Page 68 of A Broody Mate for the Human

Who’s who? I’m completely confused. What confuses me even more are the slight tingles I feel where Dave touched me. “I’m Jun,” the guy on the other end of the line confirms once again. “Truly one of Dave’s friends. Tell him to please message us here and there—”

Before I can tell Dave what he said, he sighs and takes the phone from me. “Hey, Jun, sorry for worrying you and the others.” I move away a bit to give him the privacy to talk with his friend, trying to blend out the answers coming from Jun. I notice how Dave looks visibly relaxed and relieved, though. “I just needed a break,” he admits. “I will call Annie and Ella later. Fuck, I didn’t think they would be so worried… I just wanted to get away.” Another pause, which I use to walk into the bathroom. “No, I won’t do anything reckless,” is the last thing I hear Dave say before I close the door behind me. “Raffy is my bodyguard.”

*DAVE*

I watch how Raffy grumbles and grunts while poking at his breakfast bowl. He got the same as me—a fancy oatmeal bowl with all kinds of toppings.

“You don’t like it?” I grin.

“It’s the texture,” he grumbles. “The taste is alright.” He looks at my bowl and then back to his. “You want my marshmallows?” he offers.

I blink. “You don’t like them?”

“I do, but it seems you like them more.”

After being judged left and right for any of my choices by Matthew, it takes me by complete surprise that Raffy saw my preferences in sweet, sugary, and colorful food, and instead of commenting on it, he offers me some of his.

“So, who’s Jun?” he asks me out of the blue. For a moment, I flinch, wondering what I should tell him before I notice he looks curious and not judgmental.

“Jun is one of my best friends,” I explain. “We had a thing once, but he is a wolf, and I knew he would find his mate eventually, which is why we broke up and remained friends.”

I’m not even sure why I tell him our story in detail. Raffy doesn’t need to know everything, and he certainly didn’t ask either, but something about him made me want to be as open to him as possible.

He nods tentatively. “But he is not the one who hurt you?”

I shake my head. “Jun would never hurt anyone.”

Again, he nods. “And Finn?” he asks curiously. “That’s the one we are looking for?”

“Yes.” I tilt my head. “He is a lycan prince, and he—”

Raffy almost spits out his oatmeal again, dropping his spoon and staring at me. “What?” he rasps out. “A royal lycan?”

“Yes.” I blush a bit, realizing how weird this has to sound to an outsider. I’m just a human, yet my friends are all someone in the werewolf world. “We have been friends since college.”

“Ah.” Raffy furrows his brows. “Makes sense.”

I’m surprised that he doesn’t question why a lycan would be friends with a weak and pathetic human. “You’re not surprised?” I man up and ask him directly.

“No.” He shrugs. “You’re special.”

I frown. “Is that good or bad?”

“Neither.” Raffy grabs his spoon again and pokes his oatmeal. “You literally picked me up like a stray pup, and you’re friends with other wolves. You know our world, so obviously…”

I smile at the straightforward and simple way he described me and my relationships. It’s kind of nice to be with someone who isn’t all shocked and surprised that my best friends are wolves. “Now it’s your turn,” I tell him. “You dreamed about Stella again.”

He furrows his brows again. “And about this girl.”

“You don’t know her?” I ask curiously.

“I do know her,” he mutters. “I just can’t remember. But I know I know her. Does that make sense?”

I nod. “It does.”

“She cried,” he admits. “It seems like I wanted to push her into something she didn’t want to. She said something about someone not being her mate. The next thing I remember is seeing her with Stella, who told me she will handle everything.” He pauses. “I might have been a terrible person,” he admits quietly, his eyes suddenly clouded with worry and sadness.

“No,” I say promptly, much to my surprise.