Page 4 of A Broody Mate for the Human

I nod my head tentatively, signaling to him I have it under control. I’ll call him later to talk about this whole mess. “Talk to you later,” I say.

He nods with a smile before he takes his leave, not before tossing Matthew another warning glance, though. Jun pays at the bar and then leaves. I stay behind, still feeling confused about everything, while Matthew furrows his brows and looks at me.

“We are friends,” I hurry to explain, feeling instantly pissed that I just defended myself. I don’t even know a thing about Matthew yet, and here I am freaking out. I will my confusion and slight discomfort down, though, remembering what Ella, Celine, and Annie told me… and how it was for them when they met their mates. I’m human, so I don’t feel the mate bond that strongly, but there is an initial attraction.

Matthew might be a bit intense, but… surely their moon goddess has a plan, doesn’t she? I just need to give him a chance. I smile a bit. Time for a more positive attitude. I will freshen up, then leave with my mate and get to know him. I take a few steps towards the door leading me to the bathroom. Before I can move, though, Matthew grabs my wrist, a bit too tight to feel comfortable. “Where are you going?”

“Toilet, big man,” I explain. “I’m not going to run, don’t worry.”

“I would be able to sniff you out anyway,” he mutters under his breath.

“Now that’s comforting.” I chuckle. When Matthew doesn’t laugh and just furrows his brows instead, I sigh. “It was a joke.” I pause. “I’ll hurry. You can wait outside if you want to.”

When I return, I’m not surprised to see Matthew still rooted to the same spot. “We can go now,” I tell him with a smile which he doesn’t return. I sigh inwardly. Goodness… is he just broody or… unfriendly… or I don’t know…

The air outside is fresh, cooling me down a bit and making it possible for me to breathe. “So… you are a gamma’s son?” I ask after we walk in silence for a while, just trying to make a bit of conversation.

“How come you know so much about us?” he says with a frown.

“My best friends are wolves,” I admit.

He nods, but I don’t even know if he truly listens. When Liam met Annie, it was an intense encounter too, but so… different. Liam was instantly smitten by her, a bit possessive, but there was a certain gentleness about how he treated her. As for Matthew, I’m not so sure if he is truly interested. “Hey,” I say when we pass the park. “We could walk through there. It’s a nice place.” I pat Matthew’s shoulder a bit to signal him what I mean.

Matthew pushes my hand away. “Don’t…” he huffs.

I look at him, confused. I just don’t get it. I thought as my mate he wouldn’t mind me touching his shoulder. It’s not like I jumped his bones. This is so weird. Like… hey… I’m the human here! I’m feeling my nerves again, a slight dreadful feeling filling me. “You don’t like to be touched in general or just not by me?”

Matthew balls his hands into fists but doesn’t say anything. “Nothing,” he says. “It’s nothing. I need to leave now.”

What!? He made me ditch my friend and now leaves me after five minutes of walking around. “And how can I reach you?” I sigh. “I doubt you’ll be able to mind link me.”

“Right, you are just a human,” he spits out, making me frown at his tone. Maybe that’s his issue, the fact that I’m human? As the gamma’s son, he might be next in line for the position as well… maybe he is worried what it means for him and his career to be fated to a human.

I’m kind of envying my friends now for their wolf spirits. I would love to have someone in my mind right now to discuss what’s going on.

Matthew takes a little notebook out of his pocket, rips out a page, and scribbles down his number. “Here,” he says shortly.

He doesn’t ask for my number. Maybe he expects me to call or text him? I feel utterly confused, though… maybe I’m just reading too much into it. He saw me with Jun, and he knows I’m gay or I wouldn’t be fated to him, and wolves are possessive, aren’t they? So maybe he is just confused as well?

He looks at me shortly, something flashing in his eyes again. “Just don’t… meet anyone,” he commands.

I don’t need to ask who he means by anyone. I can’t bring myself to say or do anything. I just keep staring at him until he grabs my arm, something angry flashing in his eyes. “You can’t meet him again!”

“All my friends honor the mate bond,” I say, something in my chest clenching a bit. “Jun would never intervene.”

Matthew lets go of my hand again, and for a moment, he looks almost sad. “Matthew?”

He just shakes his head. “I have to leave now.”

“Okay,” I mutter. “See you around, I guess?”

*MATTHEW*

Fuck, a freaking human! The Moon Goddess fated me to a weak human, and a guy on top of that! Was she nuts? Why would she do that? I’m not even gay. I would have rejected that weakling on the spot had my wolf not intervened.

I originally came to town with a bunch of my friends when I smelt his scent, so sweet and intoxicating. It pulled me towards this pub where he sat with that other wolf. A freaking gamma on top of that. Was that his fetish!? To fuck around with werewolves?

I’ll make sure he doesn’t look at anyone but me.