Page 152 of A Broody Mate for the Human

“As if the Goddess knew of their plans and sent her a mate to make sure she wouldn’t accept the deal,” Annie mutters.

I nod.

“To imagine what she and Raphael probably went through while growing up,” Annie says sadly. “It’s almost a miracle that Raphael realized his father’s ways were wrong and fought for his sister.”

“He is stronger than he gives himself credit for,” I say proudly. “The moment Esme’s life was in danger, he went against his alpha and his pack.”

“Loyalty is important,” Annie tells me. “But it should never be blind loyalty. The oath you swore to the pack and alpha is there to bind us to each other, but it goes both ways. And Raffy’s alpha already broke the oath before Raphael did it.”

All this talk about how awesome my mate is makes me miss him all of a sudden. “I think I’ll also use this moment to call Raffy.” I grab my phone. “Can you order me another set of spring rolls while I’m away?”

“Ella will do that.” Annie smiles. “I’m headed to the restroom.”

“Yes, sure.” Ella rolls her eyes. “Just leave me sitting here alone.”

“I will be back in a minute.” Annie smiles. She nods shortly at her guards while we both walk in the same direction Esme left. Right before the exit to the roof terrace are the restrooms. Annie disappears through the door, one of the guards waiting for her outside.

Meanwhile, I follow through the door Esme took to step out to the roof terrace. The afternoon sun is still shining, but it’s getting colder again. A typical late fall day. I shift my gaze around to look for Esme.

She is still on her phone, smiling happily. I wave shortly at her before grabbing my own phone to call my mate. I’m so focused on my task that I only realize something is off when I hear sudden noises behind me. Something drops to the ground, and Esme screams in shock.

I turn on my heels, dread filling me at the sight in front of me.

A bulky guy has his hand clasped around Esme’s mouth, his other arm holding her tight against his chest. He sneers while a second guy stomps on her phone to smash it, and a third guy tries to tie her up.

“Finally.” The guy cackles. “It’s payday, little Esme.”

Chapter forty-nine

Under Attack

*DAVE*

Whatthe…ohmyGod.

Or Goddess!

Fuckidy fuck! What’s pack protocol for a fellow pack member being attacked!? What am I supposed to do? I have no idea, and unfortunately, I don’t have a wolf spirit, a bird, or any other voice inside my head telling me what to do.

I just know I can’t allow them to take Esme with them. They are not going to take her along just to keep her. Their shitface of an alpha wants to see her blood.

Wait a moment… did these men ever see me? I doubt it. The only real witnesses we had were the two guys who attacked Raffy and me, and they are somewhere in Sugar’s digestive tract.

“Excuse me.” I step out of the shadows and towards the guys. “What kind of business do you have with this woman!?” I pretend to be shocked and scandalized to the core. “SECURITY!” I scream as loud as possible. “Two men are harassing a woman on the rooftop!”

“Shut up,” the guy not holding Esme hisses. On closer look, his head looks like a cabbage.

“HELP,” I scream at the top of my lungs, going into a boxing stance. I have no idea how to box, but I’ve watched a movie… I hope it’s enough to buy us some time. “Some psychos are trying to kidnap a woman!”

These wolves have fantastic hearing, or so I’ve heard. I hope my screaming like a maniac will alert them.

“Make him shut up,” the one who holds Esme hisses again. “If necessary, kill him!”

“In human territory, Tom?” the other one huffs. So, Tom is the guy who is holding Esme.

“In human…” My eyes widen. “Oh my God, you two are mentally unstable.” I raise my hands as if to soothe them. “I promise you, there is help.”

When one of the guys takes a step towards me, I take a tentative step backwards. I’m still worrying I might need to put my lessons from the one self-defense class I had up to now to use when the door to the rooftop flies open again. I whip my head to the side, relief filling me when I see Annie running towards us, her guard hot on her heels.