Chapter 6

Eva Gibson’s pov

Glancing over the blooming foliage a grin tugged at my mouth. It was a really beautiful park.

“It's okay to smile Eva,” Austin snickered as he took my hand and led me to a cobblestone path that I hadn't seen before.

“Let's go on the new pathway. I haven't seen it since it was completed,” he said in excitement causing me to eye him curiously.

As we walked, my curiosity grew about him and my sister, so I threw caution to the wind and simply asked.

“Is Olivia your mate?”

Stopping abruptly he glanced over at me with a frown and said, “I care a great deal about your sister because she knows things about me that the rest of the pack doesn't.”

Furrowing my brow I asked him if he would share that with me.

Hesitantly, he said, “I am cursed; I will never find my fated mate. No mate means I will never be able to take over my father's pack and Olivia doesn't see me as a defective wolf and just sees me as I really am. I value our friendship, and I don't want to ruin our bond. Plus Olivia deserves to have a fated mate, not a cursed one.”

Staring at him with wide eyes I was flabbergasted and saddened. Tearing through the high walls I always had around my emotions; I felt a pain inside my heart.

“That's so heartbreaking, Austin. I feel terrible for the both of you,” I said sincerely and meant every word, surprising myself.

He shrugged it off and said, “Yeah, well, there's nothing that I can do about it but just continue on with life like I have been. Let's move on, the swans should be up ahead.”

My opinions about him changed that instant, and I felt empathy for him and my sister.

His demeanor had changed and his maturity shone more so than before.

Matching his mood I nodded as I continued to walk beside him at a steady pace. Only our footsteps on the cobblestone could be heard as we continued around the path.

Our silence was broken when he chuckled and glanced at me.

“You shoved me pretty hard at the truck and I think you could probably train to become a formable pack guard.”

Side-eyeing I grinned slightly and said, “I think I could be too.”

“Well, I train with them, so you should stop over some time and check it out,” he offered, and I nodded.

“I can but unfortunately, I won't be able to try out for the guard training until my first shift…maybe I am defective too,” I mumbled, and he eyed me aghast.

“You're not defective, Eva, you're just a late bloomer. You could shift on the next full moon or be a moonless shifter,” he said with a grin.

“My dad was a moonless shifter, but my mom wasn't, so I suppose that there's a chance,” I responded, and he nodded as he pointed toward the pond.

The pair of swans were flapping their wings and I stopped to admire them.

“They mate for life as our kind does,” Austin stated as he rested his elbows on the railing of the fence that separated the swans from the public.

Side-eyeing him I smiled.

“I learned that in grade school, Austin,” I responded and he grinned at me.

“I heard from your sister that you once had a boyfriend, Curtis, I believe?”

My brow furrowed at him, mentioning the boy I had given my innocence to rather unwillingly, and I shivered.

“Yeah, it wasn't a good match, he wasn't very kind,” I muttered sourly, causing him to study me closely.

“What happened?”

Shaking my head I exhaled sharply and said, “Nothing that I wish to reminisce over.”

Starting to continue on the path I heard him call out for me to wait up and slowed my steps.

“Hey Eva, I am sorry for bringing up bad memories for you; it wasn't my intention,” he said, holding my upper arm.

“It's fine, but I don't want to discuss it, okay,” I asserted and he nodded then waved his hand forward.

The aftermath of my rape had created how I viewed men today and why I built up walls. I didn't trust the opposite sex easily, but I would never tell him that, nor had I told my sister the complete ordeal.

“Olivia knows that it ended badly and was worried about you, just so you know,” he said compassionately and I glanced at him.

“Yeah, I know,” I sighed.

“Sometimes trauma is what keeps us from shifting,” he explained softly and I stopped in my tracks.

“What are you implying, Austin?” I asked him angrily.

Waving his hands before himself he stammered.

“I wasn't implying anything, Eva. Just giving you a reason why you might not have had your shift yet!”

Rolling my eyes I snorted rudely and lowered my eyes.

“Curtis took advantage of my stupidity and did horrible things to me, okay! Olivia doesn't even know that, so keep it between us,” I huffed, and he nodded slowly and looked at me with sympathy.

“I'm sorry for him doing that. It's not right at all,” he said sternly, and I shrugged before turning back to the path to continue on.

We walked the rest of the path in silence, but a new understanding had grown between us, and I viewed Austin in a very different way than before as I'm certain he did in me as well.

When we reached the starting point of the path, Austin's cell phone rang, and he took it from his pocket and announced that it was Olivia.

He took the call and glanced at me as he listened to her.

“We will come pick you up. I can take us out for dinner, and we can discuss it during our meal. Will that work?” He said into his phone and I raised my brow.

After he ended the call, I asked him what happened, and he said, “They want her to go to the neighboring Gray River pack and go to the factory there to pick up orders. She believes that it's going to be an overnight issue,” he asserted, and I pinched my mouth.

“What am I going to do? I need to have an older person with me until I shift,” I groaned.

“We can figure it out over some juicy steaks,” he said in reassurance then added, “Let’s go pick up your sister.”

Once we reached his SUV I went to the back seat with Austin watching me perplexed.

“You could have sat in the front,” he laughed at me shaking my head.