Page 11 of Enchanting Her Mate

She chuckles softly. “No, I loved it. I had no idea your method of cooking vegetables consisted of shifting into your draxilio and blowing fire onto them.”

I nod proudly. “I did not see the need to install a separate component onto my food dispenser to cook the food when that is something I can do in my other form simply by breathing.”

“Quite sensible of you,” Jo replies, taking a long sip of tibbi. If that is not what is bothering her, then what is?

“Did you struggle with your magic today?” I ask. It saddens me that she feels disconnected from such an integral part of who she is. To be disconnected from my draxilio would be utterly devastating.

My draxilio chooses this moment to remind me of just how connected we are.Kiss her! Make her feel better!

I ignore her suggestions, as I do not feel they would be well received. But I do place my hand on top of Jo’s to show her I am empathetic to her predicament. “You can share your struggles with me. I cannot help you solve Hexrin problems, but I am happy to listen.”

Warmth fills her golden eyes as she wraps her small fingers around mine. “Thank you,” she says, giving my hand a squeeze. “Practicing my magic is going well so far. I think being able to do it here is helping.”

I return her kind smile. “That is good.”

We clean the dishes together and spend the rest of the evening chatting on the couch in the main room. I walk her to her room after she yawns thrice in a row, hoping she will kiss me, or at least ask if I want her to. She does neither, and my face falls the moment she closes the door.

Why did I vow to not kiss her again until she requests it? She is too shy to do such things. I shall be waiting a century before I am able to seduce her. A growl rumbles low in my chest as I undress and climb into bed.

Hours pass and the growl in my throat remains as I replay the events of the day in my head. Eventually, I come to the realization that Jo’s mood changed after I hurt myself. Though I do not understand why she would have any lingering frustration. I am well. The gash on my arm stings, but it is a dull pain that is easy to ignore. It shall be gone by tomorrow night.

As I ponder ways to make her feel better about my mishap, I hear a light scratching sound coming from down the hall. Mek is in his room with the door shut, so it cannot be him, and it does not sound like a noise that could be tied to Jo fetching herself a drink of water in the middle of the night either. This is an inconsistent scratching that does not cease.

That means there is a predator outside trying to get in. Or a predator that has already gotten inside.

I make my steps light and quick as I step out of my room and toward the noise. Jo’s door is closed, and I hope she is still fast asleep. I shall handle this intruder swiftly to ensure her slumber is not interrupted.

The main room is empty, and the deeper I step into the house, the clearer the scratching sound becomes. Whatever it is, they are trying to enter through the side door that opens onto the balcony. It is too small an area for me to shift into my draxilio and handle the intruder properly, but even in this form, I am not concerned about defeating them.

The light in the eating room turns on automatically once I enter, and it illuminates the balcony enough to reveal the source of the scratching. It is a short, portly creature with black and brown scales covering its narrow-pointed head, neck, and wide torso, and long yellow feathers on its back and legs. The creature’s arms are thin and weak looking, ending in two claws on each hand. It waddles in a circle on the balcony, sniffing and clawing at a few scattered leaves.

Perhaps it is hungry? Yes, that is it. This creature must be in search of food, and since I have picked the surrounding trees and bushes clean, it is struggling to find something to fill its belly. That is easily rectified. Pulling a juicy sour ball from the cold box, I carefully open the door to the balcony and step outside with the fruit placed in my open palm.

“Here,” I say to the creature, holding the fruit higher. “Food.”

Its eyes are pitch black with vertical slits and no pupils. The creature remains still as it blinks at me. I assume this means it cannot understand what I am offering, so I take a step closer and repeat, “Food.”

“Alu! What are you doing?” Jo whispers from inside the door. “Come back inside.”

Turning to face her, I explain, “Do not worry. It is just hungry. I am gi––”

My words are cut off as the creature shoves me from behind. I land hard on my knees, and the juicy sour ball goes flying over the edge of the balcony into the water below. The creature hisses as it watches the fruit’s descent. After the splash of it landing in the water, the creature’s posture looks aggressive as it faces me. It seems to grow in height as an ominous clicking sound emanates from its throat between hisses.

I am not worried, however, because a swift kick into the creature’s stomach will get it to back off. I just need enough space to get the leverage required for the kick. Slowly crawling backward on my elbows, I make soft soothing noises in an attempt to confuse it into thinking I am afraid.

“Alu!” Jo calls. Her voice is still hushed, but there is greater urgency in it now. “Get back in here right now!”

Answering her and explaining my plan would give the creature enough time to attack, which I do not want. It is best to ignore Jo momentarily so I may handle this beast the way I need.

Raising its clenched fists above its head, the feathered reptilian slams them onto the wood floor of my balcony, busting two large holes in it that I will need to repair. I am not skilled at home repair, so I find this new development quite frustrating.

The creature takes a step closer and raises its fists again, and just as I am bringing my foot back, Jo bursts through the door. “No!” she screams as she places her small body between me and the creature. Before I can push her out of harm’s way, she lifts her palms in front of her heart and a bright orange orb appears between them. Then she thrusts her upper body forward as she turns her palms, shooting the orb into the creature’s chest.

The creature lets out a screeching cry as its body is thrown from the balcony high into the air, only beginning its descent toward the ground when it’s well over the other side of the waterfall.

I scramble to my feet and watch in awe as Jo remains locked in her strong, defiant stance. Grabbing her shoulders, I turn her around until she is facing me. “That was superb, Jo! Brilliant work!”

Her breathing turns into rapid pants as she stares at me. “Brilliant?” she says as tears fill her eyes, and her cheeks turn a darker shade of gold. “Brilliant?” she repeats, this time in a shout. “You thought that was brilliant? That thing could have killed you!”

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