Page 21 of My Broken Mate

Ayden obviously hates it. He is the only werewolf I know who hates even lifting his little finger. Meanwhile, my wolf and I are in our element. Marise loves nature and running. Sometimes, I let her come forward while in my human form for her to feel the joys of exercise. Usually, though, we shift and chase around.

I’m trying to get my life back in order. Yesterday, after my talk with Joel, and seeing how great he carries himself, I wrote to Remy trying to organize my schedule, and oh shoot! I have a few deadlines coming up. I’m in such deep shit. Fact is, if I don’t want to fail every class, I will definitely need some help. Hopefully, Remy is as good as Eve made him sound.

Then I went to training and helped with the pack.

Today, there is another round of training, then I want to go shopping for that weird-as-fuck gala Joel is invited to. Apparently, it’s a must that the alpha family has to attend. When Joel broke the news to us, Eve was even more horrified than I was. He hates any representative work, even more so than I do, claiming it’s because he is so awkward and doesn’t know what to say.

“I’m in pain,” Ayden groans when he drops onto the ground after training. “Tell your brother he sucks.”

I grin. “How about you tell him yourself?”

“No way, I might have known him since I was a kid, but not even I am stupid enough to cross the alpha.” He sighs dramatically. “I hate working out.”

“You don’t have to do this workout routine forever,” I chuckle. “This is just the basic training everyone has to go through. Once done, you never have to return to it.”

He raises his leg dramatically. “I think I sprained my ankle. Can’t you carry me?”

I grin, jumping up and grabbing his leg, tugging him along.

“Hey, you brute!” he exclaims, kicking around until I let go. “I would chase you now if I weren’t so tired,” he grunts.

“Come on,” I chuckle. “Get up, we have some shopping to do for that stupid gala. I promise, I will treat you to fries and burgers.”

“Food?” His head perks up. “Alright, I’m coming.” He scrambles to his feet like an old man and follows me. It’s beyond me how he can eat that much and remain so skinny.

I stick to my promise, and Ayden and I head out to the city center after having freshened up from the training. I invite him to lunch first before we go shopping. Fortunately, Ayden agreed to accompany me to the gala as my completely platonic plus one. On the downside, it means he needs to come shopping with me – something he hates doing.

In the city, we coincidentally meet some old schoolmates, catching up a bit. It’s so fun to see them again. While I didn’t get along with everyone, there are no hard feelings from any side, and it’s cool to see what everyone is doing.

One of the girls, Clara, a former cheerleader, actually found her mate and will move with him to his pack. He is a beta, making her the beta female. Another one of the girls, Fiona, tells us her sister is mated to an alpha, hence they are all going to the gala.

We decided to go dress shopping together, all of us equally stressed. “You, as the beta female, for sure know how to dress,” I say to Clara, the ex-cheerleader.

“Yes, after all, you were one of the cheerleaders,” Fiona says.

Clara groans. “What makes you think I know how to shop for such an event? I’m literally hopeless.”

“You looked great in your prom dress, though.”

“Prom dress shopping isn’t the same,” she mutters. “I don’t want to embarrass my mate,” she adds. “These events are supposed to be totally judgmental and hell to attend.”

Fiona and I exchange a gaze. “Really?” Fiona asks.

“Well, I guess you aren’t wrong,” I say. “I tend to look tacky in the wrong dress.”

“I think you look great in anything,” Clara says to my astonishment. “You have the body to literally rock everything. I was always a bit envious of you.”

I’m surprised to hear that. “Come on,” I chuckle. “Now you are lying.”

“Not at all, I was so jealous. It’s why I never tried to get to know you,” she explains.

“At least, both of you look like adults,” Fiona says. “I’m almost twenty, yet everyone thinks I’m fourteen! It’s so annoying. Last time, a police officer approached me while I was outside, asking me why I wasn’t in school and if my parents were around.”

Ayden, who has listened to us without intervening much, chuckles now. “I know the feeling. They say I look forever fourteen, too.”

“It sucks, right?” Fiona asks.

“I hate it!”