Enchantress (Rewritten)

The Compromise

*24 Hours Earlier*

Chase POV.

I replayed my conversation with Valerie over and over in my head. I could feel all her emotions being channelled through the scar. I could feel her hurt, her frustration, and worse of all--I could feel her love. 

Valerie loved me. I loved her back. Why did I let this happen?

How could I let this happen?

"You are an absolute idiot." Xavier's voice surprised me when I headed out of the house. His face was badly busted from our fight, but with our sped-up healing process we'd both be back to normal within a day. "You fell for your Enchantress. After all the warnings the Elders gave you, after everything I told you--"

"I can't control it." I cut him off. "I don't know why I feel this way. I know it's wrong to feel this way, but I can't control it!" 

"I know." Xavier nodded, his voice softening. I was surprised to hear those words come out of his mouth. "I care about her too."

We both fell into silence. Just a couple weeks ago, the two of us had been best friends--like brothers--and now we couldn't go a day without trying to tear the other apart. "What I said inside...about Rebecca. I was wrong. That was wrong of me to say those things." I admitted, lowering my head to avoid eye contact with him. 

"I was wrong too." Xavier confessed. "I admit that I was trying to get you unassigned from Valerie. I look at her...and I see everything that I miss about Rebecca. I thought that she could be my second chance, but now I see that it was wrong for me to try to take her from you." I wanted to be angry at Xavier for trying to separate me from my Enchantress, for trying to break our bond, but I looked at his sad eyes and I knew that he wasn't trying to do it so that I'd fail, he was trying to do it so that he could make peace with himself over his past mistakes. "You have no idea the pain I felt when I lost Rebecca, and I don't ever want you to have to experience that."

"I can't protect her by myself." I told him. "We both know that Valerie's a lot more powerful than your average Enchantress. She listens to you. You can teach her a lot more than I ever could."

"She might listen to me, but it's you that she really wants. She needs you by her side." Xavier paused. "She's stubborn like you and would never admit it, but she loves you just as much as you love her"

"The Elders are gonna kill me." I said softly, realizing how deep of shit that I was in.  "I am totally f*cked! We are totally f*cked!" I ran my fingers nervously through my hair. 

"Slow down, kid." Xavier tried to calm me down.

"I never should of let it go this far. You saw how she looked in there. She had drained all her power from her body!" I paused to catch my breath. "If what the Elders are planning is true, if we can trust everything Jacob told you, then Valerie has a lot more to worry about than just an Lawless Alpha. She can do things...things I'm not sure she's supposed to be able to do." I thought back to the lightning. She had created that. Her elements went beyond the normal range of an Enchantress of Space. "The Elders are going to take notice. They'll take her from us."

"We're not going to let that happen." Xavier assured me, gripping me by my shoulders to shake me back to my senses.

"We aren't strong enough to go against the Elders."

"Well we sure as hell aren't letting her go running off with Jacob either." Xavier said flatly. "Valerie needs to stay here with us." 

"Right now, she doesn't trust either of us." I told him. "What makes you think that we can change that?"

"We need to work together."

"You're kidding." I almost laughed.

"I'm serious, Chase. We've been trying so hard to prove ourselves as the better Protector when we really should be working together."

"That'll never work."

"Do you want to lose her?" His voice was hard, stern. "Do you, Chase?" He stared directly into my eyes.

"Of course not." I whispered, my voice carried away by the wind.

"Then you have to compromise." 

"So let me get this straight...you're suggesting some sort of joint-Protectorship?"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting." A small smirk began to form on his face.

"And what if that doesn't work? What if the Alpha gets to her or the Elders take her away? What if--even together--we can' t protect her?" 

"Don't you think it's at least worth a try?" 

I could still feel the warmth in my scar from her love radiating through me, and that was enough motivation for me to finally answer with, "Fine. You're right. Let's do this."

Xavier broke into a huge grin. "Who knows, this joint-Protectorship might even be fun." He said, throwing his arm around my shoulder.

"This is a temporary compromise." I reminded him, my gaze shifting back towards the house where Valerie resided inside. 

"Temporary, of course." Xavier nodded, half-heartedly agreeing. 

"Temporary." I repeated.