Page 33 of Enemies By Fate

Warrick chuckles, drawing closer. “I doubt I’ll forget it,” he reassures me.

“Me neither,” Malachi agrees. Asher merely holds me tighter, and I close my eyes.

I really belong somewhere. How about that?

Chapter 9

Malachi

Ihover above the treetops, my wings slicing through the air in near silence as I scan the forest below, waiting for Poppy to make her move. She’s clever, though—biding her time, blending into the dense shadows without so much as a twitch. Moments drag on, the forest unnervingly still.

You have to show yourself sooner or later,I tease, letting the thought drift to her through our new connection.Did you shift into a mouse to make hiding easier?

Her response is immediate, sharp with playful defiance.No cheating with these telepathic messages. Play fair, Malachi.

A flicker of motion catches my eye—a quick dart of movement just beyond a fallen log.Gotcha.

With a smirk, I dive, releasing a harmless spray of fire behind her trail, meant to rattle her. The flames vanish as quickly as they appear, but the moment my feet touch the forest floor, I stop cold. My breath hitches, and the teasing dies on my lips.

A majestic red fox sits elegantly on a massive boulder, licking the whites of her paws.

The brilliant sapphire of her eyes tells me it’s Poppy, but she doesn’t take off as I approach in my dragon form. Heat surgesthrough me, the throb of the golden arch above my heart aching as I near.

Aren’t you worried I’m going to eat you?I joke.You look absolutely delicious.

Her lovely eyes peek upward, and she raises her snout.

What do you think?She asks, preening her shoulders.Do you like my new form?

Very nice. Who is a fox shifter? Who did you touch to take on that form?

Gracefully leaping off the rock, she ambles closer to me and nuzzles under my chin, rubbing the top of her head under the scales of my neck.

Nobody,she answers through our telepathic connection. I do believe this form is mine.

Stunned, I shift back into my human body, our little game of tag over for the moment. My bare hands stroke her velvety fur, allowing her to curl into my lap, the glow of her arch pulsating through her chest as our bond intensifies on contact.

“You’ve been a fox all along?” I murmur, cupping her face in my open palms.

She nods, her snout morphing into her beautiful, high cheekbones.

“I guess so,” she murmurs. “I just shifted today for the first time. It feels so right, Malachi.”

“Cheaters!” Warrick’s voice booms out from the thick of trees before his body materializes. “We’re supposed to be on a hunt, and look at you two, curled up and out of the race. The least you could have done was invite us along.”

The soft rustle of leaves reaches my ears as Asher pads around the corner, his lion’s mane tangled with sticks and leaves from the race through the woods. He also shifts into his human body when he realizes we’re done with our little chase.

“Poppy has an announcement,” I tell them proudly.

She looks at me uncertainly, and I nod encouragingly, noticing the steady throb of my brothers’ heartbeats in tandem with mine and Poppy’s. Our mate bond is fully enacted, the birds around us tweeting louder and stronger now that we’re all in one place. The sun shines brighter overhead, spilling golden light directly over us like an altar.

“I can shift,” she blurts out.

“We always knew that,” Warrick chuckles.

“No, she has her own form,” I explain, holding her closer. “Tell them, Lost One.”

She tips her head back and smiles at me. “Am I still the Lost One if you found me?” she asks.

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