Keeper (Matefinder Next Generation Book 1) (15 page)

Holy shit. Chills ran up my arms. No big deal, right? No pressure. Was it too late to go back to being the Matefinder again?

Nahuel met my gaze. “Your mother understood this. Not all vampires were purged from this planet in the war, just the evil ones. The ones that remained, conformed into a peaceful existence. But what you must now understand is that you are no longer an ambassador to the werewolves like your mother is. You are now a Keeper, a messenger for all kind. A direct channel of Spirit.”

My eyes widened and my breathing was heavy as I let this information wash over me.

“That’s a lot to take on,” I confessed.

Lina looked sympathetically at me. “It is, but we will be here to guide you. From now on, when you sleep, you will be downloaded with information to widen your perspective and give you the knowledge that you will need to act in the times ahead.”

Okay … creepy. Not sure I was up for this task.

“Is it possible to switch back with Gavin? We’re True Mates, can we … do some ceremony?” Yeah, okay I was being a wuss here, but I was curious.

The warrior huffed, looking offended. “I would give anything to be chosen as a Keeper,” he exclaimed.

Nahuel quieted him with a steady gaze but my bear rose up in anger.

“Oh yeah? Would you give anything to have half of your soul ripped away and taken, then be burning with fever and tossed out into the woods to be stalked by a raping Skin Walker? Only to be attacked and become one with a bear?”

He lowered his eyes in submission. Okay, that might have been a bit too much. Maybe my period was coming up soon because I felt like I was stuck in bitchville right now.

“Sorry,” I muttered, sighing in exasperation.

Nahuel smiled and clapped his hand on my back. “You’re doing very well, considering. This can all come in time, nothing needs to be handled tonight. Go back to see your mother, I’m sure she will be happy to see you both and to see that you and Gavin are right as rain.”

I nodded, meeting their eyes. They saved my life, there was no doubt about that.

“Thank you all very much.” I bowed low, which my dominant wolf would never have allowed.

Lina stood, smiling and looking fulfilled. “It’s an honor to be present during the next generation of the Keeper.”

Nahuel chuckled. “I thought I was going to have to live forever.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Can we live forever?” Because it just dawned on me that I wasn’t an ageless werewolf anymore.

Nahuel nodded. “Unless killed, yes we can.”

Okay, cool. I was on information overload here. I waved and turned to leave when Nahuel caught my hand and spun me to face him. He was holding between his outstretched hands, a brown suede medicine pouch necklace, it was new, not my mother’s. I grinned and he returned my enthusiasm with a smile of his own.

“You earned this. If you need to reach me, just sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and open your mind. We are connected now, little bear.”

I wanted to argue the little bear comment because I was actually a big-ass bear but instead I acted on impulse and closed the small gap between us, pulling Nahuel into a big hug. He seemed startled at first but returned my hug, filling my nose with scents of fresh earth, sage and juniper.

‘Anya, get outside! Gavin fainted.’
Jaxon’s panicked voice tore through my thoughts and I was grateful to see my twin bond was still working.

I burst out of the tent, taking quick strides across the lawn to where Mason, Jaxon, and Avery were huddled over Gavin. He lay there calmly like he was sleeping.

“What happened?!” I fell to my knees to feel his forehead, we were supposed to be healed now. If I felt a fever, I was going to rage, but as my hand brushed his forehead he felt cool.

Mason shrugged. “We were wrestling and he spaced out then.”

Suddenly Gavin’s eyes opened wide, startling me.

“What happened? Are you sick again?” My eyes roamed over his body looking for any sign of pain but then Gavin looked up at Mason.

“I found your mate,” Gavin said with surety.

I stumbled back in shock at his words. Oh my God. I wasn’t the Matefinder anymore. This was the concrete proof. The thing I had aspired to be my whole life, my mother had coached me for hours about what it would be like, what an honor it was, how special and important I was. Now I wasn’t. Gavin’s yellow eyes met mine.

‘Tell me you’re okay.’
He used the matebond and with it I picked up on his emotions. He felt pride and excitement over having an important purpose, but it was all shadowed by his guilt and fear that he had taken this from me. That we had somehow magically switched life paths.

‘True Mates,’
my bear told me.

I reined in my emotions and took a step toward him as he did the same. This was my mate and I was just glad that we were both alive. It would take some getting used to but I was okay.

‘I’m okay,’
I told him.

Mason was standing there dumbfounded with Jaxon and Avery on either side of him. His dark hair had fallen in front of his face making him look extra bewildered.

“Well? Who is she? Is she hot?” Of all the stupid questions!

Gavin gave me a quick look before nodding and I grinned. Men.

“But there’s a problem … She’s … been kidnapped. She was in a jail or something with other werewolves. A cage,” Gavin exclaimed.

We all stepped a little closer then and Mason’s eyes went yellow. Mason was the biggest goofball I knew and couldn’t have a serious relationship to save his life but now, in this moment, he looked ready to kill for his mate. I think he just grew up in record time.

Gavin seemed to be stepping into this role with ease and I had to tamp down my jealousy again. What was the vision like? How special for Mason and it wasn’t me giving him this special news … but I told myself that I now had my own destiny. I was a Keeper and even though I was still learning what the hell that was, if it meant I could kill that raping Skin Walker, it was worth it.

“There’s more …” Gavin looked nervously at Jaxon and then to me. “Your dad was there.”

My body went numb but at the same time excitement thrummed through me. If we could find Mason’s mate, we could find my dad!

“Where are they?” My voice was demanding.

Gavin pursed his lips, looking anxious again. “I don’t know, some kind of government site. I got nervous and kind of … backed out of the vision.”

Mason let a curse word fly but I gave my mate a reassuring look. My mother had prepared me for years for the visions. I could understand how scary it might be to someone ill prepared.

“Let’s go home. My mom will know what to do,” I told the group.

After saying a quick goodbye, we piled into two cars and made our way back home. I could only hope that my mother wouldn’t completely flip out that I was now a bear and more importantly not the Matefinder. But at that thought, Gavin’s hand took mine and I turned over to meet his eyes. They were full of strength and I knew that together we could get through anything.

As we reached the base of Mount Hood, I was shocked to see two cars had parked sideways to barricade our entrance. Jaxon, Gavin, and I were in one car while Mason and Avery followed behind us.

“There’s check points now. Avery said no humans are allowed until we figure this out,” Jaxon said.

No. It felt so wrong. We had worked so hard to build a relationship with the humans. The evil bloodsucker vampires had been shooting up human teens with heroin and drinking off of them in an effort to get high. But my mom and dad had stopped all that, and the humans should be grateful. This is how they repay us?

Jaxon rolled down his window and I saw Max walk out from behind the car holding a semi-automatic assault rifle. Anna was with him. Holy shit, this was serious. Max looked tired and lethal, his blue eyes were threading with yellow, his bulking physique and scarred arms gave an air of ‘Don’t mess with me.’

“Thank God, you kids are okay. Your mother will be glad to see you,” he told us and waved us through the barricade.

I could only nod, as Jaxon wove the Land Rover through the barricade. Avery and Mason were right behind us. I felt like my innocent childhood was over. The mountain I once grew up on had turned into something else. Something … dangerous.

My stomach was in knots as Jaxon pulled our car up to my house. I recognized Gretchen’s car in the driveway and was shocked to see two armed pack members standing guard in front of my door with automatic rifles.

As I opened the car door to step out, my mother flung open the front door and charged toward us.

“Anya!” She crashed into me hugging me tightly. I squeezed her hard, relishing in the scent of her orange mint shampoo. Mom. Home.

After pulling away from me, she wrinkled her nose.

“What’s that smell?” Her nose scrunched as she looked me up and down.

Gavin stepped up next to me and my mom gushed over him, giving him a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. Both of you,” she told us as Jaxon made his way to her. They shared a quick hug before my mother smelled the air again.

“Anya … Why do you smell like–”

Shit, crap, frick! I decided ripping the band aid off quickly was best.

“Gavin and I are True Mates and so instead of him going on the spirit quest to find his animal, he stole mine. So I went on the quest and fought this Skin Walker and claimed my animal, which is a bear.”

My mother’s mouth dropped open as she looked to Gavin and back to me.

“And I’m the Matefinder now. I had a vision of Mason’s mate, but I got scared and backed out of it before I could figure it out. Kai was there.”

My mom sat down on the ground, just plopped right down on the ground and stared at the forest in shock.

I sat down across from her, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Mom.”

Her eyes were yellow. “You’re not pack, I can’t feel you,” she said. 

“Yeah, it’s super weird. I’m hoping you can fix it,” I told her honestly.

Then she looked at me and smiled. “I’m proud of you.”

Her words settled over me, bringing tears to my eyes. Of all the things I expected her to say, it wasn’t that. “You’re not mad?”

She laughed. “Shocked as shit, yes. Mad, no. The vision I had of you and Gavin ended up with you dead. Anything is better than that.”

‘I love when mom cusses,’
Jaxon told me and I rolled my eyes.

My mom stood then and transformed her hand into a claw. “Let’s make you pack.”

Yes, thank you God. I needed to feel like pack, it was driving me crazy not to.

I extended my forearm and she swiped it, drawing blood. “Blood of my blood.” She scratched her other arm and touched ours together. Mist saturated my arm and went up my body. I immediately felt the warm fullness in my chest. Pack. But it was different, detached.

My mom frowned.
‘You feel like pack but more like a human member. Like another species.’

‘At least we can communicate with the bonds again,’
I replied and she hugged me.

Gavin had been waiting patiently but now he cleared his throat. My mom walked over to him and looked him square in the eye. “Matefinder, huh?”

He nodded nervously and she smiled. “Welcome to the club. Come on, we have a lot to talk about.”

She slung an elegant arm over his shoulder and led us into the house. The scents of my home filled my nose but something was missing. Dad, I realized with a pang of sadness.

*

My mom made me tell her everything about the past forty-eight hours. It was awful to recount some parts and I tried to be delicate when I talked about Gavin’s mother and her situation, but I wanted my mom to know the evil lengths the Skin Walker went to. After all of it, my mother just sat there in shock for a few minutes.

Then she turned to Gavin. “Let’s catch you up.”

Over the next few hours I tried not to fall asleep as my mom taught Gavin skills of being a Matefinder. How to flow with the visions and not force them, history of their kind and other stuff I blanked out.

Mason and Avery were passed out upstairs. It had been a long drive.

Finally, Gretchen came down to the basement holding a jar that contained a stinky-ass paste. I could smell it from across the room.

“I have a theory,” Gretchen began. I perked up a little, interested in what Gretchen would have to say. “Anya was born the Matefinder, it’s a genetic gift so it will never fully be gone from her.”

Oh God, please don’t confuse me more! What the hell did that mean?!

“But he is her True Mate so it’s possible to magically swap gifts,” she concluded.

Even more confusing! Argh! I was shocked at the fear that had spiked inside of me at thinking she was going to try to take my bear away and give me my wolf back. I realized then, I didn’t want to change.

My mom’s face was drawn in concentration and it looked like wheels were spinning in her head. “What’s that?” She pointed to the jar.

Gretchen grinned. “If Anya rubs this on her arms and touches Mason, she should be able to replay the vision Gavin got.”

Gavin and I both stared in shock at Gretchen. I grew up around witches, hell I was half witch – at least I think I was still half witch – but what she said was … amazing. If this paste could really do that … wow. Just WOW.

My mom took the paste from Gretchen and hugged her for a long time.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

Gretchen nodded. “We’ll get him back.”

Pops. Another pang in my heart. I couldn’t feel him. Wait, I was pack again and I couldn’t feel my dad.

“Mom, I can’t feel him.” Horror flooded through me at what that meant.

But Gretchen was the one to answer me. “Dark witches have blocked the pack bonds.” She looked disappointed.

“Dark witches! I thought they died out or went into hiding?” I hadn’t meant to growl but I did and both Gretchen and my mother took a step back. Whoops. I was still learning how to control my bear.

My mom looked tired as she set the jar down on the table and rubbed her temples.

“We’ll deal with all of this in the morning, it’s been a long day and a good night’s sleep will do us all good.”

Gretchen nodded and left, squeezing my hand as she passed.

My mom pulled a set of keys out of her pocket and handed them to Gavin. “We did some shuffling around. Izzy’s kids are all grown and off at college. She and Tristan don’t need such a big house. It’s yours now. You and Anya.”

My eyes bugged out of my head. “Us … Like. Together?”

My mom smiled. “You’re mates. As much as I want you to go off to college. It’s going to have to wait until we sort this out.”

Agreed. I couldn’t go off to college while my dad had been kidnapped and humans were at war with us.

Still, it felt weird moving in with Gavin when I knew my dad wouldn’t approve.

“Dad wouldn’t allow this,” I told my mom. He would want to interrogate Gavin first and then have us do some elaborate Indian wedding ceremony.

My mother laughed. “It was his idea. The day you guys drove away with Nahuel he asked Izzy if she wanted a smaller bungalow on the mountain. Your father and I lived together before our mating ceremony. Just get over it.”

My mouth hung open in shock. Just get over it? Okay … wow, coming from my Mom. Gavin tried to hide his grin as he snatched the keys from my mom and simply slipped his hand into mine.

“Thanks,” he told her and we turned to leave.

‘Try to be happy. I know it’s hard that your dad is gone but be happy. It’s what every parent wants for their child.’
My mother’s voice echoed in my head.

Turning back, I caught one last glimpse of her. She looked lonely, scared, broken and a tiny bit proud. It brought me comfort to see that I had caused her to have that last emotion among the wreckage of emotions that my father’s absence brought.

After a ten minute walk, I led us to the porch of Izzy’s house. It was close enough that my parents could keep an eye on me but far enough for privacy. It felt weird to be walking into Izzy’s house and just taking over. It also felt weird to live without my twin; Jax and I did everything together.

Gavin fumbled with the lock before letting us in. I gasped when I saw a pair of modern brand new grey suede couches. They had thought this out, it was probably the only thing that helped them get through my absence. Gave them hope that Gavin and I would return together, alive. Walking inside, I set my backpack down and walked into the kitchen where a bunch of handpicked wildflowers stood in a vase. There was a card, I opened it and nearly cried when I saw my dad’s handwriting.

Anya,

Finding your mate is one of the most special things that will happen in your lifetime. As much as I want to protect you and make sure he doesn’t hurt you, I have let go and trust that you are in good hands. He’s your mate, your other half, the person Spirit chose for you to spend your life with and I approve.

Don’t be a stranger,

Papa

By the time I was done reading the card, tears were streaming down my cheeks. Gavin came up behind me and held me close. We stayed like that for a while not speaking, just lost in our thoughts and I liked the safety I felt with his hard, warm body pressed to mine.

Finally, I turned to him and my gaze ran over his face. Did he look older? More seasoned? We both did, we had been through a fight for our lives, changed our destinies and had come out intact, but it left a person weathered and the dark look in his eyes showed me that he still carried some pain. “I hope you can cook because if not, we will both starve,” I told him, to lighten the mood.

The rumble of his laughter made me smile. “I can cook, but I hope you can do laundry.”

My smile widened. “I can.”

And just like that we had found our place. Gavin placed a small kiss on my lips before turning to tinker in the kitchen. The fridge was fully stocked, the pantry too, and we were both starved from the long drive. I went in search of the four bedrooms and found that they were all empty except for two. One was plain with just a guest bed and no other furnishings. The other had my entire bedroom furniture, clothes, pictures and everything moved into it.
Dad
. I hoped in the morning we could find him and I wouldn’t have this awful feeling in my chest any longer.

After showering off the grime from the trip, I put on short sleep shorts and a Tool band t-shirt.

Turning the corner, I saw Gavin had set the table. A huge steaming bowl of pasta sat in the center with the wildflowers and two glasses of water. Smiling, I walked over to pull out a chair, Gavin looked up from the kitchen where he was tossing a salad and his eyes glowed yellow.

When he spoke his voice was gruff. “Okay, honestly, I wasn’t sure if you were my mate but now I’m one hundred percent certain. I love Tool.”

I pulled on my t-shirt and smiled. “I’m pretty sure mates mean same taste in music, in the werewolf dictionary.”

He grinned, bringing over the bowl of salad and joining me at the table. I dished out a huge helping of pasta and salad. Gavin looked a little lost, staring at his plate of food. I probed his feelings with the matebond and I could see he was struggling with anxiety over this new life … and guilt. Why so much guilt? Oh God, it was eating at him. I could feel it.

I knew from experience that it was easier to get a serious conversation started when talking through the pack bond. Somethings were just harder to say out loud. So even though I was starving, I set down my fork and reached for his hand.

‘Tell me what’s bothering you,’
I prompted him.

His eyes flicked up to meet mine. They were the color of mint leaves being ignited with lightning. His wolf was raging.

‘You’re my mate. I’m supposed to protect you! Instead, I stole your wolf and let you go out into the woods alone, unarmed and that Skin Walker found you.’

Oh shit. This again. “He didn’t touch me,” I assured him, although that technically wasn’t true, he bit a huge ass hole in me but he didn’t touch me in
that
way.