Mated to the Wizard

11 - Brick Wall

The scent hits me almost immediately. The man at the door is obviously a werewolf. Ben told me about Gabe yesterday, when he was obsessing over his love for wolves.

He is one of Everest's cousins, but they don't talk. There was a fight, apparently.

Gabe wraps his arm around Ben gently, as if he thinks he might break. His eyes meet mine, and an emotion flitters over his face. Something like... hope? Why would he be hopeful after seeing me? No, I must have misread him.

"Uh, hi." I smile. "I'm Avery." I add, standing back from the door. Currently, Ben is hugging Gabe outside and I'm awkwardly standing in the hallway, not being able to leave thanks to Everest's magic.

'Gabe.' He mouths back, confusing me. No one ever said anything about him being mute. But then again, he's only been mentioned once to me before, and that was by a four year old.

"You wanna come in?" I offer. He looks unsure at first, but Ben tugs on his shirt sleeve and I can literally see his heart cave before me. "I made coffee." I add with a grin, trying to be inviting. He obviously means a lot to Ben, and maybe this is an opportunity to fix his relationship with Everest if they haven't already. I mean, mine's proving hard to fix, but maybe Gabe's will be easier. Finally, he nods, and Ben pulls him into the house. Gabe is smiling whilst looking down at Ben; they probably haven't seen each other in ages.

I walk straight over to the fresh coffee I made when I was waiting for the eggs to cook and pour two mugs; one for me and one for him.

"Milk?" I ask first, turning to see Gabe nod. I pour some milk into his mug and then turn to face him again, "sugar?" he shakes his head and I nod mine, handing him the mug. I fix my coffee and take a seat opposite him and stir the hot drink in the cup. How should I start a conversation with him, when I don't even fully know who he is? It was probably a crap move, inviting him in, but curiosity got the better of me, along with Ben's excited expression.

"Avery is a werewolf too! She let me see her wolf last night!" Ben shouts, beaming. I chuckle and shake my head at the kid before looking back to Gabe. I wonder why he's here if he fell out with Everest.

"Would you like me to go and wake up Everest?" I suggest, about to get off the stool without him answering. However, I stop in my tracks when Gabe starts shaking his head manically. He opens and closes his mouth like a goldfish, like he's trying to say something but can't.

Of course he can't, you dummy, he's mute. My wolf reminds me. Ah, so he's trying to tell me something.

"I'll be back in a second." I tell him, getting up and heading into Ben's room. I grab a random piece of paper and a pencil from his desk and rush back to the kitchen. Where Ben is looking at Gabe with a very conflicted expression on his face.

"Why aren't you talking, Gabe?" he asks. Gabe points to his throat and gives him an apologetic expression, which doesn't answer Ben's question in the slightest. He continues to look at the werewolf like he has five heads. I hand him the paper and pencil and he smiles in relief, starting to scribble something down on the paper.

After a few more seconds in silence, he slides the paper over for me to read.

Avery, are you Everest's mate? It reads. I look over to him and nod. He pulls the paper back and writes something else down.

You're in danger.

"What? Who from?" I stare at him and his frustrated expression. He looks like he has too much to say, and not enough time to say it, furiously writing on the piece of paper. I hear shuffling from Everest's room, and Gabe looks at me in alarm.