Page 115 of My Broken Mate

“Here,” I say, offering her to swap plates.

“Oh, thank you!” she beams. “That’s why you are the best!”

“You know,” Evander mutters. “I’ve seen them hanging out so often. I should have noticed something.”

“Very true,” Gabriel agrees.

Joel grins. “Joke’s on us,” he says. “They were practically glued to each other for two weeks, and we didn’t even question it.”

Gabriel curls his nose. “I saw them after the concert that night, and thought they were very close. But then I remembered, they are friends and didn’t want to read too much into it.”

“Dude,” Joel grins. “No offense, but if you thinkthisis just friends, you need to get laid.”

“Goddess,” Evander groans, brushing over his face. “Joel!”

“What?” Joel elbows Sean. “Tell me I am wrong, Sexbomb!”

Both my and Gabriel’s jaws drop at that, while Kata and Evander freeze in fear. I can’t, for the life of me, grasp how casual Joel can be with Sean without an ounce of fear in him. He just seems to genuinely tease him, and even more mind-boggling is that Sean lets him!

Evander stares at Joel in horror, his brows furrowed. “Sometimes I am not sure if you are just playing with us or trulyinsane.” He turns to Sean. “I apologize. He is just… well… he is Joel.”

“Don’t worry,” Joel says before Sean can even open his mouth. “Sean doesn’t mind. He knows he is hot.”

Gabriel snorts into his drink, then he and I exchange a knowing look.He does,Gabriel forms with his lips, making it harder for me to remain serious.

Meanwhile, Kata entwines our fingers. “It runs in the family,” she says with a smile, and in a tone that doesn’t leave much to the imagination. I absolutely adore how bold she is; it’s hot, and I don’t care who listens in.

“Goddess,” Gabriel sighs. “Next time, we need to separate the lovebirds.”

“And Joel needs to sit far away from Alpha Sean,” Evander adds.

“I would like to see you try separating me from my mate,” I say, my voice sickly sweet even to my own voice.

“Right,” Joel grunts. “Let’s see who will win that fight.”

Sean sips at his drinks, leaning back while he does so. Initially, I wonder if he is angry or annoyed at the situation, but he looks relaxed and a tad amused. When he notices my interest, he winks briefly at me, making me chuckle. It’s hard to tell who is playing who sometimes.

Chapter thirty-five

The Monster’s Lair

*SEAN*

Everything was going so well, I should have expected the rug to be pulled from beneath our feet. The dinner with Joel and his family went smoothly, so much so that we agreed to make this a regular thing. There are not a lot of people whose company I enjoy, but these three are truly a pleasure to have around. And Katalina and Remy definitely didn’t hold back on their affection for each other. As a brother, watching someone basically undress your sibling with their eyes isn’t the most comfortable view, yet I am beyond thankful to the goddess for having paired these two together. Katalina is both lovable and loving, and accepts Remy the way he is, and vice versa.

It's soothing to know that, finally, one of us got lucky with love.

A couple of days later, though, I don’t feel that soothing joy anymore, as I find myself standing in front of a dark, wooden door, not able to move, or worse, open it and step inside. I try to cling to the feeling of the last couple of days, of seeing Gabriel and Remy laugh, and of having Joel blow me much later that evening.

Happiness is a fleeting feeling.

“Thank you for joining me,” I say when I hear footsteps behind me, Levi’s scent announcing him before he enters my vision. “This is not necessarily a task you would need to do as my beta, but I appreciate your help.”

Levi looks at me. “I am not just your beta, I am also your friend. Please don’t think you are bothering me.” He pauses. “May I ask a question?”

“Of course.”

“Why me and not Gabriel?”