Page 14 of My Broken Mate (Healing Bonds #1)

“These look good, Kata,” Eve praises me while he helps me draw some faces onto the cookies I baked.

I invited Remy to our pack for our first tutoring lesson.

I’m now fully on board with this. Not because Remy is supposedly cute, but because I want to give this a shot.

I know I’m dumb as fuck, and even now, when baking the cookies, it takes me three tries because, in my clumsiness, I dropped the ingredients twice, but I don’t want anyone to tell me I didn’t give this any effort.

“You think so?” I ask.

“Yes,” he nods his approval while drawing little creepy faces. As usual, he can’t get out of his skin. Everything that he applies some art to has his signature touch of creepy horror-themed nightmares.

I laugh. “What are you doing? You are giving them all creepy Chucky faces. This is going to scare Remy.”

“I bet he will find them cool,” Eve says.

I roll my eyes but let him do as he pleases while I try to counterattack his creepy cookies with cute ones. “Eve,” I start after a while. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Do you sometimes dream about your mate?” I ask.

He looks surprised. “This was an out-of-the-blue question now…”

“It’s just… most people I know constantly talk about finding their mates, but we don’t.”

“Are you?” he asks. “Dreaming about finding your mate?”

I feel my cheeks flush. “Yes. I know it can take a while for me to find him, but… I do dream about it sometimes.”

He sighs. “I like being alone,” he admits. “I… It’s not like I don’t want my mate. It’s just, I really like being on my own and living my life.”

“And Joel?” I ask.

“I don’t know, it’s a sore topic,” he admits.

“How come?” I ask, surprised. Joel is one of the most laid-back men I know. I can’t imagine anything being a sore topic for him.

“I honestly don’t know,” Eve says. “I asked him about it once, and he got really defensive. He is not the type to lash out at someone, so when he did, I decided it was better not to push him. I dropped the topic and never mentioned it again.” He smiles.

“It’s normal to want your mate, Kata. Don’t worry too much because Joel and I are so weird about it.

There are a lot of things you can follow us for, but I think in this case it’s better to make your own decisions. ”

“I think I understand,” I say. “Do you mind if I talk about it?” I ask. “I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Katalina,” Eve says quietly. “You can talk to us about anything. Just because Joel and I don’t want to talk about our potential mates, it doesn’t mean you need to hide the topic. We will support you, always.”

I let his words sink in for a while. I can talk about everything with them, he just said, yet there is one secret I can’t talk to them about. I had sworn to myself years ago that I would take it to my grave and never burden them with it.

Because the silence stretches too long, I reassure Eve before he can get suspicious. “Thank you,” I say, while finishing the last cookie. “And done.”

I help Eve with preparing our dinner for later, before we both head to have lunch with the pack. We try to support Joel during these as much as possible, especially since we still lack ranked members.

Later, I make sure to prepare all my stuff for my classes, my books, my notebook and whatever else I might need for my tutor lesson with Remy. I make sure there is soda and water prepared, and coffee or tea in case he wants to drink something hot. And the cookies.

I’m feeling oddly nervous and fidgety while waiting for him.

Joel is at work in his office, and Eve left to help him.

I honestly prefer it that way, so I can meet Remy on my own.

Eventually, a mind link from one of our warriors comes through, telling me our guest arrived and that he will escort him to the Alpha Suite.

Marise stirs slightly in my mind when I hurry to open the door, looking down at the staircase expectantly. We don’t have an elevator, so it takes a while until I can hear their voices coming closer. Again, Marise stirs, suddenly on alert..

The first thing I take in is the heavenly scent of coffee beans, a hint of chili and the earthy scent of wood being freshly cut.

It’s the same scent I took in during my shopping trip, just this time it’s more intense and so much closer.

Marise gets more and more restless, her excitement contagious.

I can feel my heart picking up its pace, and my mind reels with all kinds of thoughts.

No way… can it really be?

Yes , Marise blurts out. It absolutely can.

Finally, he has reached the last floor. Remy looks like he does in the photo Fi showed me, but to me, he seems to be even more handsome now that I am seeing him in the flesh.

The beautiful face with the high cheekbones, the soft curls, the dark brown eyes, the long eyelashes.

He is a bit on the skinny side, but tall and athletic.

He is perfect.

“Hello,” he greets me politely. “You must be Katalina.”

There seems to be no recognition in his eyes, or maybe he is just better at keeping his cool. Meanwhile, my mind and wolf go crazy.

Mate! Marise exclaims. We have found him!