Page 145 of A Broody Mate for the Human

Raffy furrows his brows, looking worried. “But you need to eat something if you train.”

“I’m just starting with light fitness training,” I argue. “You’re the one who has a training session with the beta.”

Raffy doesn’t want to hear any of my excuses, though, and instead gets up, shuffling around and fetching a banana and some peanut butter. I watch him curiously as he slices the banana and adds peanut butter to it. “Here,” he returns with his creation. “Try this. Even if you don’t have much of an appetite, try to eat this. It will give you some energy boost.”

“No one has ever made me breakfast,” I mutter, a lump forming in my throat at how sweet he is to me.

Raffy stares at me. “That changes now,” he grumbles. “A sweet breakfast for the sweetest person.”

I’m baffled that he just managed to make such a sweet compliment in such a gruffly, grumbly voice. He is so cute in his own way. Out of sheer happiness, I decide to indulge him and eat his banana-peanut dish.

“And?” Raffy asks hopefully while he finishes his own burrito.

“Not bad,” I admit. “I normally don’t eat breakfast this early, but this… I could do.”

“I will think of a few light breakfast ideas for you,” Raffy promises. “I want to cook for you too.”

“Can you cook?” I ask curiously. Going by how he was raised and then turned rogue, I wonder when he had the time and mind-frame to actually learn to cook.

Raffy looks a bit flustered. “It can’t be that difficult, can it?”

I hide my amusement at his words, still feeling touched that he is stepping out of his comfort zone so much… just for my sake. “We can cook together,” I offer. “I think it would be fun.”

He contemplates my offer and then nods. “I’d like that. And now…” He stretches. “I need to go to my training. I guess we both do.”

I agree, grabbing a few things and then leaving the house together with Raffy.

“Nero is still dormant for most of the time, so Beta Dante wants to see how far I can go with my training.”

“Is Esme starting training too?” I ask curiously.

“She started yesterday with the beginner class, and it seems Beta Aryanna took her under her wing and will help her and some other beginners with extra lessons.”

I accompany Raffy to the training grounds before making my way to the pack house where Annie is waiting for me. She is wearing black leggings and a yellow sports bra. My girl looks hot. “Good morning.” She chuckles. “You look tired.”

“I swear, I’ve never been that productive before 7 a.m.”

“Let me raise your spirits then: first training, then lunch, then I will take you and Esme shopping.” She smiles at me. “Ella and Celine are coming too. We want to buy Finn something to congratulate him on finding his mate.”

“You’re right.” I rub my hands against each other. “This indeed raised my spirits. I need some fancy underwear for my man.”

“I knew you would turn this into an opportunity to shop for your sex life.” Annie grins.

“Who wants to shop for their sex life?” Aryanna asks as she steps outside too.

“Oh, there you are.” Annie nods at her. “And Dave wants to buy some…stuff.”

“You’re coming with us?” Dave asks. “For the run?”

“Ari is training me,” Annie explains. “And Jazz,” she adds, as Jazz appears too. Man, this girl and her perfectly smooth skin. My skin isn’t too bad either, but Jazz doesn’t even have the tiniest pimple. I need to ask her about her skincare routine.

Ari claps her hands. “Let’s get going, everyone. Luna Annalise asked me to involve you in our fitness training, too, Dave. So, do you have any training experience?”

“No,” I say evenly. “Please start as low as possible.”

“Okay, no problem, no one gets shamed during training, don’t worry. It’s supposed to be demanding but shouldn’t exhaust you.” Ari smiles brightly before tying her neon-yellow hair back. How the fuck can she even pull that off? Last time I saw her before I went on my road trip, her hair was all blue. “You ready too, hun?” she asks Jazz.

Jazz gives her the thumbs up. “Sure, babe, lead the way!”