“But because of your unique pairing, Gavin has been siphoning power from you to survive until you two could find each other.”
My eyes widened. Whoa. Heavy. “So I’m the one getting sick and he’s …”
Nahuel stopped and faced me. “He’s stealing your wolf form. After tomorrow, Gavin will have taken your wolf in order to survive and you must find your own power animal in order to fill the hole he leaves behind.”
What the frick? “How?”
Nahuel chuckled. “Perfect Mates are the rarest pairing and hard to understand. You and Gavin have a great purpose together. Without each other, you would both have succumbed to death.”
Okay, it was at this point that I realized I wasn’t going off to college. Shit just got real, and life had a bigger plan.
“Tomorrow. Do I fight something? Do I approach animals and … I dunno … tell me!” I threw out my hands in exasperation.
Nahuel exhaled loudly. “A spirit quest has no plan. Your path will be revealed when it’s ready.”
It was hard to suppress the growl in my throat. Man, this guy was good at speaking vague. Before I could retort, he touched my cheek tenderly. “Remember you are your mother’s daughter. She had so much anger in her heart from her childhood. Yours is much purer, which will serve you well. Get some sleep.”
Then he just walked away leaving me swirling in a tornado of emotions.
*
After I walked back to the cluster of tents that had been set up for us, I found Jaxon passed out in one. Gavin sat in front of him, staring off into the fire. To learn that your mother had you when she was thirteen and was raped … what did that do to someone? I couldn’t imagine. Gavin’s energy was everywhere and I wasn’t sure what to do, so I was grateful when he looked up at me with his striking green eyes and patted the hard dirt next to him. Lina and everyone was off in their own tents. Sitting next to Gavin, I was happy to see that he casually put an arm around me. I needed him close, his body heat warmed me and settled my wolf.
“My childhood was filled with a lot of love. Tom and Betty, they showered love on me.” His voice was rough and his words brought tears to my eyes. I loved that after the storm of emotions and anger that battered his soul, he could find the good in this situation.
I nodded. “Your grandfather gave me an Alpha stare down when I came to get you. Demanded he go with you in the car. I could see how much he cared for you.”
Gavin smiled. “That’s him. A bit of a human Alpha, you could say.”
I returned the smile, and a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I couldn’t go through tomorrow worrying about Gavin’s mental status. I needed to know he was okay and focus on finding my path, or my power animal or whatever, so this wicked killing curse could go away and we could have a chance at life.
I snuggled in closer to him and he kissed the top my head like he had been doing it for a hundred years. This, right here, was so hard to describe to humans. Matebond. Perfect Mates. All that shit you have with human boyfriends about being insecure, should I touch him, does he like me? Am I pretty enough? Once you settled into your matebond all that just vanished.
I looked up at Gavin and he gave me a sexy grin. “Wanna share my tent?”
I laughed. “You little player,” I joked.
He winked and simply stood, unzipping his tent and I followed him inside. He lay down on his spread out sleeping bag and I snuggled in beside him, resting my head on his rock hard chest. A sigh escaped my body as I finally slept dreamless for the first time in months.
*
I awoke to the amazing smell of bacon. My eyes popped open and I legit was ready to kill someone if they said I couldn’t have any. But my thoughts were halted by a weird feeling in my body. I couldn’t explain it or put my finger on it. Something was–
‘You feel weird? Pissed about the bacon?’Jax asked me. I frowned, sitting up in the tent and looking down at my body. Gavin was gone and maybe that was it. I slept so well lying next to him and now he was gone. Maybe that’s what it felt like to be without your mate.
‘Just … feel off,’I told him and stood, crouching down to exit the tent.
As soon as I stepped outside, I looked at Gavin and I knew he was feeling it, too. His eyes were glowing yellow and he looked terrified.
“What’s wrong?” I ran over to him but he stumbled backward, with one hand out to stop me. Oh God. “What is it?” I screamed and Lina and Nahuel came closer to Gavin.
Nahuel sniffed the air and then frowned. “Did you sleep next to each other last night?” Nahuel mused.
I rolled my eyes. “Too much information, but yes, he’s my mate.” We didn’t do anything, but yeah, we slept next to each other. Big deal. I felt like I needed to justify it but before Nahuel could say more, Gavin fell to his knees and fur broke out onto his skin. What the? This was a lot of fur. Like…
“It’s happening,” Lina told Nahuel.
I gazed at her. I had a love-hate relationship with this girl right now. She wasn’t telling me something. Suddenly, the fever slammed into me and flared to life, I had to struggle to just stay standing.
