Dear Enemy, You're My Mate

Chapter 13 **

Patricia

I'm walking through the forest together with Alice. I still can't believe Gloria was murdered by one of those creatures that aren't supposed to belong in our world. Shudders run down my spine. If I hadn't jumped into the river with Dior, we could have been the ones dying.

To concentrate on something else, I open my mouth. "So tell me more about your calling as a witch. You're supposed to keep the balance in our world?"

Alice smiles. She is much shorter than me, with a friendly face splashed with freckles. When she beams, dimples appear on either side of her mouth, telling me she often smiles.

"Yes." Alice glances up at the canopies above us, shivering a bit at the brisk wind blowing past us. "Witches are one with nature, and we usually respect every creature and accept them as part of the cycle, but these creatures that have been appearing in this town aren't normal."

"Do you have any idea where they came from?"

"Possibly from another world," Alice shrugs. "I'm not too sure, but here on earth, the dead doesn't walk again. Once we die, that's it. Meanwhile, these creatures come from a world where life seems to go on."

"I see." I take a deep breath, facing my shoes. "Before I ended up at the diner, a zombie tiger attacked Dior and me. We had to jump into the river to escape from it."

"An alpha couldn't defeat the tiger?"

"No," I meet her eyes with concern slashing through me. "Dior was suffering a fever or something. He was weak, and I know nothing about fighting creatures twice my size."

Alice nods, smiling a bit. "Then perhaps the first step in defeating these creatures would be to have you undergo some training."

I snort. "I'm not meant to fight battles."

"What do you mean?" Alice giggles. "You're a werewolf—you were born with the ability to build muscles faster than humans, and all your senses are heightened, including your recovery time."

"So?"

"I'm saying you shouldn't run away from what you are, Patricia. Especially not now when this town needs you."

An inner battle runs loose within me. I know Alice is correct, but at the same time, I never asked to be born as a werewolf.

For as long as I can remember, I've been a nuisance to my old pack members, and they have always made fun of me, saying I'm the worst of the worst. And I guess I believed them. I thought me being a werewolf was a waste of time and that I could do nothing right.

It made me want to run from my pack responsibilities and live as a human, focus on baking. Because even if I act tough, and like my pack member's words never cut me that deep, I always felt every comment like a punch directly to the gut.

Therefore, I became a rogue.

"Perhaps you're right," I admit.

Alice smiles, and we continue walking through heaps of orange and red leaves. Autumn is beautiful, especially in the forest. I feel at ease watching all the colors.

I suck in a deep breath. "I love autumn-..."

I stop talking, and a growl accidentally slips out through my lips when the scent of that tiger hits my senses. Alice stares at me, following my gaze to the trees before she knits her eyebrows.

"What is it?" She asks.

"Remember that zombie tiger? The entire air stinks like its rotten flesh, and I don't think the creature is too far away."

Alice takes a step back and scans the area. "What should we do? I don't know any spells to protect us!"

"You don't?" Panic flares through my chest. "I thought all witches were utterly badass, capable of summoning fire or ice or something!"

Alice shakes her head. "No, my specialty is brewing potions, but I didn't bring any!" She swears under her breath. "Fuck... I have explosive liquids, but I left them in my car! I didn't think I would need them at the hotel, and when you asked me to take a walk, I still didn't think we would have use for them!"

My head is spinning, swimming to not drown in the fear about to overwhelm my senses. A cold sweat is already covering my back, and I look away, wondering if there is a place to hide.

"GRRRRAAAAH!"

I wince and then lift my chin, staring at the zombie tiger which locks its glowing eyes on us. It lowers its head, focusing on us from the slight hill it's standing on with its mouth half-open. Its grey fur is covered in blood, hinting at it having killed something, but its mouth isn't red—shit, it probably murdered an animal for the fun of it!

"Jesus Christ, that thing is huge!" Alice backs herself into a tree. I can hear the rattling from the leaves underneath her feet. "What should we do now?"

I don't have any answer to her question.

The tiger roars and then approaches us with a slow stalk, causing me to stop breathing.

Shit!

What do I do now?!

I can't breathe!

The zombie tiger in the living flesh is mere inches away from me. Those glowing, gigantic eyes are glaring into mine, causing me to blank out. A warm breath, one that reeks of death, fans into my face as the tiger opens its mouth.

Feeling ready to collapse, I squeeze my hands repeatedly in an attempt to calm down—it doesn't work, and the tiger looks about ready to snap and swallow me whole.

"Fucking shit!" A voice, one husky and deep, rings in my ear. "Where the fuck am I now?"

The tiger turns around with mechanical movements. Within seconds, we are both staring at a tall man stepping out of what looks like a portal?

My eyes widen, and then I laugh like a maniac, confident I've lost my goddamn mind. Men don't just appear from out of nowhere, especially not hot ones with bulging biceps and sweatpants hanging low to show off their happy trail.

Alice clears her throat behind me. "What the hell is going on?"

My lips are twitching. "I have no damn clue."

The tiger steps away from me with a low growl and gives the man its full attention. Another roar got the man wiping up his head. But instead of looking at the tiger, his eyes zero in on mine.

It's then I feel it, the mate-bond kicking the remaining oxygen from my lungs and leaving me heaving.

I stare at the man, whose lips curl into a hesitant smile. His eyes are roaming over me. "You're still alive?"

What does he mean?

The tiger lounges for the man, and I shriek, only to witness the man snap with his fingers. A portal opens, and the tiger plunges into it, leaving a satisfied smile on the man's face.

"Another one safely returned home." He says as he walks towards me with curiosity written over his face. "How interesting—I might have accidentally messed up the entire timeline."

Again, I'm confused. I do not know what the man is talking about, but when he is a mere foot away from me, smiling, I swear to god my heart is beating so fast he must be able to hear it.

"Who are you?" I croak out.

The man lifts an eyebrow. Amusement is carved into those delicate features as he speaks. "I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell you. But you can make your guess."

My eyes narrow, and I lift my chin to study the stranger, stiffening at the sight of his grin. The mate-bond is making my heart pound, and even if we weren't mates, I would never forget a face like this. The man before me is attractive and in his early thirties. He appears mature enough to make me feel tortuously embarrassed about my age.

In other words, this man is sexy as hell. He is rugged with just the right amount of chin scruff, his jawline is perfect, and dear lord, it's like muscles have eaten up the guy.

I swallow thickly. "Well, I think you're my mate."

The stranger laughs and then glances away as if looking at me will send him cracking up once again. Eventually, those blue eyes land on mine, and I can't help but feel like we have met before.

"You think I'm your mate?" The amusement rolls off his tongue and settles into a devastating smile. "I thought that fact was rather obvious."

I stare at him, at a loss for what to say. Alice is silent, too, watching us from her tree.

Who is this person?

The stranger let his eyes look me up and down for a second time. Then he steps away from me, stretching his arms. He isn't wearing a shirt, which makes it especially hard not to ogle his flat stomach.

"For the past few years, I've been hunting these creatures without rest," he aims a smile my way, and I experience butterflies. "My world is a dark place, and it's been that way ever since the day you died. I'm not sure what I will return to, but even with you gone, the memory of seeing you again will brighten my day."

Confusion is circling my mind. "So, are you a time traveler?"

The man laughs. "No. I have a feeling this is an alternate dimension, I'm afraid. Nothing can change what happened in my world," he then glances down at his hand, and I stare at him once I realize he is fragmenting, slowly turning invisible. "Yikes, it seems my time is up!"

"You're leaving?" I ask, already panicking. "But I just met you!"

"I can't stay even if I wanted to. There can't be two of me in one world—that's why I'm disappearing."

"But you..." I swallow thickly. "But you're my mate!"

My brain is getting more and more fried by the second. What the hell is going on? My mate walked in through a portal, saved my life, and now he is leaving! Will I ever see him again? I don't even know his name!

"Ah, I don't belong in this timeline, love." He grins at me, teeth and everything, even dimples. "But it was very nice to confirm what I've suspected all along!"

I manage a smile despite the strange situation. "And what is that?"

He takes a step closer, placing his palm on my cheek. I shudder at his touch, caught in his blue-blue eyes. His eyes look sad, a little chaotic, but holy pancakes, he is so damn handsome—the fear of losing what I recently found barrels into me.

My pulse races at full speed ahead just being near this man, yet my mind is screaming at me to run the other way. But I can't budge or move away from him. My mate has such an intense, magnetic pull over me it's like fighting gravity.

"It wouldn't be fair to the other me if I kissed you," he whispers, smiling with a thousand unsaid words begging to be said. "But how about I let you in on a secret before I disappear?"

I inhale before nodding at him.

His lips quirk up, and then he leans forward to whisper into my ear. He is much taller than me, something else I find incredibly charming.

"In my timeline, you died, and I never found my mate. I'm about fourteen years older than me in this timeline, but since I saved you, things are about to change."

The stranger leans back, and suspicion tickles my throat and comes out as a question. "So, who are you then?"

My mate's body has disappeared, but before his face turns invisible, he grins at me like the Cheshire cat.

"Do you prefer to be called prima-donna girl or Patty?"

Time slows, and then I stand there, blinking out into the darkness with what seems like the entire world laughing at me. Dior. Fucking Dior Lavigne is my mate?

My cheeks heat once I realize another thing—grownup Dior is even more devilishly handsome than the younger version. Looking at him makes my head spin, and his touch has turned me breathless.

Older Dior smirks before entirely vanishing. "Goodbye, love."

"No, wait!"

I reach out my hand but end up stepping forward and walking through the spot where Dior was standing mere seconds ago. The gorgeous man is gone, and my heart squeezes in response. I wanted him to stay.