Page 13 of My Broken Mate (Healing Bonds #1)

Chapter seven

Mates?

*KAT*

I call it “Mission: Unravel Remy”.

Unfortunately, it seems to be a failed mission before I have even started fully.

I’ve been trying to learn more about him since yesterday. My plan was to find Remy and secretly check him out. It just drives me crazy that I don’t know him. I don’t even know what he looks like.

“Here, have a cookie,” Ayden tells me with a groan while bringing me coffee and cookies.

He works in a small coffee shop twice a week, and I normally hang out there with him.

Since our shopping trip, Fiona has started joining us, as well, and even Clara said she would love to hang out more.

“You look way too pitiful and depressed.”

“What’s wrong?” Fi wants to know.

“It’s just… my brothers have set me up with a tutor,” I explain. “His name is Remy.”

“Remy?” She stares at me. “As in Remy Floris?”

Seems like everyone knows him but me. Just awesome. “Yes.”

She squeals so loudly that several guests turn around to look at us.

Fi, however, doesn’t seem to mind. Her cheeks turn rosy with joy, and she looks even younger that way.

She is really sweet like sugar. “He is so cute,” she blabs.

“He has that broody, mysterious emo thing going for him, and he is so beautiful.”

“Beautiful?” I ask.

“I probably shouldn’t say that about a guy,” she sighs dreamily. “But he is. It’s that look of pain in his eyes. He makes me want to write poems about pain and loss all the time.”

I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. Fiona is an artist, and she writes poetry and short stories, and weirdly enough, her stuff reminds me of what Eve does. “How do you know him?” I ask. “From college?”

“No, I am a pack member.”

“Wait, what?” I exclaim.

Ayden scoots closer, too, now. “I didn’t know that, Fiona.”

“We never talked about our packs,” she says. “You probably thought that because my sister is mated to an alpha, it couldn’t be Dark Forest. Alpha Sean is unmated after all.” When we nod, she chuckles. “My parents and I stay in Dark Forest pack. It’s our home pack, and Alpha Sean is fantastic.”

“Does this mean you know all the stories about the old alpha?” Ayden asks.

“No,” she says. “My parents sent me to my grandma during his reign. He was said to be a total psycho.” She furrows her eyebrows, and I decide not to comment on what she just said.

If it’s true, then her parents took a massive risk in sending her to another relative and another pack. It could have gotten them killed.

It’s certainly not my place to tell her, though.

Ayden seems to think the same because he skillfully shifts the topic. “So, you are friends with Remy?”

“No,” she laughs. “I did not say that. Remy likes to stay on his own. He only hangs out with his two childhood friends. But whenever I coincidentally meet him, he is very polite, and so well-mannered.”

“So, you have nothing juicy on him?” Ayden asks.

“Sorry,” she giggles. “I wish I had.”

“No affairs or hot exes?” Ayden wants to know.

“Not that I know of.”

“Scandals?” he inquires further.

“Not as far as I am concerned,” she says.

“Goddess,” I groan. “Ayden, let Fi be.”

“You were the one who wanted intel on him,” he points out.

“I just wanted some information so as to not go into this tutor lesson completely blind,” I say. “But I don’t care about any rumors around him. He is the alpha’s younger brother, so I’m sure there are plenty of them flying around.”

“One day, I will get you into this gossip,” Ayden sighs, wiping the bangs off his forehead. He has cut his hair shorter, hoping he would look more like an adult that way. Like Fiona, however, he just looks eternally youthful, something he hates.

Meanwhile, I always look a bit older than I am, which sucks.

“There is one,” Fiona says all of a sudden. “A rumor.” She furrows her brows. “Remy is said to be sick,” she says. “Apparently, he saw quite a few doctors recently.”

Ayden and I exchange a gaze. “I doubt that’s true,” Ayden mutters. “He is a werewolf. He would heal any ailment.”

She shrugs. “Just telling you what I heard.” She beams. “Want to see a photo? I took one during our last pack festival.”

“Of course! Finally, we are getting somewhere,” I say, scooting closer while Fiona goes through her pics. She smiles when she finds the one she was looking for, turning her phone to show it to me. “The one at the left, the tall and muscular one, that’s our alpha.”

Alpha Sean… I haven’t paid much attention to politics, which is something I should change now that my brother is alpha, but I’ve heard a lot about Alpha Sean. He is tall and looks strong, even more than Joel, but he also looks so earnest and strict in the picture. The man is hard to read.

“The one next to him, the one who is a bit smaller in height and wears a suit, that’s the middle brother. Gabriel.”

Gabriel also looks pretty serious, although his posture is a bit more open.

Goddess, I know this is just one picture, and I can’t judge, but they all look so tense.

My gaze moves to the third man in the photo.

“That’s Remy?” When she nods, I zoom in on the picture.

Remy is a bit older than I am, almost twenty, so I have heard.

Fiona was right when she said he is beautiful.

He is incredibly handsome with his even features and his full lips.

He has slightly curly hair and looks tall and athletic.

Not really muscular and bulked up, though, but he is certainly the type of guy I personally like.

I stare at the pic, taking in all three guys once more. “They don’t look happy,” I say. “I don’t mean to sound condescending or anything, and it’s just a photo.”

“Oh, you aren’t,” Fiona reassures me. “It’s not a secret that all three of them are very serious men. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of them smile.” She grins. “But they are hot.”

Ayden agrees with her, while I stare at the pic. Hot… but sad.

*REMY*

The shopping trip yesterday did boost my spirit a bit, but today I’m back to my reality.

I had a class this morning, then returned home to train a bit.

I can’t train with the warriors, obviously.

We are keeping my condition a secret so that I won’t become a target.

Somewhere, the rumor is going around that I have a rare illness, and that’s probably for the best because it’s not really a precise rumor.

Despite my ailment, I want to be able to defend myself.

Sean put together a training program for me.

Beta Levi, or one of Sean’s most entrusted warriors normally trains with me.

My cardio is good, but I have difficulties putting on muscle mass. Instead, I lose weight so fast.

Levi suggested for me to eat more because I burn through calories so fast. And I try, I really do, but sometimes I feel so tired I just forget to feed myself.

Training did take my mind away from other things, though.

That is, until I step back into the packhouse and go upstairs to our suite.

There are a few hours to kill until I can meet Katalina for our tutoring lesson.

She is an interesting woman, it seems. I’ve only had a few moments of online interaction with her, but there is something so light and warm about her, even through simple text.

Closing the door behind me, I take off my jacket and shoes before looking around a bit.

It’s completely silent at home. Not even one single voice or sound can be heard, aside from the rain outside.

It started to rain right after I came home, and the moment I set foot into our suite, my mood turned gloomy, too.

Lyle is needed at home. His father wants to renovate the living room, and they have new furniture to set up. And Kiki is out with some of her girl friends.

For a split second, I swear I hear something creaking, like footsteps on the wooden floor. I turn around swiftly, eyeing the corridor. But nothing.

I feel it in my stomach first, a knot there that feels funny at first, but then clamps up further, until I feel my body shivering slightly.

Something starts to hammer against my head as if it’s expanding and trying to get out of my skull.

“Fuck,” I curse, grasping the sides of my head.

The pain makes me drop to my knees while I wrap my arms around my middle.

My heartbeat picks up, making it difficult for me to breathe properly.

I feel my lungs constricting slightly, as if a hand is clasping around my heart.

The sight in front of my eyes is getting blurred.

I don’t know how long I spend on the floor of the corridor, but I lose track of time completely, and eventually feel my heart rate coming down again, the shivering of my body stopping.

“Fuck,” I mutter, brushing over my sweaty hair. For a moment, I just lean against the wall, trying to grasp my own thoughts.

I haven’t had a panic attack for over a year… actually, the last one was shortly after I found out I couldn’t shift.

Why did it return now?

I have no idea what triggered it, but at least my brothers didn’t notice.

I carefully get up on my feet, glancing at the clock just to see that a few hours have flown by. I barely have time to shower, freshen up and grab my stuff to hurry to meet Katalina. At least I don’t need to figure out what to do with my time now.

I can’t help the bitterness I feel at that thought, but I don’t want to throw a pity party.

At least I’m alive. I should consider myself lucky, I guess.

*KAT*