Page 19 of My Broken Mate (Healing Bonds #1)

Chapter twelve

Traces Of A Monster

*REMY*

T he project went surprisingly smoothly.

Kiki is in the group, and is one of Kata’s friends, one of the girls she hangs out with.

At least that’s what Kiki tells me during our lunch break.

We leave college grounds for our lunch and head to a small seafood restaurant Kiki has talked about nonstop for weeks.

I made a reservation there to surprise her.

My presentation went well, too, with my professor telling me it was the best of my class.

I feel relieved at that. At least Gabriel will be somewhat content, although I know that whatever I do, he will always be able to do better.

I can’t remember him ever telling me that I just did well, without any suggestions for improvement.

“I am done for today,” I tell Kiki. “I am heading to Katalina’s pack now.”

“I still have one class,” she says. “And then will hang out with some of the girls. See you later? Maybe we can take Lyle and hang out at my place. There are some new movies online I would love to watch.”

“Sure,” I tell her. “Just write me a message when you want to meet.”

Once in the car, my driver takes me directly to Kata’s pack.

I take the forty minutes of a car ride to rewind and to calm my nerves.

Almost a whole day of socializing is incredibly draining.

I used to do better, but recently everything seems to grate my nerves.

I am getting really thin-skinned, it seems, and I am not sure why.

Kata’s pack, or rather her brother’s, is smaller than ours, but not significantly so.

It’s less modern and fancy, but has a quiet charm to it.

There is more nature surrounding it, and it feels peaceful overall.

It’s obvious that the pack members feel content both with the pack and with their leader.

I have heard the previous alpha was pretty bad, apparently a very similar situation to the one in my own pack.

Sean works incredibly hard, but it takes a long time to make a whole pack forget their previous trauma.

The guards are already expecting me here, and one of them politely greets me once I get out of my car. My driver is allowed to wait here and stroll around, much to my relief. I would hate for him to be confined to his car.

The packhouse is lively, fortunately, which means no one really pays me much attention. The busier it is, the less people are inclined to notice a new face. I make it up to the Alpha Suite, where Kata is living with her brothers without any incidents.

“Come in!” Kata answers my knocking by ripping the door open.

Much to my surprise, she is only clad in sweatpants and a tank top.

Her hair is wet. “I am sorry,” she exclaims. “I swear I didn’t confuse the time or anything.

I just had my training before, and guess what, on my way back to the Alpha Suite,” —she ushers me inside like the whirlwind she is, not even taking a breath in between her torrent of words.

But somehow it doesn’t annoy me like it normally would—“I fell face first into a puddle of mud and ruined my whole hair. I had to jump into the shower again! Phew!” She grabs a plate with an assortment of cookies, muffins and other biscuits and pulls me into her room.

My heart sinks when I see the food. I can’t eat any of it. I just hope she didn’t make it herself.

Once she is sure I am comfortable, she rushes out of the room again.

I can hear her running into something and cursing, and then some more rummaging.

Meanwhile, I check her room again. The last time I was here, it struck me how cozy it was.

It’s a bit cluttered, but not too much. There is an awfully weird painting on the wall, signed EV.

I believe that’s the way her brother signs his work.

There are flowers, which she is apparently drying, to make little artworks with them.

There is a shelf with romance and crime novels.

She has decorated everything with flowers, some are real, dried ones, some are fake.

The walls of her room are white, aside from one that is painted in a gentle blue with clouds covering it like the sky.

Her bed is queen-sized and all white. It’s an antique piece that’s been restored and painted anew.

The sheets are in a simple blue, like the wall.

This room has so much personality, so much warmth. It makes me realize how much my own room lacks, although I spend so much time there.

“Sorry for making you wait,” Kata blurts out while rushing into the room again.

She is dressed in jeans and a cropped top now and has her hair tied back.

Lyle said he finds her cute, and he isn’t wrong.

Though, cute isn’t the right word. Some people just have a lot of charisma, and it makes you ignore the smaller outer flaws they might have.

Kata just eludes personality, kindness, and charisma. She is special.

I shake my head at my own thoughts. What am I even thinking? I have never had a crush in my life, and I am certainly not starting now!

“No problem,” I say, realizing she is waiting for an answer.

She looks around, probably noticing that I was checking out her room. “Sorry, it’s a mess, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. It’s a very beautiful room.”

Surprisingly, Kata blushes slightly at my words, looking happy at that simple statement. “When we moved to the suite last year, Joel told me to do whatever I want with my room,” she explains. “First time I could do that.”

“The former alpha was your uncle, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, but he hated us, especially my father. Well, it’s in the past now,” she beams. “Everything is in the past. Joel is such a great alpha, and Eve helped me with painting my room and restoring the furniture I like.”

“Eve?”

“My second brother,” she says.

“You call him Eve? Isn’t that a girl’s name?”

“It is, but it kind of stuck around, and he likes it. Says it gives him a mysterious air.”

He probably really does, as he also signs his drawings as EV, which can be read as Evander, too.

It’s so weird how light-hearted and easy-going these siblings seem to be.

Completely different from how I am with my brothers.

I feel a twinge in my chest when I realize the vast difference between her family and mine.

I am not sure how to react to her words.

Usually, I can easily hold a conversation even if I don’t want to.

It’s what I was taught early on. I am good at pretending to be interested or even being aloof when someone tries to take a dig at me.

It’s important to know how to carry myself, especially with Sean’s position now and the world we interact in.

Some wealthy alphas can be really nasty.

They appreciated my father for the money he brought to the table, and now Sean, Gabriel and I need to make sure to stand up to them.

We can’t allow ourselves to make any mistakes.

But something about Kata is so confusing that my mind goes mushy whenever I am in her vicinity.

Fortunately, there is a knock on the door, pulling me out of my thoughts, and a loud voice exclaiming, “I am coming in! Better get dressed!”

“I can’t believe you,” Kata groans when the door opens and Alpha Joel steps inside. He has a broad grin on his face that soon falters into a look of disapproval.

“You really are studying?” he mutters. “That’s so boring, Kata.”

“Oh, shut up,” Kata chuckles, tossing a random pillow at him.

Alpha Joel catches it with ease, grinning again.

He is an imposing man. Tall, strong-built, and with that look in his eyes.

Decisiveness, responsibility, strength. Sean has the same look.

I call it the Alpha Aura. Alpha Joel is not as imposing as Sean, and judging by his looks, more approachable, but he certainly isn’t someone you would want to upset.

“Allow me to introduce my stupid brother to you, Remy,” Kata says, turning back to me and pointing at her brother.

“That’s Joel. He is much more competent than he looks.

” I am stunned at how she talks to him. So relaxed.

She doesn’t seem scared at all, as she jokes about him and with him.

Something about that makes my chest stitch.

Alpha Joel brushes through his wild blond hair and smiles. “Thank you for the lovely introduction, dear sister.” He turns to me. “Welcome to my pack, Remy. I hope you like it here, and thank you once again for helping out my sister. It means a lot to Eve and me.”

“It’s a great honor to meet you, Alpha Joel,” I say politely. “And an equal honor to help you out.”

For a moment, he looks at me like I grew a second head. “See!” he finally blurts out towards his sister. “That’s how you are supposed to talk to me. With great respect!”

“In your dreams,” Kata retorts. “Only if you manage to clean up behind yourself for once.”

“Don’t act like you are so tidy,” Joel complains.

“Better than you.”

“Well, that’s true,” he grins again. “Where is the sandwich?”

“Eve went to the gallery,” she explains. “He is preparing for the grand opening of his exhibition.”

“Right.” Alpha Joel grimaces. “I am so glad he doesn’t want us there for the opening. It was challenging enough to see everything beforehand.”

“Eve has an exhibition,” Kata tells me. “It’s a really big one, and he is the main attraction. Joel and I already saw the pieces.”

I am not too versed in modern art, but I loosely remember that I read something about said exhibition.

“Wait a moment, I will look for the pamphlet,” Joel offers before hurrying away.

Meanwhile, Kata grabs the plate with muffins and cookies. “Here, have something to eat,” she says.

I don’t know how to tell her that I just can’t because my body is revolting against everything, even more since I went out with Lyle and went overboard with the food there. “I have to decline,” I say. “But thank you for the offer.”