Dear Enemy, You're My Mate

Chapter 88 **

Maya

My fingers are intertwined with Finn's larger, rougher ones as we head back to the city of fairies. He glances at me now and then with a sweet smile, and I'm miserable because I'm scared to be happy.

Finn's skin is electric, and his touch reaches into my heart, making it flip-flop like a pancake. And the minute he squeezes my hand, it's as if something unleashes within me. The explosions of emotions are unlike anything I've felt in my entire life.

Affection bounces around in my chest, and I take a deep breath as we entire the fairy city. The towering buildings are casting their shadows over us, and I have to force my steps. I don't want to find Blake and plan for the upcoming war—my heart yearns to spend every living, breathing minute with Finn, but duty calls.

"I guess this is it." I peer up at Finn, admiring his dimples forming on the left side of his face. "We should find Blake."

Finn nods but doesn't step out of my bubble. He bends forward, this massive, beautiful man, and since he is so tall, my cheeks scald at how funny we must appear. We are standing in the middle of the street, and my lover is enormous.

"I want to kiss you."

For some reason, hearing Finn say those words makes me super self-conscious, and I bite my lower lip. It's a struggle to keep eye contact with Finn as he dips his head, and then I shiver when his lips gently press against mine.

I press my palm against his hard chest, which was made to be worshipped. The little nubs of his nipples are standing out at full mast, and his pectoral muscles seem heavy—I want to lick every inch of them.

My hand grips his upper arms, and Finn's lips curve against mine, and then he breathes a laugh. "Now isn't the time for that, dirty girl. We have an entire city to save."

I sigh dramatically and hand him a pout. "Saving the world can wait—I want your body beneath mine."

Finn pulls me to him with a chuckle, and I climb his bulky body, wrapping my legs around his waist while trying not to let my mouth water when I see his visible v-lines.

He lifts an eyebrow and gives me a telltale smirk. "Now, what is the little wolf up to now?"

"Well..." My hands travel from his traps up to the back of his neck. A flutter shoots through me, and I drink in his smile, feeling giddy as he curiously observes me. "You said you're mine, so I'm testing the waters by being the one to initiate something."

Finn's lips brush over mine, and his warm breath catches onto my skin when he speaks in a teasing tone. "Oh, are you?"

"Yes."

A smile flashes over his lips before he kisses me hard. I'm momentarily frozen, stunned by the power in his kiss. It's demanding and forceful and with added tongue. And shit—Finn is turning me on! Heat pools between my legs, and then I push forward, loving the savor of him.

I'm ready for more, uncaring about where we are walking. I expect people to look away from our shameless love-making, but when a shrilling scream enters my ears, I break our kiss.

"What was that?" I turn around to glance ahead of us while Finn is still carrying me.

"Whatever it was, it didn't sound good," Finn growls. He sniffs the air like a dog, and his irises turn into feral slits. "I smell fire and humans—Arvin's men and a crapload of them are heading our way!"

I sink further down his chest. A bunch of fairies too young to fight is fleeing from the scene. Others are yelling at each other to help the others, and I turn to face Finn.

"An ambush?"

"Seems like it."

I didn't expect this outcome. Anxiety churns in my stomach like a witch's brew—I don't have a good vibe about this turn of events. Arvin is acting unpredictably. The vision I saw wasn't in the fairy city. So, why is he attacking us here?

"What do we do?" I ask.

Finn gulps visibly, then tightens his hold around me. "I'm not sure—did you see any of this in your vision?"

"No," I answer Finn earnestly. "The war took place out in a field, which makes little sense. I never even got a glimpse of the fairy city in the images I saw of the future!"

Finn grits his teeth before speaking again. "The bastard alpha must have a witch able to read the future—Arvin saw a possibility of him losing against us and changed everything. We are part of his game plan now, and we should proceed with caution."

"Agreed." I take a deep breath, which does nothing to calm my jittering nerves and alarming heart rate. "Not that I've ever been good at handling stress in these types of situations."

Finn hugs me tighter to him. "We need to find Blake, and I have to size-change for us to be safe. You should shape-shift, Maya. It will be better if you're ready for battle."

"Right!"

Finn places me on the ground, and I leap into the air. My skin gets replaced with black, shining fur, and I cushion the fall with my paws, landing gracefully.

I turn around to signal to Finn that I'm ready to murder, but my instinct to lick him kicks to life the moment I see the adorable smile on his face. Protecting the fairy is my primary mission, but I can do nothing to keep myself from running up to him like a loyal dog.

Finn laughs. "Excited, are we?"

My tongue hangs out. I'm carefree until the entire sky cracks up. The clouds are gathering, and my heart jumps to the startling sound of thunder crashing down.

It's as if the heavens have given up and made way for the wrath of God. A blazing red color paints the skies red, and I shiver at how much it resembles blood.

"I've never seen the sky look like that before." Finn stands straighter and takes a step forward to keep me standing in his shadow. "Arvin must have the thunder fairy in his possession—that is the only explanation for the fires and the thunder."

"Mum!"

Finn shudders at the view of fairies screaming when a building gives in and collapses. An elderly fairy is trying to run with her daughter, but I can already tell they won't make it.

I gather a snicker rolling off the walls inside of my head; it's low, and speaks in my voice, saying, "So why don't we rise and help them?"

I've never heard of werewolves speaking with their inner wolves before, but I can already tell it's my darker-than-black wolf voicing her thoughts. She wants us to act, so I rush toward the falling building.

Finn yells at me in panic. "Maya, what are you doing?! You're going to wind up getting killed!"

Without turning around, I let the power sloshing in my veins come to life by howling from the bottom of my heart. I raise a light-based shield around the mother and her daughter—the debris from the building fall to the side, and I gasp at my abilities.

The mother and her daughter face me with glistening eyes, and the mother speaks. "Thank you! Bless you!"

The pair hurries to search for shelter, and Finn whistles and claps his hands behind me. I turn around and find him beaming at me with a dangerous glint in his eye.

His lips part, revealing sharp teeth before he talks. "You're quite the fighter, little wolf, but truthfully, it will be hard to fight when I can't communicate with you."

I want to ask what he is suggesting, but I already know the answer when I see the amusement in his eyes.

Finn is approaching me, tilting his head to keep eye contact. "You want to beat Arvin?"

I nod.

"Well then, little wolf," a full-blown smirk covers his lips. "How about merging with me—I think we should be on the same wavelength? Your mother and I made quite the team back in the day."

By now, I'm wagging my tail. Finn alone is powerful, but I remember my mother mentioning fairies are stronger when they merge with a werewolf. We aren't sure why, but it's a fact.

"Ready yourself!"

Finn disappears from my line of vision, and something warm seems to travel beneath my skin—I think it's power, along with excitement. I hear whispers and inwardly laugh when sprites surround us, curious about what is going on.

'I think they like you—then again, the sprites always appear whenever I merge with someone.'

I move forward. 'It's weird hearing your voice inside of my head, and are we truly merged? What is different?'

Finn chuckles, and I pick up on the mischief in his voice. 'This is what's new!'

Suddenly, butterfly wings stretch out from my back, dark like my fur but with patches of blue. The color is glowing, and I widen my eyes when the color even forms spots on my coat.

'What are we?' I dare to breathe.

'Not a werewolf, but not a fairy either—we are something new, the mysterious guardian of this realm.'

I look over my shoulder to focus on my wings. 'Do these work?'

'Why don't you try them out?'

'Good point.'

I flap my wings, lower my head and leap into the air, faster than a bullet with the speed of light and the wind supporting me.

'It's hard enjoying this when we are at far, but wow! Flying is fun!' I smile inwardly at my paws dangling in the air. 'And your wings are beautiful!'

Finn chuckles. 'Thank you—I will take you for another spin someday.'

I'm about to tell him I would love that but get caught on the stink of blood coming from beneath us. Werewolves and vampires are dying to the left and right. I notice some werewolves are from my sister's pack and wonder why the hell Lily is helping Arvin.

Finn answers for me. 'I think Arvin must have convinced her the fairies were the ones who kidnapped you and not him.'

'So then Lily is here somewhere, fighting your kind?!'

'Probably.'

Adrenaline is coursing through my veins, and when I spot Arvin standing entirely still in a field with his eyes locked on us, I shudder.

The arrogant man is wearing a mantle and holding his chin held up high as if he deems all other life as unworthy. I desperately want to throw myself at his throat, but the glimmering rings on his fingers tell me attacking him needs careful planning.

'Are those rings containing fairies?' I and, and then growl when Arvin seems to smile up at us—my vision is exceptionally sharp, and the bastard is beaming at us. 'Is Arvin waiting for us?'

'Probably,' Finn growls. 'Arvin's soldiers are fighting against the fairies further away, but I can sense the witches' presence—this is a trap!'

As Finn says those words, lightning dives from the sky, making us crash toward the ground. I close my eyes shut. 'Fuck-fuck-fuck, what the hell do we do now?!'