Page 4 of My Broken Mate (Healing Bonds #1)

Before I can leave, though, Gabriel calls me back.

“Remy, I want you to tutor my friend’s younger sister,” he says.

“Her name is Katalina, and she is failing her college classes. They are going to pay you for your work.” He pauses, and before I even have the chance to say something, he continues.

“This will be good for you. Teach you responsibility and make you interact with other packs. As the alpha’s younger brother, you have certain responsibilities, as well. ”

“Alright,” I say coolly. “It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

While I leave, I can hear how Gabriel turns to Levi. “Did I say something wrong?” he asks, sounding surprisingly worried.

Levi groans. “I don’t even know where to start, Gabe,” he mutters.

I don’t linger any longer and instead head to my own room.

It’s spacious and decorated in cool tones.

I like it that way, relaxing. With nothing better to do, I take my books and start going through my notes from today, summarizing them once more, before working on my next paper and studying for my upcoming exam.

It’s only in a few weeks, but I like to be well prepared.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see my phone lighting up a few times, but I have it on mute.

I hate any distraction when studying. It’s best when it’s one hundred percent silent around me.

I work like that for a few hours, not realizing how the minutes drip by, until it’s pitch-black outside and my stomach rumbles.

I rummage in my backpack and my drawers for a granola bar or anything edible, but it seems I’ve eaten everything.

There is no avoiding it, it seems.

With a sigh, I get up, deciding to go downstairs to the kitchen.

As much as I prefer to lock myself in my room, it’s not like I can go through the day without eating anything.

The top floor, where my room is located, is completely silent, as is the second floor, where Gabriel and Sean have their rooms.

The first floor of our apartment, however, is livelier.

There is light on, and Gabriel is sitting in his home office, classic music coming from his radio while he types something on his notebook.

He doesn’t seem to notice me, too engrossed in his work.

On my way to the kitchen, I bump into my oldest brother.

“Remy,” he says, smiling slightly.

“Sean,” I mutter, feeling a bit awkward, but also happy to see him. “I’m sorry for not greeting you earlier. I didn’t know you were home.”

He is such an incredible man. He wears his dark brown hair shoulder-length.

And although it’s slightly curly and he is a typical alpha male, he always looks well put together and elegant, but not too over-the-top.

He gives off the image of someone who can be in a business meeting, and then come to the pack, take off his suit, let his hair down and engage in battle, not scared to get roughed up or dirty.

A lot of alphas have tattoos, but he doesn’t.

He only has a burn mark our father branded him with on his lower arm.

Everyone keeps saying that he is a bit too serious, too stern, but he just likes to be in control of his emotions.

He thinks his temper is his weak point, so he always tries to remain in control.

“I just came home,” he reassures me. “Have you eaten, Remy? You look tired and a bit too pale.”

I can lie to Gabriel with ease, but not to him. So, I just stand there, awkwardly, not sure what to answer.

Sean takes my silence as what it is. “No?” he asks, frowning. “We have talked about this. You need to eat properly.”

I feel genuinely bad for upsetting him. He is going above and beyond to make sure I get the best treatment and have the best shifter doctors look at what's wrong with my wolf. He hasn’t kicked me out.

He is still here and protecting me. The least I can do is to feed myself properly. “I apologize, I forgot,” I admit.

“You forgot to eat?” he asks.

“I came home around lunch and then went to study immediately.”

“You have done nothing but study the whole day,” he pushes. “We will eat something, and then you will go outside a bit. In fact, your friends already asked about you.”

“Really? Kiki and Lyle?”

“Yes, I saw them during dinner at the packhouse, which you missed.” He tosses me a reproachful glance. “Kiki said she tried to call you.”

“Oh, I had my phone on mute.”

“Okay,” Sean sighs. “I commend you for studying so diligently. It’s good that you are taking your studies so seriously, but you need to do other things, as well. What about meeting your friends?”

“I guess I could do that,” I admit.

Kiki and I have been friends ever since we were kids, and then later in high school, Lyle joined our group.

His father is one of Gabriel’s most important business partners and comes from a very wealthy family, and Lyle’s older brother is Levi.

The whole family either advises Sean or is in business with Gabriel.

Lyle and I bonded over the fact that we both come from prestigious families, are the youngest, and can’t quite keep up with our other family members.

Lyle knows how it feels to be forced to dress a certain way, to keep up an image, to always be polite and make sure not to take a wrong step.

Kiki doesn’t know anything about that. She is our gamma’s younger sister, and a very lively and beautiful young woman.

My father didn’t like the fact that I was friends with a she-wolf, but once he passed away, Sean approved of our friendship and let us hang out.

Kiki is one who easily adapts to every situation, so she fits in even at those weird high society events and balls Sean and Gabriel force me to attend.

While my thoughts run wild, I shuffle around in the kitchen. “Do you want something to eat, too?” I ask Sean.

“What are you making?”

“A salmon omelet and a seafood salad,” I mutter. Cooking is a hobby, something I genuinely like doing.

“Had I known you would miss dinner and cook instead, I would have skipped it, as well,” Sean says.

“I can prepare some more, and you can have the leftovers,” I offer.

“That would be very kind of you,” Sean says.

I nod, working a part in the kitchen. Eventually, Beta Levi drops by too to discuss something with Sean. He eyes my bowl of seafood salad longingly while doing so. He doesn’t say anything, though, and instead turns his attention to Sean. “Do you need me to accompany you tomorrow, Sean?”

“Yes, the original plan was to have Gabriel come with me, but he has a client meeting tomorrow,” Sean says. “You need to come in his place.”

“Of course,” Levi says. “So, what’s the event about?”

“It’s an alpha meeting, basically just to welcome the newcomers into the country. The new alpha from our neighbor pack, Alpha Joel from Mountain Wind pack, is attending.”

“They say he is a completely clueless newcomer. Is that true?” our beta asks. “He is said to be casual, interacting on a friendly basis with his pack members, and doesn’t give off much of a stern image.”

Sean taps his lips with his fingers. “Yet, he managed to challenge the old alpha, and he won fair and square. Sometimes the truth lies in the things you don’t see, not in those you see. People talk about him an awful lot, so I want to see for myself.”

I raise my head a touch when he says these words, feeling like I should probably take these words to heart, too.

“You are saying his casualness is just an act?” Levi asks.

“No, I’m saying that I heard his pack members are eager to follow him, and they respect him. You don’t earn respect that easily. I need to see for myself. Besides, he is our neighboring alpha, and it’s important to have good relations with his pack.”

He and Levi take the discussion to the living room, leaving me on my own.

I swiftly finish preparing my food and eat it before grabbing my phone and heading out of the Alpha Suite.

The packhouse is eight stories high, and there is an elevator for that reason, but I take the stairs. A bit of exercise is good for me.

On my way, I type a message to Kiki and Lyle, perking up a bit when Kiki instantly answers, saying they are waiting for me at the front door.

“My sad, alpha boy,” she squeals and hugs me when I finally make it downstairs.

“Hey, man.” Lyle squeezes my shoulder. “Good to see you, I was getting worried.”

“Sorry, didn’t check my phone.”

“You missed both lunch and dinner,” Kiki says. “Alpha Sean was really worried.”

“Really?” I ask. He looked a bit upset, but not that worried.

“He was roasting Beta Levi and Gabriel, and demanded to know if you ate anything,” she explains with a chuckle.

“They are the reason I skipped lunch,” I admit.

“Thought so,” Lyle says. “Gabriel said, you were okay. I think, he believes you had lunch before coming home. I didn’t tell him the truth.”

“Thanks,” I chuckle.

“So, what happened?” Kiki asks.

“Nothing, aside from Gabriel being Gabriel,” I say. “Then he said he wants me to tutor his friend’s younger sister. She is also in college, but not doing too well. I think her name is Katalina.”

“Goddess,” Kiki laughs. “There is only one Katalina at college, and she is Alpha Joel’s younger sister.”

“Oh, so, she is also from an alpha lineage?” Lyle asks, elbowing me. “See, at least you won’t need to pretend too much then.”

“I don’t know,” Kiki says. “They are certainly not like your family, Remy. Katalina is super laid back and has tons of friends of all ranks and social standings. I think she even has human friends.”

“Awesome,” I sigh.

“She is really nice, though,” Kiki points out.

“Just from a different world,” Lyle mutters.

Kiki elbows him. “Sometimes it would do you good to leave your own world, you know?”

“You aren’t wrong,” I mutter. “It’s just… I’m so tired. I feel like spending time with someone so extroverted will just drain me further.”

“Still feeling so drained?” Lyle asks, worried.

“You really should tell—”

“No,” I interrupt Kiki before she can finish her sentence. The last thing I want is for my brothers to know I’m even weaker than they imagine, and that I’m constantly battling a headache and feeling tired. I am already a social case, so no need to add more baggage to it.

Kiki squeezes my arm. “Okay,” she says softly. I can see her eyes glossing over, but I pretend not to notice it. I don’t want to know if she and Lyle mind link each other to talk about what’s going on. I have no wolf, so I can’t mind link, another thing that makes me a freak.

The only chance for me to ever be able to mind link anyone in this pack would be to either meet my wolf spirit or find my mate and get marked. Though, seeing as I’m wolfless, I doubt there is a mate out there for me.