Blowing a hair out of her face, Maddie had to admit she enjoyed his human form much better than a chicken. What the crap.
She didn’t have time for a chicken, let alone a man.
“Maddie! What did you do? You know better. You’re not supposed to transfigure anyone in my bar. Besides, I think chickens violate health codes.”
Letting her head fall back, she glared at the ceiling. “Mom? Where the hell are you?”
Time to go find her, right after she fixed Mr. Space-ship.
2
Kal’s head throbbed. Had he just lost a fight? He never lost a fight. What had he been fighting? Something big? Had to have been. No, wait. Not a fight. A bar.
He’d been known to hit up a bar or two in the colonies back home. Kal shifted, his body struggling to remain perched on whatever it was he laid on. Something soft, that was good. His head swam.
“Eadric?” The sound, hoarse and far too quiet, scratched against his parched throat. Good goddess. Was that his voice? What had they done to him?
He tried to pry his eyes open, but the light burned. His dragon grumbled, his soul just as clueless.
“Eadric? Where are we? God. Worst dream ever. I was hunting an eisech and was ready to pounce. I went for it and that’s when I saw them. My fucking claws, gone. Fuck, man. I had these tiny little feet, like a bird. And my arms flapped around, but I couldn’t get off the ground. I damn near shit myself.”
Someone laughed and Kal’s eyes flew open at the unfamiliar female sound.
“Thank you for that laugh. What was your name again? Kal? Oh, my God. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while.”
“What in the goddess's name.” He jolted up, the shriek of wooden legs protesting against the floor.
“You - you stay away from me you, you -”
She smiled. “I’m a witch. And I wouldn’t have turned you into a chicken if you would have respected the fact that I said I wasn’t interested.”
“I don’t understand.” He shook his head and instantly regretted it. He reached back a hand, trying to ground himself. Looking for anything that wasn’t swimming with the rest of the room.
The female came towards him, and he backpedalled, hitting something hard.
Kal wasn’t helpless, and he sure as shit didn’t like that she had made him feel that way. Some mate. What had the goddess done? How did he end up with this - this horrid female?
Oh, goddess. His hand flew to his head. Whatever he’d eaten for lunch might stage a reappearance if the damn room didn’t stop its orbit.
“Oh, just stop being a baby. Come here.”
He shivered as her hands rested against his forearm. Kal tried to focus on her touch, a warmth running through him rivaling his own fire. His tattoos glowed a bright orange and heated where her fingers rested.
As the room slowed, he focused on the creature before him. Kal couldn’t look away from her mouth. Her lips formed words he didn’t bother to understand, and damn, did they look sexy doing it.
The cloud in his head cleared, leaving his body ready to recognize what was happening.
Kal still questioned what he’d done to deserve this witch’s wrath. His dragon's instinct had led him here, to this woman, the woman fate had chosen. She’d made his already hot blood rise to a boil. His mouth watered at her scent, and yet, she’d just turned him into a -a - what the hell was it? A chicken?
And then, the next thing he knew he was running for his life.
“I don’t understand what you find funny, m‘lady.”
Her lips twitched at the corner and her nose wrinkled. “M‘lady?”
Maddie shook her head once. “Whatever. I didn’t expect you to run away when I turned you into a chicken. I’m sorry that you got chased by a lizard. In your defense, he was really big.”
Kal blinked slowly. “A what? Wait. I don’t care. Why am I in here? If you don’t want me, why am I here?”
How could she not want him? Even after this trick, he’d still take her to bed. Hell, who needed a bed?
Kal watched her. He tried to tap into her thoughts, something he should be able to do with his future mate. Back home everyone with the blood of the Ammit people could speak telepathically. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe she wasn’t his mate? Or maybe nothing was what it seemed here on Earth. Magic he’d never seen before flowed through this woman’s veins.
“My commander had said you were a simple people. If you are, then how did you turn me into, what was it? A chicken?”
She glared at him.
“You are so strange. Should we just start from the beginning. I’m a witch. I have magic, and when I don’t like someone I just do things. So, then I brought you to the back office. Of the bar. All because your brother wouldn’t take you and I was told a chicken violated the health code. This backfired. Lesson learned, again. Don’t transform people.”
Memories of being small, tiny, and flightless ran through him. He shuddered. Fear and disgust, both things he’d never felt before, surfaced.
This would not do. His mate was supposed to want him. Worship him. Sniffing the air, she scented of a strong magic.
“You’re not just a witch, are you, Maddie?”
Removing her hands, she stood back, and crossed her arms over her chest.
His dragon lost its shit and roared within his soul. He wanted to grab her and spank her for what she’d done. He wanted to grab her and mark her right here. Maybe the dragon knew what he was doing.
Nothing made sense. She should want him, beg for him. Instead, he was the one adjusting his stance as the need for her
