop the issue eventually and load everything onto the train, us included.

The others settle down in our cabin while I take the moment to step into the corridor and look out of the window. It’s when the train takes off that I can see a jeep coming closer. I squint my eyes slightly, trying to make out who’s in there. There seem to be three men. One of them is gesticulating wildly. Raffy moves up behind me, and I clasp to his arms, willing my panic down. “Not one minute too soon,” Raffy mutters with a frown.

“We’re ahead of them now, aren’t we?” I ask him.