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

grandfather wants to see you,” I added.
    He cleared his throat. “Right, that. Yeah. Let’s go.”
    My wolf rose up then and I knew my eyes were yellow. “Is she your girlfriend?”
    Shit! What? No! WTF. I did not mean to say that out loud. My wolf was at the wheel of this crazy train and now I wanted to die of embarrassment. He looked confused and then something dawned on him.
    He chuckled. “Becky? The blonde from the bar?”
    I had trouble suppressing the slight growl that came to my throat. I could only nod, afraid of what other damage my wolf would do.
    He smiled. “She’s an ex-girlfriend who can’t let it go.”
    Relief crashed over me, but I tried not to show it. As he passed by me to make a move toward the house, he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “She’s got nothing on you.”
    My belly heated and it took every ounce of my self-control not to push him to the ground.
    Game on.
    I stood there and took a few moments to center myself and gather my wits before going in to see everyone. That vision kept replaying in my head. It was weird to have spent my whole life living in my mother’s shadow and now, here I was with my own big purpose to fulfill. To be honest, I was scared shitless. I just couldn’t believe that the humans would ever harm us. But the second I thought it, my hand went to the tattoo on my neck that branded me different from them. A tattoo they required for me to be in public with them.
    “Shit.” I breathed. Who were those humans at the club last night and what did they want? What if it wasn’t an isolated incident? What if it was about to become a frequent occurrence? Snippets of the vision with Nahuel kept flashing into my mind. Chewing my lip, I knew I needed to warn my dad. He would get word to the wolves and warn the right people. I hated to even think it, but maybe we needed to start watching our backs around the humans.
    Taking one last breath of the beautiful forest, I went inside. My dad’s baritone voice could be heard from the back door where I stood.
    “I’m going to have to insist, sir. Gavin is linked with my daughter and I must protect them both. You’re welcome to bring your wife and stay as a family in one of my homes on the mountain.” I could tell my Alpha father was trying to make it sound like a request but it wasn’t.
    Gavin’s grandfather sighed. “No, my wife wouldn’t be comfortable among so many of your kind. Gavin looks better since we brought him here, so I will have to trust that you can care for him now.”
    I came into the living room and saw my father stand and shake Tom’s hand. “We will. You have my word.”
    Gavin stood there awkwardly, but for once in his life Jaxon did something kind. “And you can visit anytime. Call every day,” Jaxon told Tom.
    Tom smiled. “Thank you, son. That will be nice.”
    So Gavin was coming to live with us? What the hell? I was gone three minutes. When did this happen?
    “Okay, I can drive you home now.” I tried to usher the craziness out the door. Tom, Gavin, and Jax filed outside, but my father caught my upper arm.
    “Young lady, is there something you need to tell me?” My father’s eyes were yellow. Holy shit. When he did that, I wanted to blurt out every bad thing I had ever done. I smoked one of Gretchen’s clove cigarettes with Jax when I was fourteen, I stole his car one night when I was fifteen, ahhh.
    My mother saved me. “About the vision with Nahuel. Your energy is all over the place. Was it bad?” she offered.
    Relief crashed over me and my dad was frowning. Thank God, Mom taught me to lock him out of my every thought when I was ten. “The vision, yes. It’s pretty bad. Dad, you should probably assemble the council. I will fill you all in when we get back.”
    My father balked. “The council. Okay …”
    I kissed his cheek. “Thanks for protecting him, Papa.”
    When I pulled back, I saw emotion written all over his face. Before this talk could get serious, I bee-lined for the door.