Chapter 3
It had been four days with no sign of another soul.
Food never materialized, leaving me to wonder whether anyone existed beyond the shield.
The pond’s water was safe to drink, and I could nibble on the grass.
They were neither delicious nor filling but they staved off my impeding starvation.
I hoped until someone remembered I was here.
In my rebelliousness, I took every opportunity to piss on the shield.
Yet even that failed to brighten my mood.
I floated in the pond, with my head barely above the surface, just enough to expose my nostrils, ears, and eyes.
However, I shut my eyes as the weak sun baked the ground around me.
I had a feeling this area was designed for my larger relatives, but it was far too cramped for even one, much less a breeding pair.
The boredom didn’t help my depressed mood in the least. I thought constantly about my family.
Were they safe? Were they still together, or did they split all of us apart?
My head dipped under the water, my nostrils snapping shut.
Part of me wondered if I should open them and let the water in.
I’d sink into oblivion where I could at least find my ancestors.
I wondered when they’d start searching for my body.
Hot, dry air rushed back into my lungs as I pushed to the surface again.
My chest burned from staying under too long.
I honestly had lost track of time, the warm water lulling me further into my head.
I should be asleep, but something niggled in the back of my mind keeping me awake today.
Instincts warned me to be alert. I could feel something was going to happen.
What? I had no clue. I only hoped it wasn’t anything bad.
My ears twitched at a new sound. I slowly moved around to face the direction of the footsteps. The magic-created wind blew over me, bringing the scent of the person who walked through the shield over near the tree I pissed by.
Instincts awoke within me, and my body tingled all over at the scent of an elf tinged with magic. Other scents covered the elf, but under them was the distinct aroma that signaled to my brain that this elf, like my captors in skin and hair color, was my mate.
Hope bloomed in me as I rose out of the pond.
I glanced around to check if anyone else was there.
Was this elf my new owner? He mumbled to himself as he crouched to examine the rim of the shield.
As I neared him, he must have heard my approach.
He whipped around with a startled yelp, one of his hands outstretched with blue light pooling in it.
I sensed the magic coalescing in his hand, but upon seeing me, he relaxed slightly and his scent changed after the surprise of my appearance.
A slight hint of fear tinged it but his readiness to defend himself was clear.
I tried to look non-threatening, but how could I really be a threat to someone like him? A magic user and an elf.
I failed to understand why the fates would make one of the elves my mate.
Was it a cruel joke? I’d seen a variety of behaviors from the elves I’d encountered during my life, the few that there were, but they were still my captors and my owners.
Hope rose and died with that thought but perhaps this one was different.
What did I have to lose by trying to understand who my mate was?
Despite the tremor that ran through my body just thinking about what I was about to do, I did the one thing I’d never dared do in front of an elf unless expressly asked.
The elf’s piercing gaze fixed upon me shoring my resolve.
I transformed into my bipedal form. As my body changed and elongated, my bones shifting and muscles growing, I towered over my mate.
With a gasp, he stumbled backward, falling onto his butt, his hand outstretched, magic crackling between his fingers.
I tried to talk, but only a croaking sound came out.
It had been years since I’d spoken. All communication in my normal form was telepathic.
I coughed and tried again. “Heelp…mee.” I rasped out as I became dizzy.
Lack of food and the sudden excitement caught up to me as my vision blurred and blackness engulfed me.