Gavin’s eyes suddenly met mine in the mirror, they held a passionate fierceness that matched my own. If there was a way to stop whatever ailed him and live a long and happy life together, we would give it our all. Spirit didn’t make mistakes, Gavin was my perfect match whether I knew his middle name or not. Suddenly a warm hand squeezed mine. Jaxon. I was not alone in this. Together we would all figure it out. A weight that had firmly settled on my shoulders since the dreams began, dissipated a little bit then.
We drove the rest of the way in silence. Once we pulled up to Gavin’s house, Jax and I told them we would wait in the car. He would have to say goodbye to his family and pack up all of his things. My twin pulled on the bond to get my attention, looking up, I saw a seriousness in his eyes.
“Does this mean we aren’t going off to college?” he asked.
I laughed. “Oh, Jaxon. For a second there, I thought you might actually say something sincere.”
He smiled. “I’m just kidding. Trying to make you smile.”
I gave him a tight smile and we just stared at each other, at a loss for words. Finally he leaned forward.
“Is he your mate?” he asked sincerely.
All of a sudden tears welled in my eyes. I nodded.
Jax grabbed my forearm in a firm grip. “Then we will do everything in our power to save him. Do you understand me?”
Jax’s eyes were a fierce blue threading with yellow. I growled my agreement. Jax was my twin, my protector, my closest confidant. If I couldn’t tell him, I couldn’t tell anyone.
“We’re True Mates, Jax. Born mated, can have children tomorrow if we wanted. No need for a ceremony. But Nahuel said that if he dies … I die too.”
Jax’s eyes were wide. “How is that possible? No!”
I shrugged, helpless. “Mom saw something. We need to get it out of her. I’m freakin out here.”
Jax nodded and then we both saw Gavin coming out of the house in a black hoodie, carrying a big duffle bag.
My heart sped up and Jax grinned. “I’ve never seen you like this. You’ve had every unmated guy in the pack after you for years and you never looked half as riled up as you look now.”
Gavin’s hand was on the door handle.
“Shh!”
Opening the door, Gavin tossed his duffle bag in and closed the door, nodding to us. Jax took off and that was that. After months of dreaming of this guy, I find out he’s my True Mate, we’re destined to die together in four days, and now he was coming to live with me and my pack. Not exactly how I envisioned spending the summer before college.
We drove most of the way in silence. I think everyone was stuck in their own thoughts. But then it dawned on me that we were bringing my mate into a den of werewolves and he knew nothing about our kind.
‘Jax, he stared Mom down earlier and her wolf didn’t like it. We need to teach him about our kind.’If he didn’t learn to live by our rules, he would be in for a rough time. My father’s pack was once small but now it boasted large numbers and I would be lying if I didn’t say a few of the males had been after me. They wouldn’t like that Gavin was my mate and that he wasn’t a werewolf.
Jax grinned.‘No way. Did she rage on him?’
Ignoring my brother, I cleared my throat. “So, Gavin,” I turned to face him, “I should probably catch you up on werewolf culture. So we don’t … have any problems.”
He simply nodded. He was probably overwhelmed enough but my father would expect this of me.
“My father is the Alpha. His word is law, and you shouldn’t look him in the eye for too long.”
He swallowed hard but nodded.
I cleared my throat because he had been staring me in the eyes this entire time.
“Don’t look any dominant wolf in the eyes too long. It’s rude. Makes them think you want to challenge them.”
His mouth popped open and he stared at my lips. “Oh, okay. But you realize eye contact is a normal part of a healthy social conversation, right?”
Jaxon laughed. “Funny guy. I like him.”
I rolled my eyes.
