“I can stop time.” He winked.
My mouth popped open in surprise and all of a sudden I was slammed back into my body.
Chapter Four
I opened my eyes to find that I was lying flat on the ground. Gavin stood over me in a crouched position and my mother was backed up against a tree.
Nahuel, standing a few feet from Gavin, cocked his head to the side. “Interesting.”
I sat up and Gavin stood from his crouched position, shaking his head and looking down at his furry arms.
“What happened?” I asked breathless, the vision with Nahuel still playing in my mind. My mother stepped forward now, staring at Gavin.
“He was protecting you. His eyes went yellow, and …”
Gavin’s arms began to lose the fur and I suddenly felt feverish.
Gavin extended his hand to help me. Taking my hand, he pulled me up with a strong, firm grip and then I was smashed into his bare chest. We were nose to nose, his eyes still threaded with yellow, his wolf.
“You fainted, and … something took over. I …” His voice was husky and my belly warmed. God, he smelled so good. I guess Gretchen’s spell wasn’t exactly 100%. I mean, technically he didn’t have claws, but…
I suddenly became keenly aware that my mother and Nahuel were watching us, but still I couldn’t bring myself to tear my gaze away. His wolf was half-way out, protecting me. How? How did he even have a wolf if what Nahuel said was true?
‘Kiss him,’Jax taunted in my head and the moment was ruined. I sighed, stepping back I looked toward the house to see Jax watching through an open curtain.
‘Grow up, Jax. This is serious shit,’I scolded my twin.
Gavin took a few steps toward my mother. “I’m sorry if I scared you.” His head was low. Shame.
My mother’s lips quirked. “I wasn’t scared, just giving your wolf space so he didn’t feel threatened.”
She reached out and touched his shoulder.
My upper lip was sweating now as the fever climbed higher. Nahuel was looking from Gavin to me and back again.
“You get his fevers. He gets your wolf,” Nahuel stated.
“What?” my mother and I asked in unison. Jesus Christ, I was the most impatient woman in the world. Nahuel’s half-assed riddles would be the death of me.
Nahuel looked intrigued. “I must speak with someone. I’ll be back soon. I have an idea.”
Then he simply walked away, but before he got out of sight, he called back to Gavin.
“Don’t leave her side. She’s your mate.”
Then he was gone. Shit! Really? You’re going to drop that bomb before you leave? Fricken shaman.
“What the …” Gavin started, and looked at me with a gaze I couldn’t interpret. Relief? Excitement? I was pretty sure my cheeks were the color of strawberries and it wasn’t the fever.
“…hell is going on?” My mother finished his sentence and looked at me.
I shrugged. “I can’t even process what just happened.” I knew my mother would understand about the visions and how traumatizing and confusing they could be. She nodded but Gavin was still staring oddly at me, as if with a renewed wonder.
“May I talk to you privately?” he asked me and my mother raised one eyebrow and suppressed a smile. She nodded and walked off into the house. Gavin walked a few feet off into the thick wooded area and I nervously followed. I picked at my cuticles. This was so god damn awkward. Why did Nahuel have to spill that news? The word mate was so weird to a human.
“So, we’re mates.” He said it like it was no big deal. Humans didn’t understand what meeting your mate was like. It wasn’t like a boyfriend or even a husband. It was yourmate. It was the other half of your soul. The person you were meant to walk the earth with, to go through everything with, to have children with. I didn’t know what to say. My wolf had risen to the surface, staking her claim.
“Yes,” she said with confidence.
