Page 15 of A Broody Mate for the Human

“Didn’t you like it?” I ask him.

“No, it was a nice change,” he says honestly. “It’s nothing I normally spend time on, but I quite appreciate doing something new.”

“And you, Alpha?”

“I’ve had to join so many events from business partners where I had to watch subpar theater shows or musicals that this was truly a pleasure to my eyes and ears,” he explains, brushing through his long hair. “But Dante is right. I’m eager for a drink.”

“I’ll lead the way,” I offer, finally starting to feel relaxed. Hanging out with these two while not on pack grounds is new, but it’s surprisingly fun and casual. There is no tension between us, and nothing feels forced.

They are our alpha and beta,Akio says much to my surprise. He has been way more vocal recently than usual.And we are their gamma. Our bond between each other has to be strong.

But I mainly serve the luna,I point out.

That’s why our bond to her is the strongest, but we are still a ranked member. Don’t underestimate what you mean to the pack. Our alpha clearly wanted to spend time with us to strengthen the bond.He sounds proud at the thought of Liam spending time with us willingly.It’s a good sign.

I smile a bit, basking in his words of approval while leading Liam and Dante to Ye-Joon’s bar. It’s not too far from the theater. It’s a bit hidden, though, and quite exclusive. I open the door and am greeted by the familiar sound of the bell ringing once the door opens.

Ye-Joon is at the counter, cleaning some glasses and putting them away. He raises his gaze, his dark brown eyes scanning me and my guests over with a hint of amusement.

“You’re a sight to behold,” Ye-Joon says when Liam and Dante squeeze themselves through the door. Typical for an alpha, Liam is pretty tall and needs to watch out not to hit his head everywhere.

Ye-Joon gives me a brief hug. He has changed his elegant costume with an equally elegant pant and shirt combo, in classic black and white. “Jun, it’s good to see you.”

“Same.” I smile at him genuinely.

“Pity that Dave didn’t come today,” Ye-Joon points out. “But you’re in interesting company.” He leads us towards a table.

“These are my…” my voice trails off. “Friends.”

“Thanks for the second of hesitation.” Liam smirks.

That’s easy to say for him, but I was raised to respect the pack hierarchy. Ye-Joon gives me a knowing look but doesn’t say anything.

“I can make you something to eat,” Ye-Joon offers. “I don’t have the classical choices here, but I can prepare you some tramezzini. I know wolves can eat a lot.”

Dante stares at him while Liam furrows his brows slightly.

“What can I say?” Ye-Joon chuckles. “My mother is half human and half wolf, so I’m one-fourth wolf. I very briefly lived in a pack.” He smiles slightly. “I’d detect an alpha anywhere.”

Liam’s stance relaxes a bit. “Your friends are full of surprises,” he says to me before turning to Ye-Joon. “I’m Liam Alcott. And this is Dante Messina.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Ye-Joon says politely, a hint of surprise in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he mutters. “It’s just… your name sounds familiar.”

None of us answer his pondering. It’s probably because he spent a few years in a pack that he heard the name Alcott, but we normally try to keep humans out of our politics. Soon Ye-Joon shrugs it off, too, and proceeds to prepare us some drinks and food.

The evening continues to be surprisingly pleasant. Dante warms up too, and shares a few stories with me about how it was to grow up as Liam’s beta. “I’d always get into trouble.” He chuckles. “Because Liam was so hard to protect.”

“Really?” Liam deadpans. “Meanwhile I was your tiny wingman for meeting girls. I was barely six when my lovely beta here abused his position by pretending he would take me to the park while instead he was trying to hook up with girls.”

I laugh. “You’re kidding.”

Dante grimaces. “Not my proudest moment. The worst was that one day I got busted. My father never hit me, but that day… let’s say he was pissed.”

“Is that true?” Liam raises his brows. “This is the first I hear about it.”

“You were the most important treasure of the pack. I wasn’t even aware of how important you were until that day.” He snorts. “After that day I knew.”

“Now I feel almost bad.” Liam sighs. “I probably blabbed and got you into trouble.”