Page 91 of The Anointed's Paladin

We made it as far as we could, but dawn was approaching, so we found an abandoned shack to shelter in for the day. I was restless, anxious that Cassandra was out there and we were trapped here. I tried to steady my mind with routine—doing my stretches. I wanted my brush and cloth to clean the grime off my clothes but it had sunk with the boat. It stayed tense until I sat down by the fire and Kaine settled in my lap. I wrapped my arms and tail around him, breathing in his scent. This might be my last day with him. I was going to make it count. He was trailing his fingers along my forearm, starting to send heat to my core when we were interrupted.

“Kaine?” called a voice from outside.

I stiffened, ears twitching. “Is that...?”

Kaine sprang up from my arms, heading towards the door. I was after him in a second, running into the forest. It was close to dawn, but Kaine didn’t stop.

“Nidori?” Kaine cried, striding forward.

“Kaine?” came Nidori’s voice again, and I ran towards where it came from, overtaking Kaine with my large strides.

There was a crash, and a cute little voice said, “Shit.”

I was ahead of Kaine but stopped short as she came into view. Kaine ran up behind me and crashed into my wing.

She was all right. She wasall right.She hadn’t died. The relief was sharp, overwhelming, prickling my eyes with tears. It was so good to see her again.

She was on the ground, having tripped over a tree root. It wasn’t surprising. She was no longer only a foot tall— she was human-sized.

A smile split her face as she saw us, delight and pride all mixed into one.

“Look!” she squealed, scrambling up. As she straightened, it became clear she was completely naked. I kept my eyes deliberately trained on her face, cheeks heating a bit.

“You got your wish!” Kaine said, completely unfazed as he pulled her into an embrace. Ironically, she was still small—she barely reached Kaine’s shoulders.

She let Kaine go, coming to me for a hug too. She wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me close. I bent down to wrap my arms around her as well. She was safe. I closed my eyes, breathing in her sweet, woody scent. I wanted to envelop her, keep her safe, and never let anyone hurt her again.

“You’re all right,” I said.

She pulled back, the smile dancing on her face. “Mm-hmm,” she said, letting me go.

Nidori danced back, doing a twirl, stretching her arms out. The movement drew my eyes to her new body, and once I was looking, I couldn’t look away. I took in every inch of her; her slender wrists, the curve of her back, the sharpness of her collarbones. The buds of her nipples on her firm breasts, the way the curve of her back turned into the roundness of her ass.

My cock twitched, and I cleared my throat, my wings rustling. “Aren’t you cold?” I said. “You should get some clothes on. You can have my shirt?”

“Oh, duh,” she said, summoning vines from the ground that wound up her form and covered her with leaves. “I was so eager to find you guys, I forgot to get dressed!”

Kaine caught my eye, and I balked at the glare he leveled at me.

“L-let’s go back to our camp,” I said. “Sun’s almost up.”

Nidori skipped forward. Kaine approached me, and I tried to duck out of his way, but he was too fast. He pinched my ear, yanking my head down to his level, and I let out a yelp.

“Why?!” he hissed.

“She needed them!!” I said, trying to tug away.

“She doesn’t need clothes! She didn’t give a fuck about the cold!”

Yeah, I was more worried about protecting her from me. She deserved more than me, walking around with a raging hard-on immediately after she became a human.

“Lei Lei says I have to stay in this form for a while. My other one is too broken. She didn’t know how long,” said Nidori, turning back towards us. Kaine let me go. “But I don’t mind. Everything is so small now!”

She glanced at me, quirking an eyebrow.

“Except you, Talon. You’re still massive.”

“Darling, you don’t even know the half of it,” Kaine said smugly, and I stepped on his foot.

---