Page 189 of A Broody Mate for the Human

I beam happily, only feeling slightly flustered when I notice Elif and Ye-Joon’s grins. “He wordlessly understands your addiction,” Ye-Joon teases.

“Ozan never gives me the cookie!” Elif complains.

“I like to eat it myself,” he grumbles.

“Don’t argue,” Ye-Joon says, amused. “We have plenty of these cookies; I can order us some.”

“That’s not the same,” Elif says.

I decide to share my cookie with her to avoid any further drama, successfully ending the argument. Elif bounces around happily, and when Luca and Jun are seated, too, she finally shows us her hand. “Look.” She beams, wiggling one of her fingers.

“Fuck,” I burst out when I notice the ring. “He finally asked you!?”

“Was about time, Ozan.” Jun chuckles.

“Congrats.” I beam.

“Yes.” Ye-Joon smiles warmly. “Congratulations, you two.”

Ozan looks embarrassed to have the spotlight on him but also happy, while Elif is beaming with joy. “It’s the reason we can’t stay long tonight. We’re meeting my sister and cousin later.”

She starts to tell us how Ozan proposed and when they plan on marrying. Ozan even agreed to make it a themed wedding. Elif loves anime, manga, and video games, and they decided to put some playful hints into the decoration, such as having some Sailor Moon art here and there and play the Final Fantasy theme as one of their songs.

It’s going to be such a fun wedding.

Soon, they both excuse themselves, leaving the rest of us alone. Ye-Joon has chosen a secluded place for us so that we can chat without anyone listening. He makes sure to order some food for us before he starts bombarding us all with questions, such as how pack life is for me.

“I assume you’re the friend who is aware of our world?” Raffy asks.

“If not, that would have been a pretty weird question to ask.” I chuckle.

“I’m sure Dave told you that my father was half werewolf,” Ye-Joon says.

Raffy nods, looking relieved that he doesn’t need to watch his cover anymore like he had to do in front of Ozan and Elif, who aren’t aware of the whole supernatural world.

“How was your class, Luca?” I ask him curiously.

Luca beams happily. He is really growing more confident every day. “I had an exam last week and did really well.”

“Luca is making great progress,” Jun says lovingly. It’s rare to see him display his emotions so openly. I only ever knew him as a rather stoic guy who suppressed everything he felt. It seems like mates truly bring the best out of us, if we allow it to happen.

Before any of us can say something, the door to the bar opens again, and a well-known redhead stumbles inside with an equally well-known elegant lady behind her.

“I can’t believe it,” Raffy snorts.

“Stella!” I exclaim, waving at the red-haired woman like a lunatic.

Stella turns around, her eyes widening when she sees us. She grabs Portia’s hand and drags her along. “What a nice coincidence.” She beams.

“This is Stella,” I explain to Ye-Joon. “The pack’s witch and her fated Portia.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Ye-Joon says politely. He smiles and invites them to sit with us. As usual he is calm and polite, but I notice that his voice begins sounding strained. He rubs over his head, taking a deep breath before his expression relaxes again.

“Still your head?” Jun asks in worry.

“What’s going on?” I ask, appalled.

“Nothing serious,” Ye-Joon tells me, “but I’m feeling a bit dizzy recently.”