Page 1 of My Broken Mate (Healing Bonds #1)

Chapter one

The Deal

*KAT*

I hear footsteps behind me, only stopping at the door leading into the corridor of the apartment. “Kat!” One of my friends yells and waves with a can of beer in my direction. “Come and have a drink with us!”

“Yeah, you need to join us,” another one adds.

“Just give me a moment,” I yell back. “I just need to check on something. I’ll be back in a minute.” They are content with my answer and return to the party. I smile at my guests as I push past them, making small talk here and there, but my goal lies elsewhere.

My life is wonderful right now. Like a gazillion rainbows. Like little kittens dressing up as unicorns. Like a twelve-hour, private Lord of the Rings special extended edition cinema viewing with free popcorn, Coke, and jelly.

It honestly couldn’t be better.

My two brothers and I used to be the outcasts of the pack, the kids of the alpha’s disgraced and disowned brother.

But around a year ago, everything changed for the better.

Shortly after the death of our parents, my oldest brother challenged our uncle, aka the asshat alpha, for his position and won.

Additionally, my second brother managed to hit it big as an artist. Neither of them was able to go to college thanks to the grim situation between the alpha and our parents, but they both worked hard, and now they try to make sure that I can have all the opportunities I want, that I have a peaceful life with nothing missing from it.

Gone are the days of tiny apartments and shabby clothes.

I’m suddenly being invited to parties, and people want to befriend me.

There is nothing essentially missing in my life.

On my eighteenth birthday, my brothers gifted me a motorbike for me to get around as I please, and the three of us share the huge Alpha Suite.

We have always gotten along well, even more so ever since our parents passed.

They have been watching out for me for so long and kept me out of the old alpha’s way.

“What are you doing?” I sneak up to my best friend, squeezing him in a hug. “I can’t believe you are hiding in my room. The party is out there in the living room, you know that, don’t you?”

Ayden startles, but then just shrugs. “I’m here for you, Kat, but you know I don’t like parties.

” He turns his attention back to his handheld console.

Ayden looks like a gentle soul and a shy guy, but he is much more resilient and tough than people give him credit for.

Rather small built, for a male werewolf, quite unusual, he hardly ever shifts, but he loves electronics and anything software related.

There is nothing wrong with him; he is just being himself, and I love him the way he is.

My brothers aren’t at home for the weekend, so I decided to throw a party and invite some friends from the pack who are going to college with Ayden and me.

Ever since we were in school, we have been friends.

We had the same classes – he was the weird nerd kid, and I was the daughter of the alpha’s disowned brother.

We naturally found each other and had each other’s backs.

With my backstory, I should have been bullied like crazy, but to my surprise, most of my peers were actually pretty nice to me or ignored me.

Or maybe I was just too dense to notice their true intentions. You never know.

“Did you beat your high score?” I ask.

“Not yet,” he smiles. “Thank you for not minding that you have such a weird, antisocial best friend.”

“You are not weird, and not antisocial,” I say. “I love you, in the most platonic sense ever.”

“Just for you,” he groans. “I’m going to drown myself in cheap booze and listen to this crap music now.”

I laugh. “Or you could stay here and play your game.”

He sighs in relief. “You wouldn’t mind?”

“The fact you came at all means the most to me,” I say.

“Is there anyone at the party you like?” he asks. “I could be your wingman.”

“Nah,” I shake my head. “I don’t sleep with anyone from the pack. Besides… everyone in this apartment, except for both of us, is bone-drunk already and won’t even realize it’s my lips they are kissing. And you know how high-maintenance I am. I want to be cherished, not drooled over by a drunk ass.”

“You’re not high maintenance at all,” Ayden chuckles. “But whatever, we’ll make sure to find your mate, and he will definitely cherish you. You are wild like a cat, but inside you are just a marshmallow.”

“Don’t say that,” I mutter, flustered. “I’m so normal, it’s painful.”

“You? Normal?” Ayden laughs. “You are kind and hilarious. And people flock around you like moths to the light, and not just since your brother became alpha. It was like that even when you were still an outsider in the pack. It’s a superpower!”

“I have a superpower,” I grin. “Like a magical girl anime?”

“Exactly,” he says. “Plus, a lot of these guys find you hot!”

“I don’t think they really do,” I mutter, feeling my lack of confidence as usual.

I’m normally hiding it behind being loud and funny, but Ayden knows me, so there is no use in hiding from him.

I’m more on the athletic side, and have long, dark brown hair.

But other than that, I’d say, I’m just normal.

Ayden sighs, but doesn’t push any further. Instead, he puts his console aside. “Come, let’s go to the others and have some fun.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?” I ask.

“Can’t leave you alone or you might get hurt,” he says.

“That was just once,” I point out. “Once!”

“You dropped a pan and it fell on your foot, breaking your little toe,” he points out mercilessly. “I’ve never seen anyone clumsier than you are!”

I groan. “Shut up. I know I am chaos.”

“Endearing chaos, though,” he says, while pushing me out of the door to hit the party. The others are already dancing around, eating and drinking. Some have started making out, and I can almost sense how Ayden wants to turn around and leave, but he puts up a brave face for me.

“I will get you a drink,” I say.

A shirtless guy starts dancing around us. “Make it two,” Ayden groans.

I’m lying on the beach, drinking my pina colada, served by that half-naked waiter with abs of steel. I can hear the soft sound of the waves brushing against the shore. Ah, this is paradise. The sand feels warm beneath my toes, and the sun tickles my nose slightly. It’s so peaceful.

“Kat!”

Hm, shut up.

“Katalina!”

My eyes fly open, and I sit up abruptly as all my dreams evaporate.

One glance around tells me that I forgot to clean up after the party I had yesterday, or rather, I fell asleep before I had the chance to.

Oh shoot, I just wanted a nap after I had one drink too much. At least my friends went home already.

“Katalina!”

Oh fuck, right. My brothers! They were on a business trip slash alpha meeting yesterday. The perfect timing to go a bit wild. I jump up, dropping out of bed and hitting my toe against the bed frame. “Oh, shit, shit, shit!”

“Are you alright, Kata?” My oldest brother Joel peeks into my room. He is the new alpha of our pack. The last one, technically our uncle, had a few screws loose and engaged in gambling and human trafficking. It’s a complicated story, really. Joel challenged him and got rid of him for good.

Evander, brother number two, ‘Sandwich’ as Joel calls him, doesn’t look as amused, though. “The place is a mess! Kata, you said you would invite a few friends, not half of the pack-youth!”

“It was kind of an open party,” I groan. “Also, could you speak in a lower tone, please? My head.”

“He is right, you know,” Joel chimes in, looking at me earnestly. “You should have at least waited for us to be home. It’s not nice to throw a wild party when your oldest bro isn’t here and can’t participate.”

“Joel!” Evander pinches the bridge of his nose. “This is not okay. Try to act as an alpha for once!”

“Don’t make this personal,” Joel grumbles. “I am a great alpha! In fact, I’m alphatastic!”

“You are also the alpha of all cringey jokes,” Evander mutters.

Joel just elbows him. “Don’t be such a bore, Eve.”

“I’m not a bore,” Eve says. “But one of us has to be the adult here.” He gestures at my room before opening the door, which reveals our completely messed-up living room. “But this, this can’t be it! This household is out of control!”

“So, someone has to clean it,” Joel says earnestly, making me die inwardly with laughter, especially when Eve narrows his eyes to a glare.

“I hope you don’t say I should be this someone!” Eve huffs.

“Well, Kata is hungover-ish, and I’m the alpha!”

Eve looks like he is going to explode any second, but then he massages his temples. “If you help me clean, I will bake pizza. Not the one the kitchen makes for the pack members, but the Evander-approved-special pizza with all the ingredients you want.”

Joel’s eyes widen before he shoves both of us aside and dashes to the storage room. Meanwhile, I go and fetch some trash bags. Eve just knows how to get us to clean up our mess. Food always gets Joel and me. Actually, food is the one thing the three of us share – we are so passionate about it.

It’s funny because on the outside, we all look completely different.

Joel is tall and muscular, typical alpha material. Just his blond hair is wild and fluffy, as the girls say. It’s the type of hair they love to run their fingers through. Not that he would let them. He doesn’t fuck on pack grounds.

Eve is smaller in frame, not a warrior, but he has ruthless brown hair that’s incredibly hard to control. Everyone always says he is constantly sleeping and never listening – Ayden calls it a resting sleep face – but he is much more on alert than they know he is.

I am more athletic, and in general, I’m pretty much untalented. There is nothing I’m particularly good at, and I’m pretty dumb, unfortunately, especially in comparison to my brothers. Studying is just not my forte, and I’m going to fail so many of my college classes.