Page 37 of A Broody Mate for the Human

Half an hour later, I have bought a phone from him and retrieved my SIM card. I put both items in my bag for now, deciding to take a proper look at it later. I help my friends with cleaning up their shop before we leave for dinner. Elif shows me some photos from her latest cosplay while Ozan grunts and grumbles next to her, secretly throwing loving gazes at her.

He is such a Neanderthal sometimes, but he is sweet, so he gets a pass from everyone, me included. We go for Indian food and my promised mango lassi, which I have been craving for days now. Ozan grins while Elif and I go completely overboard with our desserts and sugary drinks.

“The both of you and your sugar tooth,” he teases good-naturedly.

I get a flash of Matthew all of a sudden and how he claimed I was less of a man because I like sweet stuff. Glancing at Ozan, I notice there is no malice in his eyes. In fact, he even encourages us to go all out and try the weirder stuff too. I hate putting people into categories, but if I had to, I’d say Ozan is a typical manly guy, yet he doesn’t give a shit about what I eat.

Not all super masculine guys are the same, I realize. Jun and Annie’s mate, Liam, are both respectful and nice despite being manly and more serious than others.

It’s a pleasant evening, and for a while, I can truly forget all the drama in my love life. That is until I return home and start working on the lost data of my SIM card. It takes hours for me to retrieve it. I’m good at this stuff, but certainly not on a professional level. However, I manage to recover most of it, and also the message Jun sent to me. It was deleted from my phone it seems, and when I check the time and date, I know exactly when and how it happened.

“Oh fuck.” I rub my face between my hands. “How I wish I had a wolf spirit now to discuss this with him.”

I pause as this thought crosses my mind. Talking about wolf spirits, I don’t even know Matthew’s wolf. I don’t know his name, and I wonder how he takes all of this. What happened to these two to be so angry at everyone and everything?

And now? I look at my new phone, frowning deeply.

I make up my mind swiftly, deciding it’s about time to deal with the whole issue. I make sure to suppress my number before sending a message. Matthew doesn’t need to know that I managed to save my SIM card, and he also doesn’t need to have my phone number.

Visit me tomorrow. I’m working on my thesis, and I’m at home. You can drop by whenever you want. But we need to talk.

I send him my address, too, before switching off my phone. Tonight, I don’t want to hear from anyone anymore. I just want a few hours of peace.

*JUN*

“And now?” Luca turns to me, eyeing me nervously, while he holds the bowling ball in his hands.

“Don’t overthink it.” I smile. “Just roll it towards the pins in the middle.”

Luca nods and throws the ball with not enough strength, it seems. But I encourage him to try it again, and soon he manages to knock down a few of the pins. He laughs slightly. “This is fun,” he exclaims.

I’m so relieved he is enjoying his time. I made sure to book a place in a cozier bowling bar, although we needed to drive a bit longer to reach it. We ordered pizza and drinks and then started to play. Luca looks so beautiful. It seems like he dressed to impress, wearing tight grey jeans and a blue shirt with a V-neck. He has also styled his hair a bit.

Akio and I have to fight our urge not to just smash our lips against his.

When Luca manages to knock down all the pins, he squeals in surprise and throws his arms around my neck. Okay, that’s it. Even my self-control has limits. Before Luca can pull away again, I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him closer, taking a lungful of his sweet scent.

Luca surprises me by snuggling me and seemingly enjoying our closeness. He looks up at me, and then, to my surprise, I can see something flashing in his eyes. He cups my cheeks and pulls me down for a kiss. It’s a tentative and shy first kiss, but damn it, I don’t mind. It’s the sweetest kiss ever.

“I’m so sorry,” Luca mutters while pulling away.

“Did your wolf just let his presence be known?” I ask with a grin.

“I’m so embarrassed.” Luca tries to put some distance between us, and I let him, just keeping hold of his hand.

“I for one am very happy,” I reassure him.

“Really?” he asks, blinking up at me.

“I told you, I’m adapting to your pace,” I say. “If it were just up to me, I would have already marked you.”

Luca blinks for a moment, then he laughs all of a sudden. His laugh is the sweetest sound ever. “I’ll try to remember that for the next time,” he says with a smile.

I smirk, grabbing him by his arm and pulling him into another kiss. When I draw back, I sigh dramatically. “Just making sure I have something to remember until tomorrow.”

He giggles. “You’re so cheesy, but I like it.”

I smile at his reaction. He always reacts in such a sweet way. When he tries for another shot with the bowling ball, I allow my gaze to trail over his body. He is wearing a necklace around his neck, hiding his scar a bit, and I wonder what else he is hiding beneath his clothes. My stomach churns slightly when I think about how much abuse he probably had to endure. He is probably covered in scars. The ones on his body might have healed during the last months, but the ones he carries on his soul probably run deeper.