Page 41 of My Broken Mate (Healing Bonds #1)

Chapter twenty-nine

Just Say ’No!’

*KAT*

“ I am so sorry for my brothers,” I repeat over and over again for the next couple of days whenever I meet Remy. We are both busy with our first round of exams, so we mostly meet at Uni and for short but sweet dates.

“It’s really okay,” he reassures me once again, as he sits down next to me. We met for lunch and to study together on campus. Ayden joins us, as well.

“What’s all that apologizing about?” he asks curiously.

“Just how my brothers couldn’t shut up and completely steamrolled Remy and his brothers,” I mutter.

“Ah, the family invitation,” Ayden snorts. “Yeah, sounds exactly like something Joel would come up with.”

“I just didn’t know how to stop it,” I admit. “I should have, but—”

“Kata,” Remy says, squeezing my hand. “It’s truly okay. It’s not even your fault. Please stop apologizing.”

He said the same yesterday when I apologized to him, but this time he sounds more worried.

I don’t know why my insecurities kick in at moments like these.

I just can’t live with someone being mad at me.

It immediately sends me into a spiral of panic.

Eve keeps saying that I am too forthcoming sometimes, too kind, giving too much.

Now I remember that it was the reason he set me up with a tutor in the first place.

Most of the time, I do feel right and like I can be confident and stand up for myself, but sometimes it feels like I need to prove myself. And I really can’t handle being the reason someone might be upset.

“Katalina?” The familiar voice of one of my co-students startles me, and I turn my attention to her. She is in one of my classes together with two other girls, who are standing right behind her.

I smile at them. “Hi! Do you need something?”

“Actually, yes.” She smiles, shifting around a bit, as if she is embarrassed, but her expression is too cocky for her act to be believable. “We are working on our group presentation and need a fourth person.”

No, they don’t! The assignment said two to four persons per presentation, meaning three is the perfect number.

Also, they don’t want me in their group because they like me; they want me to work my ass off for them.

It’s not the first time this has happened.

Actually, this was a common occurrence in school. Stupid Katalina, she can’t say no.

“I am sorry,” I say quietly. “I don’t think I have the time for it, especially not on such short notice.”

“But, Katalina,” she begs. “You promised you would help.”

I can see Ayden frowning. I know what he thinks: just tell them to fuck off. I initially did promise them to help, but that was weeks ago, not now. I know they are trying to manipulate me, and I hate how unreliable they make me look in front of Remy.

“I always thought you were someone who stuck to their word,” one of them complains, as I feared, making me look like the bad guy.

Ayden tenses, opening his mouth to say something, but Remy beats him to it, suddenly leaning forward to stare at the three girls, the look in his eyes dark and annoyed.

“I am pretty sure you heard her the first time. She said no,” he says, his voice low and serious.

He suddenly sounds so much like his brother Sean with the authority of an alpha’s son.

“You should do your assignments yourself, instead of relying on someone else and pressuring them for help. Next time, try to be respectful in the way you ask.”

Ayden’s mouth has literally dropped open. Remy is usually quiet when we are surrounded by others. Not necessarily shy, but he doesn’t want to interact with others. However, to hear him sound so serious, for my sake, sends butterflies through my stomach.

His reaction gives me the confidence I need. “I am always ready to help,” I say. “But I don’t like being taken advantage of.”

My heart thumps in my chest, and I almost cave when I see their disappointed expression, but fortunately, they don’t dare to make a fuss and just leave. Ayden knows me well, so he keeps quiet and pretends like nothing happened, but when I look at Remy, I can see the wheels in his head turning.

Goddess, how embarrassing. I made him see the most pathetic side of me.

“Look,” Ayden exclaims, obviously relieved he has found something or someone to diffuse the tension with. “Isn’t that Lyle?”

“Yes, it is. We have an exam together later,” Remy says.

Lyle spots us and approaches swiftly. “Do you have room for me?”

“Of course,” Remy says.

Lyle sits down, immediately digging into his lunch while opening one of his books.

“Where is Cora?” Ayden asks.

“Oh, she met Fiona and ditched me,” Lyle sighs.

A devilish smile curls Remy’s lips. I haven’t seen it on him before, and boy, it looks hot! “So,” he says, sounding serious, only the hint of his smirk remaining. “Now that your girl doesn’t have time, we are good enough?”

Lyle instantly panics, while Remy just watches him struggle for excuses and an explanation. Eventually, Ayden and I burst into laughter. “What…” Lyle looks at us, confused.

“I was obviously not being serious,” Remy snorts. “But thanks for the little show. You were fun.”

Lyle narrows his eyes to a glare, pouting a little. “Is this how you treat your best friend?”

“Stop looking at me like a kicked puppy,” Remy chuckles. “I will get you some coffee, okay?”

“Better make it a good one and add another sandwich to it.”

“Fine,” Remy says, amused. He squeezes my hand. “Should I fetch you a second coffee?”

“Yes, please.”

I watch him leave, my heart making its usual leap of joy, while I can feel the butterflies in my stomach. When I turn my attention back to Ayden and Lyle, both of them are staring at me. “You two are sickly cute,” Ayden mutters.

“Remy has never joked before,” Lyle says quietly. “It’s the first time he actually teased me, and I’ve known him since forever. You are really so good for him.”

I haven’t known Lyle for long, but coming from him, this must be a huge compliment. It makes my head spin and my mind fuzzy.

After our exams, Ayden ditches us to go out with a cute, curvy girl who’s caught his interest for a while recently. In typical Ayden-manner, he claimed he loves boobs and told Remy and me to have fun without him. Lyle and Cora have another class to attend, and Fiona is meeting friends.

So, it’s just my mate and me, which I find quite the awesome coincidence.

“How about we go to a place where we can eat something and have something to drink?” Remy suggests.

“Sounds great!”

We search on Remy’s phone until we find a place not too far away, and head there on foot.

Remy’s bodyguard follows us at a discreet distance.

One of the warriors of his pack is always around.

Now that I know he can’t shift, it makes much more sense.

Alpha Sean is probably incredibly worried about something happening to him.

However, it means we need to be careful with showing our affection to each other when we are outside.

Fortunately, the man guarding him usually doesn’t follow us inside when we head to a club or restaurant, which gives us some privacy at least.

“I’d really like a cocktail. But is it okay to drink already?” I ask.

“It’s evening,” Remy says.

“No, I mean, celebrating before we wrap up all of our exams. Round two starts in two weeks.”

“Let’s call this a mid-exam celebration,” Remy suggests, opening the door to the bar for me.

We find a table for two in a cozy niche and settle down there. The place isn’t too busy yet, and we swiftly place our orders.

“How did you do during your exam?” Remy asks. “Did our studying together help?”

“Yes, I actually think I did quite well,” I admit. “You really have a knack for teaching and mentoring, Remy.” He doesn’t show it with words, but I can see his eyes light up at my words. “And you?”

He chuckles. “Probably not well enough that Gabriel would be content, but I should have done well.”

“Such a subtle dig at your brother,” I grin.

He smiles. “To be honest, he hasn’t been as patronizing as usual recently. So, who knows…”

“But that’s great!” I exclaim. “Maybe it’s his way of trying to be more assertive and try to bond with you.”

He scrunches his nose. “Do you really think that? Why would he want to bond with me?”

“Well, for one, you are brothers.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean much,” he points out.

“Second, you are pretty amazing.”

He smiles. “You are clearly biased.”

“I am not,” I say. “Well, maybe a bit, but it still counts. Third, I think he was only patronizing in the first place due to worry, and because he didn’t know how to bond with you.”

Remy blinks at me. “That’s new. Why do you think that?”

“Just a feeling,” I admit. “Ayden gets along well with him, and believe me when I say that Ayden would never get along with some douchebag who is an asshole to his brother. Also, I don’t know, when he spotted you in the coffee shop, he kind of looked helpless for a moment.”

The waitress brings us our dinner, while Remy broods over my words. “I need to let that sink in for a bit,” he admits. “May I ask you something meanwhile?”

By his thoughtful expression and worried gaze, I instantly know what it’s about. “You are going to mention that weird incident earlier, right? When the girls pressured me and I couldn’t say no.”

“Only if you want to talk about it,” he assures me.

“It’s so pathetic.”

“No, it isn’t.”

I look at him, before burying my face behind my hands. “I just have difficulties saying no.”

“How come you have these difficulties? You are so confident usually.”

“It’s just who I am.” I tear my gaze away from him. “No, that’s not true,” I say quietly. “I am just used to it.”

“There is a story behind it, isn’t there?”

My eyes snap back to him in shock. “How could you tell?”

“Just how you can tell that there is a story behind my weird behavior,” he says. “I won’t force you to talk, just like you aren’t forcing me,” he soothes me. “You can talk whenever you are ready.”

“My mom wasn’t my real mom,” I hear myself say, before I can stop. “No one knows, not even Ayden.”

Remy stares at me. “What?”

“You can never tell anyone what I am going to tell you now,” I mutter.

“My brothers know, but they aren’t aware I know.

And aside from them, literally no one knows.

I am my dad’s affair child. I had no right to exist, and my mom…

I mean, the woman who raised me, Joel’s and Eve’s mom, didn't like me.”

“Is this where you learned to always agree and help?” he asks softly.

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

It’s not a lie. I really don’t know. I am such a people pleaser, it sucks. I am annoyed by it myself sometimes. “Whenever I try to figure out why I am the way I am, my memories drift back to her.”

“How did your brothers not notice that she didn’t like you?” he asks. “Because if they did, I am sure—”

“They didn’t know. When they or Dad were around, she was nice. It was when they weren’t…” I sigh. “I mean, what was Dad thinking, bringing his mistress’s child home and having his mate and wife raise it? What an idiot.”

“Yes, he was an idiot,” Remy says, surprisingly forcefully. “He was an idiot, and she was an asshole for taking it out on an innocent child. These aren’t your mistakes, Kata.”

“My rational mind knows that,” I mutter. “But…” My voice trails off. I have no idea how to explain it to him, but Remy just nods.

“Yes,” he says softly. “I understand.” For a while, it’s silent between us before he clears his throat. “Thank you for sharing that with me,” he says. “Thank you for your trust.”

I want to tell him that he can trust me, too, and that whenever he is ready, I am here to listen, but I don’t know how to say the words without making it sound like I am pressuring him.

“Dad was a terrible man,” he suddenly says, cringing visibly. He is silent again. “Fuck,” he curses. “You just shared something so private with me, and I can’t. Like some pathetic douchebag.”

I take his hand. “You don’t need to share anything just because I did. I chose to tell you of my own accord. Besides,” I pause, “there are still things I can’t talk about yet. So, it’s not just you.”

“I just don’t want you to feel like I am taking advantage of you or that you are giving so much more than I do.”

“That’s impossible,” I promise.

We smile at each other, and something about the way he looks at me makes me completely giddy in the silliest way possible.

It feels like my heart hurts just looking at him because all I want is him.

When he secretly kisses me goodnight, he has his hand at the back of my head, crushing my lips in a way that sends tingles all over my body.

I have barely room to move, because Remy dominates me in a way he hasn’t done before, and I can only lean into the kiss, because… fuck, it’s hot!

Before we part, he leans his forehead against mine. “With you, the world is less dark,” he tells me. “And my life is much more hopeful. I was impossibly lucky that the goddess sent you my way.”