Free Keeper (Matefinder Next Generation Book 1) by Leia Stone Page A

walk to connect with your animal. So now your soul is torn in two, half full.”
    “And whose fault is that?” I countered, seeing the sadness etch into Gavin’s face.
    Nahuel only smirked at me, then turned to my mother. “She’s got your temper.”
    My mother nodded. “Worse.”
    I rolled my eyes. “How do we help Gavin? Horror stories aren’t helping. Why is he dying? How does that affect me?”
    Nahuel placed a hand on my shoulder and a calmness spread throughout my body, then all of a sudden, I was sucked up out of my body and into a vision.
    I was standing in a corn field, the sun high overhead, Nahuel stood like a sentinel before me. A knowing gaze twinkled in his eye.
    My heart was pounding as I looked around and then down at my body which seemed real. My mother had told me about her visions with Nahuel but nothing prepared me for this feeling. Of being here and back there on Mount Hood. It was like my mind had been taken to this reality but my body was on Mount Hood.
    Nahuel took his thumb and placed it on my forehead, smearing it with ash. “You have a great purpose, little pup, just like your mother.”
    My breaths were ragged. Nahuel was a God to my mother, she respected him so much. I didn’t want to offend him, but I couldn’t bear to walk on egg shells.
    “Why are we here?” I gestured to the corn fields.
    Nahuel took in a deep breath. “I love your mother and trust her with my life, but what I am about to tell you is for your ears only. It’s your path and you alone can choose whom you want to walk it with.”
    Oh, shit. Here we go. I swore I could feel Jaxon just then. As my nerves heightened, Jaxon’s strength flooded our twin bond.
    “Alright, hit me with it,” I told him and was rewarded with a grin from the normally stoic shaman.
    “You and Gavin are True Mates. That means no matter your species; witch, vampire, werewolf or shaman, you are destined to be together and have children if you wish.”
    The breath tore from my lungs as I processed his claims. Whoa. Heavy. Okay. His words filled me with excitement though. It was near impossible. I had never heard of True Mates, but my great, great grandmother had been a witch and her mate a werewolf. That’s why my mother and Jax and I were half of each. So it must be possible. I never really stopped to think about it. Holy shit.
    The shaman’s face clouded over. “That was the good news.”
    Oh. I groaned. “The bad news?”
    The shaman stared out onto the corn fields. “If Gavin dies, you die too because you are linked like mates without ever having to have a mating ceremony. You were born mated.”
    Okay, super intense. I hadn’t even gone on a date with this guy. “I’m not afraid of death.” I held my chin high because I was my father’s daughter and nothing would shake fear into me.
    Nahuel was lightning quick then, grabbing the sides of my face and bringing me closer to peer into his eyes.
    “You should be, little pup, because if you die, the world as you know it is over, and your people will be slaughtered.”
    Before I could react, he touched his forehead to mine and suddenly I was standing in the middle of downtown L.A. The Staples Center loomed on the left. People were running in all directions, looting and breaking windows. Humans were using whips, chains, axes, and guns to capture werewolves. A young werewolf, maybe twelve years old, banged against a silver cage in the back of a pick-up truck that drove past us. The human who sat in the back with the cage, stuck a Taser inside and the young wolf writhed in pain as he was shocked. Ten feet from me, I saw a girl with blonde hair and a wolf tattoo on her neck. The man holding the whip grabbed her ankle and yanked as she slammed head first into the pavement, cracking her teeth.
    I hunched over and vomited on the concrete in front of me.
    “Why!” I panted to Nahuel who stood behind me. I knew from my mother that this was some glimpse into the future; if I tried to help