Page 43 of My Broken Mate (Healing Bonds #1)

Chapter thirty-one

Dinner Drama II

*KAT*

“ I am exhausted,” I mutter.

Remy and I have tried to be sly, offering to clean the dishes while our siblings chat and have fun with each other, or whatever they understand as fun.

Joel successfully eased the tension by being himself, and Eve was able to lure Gabriel out of his shell.

For a first meeting, it wasn’t the worst outcome, but still, pretty stiff all in all.

“Me, too,” Remy mutters. “But I kind of expected it to be like that. Your brother is pretty amazing, though.”

I smile. “Which one?”

“Fair,” he chuckles. “Both are amazing.”

“Honestly, yours aren’t too shabby either. Gabriel’s interaction with Eve was almost silly, and I mean that in a good way. And Sean even took Joel’s jokes with dignity and joked back.” There is a flash of hurt in Remy’s eyes, and I put the towel away. “What’s wrong?” I ask softly.

“Nothing, really,” he sighs. “I am just being weird.”

“You can tell me,” I urge. “I won’t find it weird.”

“It's just… It’s the first time I have seen any of them that way, and I am wondering if this is who they are? And if this is who they truly are, why do I only know one version of them, and why don’t they show me their other sides?” He pauses. “Does any of what I said make sense?”

“It absolutely does,” I say quietly. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think they are doing it on purpose.”

I briefly remember the moment Sean was looking at Remy and me, an expression in his eye I couldn’t quite read. Maybe it’s the same for them. Maybe they don’t know every side of Remy either, and seeing him with me surprised him.

I swallow thickly, realizing I might actually be onto something.

Remy looks at me skeptically. “You think so?”

“Maybe they are just all in their own heads.”

He snorts. “You mean just like me.”

“I didn’t want to say it like that.”

Remy pulls me closer in a swift move, making me almost squeal. I press my hand against my mouth, suppressing a giggle, but make sure to smack his shoulder. “You are such a tease,” he mutters.

“I am the tease? Look in the mirror, babe.”

His fingers twist some strands of my hair, and I just can’t help myself.

I have to reach out to wrap my arms around his neck – it’s physically impossible for me not to do it.

And I have to force his head down so he can kiss me.

Remy wraps his arms around my middle, readily answering my kiss like he always does.

“Hey, Kata, Gabe and I thought,” Eve’s voice reaches us, sounding way too close. Remy and I startle away from each other, only to stare right at our two brothers. “We thought you might need help,” Eve finishes blandly.

For long minutes, none of us move or say a word.

I thought Gabriel at least would react angrily or admonish us, but he just seems genuinely perplexed.

Finally, Eve is the one to find his voice.

“I am all for the youth to have fun,” he mutters.

“But we have agreed not to date within the pack and not to date any relatives of our allies. It’s too tricky and can lead to scorched earth. ”

Remy looks at me and sighs. Then he takes my hand and pulls me back a little. “We aren’t just dating,” he says. “We are mates.”

“What happened? What’s taking you so long?” Joel’s voice echoes through the room before he pops up behind Eve. Sean has followed him, eyeing the whole group with a frown now.

“What’s going on?” he asks, his voice tense. “Did something happen?”

“Goddess,” Gabriel mutters while gazing at Sean. “Your presence will make it more complicated now.”

Sean’s eyebrow ticks slightly in annoyance. “What do you mean by that? Joel and I have no clue what’s going on. Just answer the damn question.”

“I am getting anxious, too, now,” Joel agrees, his eyes darting from person to person. “Is everything okay? Anyone hurt?”

I let out a sigh and squeeze Remy’s hand. “Well, Eve and Gabriel just walked in on us—”

“Doing something dirty?” Joel asks hopefully.

The way Eve, Gabriel, and Sean all narrow their eyes to glare at him would be funny if I still didn’t have some things to explain. Finding your mate is an amazing thing for us wolves, and it’s certainly something to be celebrated.

However, it’s very unusual to keep it a secret, especially when it concerns an alpha’s family, or worse, two alpha families. Maybe, we should have thought this through better.

“They saw us kissing,” Remy finally says. “But that’s not all. We kept it hidden from you.”

“You are a couple?” Sean asks, his brows are furrowed now, and I am sure he is starting to put the puzzle pieces together. “No,” he says, his voice is eerily calm. “That’s not all. You are mates?!”

“How could you tell?” Gabriel mutters. “Just how do you always do that?”

“I thought something felt weird about them tonight,” Sean says shortly.

“Wait a moment,” Joel gapes. “Did I just hear it correctly?”

“Yes,” I verify. “We definitely are mates. There is no denying it.”

Sean stares at Remy, and I can feel him tensing up again. “Going by Katalina’s words, this means you feel the bond, too. Which means… you have connected more to your wolf.”

“Alrighty,” Joel intervenes before anyone can say anything more. “I, for one, think this is good news.”

“It’s not about it being bad news, Joel,” Eve says quietly.

“Whatever,” Joel grins. “I want dessert. So, please return to the dining hall, while the two lovebirds and I will take out the dessert.”

It seems like no one feels like arguing with him, so the other three retreat. Once they do, Joel turns to us, his grin becoming a smile. He kisses my head softly and squeezes Remy’s shoulder. “It’s just the shock,” he reassures him.

“Sean hates lies,” Remy tells him.

“Sean is worried,” Joel corrects him. “He doesn’t show it, but your health is his number one concern, far ahead of anything else.” He smiles. “But I stand by what I said: this is fantastic news. So, let’s grab the dessert and get back to the others.”

“It’s going to be so weird again,” I sigh.

Joel grins, and I know I have the best older brother in the universe. “Let that be my problem.”

Joel works his magic for the remainder of the evening. The fact that it didn’t end in a semi-catastrophe or the most awkward dinner in the history of dinners is just thanks to him. I honestly didn’t realize how amazing he truly is until today.

Now that our guests have left, however, Eve and I are at each other’s throats.

“Seriously,” Joel mutters while munching on a leftover piece of the cheesecake. “You are blowing this out of proportion, Sandwich.”

“I am just saying,” Eve huffs. “That I would never meddle with Kata’s relationships, or yours or anyone else’s. But don’t you think this is a bit trickier?”

“No,” Joel blinks.

Eve looks exasperated. “I think it is. I know it sucks sometimes, but we are not nobodies anymore. Our decisions are being scrutinized.”

I hate that he is right, at least partly; however, I am not a child anymore. “Remy’s and my decisions are ours to make,” I argue. “Not yours.”

“It’s pack business.”

“It’s my business!”

“Kata—” Eve brushes through his hair in frustration. “We are the alpha’s siblings. It is always pack business!” He turns to Joel with a frown. “Do you have anything brilliant to say to this?”

“No.” Joel puts his plate aside and sighs. “Because you are right, but Kata is, too. However, this is good news. Our sister is mated to the younger brother of one of our strongest allies.”

“Of course it is good!” Eve exclaims. “It’s fantastic news. It would have made things so much easier in all our negotiations if we had known it!”

I blink. “I hadn’t thought about that,” I admit.

“Kata, you can’t hide this from us,” Eve argues. “They are important allies. And Remy has problems. It would have been important for his family to know.”

“Remy had his reason for not wanting to share this news with his family.”

“Please tell me none of his reasons were to hide you?”

“Why would you say that?” I blurt out. “Am I someone who needs to be hidden?”

“Of course not! But you are young and easy to manipulate!”

I grab the next-best pillow or soft object, which happens to be a plush dolphin, and toss it at Eve, accidentally hitting Joel instead.

Joel is quiet before a devilish smirk curls his lips.

“So, we are done with arguing! Awesome,” he smirks.

“I hope you know what this means,” he says, grabbing the plushie and an additional one. “War!”

“Goddess, we are talking about something serious here, Joel!”

“Be prepared for the vengeful alpha and his dangerous assistant.”

Eve runs towards me to hide behind the sofa. “What did you do, Kata? You know how he is! He loves this shit.”

“I wanted to hit you, not him! You were the asshole!”

Eve sighs. “I didn’t mean to call you—” he pauses.

“Na?ve?” I say. “Stupid?”

“That’s not what I said!”

“Easily manipulated, someone who Remy would hide away because he is embarrassed?”

“No,” he groans in frustration. “It’s just…You are young,” he says. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

I remember the moment in the café a couple of days ago when the girls tried to pressure me into helping them, and I couldn’t even say no.

I hate that my being exploited in a toxic relationship is a very valid fear for those around me.

However, I am not in a toxic relationship.

“Remy is nothing but respectful towards me. He doesn’t hide his affection when we are out.

He is vulnerable with me,” I say, flushing when I notice how Eve looks at me.

I wonder what kind of expression I make when I talk about Remy.

“He doesn’t lie to me, and he listens. He stands up for me. ”

“Is that true?” Eve asks quietly.

“Yes. You don’t know him like I do,” I say.

Eve is quiet for a while. “I think no one knows him like you do,” he suddenly says. “That’s going to be a hard pill to swallow for Gabe.”

“What are you still talking about?” Joel complains. “It’s time for our battle!”

Eve and I exchange a gaze. “Let’s humor him,” Eve sighs.

I chuckle. “Okay.”

Eve tosses me a glance. “Joel is right, by the way. This is good news. I, for one, am happy you found your mate.”

“I just hope Alpha Sean won’t hold it against us,” I say, with an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. The way he looked at us wasn’t a particularly fond look, although it wasn’t angry either.

More like disappointment.

“Maybe he thinks Remy can do better,” I mutter. “Or… I don’t know. He is always so proper and serious.”

Suddenly, Joel laughs loudly.

“What’s so funny?” Eve asks. “Kata is sharing her worries with us. Can’t you take that seriously for once?”

“If only you two knew,” Joel chuckles.

“Knew what?”

“Win against me, and I might tell you,” he says, his grin all too evident in his voice.

Eve and I exchange a look and nod. We both summon our strength trying to tackle Joel, but we face no chance, and unfortunately for us and our curiosity, he doesn’t share his secret either.