Page 75 of My Broken Mate

“Kata,” Remy says quietly, and I am scared he will shoot me down now. Maybe his previous confession, or whatever it was, was meant in a completely different way, and I just made myself look like an idiot. Wouldn’t be anything new at least.

“Don’t you want to wait for your mate?” Remy asks me quietly.

I stare at him in utter surprise. I don’t know what I expected him to say, but certainly not this! Millions of thoughts run through my mind. So, it’s true. His issue wasn’t me being his mate; it lies somewhere else. But this means… “You weren’t ignoring me on purpose?” I say.

“Huh?”

“You really don’t know?”

He looks at me, mirroring my confused expression. Not sure how else to react, I decide to take his hand, entwining our fingers. I am too far gone anyway. We kissed, and I calmed him during his panic attack. I can hold his hand now and stop pretending this bond doesn’t exist.

Light tingles erupt from our touch, making my eyes widen. Tingles! Again! And I could swear Remy’s scent got more distinctive again. Marise is stirring in my mind, clearly feeling her mate now.

Remy pulls his hand away as if he got burned. I feel my heart ache. Does he not want me as his mate? Or does he not like my touch? “I am sorry,” I say.

“Why are you apologizing?” he asks, still sounding confused. “I felt tingles,” he continues, before I can even answer. He keeps eyeing his hand in shock. “I think I also felt them when we kissed, but I wasn’t sure. Now, however, it’s obvious, I just felt…”

I don’t know what to make of his words, but at least it doesn’t seem like he wants to reject me.

To my shock, Remy drops to his knees, his body shivering. “I feel tingles! He is not dead, he exists, he is there, somewhere!”

I kneel next to him. “What are you talking about?” I ask softly.

“Can I touch you again?” he asks me hopefully.

“Of course!”

Touch me where and how you want! Obviously, I don’t say that part out loud. Remy takes my hand, light tingles erupting from his touch, before he starts laughing hysterically. “He is not dead!”

“Remy—”

“My wolf,” he blurts out. “He exists! I have a mate.” He looks at me, as little tingles shoot through us again. “By the goddess, you are my mate!”

Hearing him mention his wolf is like a puzzle piece that was missing. Both Marise and I are stunned, before understanding settles in. That’s why we couldn’t feel the mate bond strongly, that’s why sometimes he smells like our mate and sometimes he doesn’t. “Does that mean…” I hesitate, unsure how to continue.

“Yes, your mate can’t connect to his wolf. He can’t even shift or rely on his healing abilities,” Remy says bitterly. “Some freak you got here, huh?”

“You are not a freak! I couldn’t care less. We can learn how to connect to your wolf together; we will find a way. Goddess, you are not going to reject me, are you?” I exclaim. “I thought you would, and that’s why you—” I laugh, because when I am anxious, it’s all I can do.

Remy reaches out his free hand to touch my cheek, his thumb brushing over my skin. “I could never reject you,” he says.

My heart makes a jump, and then another one, and another. “I have found my mate,” I say, as it finally settles in. I found him, and he didn’t reject me. He wants me, too!

“I still don’t understand how this works, and how we are going to move past my wolf being in hibernation,” Remy says. “But if you are willing to stick with me—”

“Of course I am.”

Remy stares at me like he can’t believe my words. “Are you sure? I told you—”

“Yes, I heard you. And I don’t give a fuck. I wantyou!” I blurt out. “How much more do you want me to embarrass myself?”

“I am sorry,” Remy says, his tone gentle. I didn’t know he could sound like that. “Truth is, I’ve had a crush on you ever since I met you for the first time, maybe even when you wrote me the first message.”

“When I asked you about which dress to wear?”

“Yes,” he smiles, and it strikes me how beautiful his smile is. “No one has ever approached me the way you did. With so much open honesty and kindness.”

I groan. “I could have told you earlier, I am so stupid.”