Keeper (Matefinder Next Generation Book 1) Read online

  The smoke dissipated as I stood on all fours. Looking behind me, I saw Gavin, wide-eyed, staring right at me. I expected to see fear but instead his eyes were full of wonder and lust.

  Jaxon’s wolf form moved next to me and I saw that the entire front glass wall of the bar that faced the street was completely blown out. Humans in black military gear, with guns and Tasers, grabbed Brady who was mid-shift, trying to fight them off.

  I gave a low growl and prepared to pounce when one of the humans pointed a gun right at me. Screw you. I was part witch, silver didn’t do shit to me like it did my shifter family. But as I prepared to leap and fight for Brady, my wolf froze. Gavin was right behind me, a stray bullet could kill him. Mate. I stood there on all fours, frozen, trying to decide whether to rip this military guy’s throat out and help Brady or protect Gavin. My wolf decided for us as I backed up and positioned myself in front of Gavin, head low, a growl rumbling in my chest.

  Luckily Jax wasn’t having a problem deciding what to do. He leaped high up into the air and came down hard on the guy who was pointing his gun at me. They tumbled on the floor and the humans took that distraction to shove Brady into a van and drive off with screeching tires. Two of the human hunters stayed back, keeping us hostage with their high-powered guns. They shared a look and then sprayed some bullets into a few wolves nearest them before jumping onto motorcycles and taking off. Shit!

  ‘Avery! Help the wounded.’ Avery was right next to me, even in my peripheral vision I noticed her reddish fur with white spots. She was studying to be the next pack doctor, now was her chance to put her knowledge into real-life practice. She shifted, tossed on clothes, and ran to the wounded, barking orders to others around her.

  ‘Dad, we’ve got some trouble downtown at Pixels. Humans kidnapped one of our wolves,’ I told him.

  I was about to turn around when I felt a warm, strong hand caress my fur. It was intimate and caught me off guard. It was him. Mate.

  Turning, I saw Gavin, hand frozen in the air, chest heaving.

  “What are you doing?” his girlfriend screeched next to him, looking at his hand in horror.

  Did his eyes just flash yellow? What the? No, it was a trick of the light. They were green.

  This blonde bitch was turning my wolf into a jealous twelve year old and I was trying to keep my wolf from attacking her. I had never been at odds with my wolf, we were one. Never her and I, just me. But I wanted to rip her face off for the way she held onto my mate. The way she was touching his hard biceps made my wolf furious. Oh my God, what was happening to me? He wasn’t my mate, right?

  Jax’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

  “Shift. We’ve got some injured humans,” Jax told me. Mate or not, I was the Alpha’s daughter and I would be expected to lead by example in a situation like this.

  Clothes landed at my feet and my wolf gave a smile to Gavin’s girlfriend. Oh no. She wouldn’t. No. I gasped. She did. My wolf forced me to shift myself back to human and suddenly I stood there, stark naked before Gavin and his girlfriend. This was my wolf wanting to mark her territory. Nakedness was nothing within my pack; we were always seeing each other naked, but to humans it was another issue. There was no smoke hiding my bare form now. I can’t believe my wolf shifted me before I could get privacy! How was that possible? She was controlling me? I blushed as Gavin’s gaze flicked quickly down my body before he turned away red faced.

  Stop it! I screamed at my wolf and threw my clothes on as fast as I could. I felt like I was going crazy; being at odds with your wolf was akin to having a multiple personality. It was terrifying and I had never heard of something like this happening.

  “Take me home, Gavin!” His girlfriend stood and glared at him.

  Fully clothed, I turned around intending to apologize.

  She blasted past me in a rush, bumping my shoulder as she passed, and the apology flew out the window, instead I let loose a low threatening growl.

  ‘Easy there, cowgirl,’ Jax scolded me, coming to stand behind me.

  Shit. I couldn’t control my wolf. This NEVER happened. I was always in control. What did this mean? Panic had me in its grip.

  Gavin walked past me, leaning into my neck, and I heard him inhale deeply, smelling me. “Thank you,” he whispered, his breath tickling my ear and making my stomach heat up. I was pretty sure if we were alone in the room I would have jumped him. I needed my wolf to chill the hell out before I did something ridiculous. Was he thanking me for protecting him from the gunman or for giving him a nude show?

  He held my gaze for a few more seconds and then walked away. I felt my heart literally ache at the sight of him leaving. My wolf tried to make me run after him, howling inside my head, and I bit my tongue to keep myself from screaming after him. Asking him to stop. I actually walked half a step forward and stopped myself. What the hell was going on?! My wolf and I were one, we never had to think or feel separately. It didn’t happen. Until now. I was in big trouble.

  ‘Stop it!’ I screamed at my wolf.

  ‘Mate.’ She panted again and howled as he walked out of the door and out of my life.

  For Christ’s sake, I felt like a bitch in heat. I needed an ice water bath and a slap in the face.

  Jax met my eyes, concern etched across his face and I just shook my head. ‘My wolf is going crazy. I can’t control her.’

  Jax frowned. ‘Is that possible?’

  I guess so. Damn, growing up as a werewolf pup, we were told the day we met our mates would be all sunshine and rainbows. This was nothing of the sort. One thing was certain, my wolf wouldn’t stop until Gavin was my mate.

  Chapter Three

  “Brady will be found and his captors will be dealt with!” My dad roared in all his Alpha glory as the hairs on my arms stood up. He could be one scary-ass mother-effer. I saw that he was barely containing his humanity as fur rippled on his skin. The entire pack was gathered in the large red pole barn on our property. A light misty rain was falling outside and I knew it would be the last bit of rain for a while as summer was just around the corner.

  “We have a fragile peace with the humans, but I will shatter it in a second if Brady is not found immediately! Someone will answer for this,” he bellowed as the pack cheered in agreement.

  My hand went to the mark on my neck. Why the hell were we playing by the humans’ rules if they didn’t play by ours?

  “I am hoping this was an isolated incident, but I’m meeting with the council to discuss any further action.” My father then dismissed us all.

  Well, shit. I needed sleep, and this was the longest night ever. Leaving the barn, I shuffled my feet back to the house, Jax in tow.

  As we reached the front porch, my twin grabbed my arm. “Hey, what’s with the guy? You were like five seconds from licking his face.”

  I rolled my eyes at my brother, but then became serious. “I don’t know, Jaxon.” I used his full first name for good measure to make sure my twin knew how serious this was. “My wolf thinks he is my mate.”

  Jax frowned. “Your wolf? What do you think?”

  I opened the door and crossed into our living room.

  Sighing, I shrugged. I was an evil bitch without sleep. “I think I’m tired as all hell.”

  “Your MATE!” my father roared and I turned to see him standing in the open doorway with mom.

  Shit. I glared at Jax and he frowned.

  ‘Sorry, I didn’t smell him,’ Jax told me.

  I turned to face my father who was now standing over me, his eyes full of concern.

  “You met your mate?” He was breathless, worried, excited … enraged? It was hard to tell, but I was guessing my dad was hoping this day never came. His only daughter meeting her mate. He wasn’t my mate though, crazy, right? Because he was human and had a girlfriend.

  But then I remembered the way he stroked my fur and I exhaled loudly.

  I put my hand out in an effort to calm my father. “No, Papa. The guy from my dreams was at the bar tonight.
My wolf thinks he is my mate but he’s not.” Right? Now I was questioning my logic. But everyone said when you met your mate it was like some fireworks display with a life review of visions and all kinds of craziness.

  My mother came up behind my father and placed her hand on his shoulder to calm him. “What makes you think your wolf is wrong?” she asked me.

  I shrugged. “He’s human or something like that.”

  My father’s eyebrows creased. “Something like that?”

  I groaned. Why were parents so intrusive and annoying at the worst possible times?

  “He smelled funny,” I admitted and Jax busted up laughing.

  I extended my arm, quickly punching Jax in the shoulder.

  “Smelled funny like he needed a shower or he smelled like a supernatural?” Now my father’s arms were crossed and he was staring at me with those interrogator eyes.

  “Like supernatural, okay! But also a human. I don’t know. I’m tired, alright?” I put my hands up in protest. Jesus, I shifted in front of him and his girlfriend and they both saw me naked. Just let me sleep.

  My father simply nodded but my mom looked more concerned. She was watching me like I was a bomb about to explode. Maybe I was.

  Brushing past Jax and into my room, I collapsed into my bed. Gavin. His name was the last thing on my mind before I passed out and was quickly sucked into a dream.

  “Help me. What am I?” Gavin sat up in bed staring down at fur that lined his arms. He was dripping sweat, burning hot, again. Fully human but with a few small patches of fur on his arms.

  What the hell? In the dream, I stepped closer and reached out to touch the white fur on his arms. When my hand was an inch from him, he looked right at me.

  “Am I like her?” he asked.

  I froze and stopped breathing. Then he looked at his arms again, curled into a ball, and started rocking.

  “Someone please help me,” he whispered.

  I sat up quickly, panting, and glanced at the alarm clock. 4AM. Shit. The dream. Gavin was in trouble. I was exhausted but burning up, and I needed air. Throwing open my window, I stuck my head out, taking a deep lungful of the crisp mountain air. Screw this. My wolf needed to run. I was fully freaking out. These dreams were intense and left my wolf in a frantic state. She was dying to protect Gavin.

  Mate, my wolf told me.

  Shut up! I screamed inside my head. Oh God, I was losing it, I was legit losing my mind.

  Swiftly shedding my clothes, I jumped out the window, careful not to land in my mother’s garden. My body was steaming as the cool night air hit my overheated skin. I felt like I was dying; I had never been this hot in my life. Being a human must suck because being sick felt awful.

  Shifting to my wolf form, I took off into the thick forest that surrounded our pack property. I tried to clear my head as my wolf paws pounded into the moss that covered the ground. Gavin. The mere thought of his name sent me into teenage hormonal overdrive. Was he human? If my dreams were right, then he couldn’t be, but he wasn’t a werewolf. I know my kind. But his eyes, they had flickered yellow. I was sure of it now. The dreams, were they visions of the future or the present? I feared they were of the present and he needed me, he needed help. I pushed harder into the run, jumping over a fallen tree and landing hard. Suddenly, I smelled a familiar scent. I slowed and let my mom catch up with me.

  ‘I don’t need a babysitter,’ I told her angrily. While in wolf form I could communicate with any member of the pack using my mind. I knew I shouldn’t be taking my anger out on my mother, but I was so damn frustrated.

  She gave me a wolfish grin. ‘Good. I’m sick of babysitting your ass. About time you grew up.’ She nipped my tail and took off running.

  I yipped in excitement and took off after her. Not fair. She was freakishly fast, vampire fast. It was part of her gift. All changed wolves had a special gift. Since my father was changed his gift was super-fast shifting into his wolf form and super-fast running. As the Matefinder, we take on our mate’s gift, so my mom was fast like dad. I was wolf-born so no gift other than that of the Matefinder, which was gift enough for me. She let me catch up to her and we leaped over a small flowing creek and then rolled around in some moss.

  After a few minutes, my mom stood and faced me. Her wolf was beautiful. All white with a black star and black socks. Similar to mine and exact opposite of my dad’s black wolf. That’s how we could tell our mates, they had the exact opposite markings.

  Her deep yellow eyes were burning into me. I knew my mom, she wanted to tell me something but she was being cautious.

  ‘Just say it,’ I told her. God, I loved this woman; a strong-ass woman who raised me to think for myself and take no shit. I liked talking into her mind in wolf form, it was easier to express things and be open. Put all bullshit aside. Maybe that’s why Jax and I were so close. We were always mind talking.

  ‘You had a completely different childhood than I did, therefore you are a different person,’ she stated.

  I frowned. Why was she bringing this up? My mother had a pretty bad childhood. Her twin brother protector died at age five saving her from drowning and the loss turned her father into an abusive alcoholic. He beat her and my grandmother for years before my mom finally killed him to stop the abuse. She spent her whole life training women in self-defense and giving them a new lease on life to escape their abusers. But what did that have to do with anything I was going through?

  She went on. ‘So, I can understand why I held back at first and didn’t fully open myself to your father. I had major trust issues with men. But you have been nurtured and showered with love. You have no fear of that shit. You know that our wolves are never wrong when it comes to recognizing our mate. So why aren’t you claiming him?’

  Her declaration caught me off guard as my wolf tipped back her head and howled in agreement. He was my mate. Mine. He needed help and I let him walk out of my life because of some lame human insecurities! Stupid! I nuzzled my mom in thanks and took off running back home. Message received, Mom. Find my mate and take what’s mine before that blonde bimbo did.

  *

  The second the bar opened, Jax and I charged in to talk to Mandy. Please God, let there be an open tab for Gavin.

  “Hey.” She and a bunch of other pack members were sweeping up the glass. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying and her hair was a mess. It looked like she hadn’t slept.

  “We will find Brady. My dad is all over that shit,” I assured her.

  She gave me a weak smile. “I know.”

  I nodded. “Hey, I wondered if you could do me a favor. A guy was here last night. Gavin.” I swallowed hard, trying not to act too desperate.

  She put the broom down and smiled. “Yes?”

  Did she know him?

  Jax stepped forward, all business. “He’s her mate. Did he open a tab?”

  ‘Don’t go public with that mate shit, Jax. Jesus.’

  The other wolves were already staring, now they whispered to each other.

  Ben, who was sweeping, now stopped what he was doing and looked pissed. He was my first kiss but not my mate. That was kind of the cool part of being a werewolf. You knew when you met your mate; they had completely opposite markings and you both sort of vision-flashed each other’s past when you first shifted together, so anything else was just a fleeting passion. Sorry, Ben. He was a good kisser though.

  “Whoa, your mate? Okay, let me check behind the bar. A bunch of people ran off yesterday and left credit cards. I was going to start calling today,” Mandy informed us.

  My heartbeat picked up embarrassingly fast and I knew everyone else could hear it. She hopped over the bar, giving me a peek of a butterfly tramp stamp tattoo on her lower back. The nineties was an interesting time to be a teenager. Mandy pulled out a stack of cards and started flipping through. My leg was bopping up and down when Jax put a firm hand out to stop it.

  ‘Chill, we’ll find him,’ Jax told me.

  Mandy froze on a blue credit
card. “Gavin Hillsdale?”

  Gavin Hillsdale. I had a name. “That has to be him. Thanks, Mandy!” I took off out of the bar, Jax at my back.

  “Whoa there, sis.” Jax grabbed my arm and I spun to face him. He recoiled and I knew it was because my eyes were yellow.

  “He needs help,” I growled. My wolf was flashing snippets of my dream, of Gavin, trying to remind me of the urgency.

  Jax looked hurt. “I know that. I’m on your side, so quit running off.”

  I sighed, pushing my wolf down. “I’m sorry. It’s weird. You will understand when you meet your mate. I’m fighting my wolf, Jax. Fighting her.” My wolf and I had always been one. When we smelled someone we didn’t like, she would growl and I agreed. But this … this was like she was splitting from me to go after this guy and my human self was pumping the brakes. I was twenty years old, way too young to be mated forever. Right?

  Jax put an arm around me and we walked slowly to our car. “It will be okay.”

  Once we got in the car, Jax started tapping away on his phone and after a few minutes he looked at me. “On a scale of one to stalker, how badly do you want to see this guy today?” My brother’s blue eyes bore into me and I was grateful for his humor. My wolf was shaking my skin like a cage, wanting to take over and break free. Mate. Mate. Mate, she chanted. I had always envisioned meeting my mate and taking it slow but as my skin began to heat up, I knew something was wrong with Gavin. This guy was in trouble and I needed to help him.