I went straight to Abbi's instead of going home. I certainly couldn't talk to my mom about this, she had likely met her quota of Dad talk for the day. There was no way I could tell her that the Alpha's son was my mate. I rang the bell, shifting from foot to foot while I waited for someone to answer the door. 

I sighed when Abbi was the one to open the door. "Thank the Goddess. I really need to talk to you." 

"Do you want to come in?"

"Take a walk?" I wasn't really sure this was something that I wanted to talk about inside where wolf ears might be able to hear what was going on. Since Abbi was my only friend, it was inevitable that our mothers talked to one another. Constantly. 

"Let me grab my shoes." Abbi ducked back inside and I set the blanket down on the front porch, clutching the book tightly. 

Everything raced through my mind. Neal, mates, the endless possibilities for my powers. The thoughts were nearly a mile a minute. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath trying to slow it all down. There was no way I was going to be able to form a coherent sentence if everything was this jumbled in my head. 

The door opened again and Abbi stepped out. "Let's go!" 

We went behind the house into the trees to walk around in order to keep away from any pack members so we could talk freely. 

"So what's up, Cyn?" Abbi asked once we were far enough away. 

My knuckles started to turn white as I clutched the book tighter. 

"Neal is my mate."

Abbi stopped in her tracks. "Wait, what? For real?" 

"For real. Abbi, he found me when I was out trying to practice. Apparently I gave off some massive magical signature, so he came out to see what it was since I was close to the pack line. I think he was making sure that there wasn't an invader or something, I don't know. The point is, he was there and I sort of tried out one of the abilities."

"What ability?" Abbi started to walk again and I followed after. 

"So, you know how I can feel emotions, and if I let everything down enough then I can just hear the thought vomit from everyone, right?"

Abbi nodded along. 

"Well, Neal is the only other person besides you that I've found who is able to keep everything blocked off. I don't know if it's some sort of Alpha training they do since they used to have a mentalist, or if it's just a trait that the Alpha bloodline possesses or what, but he kept it in. One of the powers that my dad had was the ability to reach into people's minds and actually hear thoughts on purpose. More than just all the thought vomit that I normally get."

"So, basically he was a mind reader, but a purposeful one." Abbi picked up a long stick, breaking off small pieces as we walked. 

"He was so much more than that, but yes. He could basically read minds. So I was curious and I tried it. It was like this whole extension of me. I don't really know how to explain it. I couldn't get a good read on him though, I only got bits and pieces of thoughts, but one of those thoughts was 'mate.'"

I could feel Abbi's surprise like a shock to my system. 

"So he felt it too. You two are actually mates?" 

"It would appear so."

"What are you going to do?" Abbi stopped again. She had none of her normal sass or quips. It was quite unlike her. 

"Honestly, I have no idea. I don't really see any version of this working out between the two of us though. I mean he's going to be the Alpha and I'm just a mistake that should have never happened."

"Hey! Don't say that." Abbi grabbed my arm. 

"Abs, it's true. Just look at our family. We used to offer counsel to Neal's family, but then I happened and it's like we don't even exist. My family is completely broken, what's left of it at least. I'm not even an actual wolf."

"Well, there is obviously enough wolf in you if you have a mate, Cyn. Just because you're different doesn't mean you aren't worth having a mate. You're mom is a wolf, and your father was the strongest protector this pack ever had."

"Yeah, until he was hunted down and killed because of me."

Abbi took a step back, letting go of me. "Listen, Cyn. That didn't happen because of you. That was not your fault. That was Alpha Stryker, not you. Your parents were punished for being in love and there is nothing that  you could have done to stop it because you barely even existed. You are just evidence of that love."

I sat down at the base of a tree, setting the book on my lap. "Okay, let's say you're right. That family still views me as an abomination. And Alpha's rarely merge with mates. They merge for power. The likelihood that Neal would end up with his mate is little to none."

"Girl, that is only because they rarely find their mates. Do you not know how to look into the history of all that? only ten percent of the Alphas in this pack have found their mates, and those who did ended up merging with them."

"Or did only ten percent claim their mates and merge?" 

Abbi crossed her arms and tapped her foot while looking down at me.

"Okay. For the sake of argument, let's say that every Alpha who found their mate merged with said mate. That doesn't mean that I want to end up with Neal. His father had mine killed, Abbi." My chest tightened, every breath harder than the last. I pressed my back against the tree, letting it ground me. 

"That isn't Neal's fault. He was just a baby then too." Abbi's voice was soft, tentative. 

"It may not be his fault, but it was his father, his blood. If they hadn't killed my dad, then there could be someone here teaching me all of this stuff instead of me having to read this stupid book and figure it all out on my own!" I slammed the book on the ground. The ground shook, the leaves flew about and Abbi stumbled back. 

"Whoa." Abbi's eyes were wide. "Cyn... that was you." 

"What was it?" 

"I don't know, but it felt like some sort of wall. It hit me, but as soon as it did, it vanished."

"Something similar happened earlier when Neal showed up. It was like he walked straight into a wall. I felt it, but he was at least twenty feet away."

"Do it again then."

"Do what?" I raised a brow. 

"Do whatever you did earlier, what you just did now. It's like a force field or something. Do it right around you."

"I don't know how to do it though, it just sort of happened. I don't know any of this."

"Look, you may not know what you're doing. You may not have anyone to show you how to do any of this, but you were wrong about one thing." Abbi crossed her arms. 

"And what is that?"

"You're not alone. I may not know anything about this either, but I'm not letting you do this on your own. So shut it and just do what you were doing earlier today, okay?" Abbi's arms moved to her hips. 

I let out a chuckle. Sometimes I forgot just how lucky I was to have Abbi, and if I had no other friends the rest of my life, I would be just fine with that. 

I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves above, and the sound of birds chirping as they flew about. I cleared my mind, letting only the sounds of life fill me until it all became silent. 

Slowly, I opened my eyes. 

Abbi looked right back. She held her hand out and took a step forward. Her hand met an invisible barrier. Abbi walked around in a circle, her hand testing the space next to her, feeling that invisible force until she was standing in front of me again. 

I closed my eyes and concentrated, picturing a doorway right where she stood. "You can come in I think."

I could feel Abbi's hesitation, and I could feel her cross the threshold. I let the "door" close behind her. 

"It's silent. There's nothing."

"I know. It's crazy."

Abbi shook her head, looking around and touching the invisible barrier from the other side. "No, Cyn. It's amazing. You do realize what this is, what it could be, don't you?"

"What?"

"This is a barrier. Nothing can get through it. This is protection. Cyn, you could be this pack's Mentalist."