Dear Enemy, You're My Mate

Chapter 98 **

Maya

"To be honest, your 'best friend' who I've never heard you mention before is hot as fuck." Jenna says. Like her sister Bianca, she lacks a filter and isn't modest about eyeing Finn from our table.

I stir my cocktail with my straw, and although my back is facing Finn, I can tell his gaze is locked on me. "It's complicated..."

"Well, spill the beans then!" Felicia is pouting at me. "Tell me why you aren't tapping that ass right now! He is young, muscular, taller than what is normal for humans, and you know what they say about dark-skinned men and what they are packing."

"Felicia!" I hiss at her, removing her wine glass. Finn is big down there, massive even, but she doesn't need that information. "You've had way too many drinks! I'm taking that!"

Felicia grimaces, stretching out her hands. "B-But my drink!"

Bianca breathes a laugh, leaning over the table to whisper saucily. "I have the answer to why Maya isn't dating Mr. hot and mysterious—he didn't remember her birthday, which means the guy is a dick."

Jenna and Felicia make the "ooooh" sound, and I sink further into my chair with my eyes kept on my drink. Finn didn't know it was my birthday because we never got to know each other in the past. We never talked about basic stuff about ourselves.

And yet, when he touched me, kissed me, it felt as if our souls recognized each other better than anyone else. Finn's lips were enlightenment that there is a heaven on earth, and no man will ever compare.

"Oh, some woman has joined him by the bar," Felicia whispers at me with her eyes bulging out of their sockets. "She is gorgeous."

I turn around in my chair, gasping at the voluptuous Latina talking to Finn and laughing at what he is saying. "And she is way younger than me—more beautiful too."

With her dark hair cascading down her shoulder, and her red velvet dress and silver jewelry, the woman gives me self-esteem issues. She is younger than me, and jealousy floods me when she places her hand next to Finn's hand on the bar desk.

I realize it's unfair to get territorial after sending Finn in the opposite direction. Still, the mate-bond is giving me wicked spider senses—suddenly, I'm noticing everything, like how the woman sizes up Finn and widens her smile.

"Yeah, who would pick me over that..." I mutter.

Jenna growls. "Don't think like that! You have so much to offer Maya: you're smart, successful, kind-hearted, and excellent at baking—any man who cannot notice that isn't worthy of dating you."

"Amen, sister!" Bianca lifts her glass, burping. Her eyelids are half-closed, and her smile is drunk. "If I weren't dating Libby right now, and you were a lesbian or bi like me, I would date you."

I hand her a smile, despite my inner insecurity. "Thank you."

Bianca lifts her gaze, then smiles wickedly. "Looks like Finn is sending the woman off hunting somewhere else."

I shift in my seat, my eyes immediately finding Finn across the room. He is drinking a beer. Alone. The woman leaves with an angered expression, rejection written all over her face.

"I like him," Jenna says and lifts her glass at Finn, who must understand that we are talking about him. He gives us a curious smile, and Jenna chugs down a beer before talking. "You should head over and talk with him—that man just turned down Selena Gomez, and the first thing he does is look at you. Damn. He must be head-over-heels in love with you."

My heart agrees with her, and a voice inside my head is shouting: Finn-Finn-Finn! Inside of my head.

I sigh. "I suppose Finn has earned it."

My friends smile like the Cheshire Cat when I lift my arse from the chair, but the entire restaurant goes dark the second I stand. Candlelights flicker before finally blowing out, and when the lamps in the ceiling die, people scream in fright.

An ominous atmosphere enters the room, and I swear a shadow creeper passes me. Shadow creepers are monsters my sister and father can control. What are they doing here? The room grows colder, and I panic once I hear Bianca crying from the other side of the table.

"No!" Bianca yells and shifts in her chair. It scrapes against the floor, and it sounds like someone is there, fighting her. Bianca cries. "Hands off me! Fucking pervert!"

"Bianca, are you alright?!" I yell. "BIANCA!"

I walk in the dark, and suddenly, the lights switch on again, but Bianca isn't sitting in her chair. It's on the floor, and Jenna and Felicia are unconscious in their seats.

Fear grips my chest, and I let my eyes roam the restaurant—all the guests are unconscious, and the windows are open, allowing the chilly wind from outside to blow tissues all over the floor.

"Maya?"

I turn around. Finn is standing in front of me, with his eyebrows furrowed in deep concern.

My lips part in anger. "They took Bianca—I'm guessing the culprit is who you are chasing."

Finn's lips curl into a dark smile. "Sharp as always. Yes, they are the person I'm searching for, and I think you would be the ultimate partner to find them."

"Why?" I frown. "I'm not a werewolf anymore."

"But you could be."

I lift my eyes to his. "I could be?"

Finn smiles. "You ever wonder why one sister was born with light powers and the other one with darkness by their side?"

"I can't say I've given it much thought, but it's not like it matters—I'm not a werewolf, and I will never be."

"Your wolf never left you."

I freeze. "What?"

"The tree of life took your powers given to it by the sprites, but your wolf belongs to you—she is part of your soul, Maya, and your inner wolf can't be tamed by anyone else. When the battle was over, she returned to you; she must have at some point. Your wolf was tired of being separated from you, Maya—she escaped from the tree of life."

I search his eyes for a hint of the joke I'm missing, but Finn looks sincere and more curious than ominous.

"But if she is with me, why can't I shape-shift?"

Finn takes a step forward, tilting his head to keep eye contact. When he speaks, I experience shivers. He is so close, and his eyes, ocean blue, suck me in.

"Because you keep saying you're not a werewolf, and if you can't embrace who you are, why should your inner wolf?"

I stare at him with a pounding heart, changing the subject because it pains me that I've managed to chase away my own wolf into the furthest corner of my mind. "Who is the person you're looking for, Finn? Do you know who kidnapped Bianca?"

"Your sister."