Nahuel opened his hands as if to say hewas just guessing. “They’re True Mates. She kept Gavin alive when she needed toand now he has taken on his birthright. I think that the bear was always meantfor him. The hawk, too.”
Nahuel’s words stung. I went on thespirit walk, I fought the Skin Walker and found my bear. She saved me from him.She was mine. Except the trueness of his words could be felt deep. She wasn’tmine. She was Gavin’s, and I was just keeping her from dying. Keeping all of usfrom dying.
“And the bird?” my mom asked, trying tocatch up.
“Yeah, how does Gavin have a bird formandmy bear,” I piped up. I don’t think I could ever refer to her asanything butmybear.
Nahuel scratched the stubble at his chin.“He’s half Skin Walker. He can theoretically take the shape of any animal,although that takes certain training and magic.”
I did not like hearing that my mate wasturning into a Skin Walker. I didn’t want him to be anything like Mukesh.
“Did Mukesh send that bird? It did attackhim, but …” I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“But?” Nahuel pressed me.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, call itwomen’s intuition or whatever, but something tells me it wasn’t evil. And I dida reveal spell and it didn’t reveal anything.”
“Hmm,” Nahuel stated. “Gavin is halfkeeper and so it is possible he could use the dark arts of being Skin Walkerwithout the ill intent.”
“What does that mean?” I bounced up anddown on the bed to shake out my nervous energy.
Nahuel looked at me. “It means,hypothetically he can use the power of a Walker without turning evil. The powerto shift into any animal he meets.”
Relief exploded in my chest. “Not turningevil is good. Now, where is he?” I forced my next question quickly because allof this talk and no action to find my mate was making me crawl out of my skin.Gavin was a dual shifter now, I could handle that. What I could not handle wasmy mate going off on his own to kill Mukesh and winding up dead.
Nahuel’s eyes glazed over a little. “He’sgone in search of Mukesh. I can try to track them but I fear that if you are togo looking for him as well, you will meet death.”
I fell to my knees before my shaman, mymentor. “Nahuel, you know that there is no scenario in this world that wouldkeep me from finding my mate. Either you help me or you don’t. Either way, I’mcrossing that water in five minutes and I’m not coming back without him.”
Something flickered on Nahuel’s face, aresigned sadness. He reached up and cupped my chin. “Okay, little pup.”
Little pup. Not little cub. He senses mywolf as well.
“Anya, I’m not so sure—” my motherstarted but I cut her off.
“Mom, I’m going and it’s final.” I tiltedmy chin and held her gaze. She could pull as much alpha rank as she wanted. Iwasn’t staying here on the safety of this island while my mate was torn to bitsby evil incarnate. She sighed and nodded, lowering her eyes. Not because shehad to, she was way too dominant for that, but because she wanted to. Becauseshe believed in me.
I wanted to shift into my wolf formfirst, to make sure that I actually could, that it was real. I told them both Iwould be back in ten minutes and went to pack a bag. Once I was in the privacyof my shared cabin, I made sure that no one else was there. Confirming I wasalone, I stripped off my clothes and lay them on the bed. I stood there naked amoment, scared to try to shift. What if it wasn’t my wolf? What if I had noanimal? My wolf howled inside of me at that thought and I felt stupid forsecond guessing what I could feel. She was in there.
I allowed the shift to come, letting thetingle dance across my skin, and the sound of cracking bones was actually arelief. Once I was on all fours, I looked down and gave a wolfish grin at mypaws.Holy crap. I was a werewolf again. That thought brought on so muchemotion I didn’t know what to do with it all. I mourned my bear but at the sametime this felt right. I was born a wolf, the Matefinder, just like my mother.It was something I hadn’t been keen on or proud about until now. I just hopedthe Matefinding gift came with my wolf and didn’t get lost somehow. Did thismean I was no longer a Keeper? No longer of use to help Nahuel and his people?I closed my wolf’s eyes and took a slow, settling breath allowing my awarenessto reach out. That feeling I had gotten after Lina passed on her gift as ananchor was still there. But the things Nahuel had been teaching me in ourprivate meditations about how to sense the light in the world, the pinpoints ofgood … it was gone. I was just me, an anchor for Lina’s cousin until she couldcome of age, and a wolf. I was okay with that as long as my mate survived thisday.
‘Gavin. Let me in,’I whispered and caressed the bond.Nothing.
I tried not to let the depression settleinto me but it did anyway. Like an aching arthritis, it seeped into everymuscle of my body. I had to find him. I shifted quickly and changed into tightcargo pants, a t-shirt and my hiking boots. Then I put on my backpack and setout to meet Nahuel. My mate was a freaking bird, flying around and activelyseeking out the evilest being on earth. FML.
Chapter Eleven
NAHUEL STEERED THE boat into the docknear Seattle. We had taken the small motorboat down the coast a bit, smellingthe air as we passed. Now Nahuel was fitting into a tight space between thebuoys and another small boat.
“I’m getting nothing!” I told Nahuel,frustrated.
Nahuel had war paint on his face, leatherwrist cuffs on his arms, and a long spear strapped to his back. “Spirit willguide us.”
I wanted to tell him that Spirit hadabandoned me and taken a crap on this day but I thought better of it.
“Why would he block me out?” I asked,trying not to let the hurt show in my voice.
Nahuel gave me a solemn look. “To protectyou. So that you wouldn’t go after him. He did the same to me. He thinks he canprotect us from Mukesh if he gets to him first and kills him.”
