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“Or,” Marv interjected, “she could be your fated mate but you’re just a shitty provider. The girl’s injured and you're shaking her and plotting revenge while she's bleeding all over the damn place, instead of finding a portal and getting the hell out of there.” He laughed. “Now, that's prime mate-material right there.”

“Fuck,” I growled. I didn't know which of my demons was right. Maybe they both were.

I struggled against the urge to spill the giant and his human side-kick’s blood.

At least now I was certain of the one thing that required immediate action and refocused my intentions. I must find the portal. They were difficult to find, always hidden well and in unsuspecting places. Yet, I’ve had enough practice finding them that it should be a non-issue.

I pushed my wings to flap harder and faster, careening back towards the giant’s ramshackle home. My head whipped to the side as I caught a glimpse of the barest shimmer on the highest point of the roof. Without hesitation, I aimed straight for it, clutching Miko tighter to me, then tucked in my wings and dove through the portal.

I blinked my eyes, rapidly clearing the haze created by the portal magic clinging to my mind, only to discover we were only a dozen or so feet from the ground.

I flapped my wings backward, but there wasn't enough time for counter maneuvers to save us. The inevitable crash and burn imminent. My head tucked down, my chin ghosting Miko’s hair, then brought my wings forward around her, hugging her close and attempting not to brace for impact as tensing could harm us both. The university’s lawn graciously welcomed us back to reality, the impact akin to faceplanting onto cement rather than dirt and grass.

I spent so much time lost in the twisted, thorny maze of my mind that reality and I hardly spent any time together. Honestly, it was a sparkly new experience and I’m not sure if I liked it. Reality and I happily flirted with sanity for a few years when I was a youngling, but the clan’s banishment forced a brutal breakup, fucking up my brain for good.

For a few seconds, I simply laid there, prone and unwilling to check if I injured her further. Yet, it had to be done. I rolled onto my back, then stood and looked down at the woman in my arms. A copious amount of blood leaked from the side of her head and my guts nodded, but I didn't spy any other obvious injuries. Still, this amount of blood couldn’t be a good sign.

I pushed off the ground hard, quads bunching, then flew to the roof and landed. My shoulder thudded against the door built into the side of one of the peaked roofs as I rammed it open and sprinted down the stairs onto the third level of the library.

Huff winked into existence on my forearm, his singular eye widening as he glimpsed Miko. I opened my mouth to call for more Heechu assistance, but it wasn’t needed. Heechus flooded into the aisle between the bookcases, their tiny, round, fluffy multicolored bodies crowding on the shelves, some using their long ears to catch air and glide from stack to stack to get a better view.

I crouched, then held Miko with one arm, cradling her head in my palm, and stripped her back off her back, setting it to the side. Huff leaped from my forearm, glided onto the polished mahogany floors, then guided his three fluffy tails around himself and rolled to the injured side of Miko’s head. For once, his adorable growly purring noises did nothing to comfort me.

I knelt next to him. “Can you heal her, Huff?”

He blinked his one eye at me, then held out two of his upper paws in his version of a shrug and spoke in his soft, cute little voice. “Don’t know, Baney. But we will use everything in our power to try.”

I nodded. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

His ears drooped and his worried gaze softened, his eyes swirling in a mixture of shimmering colors. “No, but she will feel your presence. Mates are a powerful tool in every healer’s arsenal.

I stiffened. “She’s not my mate.”

He huffed in the signature way that gifted him his namesake, then pointed all three of his tails at me over his head, the fluffy things bristling like an agitated cat. “Don’t have time to make you see sense right now,” he said, his eye darting between Miko and I, then turning away from me, calling a few Heechus over to help him.”

There was no point in resuming this conversation, but I knew he and the other Heechus quietly watching would have their say soon enough no matter what I did.

I stayed still, digging my knees into the floorboards hard enough to make the wood groan. If I wasn’t careful, I’d split the bleedin’ things in two. I'd stay here for as long as it took to heal Miko, no matter how uncomfortable I became.

A buzzing sound echoed off the bookshelves, halting my inner musings and causing the Heechu to mutter in their gurlely-growl sounding language and shift about. Huff glanced up at me through the swirling mist of opaque violet magic concentrated on around Miko’s head wound. His eye narrowed on her backpack, returned to me, then he refocused on his task. My lips curled upward as I used my tail to snag one of the straps, and drug it toward me. The annoying bzz, bzz, bzzzzz continued and my tail lashed side to side, knocking several books off a shelf.

A familiar exasperated sound greeted in my ears, but I didn't look at my favorite little Heechu. “Sorry,” I muttered, “you know it has a mind of its own.” I unzipped the backpack, pinching the tab between two claw tips and extracted the phone from the smaller front pocket, my thumb accidentally depressing a button on the top of the phone, while the side of my hand rubbed against something smooth. My muscles loosened as the irritating nose finally stopped. Curious about what else she stashed away, I held the smooth object between my forefinger and thumb, holding it up as I admired the tiniest duck I’d ever seen. Humor tickled my ribs and I laughed, dropped it into my palm, and observed all the details meant to make the little thing appear as a skeleton with an orange beak. For a moment, I was so distracted with the absurdity of the bobble that my mind blanked. I dropped the little cutie back in her bag and picked up the phone.

My eyes trailed down to the glowing screen and the picture of a black-haired woman alongside countless text notifications.

I knew a great deal about the human world and its technologies, but it was rare that I needed to use them. Although the Heechus taught me to speak and read English alongside their own language, I never needed it because the only people I ever communicated with were the Heechus, my family. I couldn't be more grateful that they took me in as kin. I shook my head. If they hadn't found me, there's no telling where I would've ended up or who I would've become.

I was just a teenage lad, mind swarming with more emotions than my young self could handle as a witch, friendly with the clan, opened a portal, then my so-called clansmen shoved me through it. Still, it would've been ideal not to have been banished in the first place.

Most humans didn't know about the supernatural world, let alone the Heechus. So, it reasoned that very few people knew how to read, write, and speak in their language. I could, and there likely were some witches that could, as well as some others in the supernatural community. Either way, the list was short. Until now, anytime I've had to write or read anything it was in Heechu.

Despite the endless amount of books surrounding me, millions of pages of words, I had little desire to read any of them. Still, I found comfort within the walls of the library. It was the Heechus and my home. Running a hand through the stone fur on my arms, I struggled to keep my gaze averted from Miko. And failed.

Why can’t I stop staring at her? It’s almost as if the way her dark lashes fade to blonde at the roots or wondering what her lips would feel like presses against mine have addled my brain even worse than it already was. Yet, I stayed by her side, wrapping my tail around her calf, shivering as the tip caressed her creamy bare skin, even though I trusted nothing about this situation. Is my mind fucking with me again? Or are the Heechus’ tattoos failing somehow and the other demons have awoken to play games?

I've wanted a mate for as long as I can remember, but that is not uncommon for grotesques as we weren’t solitary creatures. Although I can't shake the feeling that everything is not as it seems. My guts squirmed uneasily, telling me she's a fabrication—A lie meant to bury me under more delusions.

I know I needed to talk about my wariness about Miko with Huff, he’s been my sounding board for decades, but the conversation would bide a while longer. My head shook slowly. For now, I’ll keep her at arm’s length.