Page 84 of My Broken Mate
“Yes, we have a lot of rain and snow. It’s much higher up the mountains.” She clings to Lyle’s arm, and he smiles happily at her.
“It looks like Cora will stay here,” he says.
“That’s awesome. I am really happy for you.”
“Thank you.”
Cora smiles. “It means Rhodes will finally have some allies, too. Our pack needs them, although he is too proud to admit it. He looks like an asshole, but I promise he is actually pretty kind.”
I raise my brows at her words. She is not mincing her words at all. Something tells me she will get along well with Ayden.
I spend some more time with the two of them, and we make plans to go to our college lectures together tomorrow. Cora has moved in with Lyle and his family, but, like Levi said, they are currently getting their own place. However, after a couple of minutes, Cora leaves us to head home for a little date with Lyle’s mom.
“She gets along well with your family, doesn’t she?”
“Yes,” Lyle beams. “They love her. And you know what”—he smirks—“I found my mate before Levi did. At least one thing I win against him at.”
“I get that,” I say. “With brothers like ours, it’s hard to win.”
“I knew you would understand.”
We linger for a bit. “Do you want to hang out?” Lyle asks. “I have no work, and I did all my assignments for the week.”
“It’s okay,” I tell him. “Cora is probably waiting for you.”
“Cora is meeting my mother,” he says. “She is not expecting me.”
“Are you sure? Maybe she wants you to join.” I pause. “I should be going, as well. I am tired from the night out and still have some work to do.”
“Remy,” Lyle says, shifting around. “You are still my best friend, you know that, don’t you?”
I blink. “Where did that come from?”
“I know I have a mate, and I know you think that…” his voice trails off. “I just want you to know that I won’t neglect myfriends. I am not going to be one of those guys. Nothing will change.”
Everythingwill change. I would be naïve not to think otherwise.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” he asks when I stay quiet.
“That’s not it,” I say. “I know you are genuine. You might mean it now, but I am just trying to be realistic. Once you mark Cora, your wolf will get stronger, and I am sure Sean is just waiting for you to be ready to take on more tasks around the pack. You will be busy, both with work, school and your mate. That’s life.”
“You always try to rationalize everything,” he mutters, sounding equally annoyed and upset. “All three of you do that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t even know yet what I am going to do around the pack,” Lyle says. “Cora is not done with college, neither am I—far from it. And before we are settled, we certainly won’t try for pups. I will mark her as soon as she lets me, but that’s about as far as it goes. Alpha Rhodes pretty much gave me a glare down when he visited and had me promise I would make sure Cora has time for her studies and friends. And he is right. I want her to have all that, I want her to be her own person and have a life aside from me, and I know she wants the same for me.”
“I didn’t know Alpha Rhodes was here,” I say evasively.
I don’t trust a lot of people, and I usually expect good things to come to an end, especially for me. Lyle has been my loyal friend for so long that I wouldn’t even be mad if he moved on. Sad, maybe, but not angry.
“Yeah, scary guy at first glance. He has that creepy smirk down to a core,” Lyle mutters. “But he really cares about Cora and his pack, and once Alpha Sean showed him around, he warmed up a bit. But that’s not the point. The point is: I can have a mate and still be a good friend. At least wait and see before expecting the worst.”
He is clearly calling me out for my lack of trust in anyone, even those who haven’t betrayed me yet. I should know better than to believe him, but eye to eye with Lyle, my resolve falters. “Maybe you are right,” I give in. “I don’t know why I always expect the worst.” I pause. “And just for the record, I am really happy for you. Nothing about what I said was a lie: She seems to be a lovely person, and as your friend, that makes me happy.”
“She is such a gem,” Lyle smiles fondly. “And she has a really silly and fun side to her, too. You wouldn’t even believe she is related to Alpha Rhodes.”
“He must have done something right if she is like that,” I say, my thoughts going back to said alpha with the dangerous sneer, and his even more dangerous-looking beta. “They grew up together. A bad man wouldn’t make sure to raise his surrogate sister as a free spirit.” I pause before sighing. “You knew I was all in my head again.”
