“Like supernatural, okay! But also a human. I don’t know. I’m tired, alright?” I put my hands up in protest. Jesus, I shifted in front of him and his girlfriend and they both saw me naked. Just let me sleep.
My father simply nodded but my mom looked more concerned. She was watching me like I was a bomb about to explode. Maybe I was.
Brushing past Jax and into my room, I collapsed into my bed. Gavin. His name was the last thing on my mind before I passed out and was quickly sucked into a dream.
“Help me. What am I?” Gavin sat up in bed staring down at fur that lined his arms. He was dripping sweat, burning hot, again. Fully human but with a few small patches of fur on his arms.
What the hell? In the dream, I stepped closer and reached out to touch the white fur on his arms. When my hand was an inch from him, he looked right at me.
“Am I like her?” he asked.
I froze and stopped breathing. Then he looked at his arms again, curled into a ball, and started rocking.
“Someone please help me,” he whispered.
I sat up quickly, panting, and glanced at the alarm clock. 4AM. Shit. The dream. Gavin was in trouble. I was exhausted but burning up, and I needed air. Throwing open my window, I stuck my head out, taking a deep lungful of the crisp mountain air. Screw this. My wolf needed to run. I was fully freaking out. These dreams were intense and left my wolf in a frantic state. She was dying to protect Gavin.
Mate,my wolf told me.
Shut up!I screamed inside my head. Oh God, I was losing it, I was legit losing my mind.
Swiftly shedding my clothes, I jumped out the window, careful not to land in my mother’s garden. My body was steaming as the cool night air hit my overheated skin. I felt like I was dying; I had never been this hot in my life. Being a human must suck because being sick felt awful.
Shifting to my wolf form, I took off into the thick forest that surrounded our pack property. I tried to clear my head as my wolf paws pounded into the moss that covered the ground.Gavin. The mere thought of his name sent me into teenage hormonal overdrive. Was he human? If my dreams were right, then he couldn’t be, but he wasn’t a werewolf. I know my kind. But his eyes, they had flickered yellow. I was sure of it now. The dreams, were they visions of the future or the present? I feared they were of the present and he needed me, he needed help. I pushed harder into the run, jumping over a fallen tree and landing hard. Suddenly, I smelled a familiar scent. I slowed and let my mom catch up with me.
‘I don’t need a babysitter,’I told her angrily. While in wolf form I could communicate with any member of the pack using my mind. I knew I shouldn’t be taking my anger out on my mother, but I was so damn frustrated.
She gave me a wolfish grin.‘Good. I’m sick of babysitting your ass. About time you grew up.’She nipped my tail and took off running.
I yipped in excitement and took off after her. Not fair. She was freakishly fast, vampire fast. It was part of her gift. All changedwolves had a special gift. Since my father was changed his gift was super-fast shifting into his wolf form and super-fast running. As the Matefinder, we take on our mate’s gift, so my mom was fast like dad. I was wolf-born so no gift other than that of the Matefinder, which was gift enough for me. She let me catch up to her and we leaped over a small flowing creek and then rolled around in some moss.
After a few minutes, my mom stood and faced me. Her wolf was beautiful. All white with a black star and black socks. Similar to mine and exact opposite of my dad’s black wolf. That’s how we could tell our mates, they had the exact opposite markings.
Her deep yellow eyes were burning into me. I knew my mom, she wanted to tell me something but she was being cautious.
‘Just say it,’I told her. God, I loved this woman; a strong-ass woman who raised me to think for myself and take no shit. I liked talking into her mind in wolf form, it was easier to express things and be open. Put all bullshit aside. Maybe that’s why Jax and I were so close. We were always mind talking.
‘You had a completely different childhood than I did, therefore you are a different person,’she stated.
I frowned. Why was she bringing this up? My mother had a pretty bad childhood. Her twin brother protector died at age five saving her from drowning and the loss turned her father into an abusive alcoholic. He beat her and my grandmother for years before my mom finally killed him to stop the abuse. She spent her whole life training women in self-defense and giving them a new lease on life to escape their abusers. But what did that have to do with anything I was going through?
She went on.‘So, I can understand why I held back at first and didn’t fully open myself to your father. I had major trust issues with men. But you have been nurtured and showered with love. You have no fear of that shit. You know that our wolves are never wrong when it comes to recognizing our mate. So why aren’t you claiming him?’
Her declaration caught me off guard as my wolf tipped back her head and howled in agreement. He was my mate.Mine. He needed help and I let him walk out of my life because of some lame human insecurities! Stupid! I nuzzled my mom in thanks and took off running back home. Message received, Mom. Find my mate and take what’s mine before that blonde bimbo did.
*
The second the bar opened, Jax and I charged in to talk to Mandy. Please God, let there be an open tab for Gavin.
“Hey.” She and a bunch of other pack members were sweeping up the glass. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying and her hair was a mess. It looked like she hadn’t slept.
“We will find Brady. My dad is all over that shit,” I assured her.
She gave me a weak smile. “I know.”
I nodded. “Hey, I wondered if you could do me a favor. A guy was here last night. Gavin.” I swallowed hard, trying not to act too desperate.
She put the broom down and smiled. “Yes?”
