Page 40 of My Broken Mate

My strategy works because it looks like I just got Gabe off my ass. “Make sure to go to bed and get some sleep,” he tells me. “You have a long day tomorrow, don’t you? I remember something about a group project and a presentation.”

How? How can he remember my schedule so well? It just feels like every step I take is always being controlled and watched. It feels as if I don’t have one moment of peace.

“And Katalina,” I hear myself say, not sure why I suddenly think of her. “I am tutoring her tomorrow.”

“Ah, is that so? That’s good.”

When I walk back to my room, I am surprised at myself. Usually, the last part of my conversation with Gabe would have ticked me off. He has some serious control issues and has always inserted himself way too much in my studies, even back in high school. Normally, I would have spoken or reacted in a way that showed how annoyed I was. But instead of getting frustrated, my mind went to Kata and the smiley-faced cookies she had prepared for me the last time. I wish I could have eaten them.

Despite her whole attitude and actions being such an enigma to me, mentioning her now gave me a moment of calm. It bought me enough time to get out of the conversation skillfully and retreat to my room without any further discussion with Gabriel.

In the early morning hours, I feel safe enough to leave my room again without it attracting too many questions. 5 a.m. is early, but not too early to have anyone on my case. Not surprisingly, I find Sean in the kitchen.

“You are up already?” He looks at me, his lips curling into the hint of a smile. He barely smiles, and I can’t remember him ever laughing, but Gabe and I know the difference between his straight business face and when he is in a good mood.

“Yes, I wanted to get some schoolwork done before heading out for my group project,” I say. “What about you?”

“I have an early business meeting with Alpha Joel and his beta,” he says. I could be wrong, but it almost sounds like heis looking forward to the meeting. Business meetings usually don’t make him sound that motivated. Sean pours us both a cup of coffee before sitting down at the huge mahogany table, the centerpiece of our dining room. I want nothing but to get out of here, but at the same time, it feels so impolite to just leave after he has handed me the cup of coffee, indicating he wants to have breakfast with me.

“Should I make us some scrambled eggs?” I ask, hoping he will say yes. Cooking just puts my mind at ease.

“That would be lovely.”

Relieved, I start to put something together for us, using the leftover salmon from yesterday to make scrambled eggs with, plus baking up the fresh bread we got yesterday. “It's nothing special,” I say, when I bring him a plate and sit down at the other side of the table.

“You say that, but it looks amazing,” Sean says. He looks at me thoughtfully. “What happened to your hand?”

“Oh.” I take a look at my hand as if I forgot about it. I wrapped it up neatly because now that Gabe knows, I can’t hide it anymore. So, I decided to play cool and just act as if it was that silly accident and nothing major happened. “Cut my hand yesterday. I wanted something to drink at night, and the glass slipped. Guess I was too tired.”

“Do you need it to get checked?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just a small cut,” I say. “Just enough to draw a bit of blood.”

There is a thoughtful expression on Sean’s face, and I almost fear he will look through me, but to my surprise, there is a sudden somber look in his eyes. “Glass shards will do that to you,” he says quietly.

When I look at him, confused, he shakes his head. “Just a distant memory,” he says, evasively enough for me not to enquire deeper.

We spend the remainder of our breakfast mostly in silence, just with a little small talk, until Sean gets up. “I apologize. I have to leave for work.”

I nod. “Take care.”

“Oh, before I forget.” He hands me a folder. “I had a meeting with Gabriel and Alexander yesterday. These are the funds for donations we are considering, both within the pack and also state-wide. Take a look at it and tell me what you think. Oh, and we left some spots empty for you to decide.”

“Wait a moment!” I can’t help but stare at him. “You want to hear my opinion on this?”

“Yes, of course, or I wouldn’t have asked.”

“And I can add my own projects?”

“The last time Gabriel and I discussed this, our fath—his death just happened, and everything was a mess. We are much more organized now. You are of age, and I would like you to get involved more, if that’s what you want, too.”

“It’s what I want,” I say with emphasis. For the first time in ages, I actually feel a spur of motivation. I am certainly not useful as a wolf, but this here… I can do the research. I am good at that. And Sean even allows me to add my own creativity to it and come up with my own ideas. “I will make sure to read it properly and add my own ideas,” I promise.

Sean shows me one of his rare smiles. “Good,” he says.

I watch him leave before grabbing the folder again. I don’t want to look too desperate in front of him, but he truly just made my day. I will give this a proper look tonight when I am back home. For now, I have to head to my group project, and then later meet Kata.

Chapter twelve