Keeper (Matefinder Next Generation Book 1) (18 page)

Mom chuckled. “Longer story. Let’s get home.”

*

The rest of our wolves bailed out the other caged wolves, over 100 in all, from all different packs. Then our small group got into the SUV with plans for all of us to meet back on the mountain.

Once we were all strapped into the SUV, Anna peeled out, leaving the area with the other wolves in their cars just behind us.

Something hit me then, a knowing, a loss in the pack bond. “James,” I croaked.

My mom gritted her teeth. “Died.”

My father met my eyes and then looked at Jaxon. It was like he was seeing us for the first time, seeing how much we had grown, how much we had dealt with in the past few days.

My mom put a hand on his shoulder and took a deep breath. “Kai.”

He didn’t know yet, Oh God, it would kill him. No one loved the humans more than my father. He believed that there were a few bad ones but most of them were good, but this would kill him.

As if he sensed it, he asked her, “What do they want from us?”

My mom looked lost for once and it killed me. It was hard to see your strong parents reduced to confusion and weakness.

“Our blood, our bone marrow, it’s the cure for every ailment that plagues the weak humans.” She talked to him like he was a little boy.

My dad’s face scrunched in confusion. “Well fine, then we can donate–”

“No.” Her voice was firm now. “They need to drain the entire wolf to cure the humans.”

My father’s jaw dropped open. When you heard it put that way, it sounded awful, it sounded like we were on the brink of genocide. Then his face took on its usual tough-ass facade.

“If the public knew, they wouldn’t go through with it,” he declared.

That’s when Gavin interjected. “Yes, they would. They will. Humans will do anything to help those they love be healthy and free of pain.”

He was right, we all knew it and it settled over us like a wet blanket.

“So what do we do? Run? Hide? Fight?” I asked my dad.

It was my mom who spoke and her words gave me chills. “Throughout history, people have been persecuted for different reasons and nothing was gained from running or hiding.”

“We fight,” my father declared. “We take the time now to meet with the werewolf council, to get a plan in place. When the time comes, we fight for the basic decency to live.”

Gavin’s hand slipped into mine and he squeezed. Holy shit, the humans outnumbered all of the supernatural races combined. This wouldn’t end well.

A memory hit me then, of Nahuel’s vision, the one I had with him in the corn fields. The humans rounding up werewolves and caging them, treating us like dogs and lab rats. That was a future vision and it would come to pass if we didn’t somehow stop it.

I closed my eyes, as a tear fell down my cheek. Spirit, have mercy on us all in the days to come.

Walker: Matefinder Next Generation Book 2 will be out sometime 2016.

If you liked this book, you should check out Matefinder: Book 1 which follows Aurora and Kai twenty years in the past.

Acknowledgments

As always, thank you to my amazing readers who read what I write and allow me to do this full time. It’s truly the best job in the world and I am so grateful. Keep reading and I promise to keep writing. A big thank you to my supportive family for always having my back and helping out with cooking, cleaning, and preschool drop-off while I am deep in my writer’s cave. Don Nakano, my eagle-eyed beta reader, thank you for finding those stubborn mistakes. Patti Geesey, my amazing and patient editor who has been with me since day one, thank you for finding those big mistakes. Jaymin Eve, my BAFF, thanks for approving this ending and making sure it wasn’t too cliffy. Love you, girl!