Dear Enemy, You're My Mate

Chapter 48 **

Patricia

Merging with Finn is like opening my eyes for the very first time and realizing there are so many things in the world that I've missed. I've been staring at a black-and-white photograph my entire life, and now there are sudden colors I've never noticed.

When I run, the winds are whispering in my ears, snickering and dancing around my feet. They sink into my skin and touch my bones, letting me know they have accepted me as their new master.

Finn hums inside my head with a smile in his tone. 'Oh, it feels so good to use our feet... Ehem, paws!'

'Our paws?' I question.

Finn speaks in an almost flirtatious voice. 'Your paws are my paws. Right now, we are one, Patricia.'

'I'm not sure how to feel about that! Please don't tell me your voice will haunt me in the shower and in other inappropriate places!' I shudder at the thought of Finn seeing me naked.

'To be honest, you're not my type—I like older women,' Finn chuckles. 'And no, we are only temporarily connected.'

A breath of relief leaves me. 'Good, because I don't want you grasping every thought of mine.'

'No need to worry! I won't keep looking at your memories if you don't want me to, but can you tell me the name of that naked man inside of your head?'

I'm grateful werewolves can't blush. 'Oh, that is my mate...'

'You must really love him. He appears in your head a lot, like a spreading infection.'

By now, my heart is racing. 'Uh, love is a strong word...'

'No way!' Finn laughs in amusement. 'Don't tell me you haven't finished the mating ritual yet?!'

I don't continue our conversation. My heightened senses pick up on the smell of rotten flesh flowing through the house. I recognize it as the one belonging to those awful shadow monsters and rush up the stairs. Alice could be in danger.

My connection with Finn makes my feet feather-light. I could run for days without getting tired.

I inwardly giggle. 'I'm falling in love with the wind element!'

Finn laughs. 'Oh, you've seen nothing yet! The possibilities of what we can achieve together are endless!'

'Now I'm curious! Name one amazing thing that a former master of the wind element has done!'

'Hm, this one guy created a tornado large enough to blow away an entire city he had an unpicked bone with—that was truly something.'

An image of people screaming makes me shiver. 'Uh, hurting people and blowing away cities isn't something I'm remotely interested in.'

'Which makes you the greatest master yet!'

I don't get to answer Finn. Once outside on the porch, I catch the scene of William fighting a creature best described as something taken out of someone's nightmares.

Rotten skin, and crazed eyes, teeth sharper than knives—I'm having a hard time knowing if this is even a person. My Dior looked nothing like this undead creature.

"P-Patricia?"

I turn around to face Alice, bruised and battered. She is leaning against a tree, looking as if she has gone through hell and survived.

Alice speaks again. "Is that you?"

I wag my tail at her, hoping to answer her question. Our eyes connect, and Alice seems to relax.

Finn brings me down to earth by talking. 'While I hate to ruin your heartfelt reunion, I think we ought to help that werewolf. He is facing something which doesn't belong in this world.'

Finn's words make sense. The creature before me doesn't seem natural, and with a snarl, I throw myself out there, ready to defend William. He might be on the opposite team, playing for June's side, but that doesn't change Alice's feelings toward him.

Alice is in love with William. She fell, at first sight, hard and fast, like a comet. Her feelings can be felt in the air, and I would be a terrible friend for not saving the man she loves.

Finn groans in frustration. 'Do I have to remind you we are a team here? Ehem! We, and I repeat, WE will save William.'

Finn sounds so sure of our abilities that I'm given enough courage to tackle the mighty beast much more prominent than us. The creature yelps in shock at our teeth connecting with its arm and angles itself to snap at us, but we are faster.

The winds are growing stronger, spiraling around me as I circle the beast. Its eyes are blazing red when it lunges at me. Claws try to strike at my feet and neck. I avoid every strike launched at me, surprised at how I can read Dior's every attack.

I jump up and down until Finn seems to grow impatient. He is humming inside my head as if trying to think.

'I don't like this!' Finn concludes. 'We can't keep this up for long—your limbs are growing tired!'

'What should we do then?!' I yell. 'Because you sure as hell didn't come with an instruction manual!'

'We can't win by dancing, Patricia—it's time for us to strike back!'

I'm out of breath. 'And how do we do that?'

'Conjure a hurricane, one strong enough to smash that monster into that car down the street!'

'I-I can do that?!'

Dior growls at us, and Finn screams. 'DO IT NOW!'

Two things happen at once: Dior's claws slash my arm, making my skin burn and bleed, and the pain awakens anger—the kind which ripples my calm and causes the wind to throw the more giant creature into someone's poor Volvo with a crash.

Dior's pack collides with the metal, making the car alarm go off. He huffs and attempts to stand on his shaky legs, but I'm not done yet!

'My leg, it's broken! It hurts! Fucking bastard—we will make him pay with his blood!' I yell in a voice that sounds inhuman and not like my own.

Without blinking, I lift rocks, stones, dirt, and a nearby mailbox off the ground and howl up at the moon, making them hit Dior like darts. The monstrous werewolf is first stung by sand, then struck in the head by rocks, and finally, the mailbox knocks him out good.

'Oh, we aren't done yet! You've only seen a fraction of my inner wrath and power!' I laugh. "Behold!'

I conjure an even stronger tornado, one that lifts the werewolf himself from the ground.

'WHERE IS MY MATE!?'

I scream in rage, regardless of Dior not being able to hear me—I know he can't, but I'm seeing red.

Finn's voice rings inside my mind. 'Calm down, Patricia, or you will kill him! You can't lose yourself to the power, or it will take over! I understand that you're angry at this Dior—I've read your mind, I saw your memories, but we shouldn't kill him!'

Kill him?

I don't want to harm anyone!

My calm returns when I realize I'm physically hurting someone, and the winds stop howling. Dior falls down from the sky, and I stare down at the ground, horrified by what I almost did.

'Most first-time user reacts the same way you did in this fight. They lose themselves to their emotions, and hell breaks loose.'

'Are you sure about that?' Dizziness is washing up over me, and I'm finding it hard to keep my balance. 'Promise me, Finn. Because I don't want to turn into a monster.'

'You're not a monster, and neither will you turn into one—I promise you, Patricia. Your heart is lighter than most.'

I smile and change back into a human. I'm ready to collapse, but I'm caught by Finn at the last moment. He grins at me, and I tilt my head—I never noticed his pointy ears before.

I laugh, amused by Finn's twitching ears. "What kind of creature are you?"

Finn picks me up into his arms. "Before I was locked inside that crystal ball, I used to be a fairy."

My voice is drowsy. "Like Tinker Bell from Peter Pan?"

"Who is Tinker Bell and Peter Pan?"

I like his confusion; it makes me smile wider. "I'm going to call you Tink."

"Sleep well, Patricia," Finn says, stifling a laugh. "Using the wind element for the first time must have been exhausting, but you did well. I'm very proud of you, and I hope we can become friends."

The large man cradles me, and I close my eyes, knowing Finn is yet another ally that I can trust. I'm not sure what to make of older Dior, but I'm too tired to think of that now. It can wait for tomorrow.