Page 63 of My Broken Mate

“No guy was ever truly honest to me. They all kissed up to me until I dated them and then dropped me. He is the first one not to do that.”

“The bar is low,” Ayden mutters.

“And what am I supposed to do now?”

“Be Kat!” he says. “You haven’t been yourself around him at all. You are way too accommodating and shy. Talk to him, be your usual self. Don’t worry about what he thinks when you are being you. A guy who doesn’t like you for the way you are, frankly, isn’t worth it. But I doubt you have tried everything with Remy.”

I grab Ayden’s arm and pull him into a secluded corner. I can’t continue this talk and ask for his help if I’m not completely honest. “I will kill you if you tell anyone what I am telling you now,” I say. “Promise me you won’t.”

He eyes me curiously. “You know me. I would never blab any of your secrets.”

That’s true, he has never broken my trust. I lean forward to whisper into his ear. “He is my mate, although something seems to be wrong with the bond. Sometimes I feel it strongly, sometimes not at all.”

Ayden draws back, his mouth dropping open. “You are not fucking serious?”

“I am.”

Realization dawns on his face. Instead of getting upset that I haven’t told him sooner, he just nods thoughtfully. “Now it makes much more sense.” He takes my hand, squeezing it. “Kat, even more reason to be yourself! Now tell me everything. Wanna skip class?”

“No,” I say. “Let’s go to class and then head somewhere else where we can talk.”

Ayden looks at me, surprised, before he nods. “Fine! Loving your new dedication.”

“I want to prove to myself that I can do it,” I admit. “And Remy put together a schedule for me that I canactuallyfollow.”

“Then he cares,” Ayden says. “And he obviously believes you can do it.”

His simple statement makes my heart race. I have never seen it that way. Is Remy just dedicated and a perfectionist, or does he put effort into it because he cares for me? I am not sure, but I hope that it’s at least partly the latter.

I try to stay focused during the lecture, glad I only need to take notes and don’t need to participate. It’s my last class for today, for Ayden too, so we both head out immediately afterwards, swiftly grabbing something to eat before heading to a rundown park we frequent whenever we need to discuss something in secret. No one comes here because it’s really not a fancy place. It was a playground once, but was abandoned years ago, and is now deserted.

There, I finally tell Ayden everything.

“I can’t believe it,” he breathes out once I finish. He clearly needs a couple of minutes to process everything, so I let him, waiting for him to finally say something. “That’s amazing!” he finally exclaims. “You have a mate!”

That’s not the reaction I was anticipating. “Shouldn’t you be shocked or completely stunned or, I don’t know, find it weird?”

“Why would I?”

“He and I are just an odd combination.”

“Oh, Kat,” Ayden sighs. “Nothing is weird about you being mated to him. The only weird part is how he acts around you, which we will obviously tackle! There is no way I will let him get away with ignoring you. But other than that, you found your mate. That’s fucking amazing!”

“He isn’t… well, he isn’t too good for me?” I finally dare to ask. “You know his family background and all that jazz, and he is so attractive too. He is far out of my league.”

“So that’s what worries you.” Aden pauses. “He is not out of your league,” he says. “Goddess, Kat, get a grip! You make it sound like you are a random, poor omega – and even if you were, that doesn’t give him the right to look down on you! However, let’s look at the facts: Your brother is alpha, and actually has a deal going on with Remy’s own brother. You are an alpha’s sister, and you come from a wealthy background, maybe not old money, but still money. You are athletic, a good warrior and an overall well-liked person. People like you for you, and that’s more than a lot of people can say about themselves. Why do you think you are below a rich and handsome alpha’s brother?”

I blink in confusion. “I have never seen it from that perspective. But what about his weird behavior during the gala?”

“Well, he wasn’t on campus today either, so maybe something happened. He didn’t feel well or had something on his mind?” He pauses. “Is your feeling below him the reason why you are holding back? What would you do if it weren’t Remy but a young warrior with a simpler background? Would you have accepted this whole situation just like that? Because the Kat I know would have already tackled the issue with force.”

“She would have, wouldn’t she?” I clench my hands into fists in a newfound motivation. “She totally would have, and she will!”

“That’s the right spirit. So, what’s the plan?”

“Dessert!” I exclaim.

“That was not what I was thinking about, but I can always eat cake.”