Page 1 of My Broken Mate

Chapter one

The Deal

*KAT*

Ihear footsteps behind me, only stopping at the door leading into the corridor of the apartment. “Kat!” One of my friends yells and waves with a can of beer in my direction. “Come and have a drink with us!”

“Yeah, you need to join us,” another one adds.

“Just give me a moment,” I yell back. “I just need to check on something. I’ll be back in a minute.” They are content with my answer and return to the party. I smile at my guests as I push past them, making small talk here and there, but my goal lies elsewhere.

My life is wonderful right now. Like a gazillion rainbows. Like little kittens dressing up as unicorns. Like a twelve-hour, privateLord of the Rings special extended edition cinema viewing with free popcorn, Coke, and jelly.

It honestly couldn’t be better.

My two brothers and I used to be the outcasts of the pack, the kids of the alpha’s disgraced and disowned brother. But around a year ago, everything changed for the better. Shortly after the death of our parents, my oldest brother challenged our uncle, aka the asshat alpha, for his position and won. Additionally, my second brother managed to hit it big as an artist. Neither of them was able to go to college thanks to the grim situation between the alpha and our parents, but they both worked hard, and now they try to make sure that I can have all the opportunities I want, that I have a peaceful life with nothing missing from it.

Gone are the days of tiny apartments and shabby clothes. I’m suddenly being invited to parties, and people want to befriend me. There is nothing essentially missing in my life. On my eighteenth birthday, my brothers gifted me a motorbike for me to get around as I please, and the three of us share the huge Alpha Suite. We have always gotten along well, even more so ever since our parents passed. They have been watching out for me for so long and kept me out of the old alpha’s way.

“What are you doing?” I sneak up to my best friend, squeezing him in a hug. “I can’t believe you are hiding in my room. The party is out there in the living room, you know that, don’t you?”

Ayden startles, but then just shrugs. “I’m here for you, Kat, but you know I don’t like parties.” He turns his attention back to his handheld console. Ayden looks like a gentle soul and a shy guy, but he is much more resilient and tough than people give him credit for. Rather small built, for a male werewolf, quite unusual, he hardly ever shifts, but he loves electronics and anything software related. There is nothing wrong with him; he is just being himself, and I love him the way he is.

My brothers aren’t at home for the weekend, so I decided to throw a party and invite some friends from the pack who are going to college with Ayden and me. Ever since we were in school, we have been friends. We had the same classes – he was the weird nerd kid, and I was the daughter of the alpha’s disowned brother. We naturally found each other and had each other’s backs. With my backstory, I should have been bullied like crazy, but to my surprise, most of my peers were actually pretty nice to me or ignored me.

Or maybe I was just too dense to notice their true intentions. You never know.

“Did you beat your high score?” I ask.

“Not yet,” he smiles. “Thank you for not minding that you have such a weird, antisocial best friend.”

“You are not weird, and not antisocial,” I say. “I love you, in the most platonic sense ever.”

“Just for you,” he groans. “I’m going to drown myself in cheap booze and listen to this crap music now.”

I laugh. “Or you could stay here and play your game.”

He sighs in relief. “You wouldn’t mind?”

“The fact you came at all means the most to me,” I say.

“Is there anyone at the party you like?” he asks. “I could be your wingman.”

“Nah,” I shake my head. “I don’t sleep with anyone from the pack. Besides… everyone in this apartment, except for both of us, is bone-drunk already and won’t even realize it’s my lips they are kissing. And you know how high-maintenance I am. I want to be cherished, not drooled over by a drunk ass.”

“You’re not high maintenance at all,” Ayden chuckles. “But whatever, we’ll make sure to find your mate, and he will definitely cherish you. You are wild like a cat, but inside you are just a marshmallow.”

“Don’t say that,” I mutter, flustered. “I’m so normal, it’s painful.”

“You? Normal?” Ayden laughs. “You are kind and hilarious. And people flock around you like moths to the light, and not just since your brother became alpha. It was like that even when you were still an outsider in the pack. It’s a superpower!”

“I have a superpower,” I grin. “Like a magical girl anime?”

“Exactly,” he says. “Plus, a lot of these guys find you hot!”

“I don’t think they really do,” I mutter, feeling my lack of confidence as usual. I’m normally hiding it behind being loud and funny, but Ayden knows me, so there is no use in hiding from him. I’m more on the athletic side, and have long, dark brown hair. But other than that, I’d say, I’m just normal.

Ayden sighs, but doesn’t push any further. Instead, he puts his console aside. “Come, let’s go to the others and have some fun.”