Page 18 of Enchanting the Alpha

“Over here!” Romi tugged his hand excitedly, pulling him toward a vendor selling enchanted ice cream. Their fingers laced together naturally, and she tried to ignore how right it felt.

“One scoop of happiness, coming up!” The vendor, a jolly wizard with a beard that formed and reformed into animal shapes, handed them each a cone that sparkled with magic.

Romi’s first taste flooded her with pure joy - sunshine and laughter and the feeling of flying. But her second bite tasted different... like possibilities and anticipation and the flutter in her chest when Xabir smiled. Like the heat that sparked between them with every touch.

“What do you taste?” she asked, catching him watching her again with that intense expression.

He took another bite, considering. “Hope,” he said finally, his free hand coming up to brush a stray curl from her face. “And something that feels like... home.”

The simple honesty in his voice made her heart skip. She squeezed his hand, and he pulled her closer, tucking her againsthis chest as they watched a group of young witches practice levitation spells with sparkly results.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “For today. For... everything.”

He turned to face her fully, one hand cupping her cheek. The touch sent sparks of electricity dancing across her skin. Her magic responded to his alpha energy, creating a soft golden glow around them.

“Romi...” The way he said her name made her shiver. His thumb traced her bottom lip as he leaned closer, his intent clear in his darkening eyes.

A burst of wild magic from the young witches’ practice session showered them with rainbow sparkles. Romi couldn’t help laughing, especially when she saw some had landed in Xabir’s hair, making the powerful alpha look oddly festive.

To her delight, he laughed too - a real, genuine laugh that transformed his entire face. Her breath caught at the sight. Oh, she was in trouble.

But as he pulled her close again, his eyes soft with something that looked suspiciously like adoration, she decided some kinds of trouble were worth risking everything for.

“May I?” he asked quietly, thumb brushing her cheek.

Instead of answering, she rose onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. His arms tightened around her waist as he deepened the kiss, and her magic sang, creating tiny fireworks that danced around them like fallen stars. He tasted like enchanted ice cream and possibility, and something uniquely Xabir that made her head spin.

When they finally parted, both slightly breathless, Romi noticed the nearby lanterns had shifted to heart shapes and were giving off pink sparkles.

“I didn’t do that,” she said quickly, though she couldn’t seem to move away from his embrace.

Xabir’s laugh rumbled through his chest where she still pressed against him. “I did.”

She pulled back just enough to stare at him. “You did?”

He shrugged, looking almost shy though his eyes still burned with intensity. “You make my magic... unpredictable.”

“The mighty alpha admits to losing control?” She grinned, sliding her hands up his chest to link behind his neck. “I’m honored.”

“I’m the honored one.” His eyes sparkled with humor as he leaned down to capture her lips again.

They spent the rest of the evening exploring the market, stealing kisses between magical displays and sharing heated looks that made their magic create unexpected effects. Every touch felt like possibility, every smile like a promise of more to come.

And if their magic kept creating heart-shaped sparkles everywhere they went... well, neither of them seemed to mind.

TWENTY

The enchanted lanterns in Witch’s Brew Café cast a warm, honeyed glow across scattered papers and magical artifacts crowding Romi’s desk. Her coffee cup tattoo tingled as she sketched another idea for bringing witches and shifters together, though her mind kept wandering to the kiss she and Xabir had shared at the Twilight Markets. Her lips curved remembering how the lanterns had shifted to heart shapes - his magic, not hers.

“Focus,” she muttered to herself. “Community unity first, daydreaming about stupidly attractive alphas second.”

Whiskers puffed a heart-shaped smoke ring, followed by one that looked suspiciously like Xabir’s profile.

The café’s bell chimed - not its usual musical trill, but a thicker resonance that made her magic hum in respect. She glanced up to find Neve Aspen and Madame Zephyrine, the most venerated witch elders in Mystic Hollow, entering alongside Bella Swift and Felix Embers, influential shifter elders.

It made her a little nervous, considering the power in the café at that moment. Their presence commanded attention, their combined magical energies filling the space with an aura of authority.

Romi straightened instinctively. A visit from all four elders meant serious business. “To what do I owe the honor?”

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