Keeper (Matefinder Next Generation Book 1)

by Leia Stone

  “If he’s a shaman, how can he be my mate? Is he also a wolf and why is he dying?” I pleaded. So many questions were swirling in my head. My mother’s mouth opened and closed, like she was unsure of what to say.

  Suddenly, Gavin began to convulse and Gretchen pushed past me and jumped into the tub as my mom stepped out to give her room. Oh God. Gretchen took the spell paste that Saben had made and rubbed it on Gavin’s chest and on his eyelids. She was trying to move around his thrashing.

  “This ill that befalls you will have a pause. Until the next full moon you shall have no claws.” Gretchen placed both hands on his chest and his shaking stopped. White mist, magic poured from her hands and cocooned Gavin inside. My mother and I shared a look. No one could actually see the magic except us. Seers.

  “What happens next full moon?” My voice was deadpan, my body rigid as my heart hammered in my chest and I resisted that fight or flight instinct rising up inside of me. The full moon didn’t affect our change like it did in movies, but we did seem to have some inner knowing of when the full moons were and we were more sensitive and emotional during that time. I knew instinctively that the next full moon was only four days away.

  My mother slipped her hand into mine as if she knew what Gretchen would say.

  Gretchen was our coven leader and the most powerful healer in the Pacific Northwest. I trusted her opinion.

  “He will die.”

  Gretchen’s words bounced off the bathroom tiles and slammed into me as a huge howl ripped from my throat and my wolf forced the change. In shock, my mother backed into the wall as my clothes tore and my limbs cracked. I welcomed the pain that came with the shift because it masked the pain my wolf was feeling now. My mate, dead in four days. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t fair!

  Gretchen reached out to soothe me, but I turned away finishing my shift until I was on all fours.

  “I’ve done what I can to make him comfortable in the final days.” Gretchen’s words fell on deaf ears because I didn’t want to hear them.

  I burst out of the bathroom like my tail was on fire. I needed to run. My father, lightning quick, flung open the door and took off after me, shredding his clothes and shifting instantly. The sound of his paws pounding after me only succeeded in pushing me harder. I leaped over a fallen log and treaded deep into the thick moss-covered forest behind Gretchen’s house.

  ‘I want to be alone!’ I roared in his head.

  ‘You’re hurting, you’re my wolf, my daughter. I would never leave you like this,’ came his reply.

  His words tore me open further, and I skidded to a stop, tilted my head back, and let a howl rip from my throat. It echoed out into the mountain. Two things I knew with absolute certainty then. One, Gavin was my mate. And two, there was no way in hell I was letting him die.

  My father’s howl matched my own and I knew I wouldn’t be alone. That’s what being a wolf was all about.

  ‘Pack,’ my wolf chanted and I met my father’s burning yellow eyes.

  He sent calm feelings through the pack bonds and they saturated my frayed energy.

  ‘Your mother and I have been through worse. We can handle this. Together.’

  I nodded, but his words didn’t seem reassuring. What was worse than watching your mate die? To die a painful death before you even got to fall in love with him. Werewolves mated for life and if Gavin died, it meant I was destined to spend my immortal werewolf life alone.

  My father picked up on my thoughts and his eyes blazed yellow. ‘That’s not going to happen, Anya. I take your life’s happiness seriously and I will do everything in my power to help the boy.’

  I felt something then, a tingle, an awareness, a knowing. Gavin was awake. I don’t know how I knew but I did. We were connected somehow.

  I simply nuzzled my father’s neck and then we took off back to the cabin. After shifting, we put on some clothes that were stashed in a basket by the front door.

  Turning, I faced my father. “There’s a human in the car. He’s Gavin’s grandfather, can you talk to him? He seems cool with the werewolf thing, but …”

  My father brushed a stray hair from my forehead. “I’ll handle it,” was all he said and then his huge hulking figure left the porch and strode over to the car.

  Taking in a deep breath, I opened the door.

  Gavin was sitting on the couch holding a cup of hot tea with a blanket around him. My mother and Gretchen were fanning him with sage and when his eyes looked up and met mine, my stomach fluttered.

  Gretchen and my mom shared a look and then silently left the room.

  Gavin’s hair was a dark, unruly mop of wild wisps and his caramel skin now looked so Native American in color, I can’t believe I didn’t put it together before.

  Setting his tea down, he gave me a tight smile. “Not every day you wake up half naked in a bathtub with crazy witches doing spells on you.”

  My mouth broke out into a grin as I crossed the room to sit next to him. “Who said they were witches?” I guessed if he was a shaman he could be trusted with that knowledge. It’s not like the human public knew about his kind either. Only the vampires and werewolves were on their radar.

  “Your mom told me after I attacked her.” He frowned.

  My lips quirked up. “You attacked my mom?” Oh man, I missed the good stuff.

  He shrugged. “I tried to. I mean, she was pinning me down in a bathtub, rubbing blood on my chest, but she’s pretty strong for such a petite woman.”

  I laughed again. He had a good sense of humor. It was nice to get to know him and talk like two normal people.

  “Well, she’s second in command of my dad’s pack, so being strong kind of comes with the job.”

  Gavin swallowed hard. “Right, you’re the Alpha’s daughter. Is he here?” He looked nervously at the doorway.

  “He’s talking to your grandfather.” What else should I say? Hey, you’re my mate and you’re dying.

  He rubbed the skin on his arms and I let my gaze run briefly over his bare chest.

  “Am I one of you?” His voice sounded hollow, a touch of fascination.

  So my mother hadn’t told him yet. Shit.

  “No, Gavin, you’re not.”

  Disappointment crossed his face but then was quickly gone.

  Shit, might as well rip the band aid off. “I guess you are a wolf shifter and a shaman. Essentially, a supernatural.”

  And you’re my mate. No, let’s leave that for another time.

  His mouth popped open in shock as the blanket fell to his waist giving me a glorious view of his fully bare torso.

  “So, I can shift to a wolf but I’m not a werewolf?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not really sure. The fur on your arms is … similar to mine. I’m just speculating here.”

  He nodded. “A shaman? What’s that?” He seemed confused and he had a right to be.

  Jax and my mother entered the room.

  “We have until the next full moon to figure those questions out, otherwise your dead, bro,” Jax spoke in his usual annoying bluntness.

  “Jaxon!” my mother scolded him, swatting the back of his neck hard.

  Gavin nodded like he already expected this. “I figured I was sick, that something’s really wrong. But I thought I was a werewolf. Late to bloom or something.” He stared at his palms as if he expected them to sprout hairs.

  ‘The day we meet your mate, I’m going to be an annoying asshole, too. Karma’s a bitch, Jax,’ I told my brother and gave him an Alpha glare.

  My brother only shrugged. ‘I’m just trying to give the guy a reality check. I would want to know. He might want to go skydiving or get laid or something before he dies.’

  I tried to suppress a growl at my annoying twin.

  My mother crossed the room in her elegant way and sat in front of Gavin. “There’s someone I would like you to meet. He may have the answers we seek,” she told Gavin, and all of a sudden I knew who it was. The elusive Nahuel. Jax tossed Gavin a pair of jeans and
he stepped into them. No one gave him a t-shirt … for which I was secretly grateful.

  Gavin simply nodded to my mother and she returned the nod, giving him a small smile. Then she turned to me and indicated that I follow her and Gavin. Putting out a hand, she stopped Jax. He tried to mask the hurt that crossed his face, but I saw it. Following her through the house, a few moments later we were in the backyard that looked out onto the dense green forest. It was just the three of us standing out on the forest edge, and I kept looking behind me for Jaxon. It felt weird to be without my twin, but I was guessing that my mom thought this was a journey I needed to take alone. She pulled her treasured protection pouch necklace out of her shirt and emptied its contents. After selecting a black stone, she put the rest away and buried the rock just beneath the surface of the earth.

  Gavin looked at me like he thought my mother was crazy, and I smiled.

  “Who am I meeting?” Gavin asked nervously and crossed his arms against the chill. He looked healthier after Gretchen’s healing spell, but his face was still flushed from the fever and the whites of his eyes still held some broken blood vessels.

  I inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of the forest. I loved Mount Hood, this mountain, these trees with their thick patches of green moss growing on the bark. I had roamed nearly every inch of this mountain and it still held so much wonder for me.

  Looking over at Gavin, I noticed that he had been holding eye contact with my mother for a while, something that should be impossible for a human to do. He didn’t know it meant a challenge, but I could see my mother’s wolf bristle.

  “You’re going to meet a very dear friend of mine, someone like you,” she told him.

  Gavin looked away then and I could see my mother’s wolf settle. That’s when I smelled him, Nahuel. He smelled like sage and lavender, and I heard it was impossible not to like the guy even though my mother said he spoke in metaphors. I had never met him, but I grew up hearing stories of his power, his heroic nature and gentle spirit. My mother loved him, considered him family, and so would I.

  Out of the woods, behind a thick tree, Nahuel began to trek toward us. He was tall, mid-forties with a sharpened bone hanging from a thread on his neck and he had a tattoo of a jaguar on his arm. His wrists were wrapped in leather cuffs and adorned with turquoise. The air hummed with some sort of tangible power and I instinctively knew this guy would be an Alpha if he were a werewolf. A long, thick brown braid, threaded with silver hairs, hung half-way down his back.

  My mother quickly leaned into me and whispered in my ear. “Remember, Anya, the future can always change.” Her voice was worrying and it gave me goosebumps as she crossed the gap between her and Nahuel and gave him a long hug.

  Why did she just say that? What else did she see in her vision? Oh God, the unknown made me sick. I was a control freak and I wanted to know everything. I knew then my mother was hiding something. I wanted to interrogate her and know everything about her vision but Nahuel stood before her, the slightest hint of a smile, eyes twinkling.

  “Hello, Sister,” he greeted her.

  My mother’s face lit up. “Do you age?”

  Nahuel simply quirked his head to the side. “Do you?”

  My mother laughed. “I’ve missed your guidance, friend. I have someone that I think you can help.”

  Stepping to the side, she motioned to Gavin who stood there awkwardly behind her with his hands in his pockets.

  The second his gaze fell on Gavin, Nahuel looked alarmed. Tipping his nose up, he smelled the air. His features hardened and his mouth curled upside down.

  “You’re a dead man walking.”

  His words slammed into me and I growled, taking up a protective stance next to Gavin.

  Nahuel put his hands out to me, looking me up and down. “Calm down, pup. I won’t hurt him, but his sickness will kill you if you don’t find a way to stop it.”

  The air was charged with his prophecy and I felt so helpless. His sickness will kill me? Is that what he just said? I glanced at my mother and saw that she looked defeated, like she expected him to say that. Is that what she saw in her vision? How would his sickness affect me? Gavin looked shocked, mouth hanging open.

  Gavin stepped forward then, standing tall, brave. “What sickness? What’s wrong with me?”

  Nahuel pulled out a sage bundle and holding it to his palm, he ignited it. What the? I didn’t even see him get a lighter.

  Walking closer, I tensed as he fanned Gavin with the smoke. I was about to ask this asshat what he was doing when I saw the smoke curl around Gavin’s body and reveal a wolf shape. Where Gavin’s normally short nose was, the smoke showed a long snout. Gavin held his hands in front of his face and the smoky shape of a wolf’s paw formed in his palm like a 3D sculpture.

  “Holy shit.” Gavin’s voice sounded in awe but his face showed relief.

  I gasped.

  “I thought I was going crazy, having this fur on my arms, the fevers, the dreams.” He looked over at me and I blushed. The dreams? Did he have them, too?

  Nahuel nodded. “When our kind are born, we train them their entire lives to go on a spirit walk when they are thirteen to identify their power animal. For shamans, we have the ability to shift into that animal after the spirit walk.”

  My mother stepped closer to Nahuel, taking in every word.

  He continued, “But … you were cast aside, neglected, brought up in a white man’s world and did not go on your spirit walk to connect with your animal. So now your soul is torn in two, half full.”

  “And whose fault is that?” I countered, seeing the sadness etch into Gavin’s face.

  Nahuel only smirked at me, then turned to my mother. “She’s got your temper.”

  My mother nodded. “Worse.”

  I rolled my eyes. “How do we help Gavin? Horror stories aren’t helping. Why is he dying? How does that affect me?”

  Nahuel placed a hand on my shoulder and a calmness spread throughout my body, then all of a sudden, I was sucked up out of my body and into a vision.

  I was standing in a corn field, the sun high overhead, Nahuel stood like a sentinel before me. A knowing gaze twinkled in his eye.

  My heart was pounding as I looked around and then down at my body which seemed real. My mother had told me about her visions with Nahuel but nothing prepared me for this feeling. Of being here and back there on Mount Hood. It was like my mind had been taken to this reality but my body was on Mount Hood.

  Nahuel took his thumb and placed it on my forehead, smearing it with ash. “You have a great purpose, little pup, just like your mother.”

  My breaths were ragged. Nahuel was a God to my mother, she respected him so much. I didn’t want to offend him, but I couldn’t bear to walk on egg shells.

  “Why are we here?” I gestured to the corn fields.

  Nahuel took in a deep breath. “I love your mother and trust her with my life, but what I am about to tell you is for your ears only. It’s your path and you alone can choose whom you want to walk it with.”

  Oh, shit. Here we go. I swore I could feel Jaxon just then. As my nerves heightened, Jaxon’s strength flooded our twin bond.

  “Alright, hit me with it,” I told him and was rewarded with a grin from the normally stoic shaman.

  “You and Gavin are True Mates. That means no matter your species; witch, vampire, werewolf or shaman, you are destined to be together and have children if you wish.”

  The breath tore from my lungs as I processed his claims. Whoa. Heavy. Okay. His words filled me with excitement though. It was near impossible. I had never heard of True Mates, but my great, great grandmother had been a witch and her mate a werewolf. That’s why my mother and Jax and I were half of each. So it must be possible. I never really stopped to think about it. Holy shit.

  The shaman’s face clouded over. “That was the good news.”

  Oh. I groaned. “The bad news?”

  The shaman stared out onto the corn fields. “If Gavin dies, you die to
o because you are linked like mates without ever having to have a mating ceremony. You were born mated.”

  Okay, super intense. I hadn’t even gone on a date with this guy. “I’m not afraid of death.” I held my chin high because I was my father’s daughter and nothing would shake fear into me.

  Nahuel was lightning quick then, grabbing the sides of my face and bringing me closer to peer into his eyes.

  “You should be, little pup, because if you die, the world as you know it is over, and your people will be slaughtered.”

  Before I could react, he touched his forehead to mine and suddenly I was standing in the middle of downtown L.A. The Staples Center loomed on the left. People were running in all directions, looting and breaking windows. Humans were using whips, chains, axes, and guns to capture werewolves. A young werewolf, maybe twelve years old, banged against a silver cage in the back of a pick-up truck that drove past us. The human who sat in the back with the cage, stuck a Taser inside and the young wolf writhed in pain as he was shocked. Ten feet from me, I saw a girl with blonde hair and a wolf tattoo on her neck. The man holding the whip grabbed her ankle and yanked as she slammed head first into the pavement, cracking her teeth.

  I hunched over and vomited on the concrete in front of me.

  “Why!” I panted to Nahuel who stood behind me. I knew from my mother that this was some glimpse into the future; if I tried to help these wolves, my body would just pass through like a ghost. I was just a watcher here, I could do nothing.

  Nahuel touched my back and suddenly I was back in the corn fields, flat on the ground with him standing over me.

  “Because, the werewolves have something they want, something they need.”

  “The humans? What … what is it?” Tears flowed down my cheeks. No. This couldn’t happen. We protected humans, loved them. Werewolves had always been there for the humans. How could they do this to us?

  “That’s for you to figure out. This is your life purpose. Not mine.”

  “Argh!” I growled and stood. “Please don’t give me metaphors while my True Mate and I are dying and the humans are about to wipe us all out. ‘Cause I will seriously go apeshit.”