Dear Enemy, You're My Mate

Chapter 91 **

Maya

I run as fast as my paws can carry me, away from the burning field and into the forest. A storm is brewing, and the shadow creepers are not far behind. I can imagine their crazed eyes locked on my form. I'm their prey, the one they want dead, but I'm a wolf on a mission.

My limbs feel like jelly, and my muscles ache from the effort of running over sticks and stones. I'm not sure if I can save anyone with my plan, but the reminder of how safe it was to rest my head in the crook of Finn's neck and breathe him in keeps me fighting.

Alice and my sister are important to me too, but a spot in my heart is reserved for Finn. He came in like a hurricane and rocked my world—I fell in love, hard, without even noticing.

The grief in my chest spreads and wraps around me, and I pant into the air, watching my breath evaporate as I stare at the tree of life before me. The branches still hold colorful leaves, but they are rapidly turning grey as if the tree of life is dying.

I take the shape of a human, crying as I place my shaking palm on the trunk. "You got to help me..."

The tree doesn't reply.

The shadow creepers are making strange gurgling noises in the background, and I close my eyes shut.

"Please..."

Right on cue, the tree of life speaks inside my head. 'There is nothing I can do to help you. I'm sorry, my child, we lost this battle. The fairy king is dead, and the next one won't be born in a couple of hundred years.'

My lips quiver. "Can't you take me back in time to the day Finn met Beatrice? What if I can change the future by going there?"

'No, I can show you what happened that day through a vision, but I lack the strength to allow you to time travel.'

I fall to my knees, buzzing with nervous energy. I'm out of ideas, and Arvin's monsters aren't far behind. They will catch up with me within seconds and eat my flesh.

"You aren't giving up, are you?"

Shocked by the low, amused voice, I focus my teary eyes on a tiny sprite smiling at me. And the beautiful, glowing little lady isn't alone—her small friends are snickering and watching me with growing curiosity.

I whisper at her. "I don't want to give up, but I don't know what to do. Can you help me?"

The sprite nods, although I never expected her to. I asked for her help out of desperation, but I never thought the sprites could help anyone. Especially not since everyone isn't able to see them.

"We exist to serve the fairy king," the sprite whispers in a voice equally frightening and exciting. "But he is dead, so what better way to assist him than let his lover travel back in time? You have a plan, right?"

A bubble of hope lifts from my chest, and I nod eagerly, thrilled about what the sprite is telling me. "Yes! I think-..." I have to inhale before speaking again. "If I return to the day when Finn met Beatrice and kill her before she walks up to say hello, then maybe this wouldn't happen..."

The sprite watches me in amusement, crossing her tiny, glowing arms over her chest. "You're not a killer."

"I know!" I exclaim. "But I don't have a better plan!"

Snickers surround me, and a few sprites set up a barrier around me to keep the shadow creepers from attacking me. A creepy song ring out from their tiny mouths, and the glowing lady before me smiles wickedly with her eyes roaming my face.

"I know where to send you, but it will cost you."

I press my hands together, begging. "Anything!"

The sprite flies closer, hovering right in front of my face with her wings flickering. "Okay. I need your wolf to act as fuel for the trip. I realize she is part of your soul, but I need her power, or else I lack the strength to send you anywhere."

Without hesitation, I give the sprite a nod because I will save Finn, and his life is worth more than my inner wolf. Hopefully, the death of my friends won't be for nothing.

"Take anything you need."

The song of the sprites grows louder, and the one talking to me gives me an impressed, lop-sided smile. She touches my chest with her hand, giving birth to bright light.

"I can't read the future, neither do I know if your first plan will work, which is why I'm sending you somewhere else."

My eyes widen. "Wait, what?! That wasn't our deal! No, where are you sending me? A random place won't do!"

I reach for the sprite, but my skin glows spookily white, and then I'm gone, wrapped from my reality.

A white color drowns me, sucks me in, and spits me out. Adrenaline is gushing into my veins, and I hold my breath when I hear the voice of my mother in the background.

"Mum?"

I turn around and gasp when memories of my past flash around me. At first, I see my mother picking me up from the crib, and then the memory breaks like glass and switches to something else.

My sister uses the necklace my father gave her, and I'm pouting in a corner, entirely alone.

A birthday cake and all the Winterbite kids in our neighborhood are there, but not to celebrate me—they only got eyes for my sister.

Then, I witness my sister, Lily, becoming the alpha of my pack. She is holding a speech in our garden while I'm stuck cleaning the dishes.

Tears spring to life, yet I manage to close my eyes. "I realize what you're trying to do! But I won't change anything from my past, even if you're trying to tempt me! Please take me to see Beatrice! I have to save Finn from that crazy witch!"

A snicker bounces from wall to wall until the sky cracks up, and I'm standing in a forest. Time seems to pass me by, quicker and quicker with the speed of lightning. The clouds in the sky are circling, disappearing, and coming back until finally, everything stops.

I stop traveling through space and time and stagger forward like a newborn calf on unsteady legs. A puddle of dirty water comes into view, and I shriek as I land on my butt in the brown mud.

Water splashes my face, and I take a deep breath to calm myself but freeze to ice when I hear laughter. I spin around. Above me, a pair of curious eyes larger-than-life are studying me at the same time the person's lips quirk up into a smirk.

"How graceful."

It takes a moment to recognize him, younger and everything, but the second I meet his eyes, there is no doubt about it.

"Finn..." I sob, not sure if I'm hallucinating. "You're alive..."

The massive fairy lifts an eyebrow, telling me he has no clue who I am, and although a younger Finn who hasn't met me could be potentially dangerous, I rush up to greet him.

"Tell me this isn't a dream..."

I stop and stare, forgetting to breathe while Finn is resting his giant head in the palm of his hand. He blinks at me in confusion while I laugh out loud, like a crazy person.

Finn is looking just the way I remember him. Strong, graceful, and so beautiful, one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen. His white hair is shorter and spikier, and his face lacks age. Yet he is still my Finn—I can't breathe. If I move, this moment might be snatched away from me.

The fairy seizes me up. "Do I know you?"

I shake my head, nearly melting. "Not yet," I whisper and notice his gaze is fixed unwaveringly on me. My lips curl, and I let out a relieved laugh, happier than ever. "But you will."