Page 82 of A Broody Mate for the Human

“Yeah.” I sigh. “Sorry for being such a busybody.”

“Yes, mom, I’ll be careful,” Dave snickers. “And tell dad I said hi.”

“Wait.” I blink. “How come I am mom, and Ye-Joon is dad!?”

“Bye,” Dave snickers.

I furrow my brows when Dave hangs up on me. “I can’t believe it.”

“You can’t believe it?” Ye-Joon repeats.

Luca giggles at us, laughing even more when I narrow my eyes at him. “Seems like I lost my edge,” I tease while I scoot closer and wrap him in my arms.

“Let go.” Luca laughs, smacking my arms. “I’m no match against your death grip. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

I grin. “Good, seems like I haven’t lost all my edge.”

Ye-Joon sighs. “Didn’t you have anything to do instead of pestering me?”

“Right.” I let go of Luca, not before kissing the side of his head. “We need to see Elif and Ozan and have them do their computer magic…”

“I hope Marcel is alright,” Luca mutters nervously.

“We’ll soon know for certain,” I promise. “Let’s go immediately and see what we can find out.”

*RAFFY*

I look into the cold eyes of the man in front of me. He is good-looking and strong, but there is no kindness in his eyes. “Your sister tested beta?”

I nod. “Yes, Alpha Troi, we have alpha blood in us, and she tested beta.”

“Good bloodline.” Alpha Troi lets his icy gaze wander over the papers in front of him, then he turns to nod at his beta. “She is perfect for you. She is of good heritage, strong blood, and beautiful. She will give you strong pups.”

I feel accomplished by the way this negotiation went. “Esme will be delighted,” I say confidently. I doubt that she will be, but I can’t allow myself to care for that. My alpha told me to make sure we get this marriage deal to tie our two packs into an alliance.

He doesn’t have any unmated female relatives aside from his daughter, and Esme happens to be the highest-ranking female of our pack. She just turned eighteen and is still unmarked.

The beta looks at her photo again, a creepy smile on his lips. Something inside me twists slightly at the way he looks at my sister, and Nero, my wolf, isn’t happy. We don’t have any choice, though. It’s the sacrifice she needs to make for the safety of the pack… She will be a high-ranking female here, the highest after the luna.

My eyes fly open. In the darkness of the night I can still see the way this beta male looked at the photo of my sister, my stomach churning. Too tired to battle my sleep, my eyes close again.

“Don’t force me, please,” Esme cries. “I can’t mate with this man. He is… he is not my mate.”

“Sometimes we need to see the bigger picture,” I tell her coldly.

“Why me, though? Why do I need to see the bigger picture? Why do you and the alpha sacrifice me and not do it yourselves?” she blurts out.

I grab her wrist. “Don’t talk like that about your alpha,” I hiss.

She flinches, her eyes widening in fear at my anger.

I’m not sure what the alpha will do if she refuses. Probably chain her up and bring her to Alpha Troi and his beta personally… if she is lucky.

Don’t force me.

Don’t do this to me.

My eyes fly open again. Fuck. I rub over my head in exhaustion, trying to calm my rapid heartbeat. The woman in my dreams… she is my sister, and I didn’t protect her. I negotiated this deal for her, selling her to this man like she was just an object.