Page 194 of A Broody Mate for the Human

I love a good party, and those alphas and lunas are a sight to behold. Annie herself looks slamming too, my favorite luna of all. She is wearing a dark red dress with long sleeves; it hugs her upper body and opens to a petticoat-style lower part. She has matched it with dark green tights and a pair of red heels the same color as her dress. It’s a winter dress and fits her perfectly.

It’s a show to behold. I’ve always loved watching the rich and mighty and their dress choices. Esme seems to think the same because sometimes she nudges me and points at a luna who she thinks is particularly well dressed.

“Ours is the best, though,” I whisper to her.

“Absolutely!” she agrees with conviction.

Hayden and Raffy don’t seem so intrigued but humor us by not complaining or whining at our gossiping.

Once the official part is done, we can finally raid the buffet. I know these wolves can eat tons, yet I originally believed that the massive buffet Annie had planned would be too much, but boy was I wrong. These people are like a hoard of locusts, like during one of the plagues of Egypt. I have to send Raffy to the front row to fight for a piece of my favorite chocolate cake while Hayden uses his contacts with the kitchen staff to save some yakitori skewers for Esme.

At least we have capable men at our side who can cater to our culinary needs.

Raffy looks disheveled when he returns with one slice of my favorite cake and a variety of other desserts. I’ve decided to skip most main courses and go right for the sweet stuff. The reason for that is that there will be a huge bonfire later on and they will have a barbecue. I’m not wolf enough to swallow the amounts of food my pack members do.

“Wow.” I look at the plate in Raffy’s hand in awe. “If I wouldn’t have already fallen head over heels for you, now would be the moment.”

“You better prove your love for me during the whole remainder of the night,” Raffy grumbles. “I literally had to fight over this piece of cake.”

Esme coughs at his comments, grimacing while I wiggle my eyebrows at him. “My best blow job just for you,” I promise. His eyes darken, and I’m sure he would have retorted something had it not been for Esme interrupting us.

“Guys,” she complains. “The last thing I want to know is what my brother does in his bedroom.”

“It’s not always the bedroom,” I snicker, noticing how Raffy looks a bit flustered, and Hayden grins at me.

I take mercy on my mate and sister-in-law, though, and decide to postpone the dirty talk for later.

“The run starts any moment,” Hayden exclaims, sounding excited. “It’s the first time for me to run with the whole pack.”

“For all of us,” Raffy says with a smile. “I’m excited for it too.”

“So how does it work?” I want to know.

“All wolves shift,” Raffy tells me. “And then the alpha and luna lead the whole group through the pack grounds. It takes almost two hours, and it’s just a one-of-a-kind feeling for us. The connection to the whole pack is open then. It’s like you can feel and hear everyone, like you are part of a chain.”

“And the other packs run too?”

“All of them run,” Hayden explains to me. “Raphael is right, it’s like a whole new connection to the pack but also to visiting packs.”

Raffy takes my hand. “Let’s go to the place where the run will start. Beta Dante and Beta Ella made sure there are comfortable benches and rocking chairs with warm blankets for you, Stella, and Portia. There is also a little screen, so you can follow our run from there.”

I beam. “Really? Cool!” I eagerly follow him and the others outside, pulling my jacket and scarf around my body tighter. It’s freezing cold outside, and it snowed recently, which makes the whole landscape look so clean and beautiful.

Our little group makes it through the snow, and soon Marilou catches up with us too. She has recently befriended Hayden and Esme in particular. It will be her first run too. Werewolves receive their wolves at the age of seventeen. Marilou’s birthday is on New Year’s Eve, which means during last year’s winter solstice she still had to sit out.

Further along Noah and some of Raffy’s and my friends join us too. Noah and I might not be on the same wavelength, but we get along well, and he was the first friend I made here.

Once we reach the huge park of Red Claw, I instantly notice Stella’s red hair, the contrast even bigger against the white snow. Portia is next to her, and they look at the approaching group eagerly. I’m glad they wrapped things up at the coven in time and managed to come for the pack run. It takes a while for everyone to gather, and at one point Raffy and I find ourselves finally chatting with Annie and Ella. They were so busy during the last couple of hours that we barely even greeted each other.

It’s then that Liam approaches us with a young man and a tiny woman at his side. By his strong build and confidence, I’m taking a wild guess that the guy is an alpha.

“Alpha Lucas,” Annie greets him with a bright smile before hugging the small woman next to him. “Maya,” she exclaims.

“It’s good to see you, Luna Annalise,” Lucas greets her politely. His eyes glide over the area before he briefly looks at Marilou, who is still standing next to Stella and Portia, chatting with them. “Oh! She was one of the girls, wasn’t she?”

“You remember?” Annie asks softly.

“I will never forget the girls my former pack members attacked,” he says, more than a hint of anger in his voice.