Page 63 of A Broody Mate for the Human

My wolf stirs slightly when we approach him. His presence gets even stronger when Jun takes my hand, and I can feel the tingles from the mate bond engulfing me. I smile at him. “Is this for me?” I ask curiously, eying the untouched cup.

“Hot chocolate.” Jun smirks.

“My favorite!”

“I know.” Jun grins, moving his hand away before I can grab the cup. “I demand a kiss beforehand.”

I giggle a bit at his antics before I give in to his demands. I need to stretch a bit to reach him, as he has apparently decided to tease me and doesn’t even bend his head. In a sudden moment of boldness, I cup his cheeks between my hands and pull him down into a heated kiss. I can feel him gasp against my lips before I can hear him putting something aside and wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me closer. “Now that’s what I call a nice surprise,” he mutters against my lips when I stop to catch some air.

“Do I get my hot chocolate now?” I ask innocently.

“Whatever you want, babe.” He smiles. “You can get it.”

I want you,I think, but I’m not bold enough to say it. Jun goes so slow with me because I’m the one with the trauma, and when I first met Jun, I did feel insecure. I don’t feel unsure around him anymore, though, and I just want him to take the next step.

But how the heck am I supposed to say it out loud?

Just tell him.

Huh? I look at Jun. “Did you say something?”

Jun blinks. “Right now? No, Luca, why?”

My eyes go wide at the sudden realization. Either I’m losing my mind and hearing voices… or I’m not losing my mind and hearing voices. I bet it’s the latter. I jump up into Jun’s arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck—careful not to spill my hot chocolate. “I heard him,” I exclaim.

Jun looks at me, a bit confused, but he happily holds me. “Heard whom?”

“My wolf.”

“That’s fantastic.” Jun’s eyes widen. “What did he say?”

I blush a bit. “Nothing in particular,” I mutter, jumping down on my feet again and trying not to look at Jun. My flushed cheeks probably give it all away because Jun just smirks.

“I’ll get to the bottom of this later,” he teases.

“I’m hungry,” I blurt out, partly to distract him and partly because it’s true.

He looks at me surprised. “Really?”

When I nod, he looks sincerely happy. “That’s great to hear. Let’s make sure to grab something to eat.”

“And then?” I ask curiously.

“I need to drop off something at Dave’s. He hasn’t replied to my last message, so I thought I could either introduce you to some of my friends or show you my pack,” he offers, looking at me both hopeful and nervous.

Is he afraid I won’t want to see his pack or his friends? The fact that he wants to show me how he lives and what is important in his life means so much to me. “I’d love to,” I tell him.

Jun looks relieved. “I’m glad,” he admits. “But food first. What do you want to eat? Should we indulge in fast food? Or how about some Chinese?”

He always does that, I realize, making sure I try all the things I couldn’t try before, all the things I missed. “I’d love to try Chinese takeaway,” I admit. I had an assortment of fast food with Dave, Luna Annalise, and Beta Ella, but I didn’t make it to Chinese food.

He nods, taking my hand and leading me to his car. He takes us to a small restaurant that looks worn down from the outside but is actually nice and clean inside. Jun orders a variety of food for us, making sure to get as much of the menu as possible for me to try it all. We wait for our order, and once we get it, we head to a nearby park, deciding to have a little spontaneous picnic with our Chinese takeaway food.

It’s fun. Jun tells me about his friends, a dancer and a fun Turkish couple, and then about his work as a gamma and how much his previous alpha sucked, and how happy he is now. He talks about his pack and the ranked members there to help me feel less anxious about it. Meanwhile, I munch on my food, happy that I can finally lead a normal life. It still feels like it’s all a dream, and one day I’ll wake up and it’ll be ripped out of my hands again.

“Now I really want to see your pack,” I admit. “I mean, I’d love to meet your friends too, but the pack…” I don’t know yet how Jun and I will continue our relationship. Once he marks me, we can’t do this long-distance thing. We’ll need to stay closer together, live together, and it’s either going to be in Moon Blood or in Jun’s pack, Red Claw.

I want to see his pack. It’s crucial for me to know where he lives.