Page 28 of A Broody Mate for the Human

Celine nods tentatively. “Why is he not rejecting him, though? If what you say is true, and he is betraying Dave, why not reject him?”

“As someone who wanted to do that too, I can tell you rejection doesn’t come easily,” Marius admits, looking a bit flustered as he talks about how he treated Celine at the beginning of their relationship. “And for me… I kept telling myself I didn’t want a mate, but deep inside, I wanted one. I wanted Celine.”

“You think, for Matthew, it’s similar?” Celine wants to know.

“It could be,” Marius says. “Maybe a part of him wants Dave. However”—his face turns hard—“if he cheats on him or abuses him, there is no coming back from that.”

“I absolutely agree. There is only so much you can forgive,” Celine says.

“I’m glad we are on the same page about that,” I point out, my heart aching a bit for Dave. “I know he will be devastated. Dave is such a great guy. He deserves the best.”

“So did Celine,” Marius says quietly. “Yet, she was mated to me.”

Celine sighs. “Hey, stop the self-loathing,” she tells him. “We talked about that. You made up for everything you ever said to me by being a wonderful mate now.

Marius smiles slightly, kissing her hand before entwining their fingers. “Should I visit Matthew’s pack? He is from the Emerald Moon, right? Alpha Jace is like an uncle to me. He and his luna are two of my parents’ best friends, and I grew up with his sons. It wouldn’t be too suspicious for me to visit.”

Celine looks at him thoughtfully. “That’s not a bad idea. You could pretend you want to visit Luna Janice and go through some projects with her and then catch up with Alpha Jace too.”

“And just take a look around the pack and snoop a bit,” I muse.

Marius grins. “Trust me, I’m a pro at snooping around. I won’t disappoint you.”

Celine and I exchange a gaze before she looks at him in amusement. “Well, then, happy snooping, I guess.”

He smirks. “I won’t disappoint my alpha,” he teases.

Celine just rolls her eyes at his antics, but her gaze is soft and warm.

Marius instantly goes to work and excuses himself to call Matthew’s luna, leaving me and Celine behind. “Why don’t you stay here for lunch?” Celine offers.

I nod, thankfully taking her up on her offer. It’s a rare chance to spend some time in an allied pack without having to work. For now, I can’t do much. Everything is set into motion. Luna Annalise is on Dave’s case, so are Ye-Joon and Marius. I can only wait. As hard as it is.

I hope they won’t take too long with their research. Dave shouldn’t suffer any longer. Honestly, I just wish I could go to him and tell him to drop that asshole of a mate, but then who am I to take anyone’s mates from them? It’s not my call.

I just feel guilty for doing all of this behind his back. Maybe I should tell him? But… maybe Matthew is innocent, then I will have ruined this relationship for Dave.

Why is that so difficult? I never was in such a dilemma. I’m trying to think what I would like my friends to do if it were me, but I can’t come up with an answer.

Well, at least I can find a way to raise Dave’s mood a bit. “I think Dave would be happy about a photo,” I tell Celine.

She smiles at me. “That’s a sweet idea. Wait…” Her eyes gloss over, and not even a minute later Marius comes back to her office. She grabs him by his sleeve and forces him to bend down a bit to where she is sitting. He obliges happily, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her head. “Now,” Celine commands.

I swiftly take the photo and smile slightly when I see it. “That’s cute. He’ll love it.”

“Send it to me too.” Marius beams. “I need a new screensaver after Celine deleted the last one.”

“Oh, I wonder why she did that?” Celine deadpans.

“It’s been a great photo,” Marius defends himself and his choice of photography.

“I was naked in it.” Celine furrows her brows.

“Not fully naked.”

“Naked enough.” Celine glares. “How would you like it if I had a photo of your—”

“Banana?” he offers with a smirk.