Page 15 of His Unicorn Alpha (Shifters Sanctuary #3)

A s I watched my beautiful mate rear back with confusion and fear —emotions which resonated deep inside my chest and took my breath away— I hurriedly shifted back into my human form and rushed to him.

As I neared, I took in every detail that I could. His coat was an almost metallic golden color, like the rarest of the Akhal-Teke breed of horses, and the color extended to the sleek wings tucked against his flank. He had long, elegant legs and what appeared to be a silky-smooth mane in a shimmering golden-white color. But it was the metallic gold unicorn horn in the middle of his forehead, perfectly twirled and tapered to a deadly sharp point at the end, which stood out the most.

“Darling,” I soothed him, reaching out to stroke his soft, smooth flank as I approached from the side, “it’s all right. You are magnificent.”

He turned his head towards me, and I had the presence of mind to duck before his horn could make contact. His nostrils flared and he released a short snort of air rather forcefully.

“You are,” I insisted, stroking the side of his neck. I marveled at how silky and smooth his coat was. It was almost iridescent in the sunlight. “I understand this is a shock, however you are breathtaking, Micah.”

“A unicorn,” Eric declared, sounding just as awed as I felt. He carefully walked towards me, also approaching from the side, though I was certain my mate would not kick out with his powerful hooves.

My brother glanced at me with wide eyes. “Have you heard of unicorn shifters?”

Aware that Micah was watching me, I shook my head slowly. “No. However, many believe that dragons are myths these days, too. Perhaps unicorns have concealed their existence better than us?”

Eric considered this and nodded, even as his eyes continued to travel over my mate’s shifted form. “True,” he said, in the distracted tone he often used when he was thinking. “So much knowledge has been lost to time…unicorns could be one of those things.”

Micah’s fright and panic had eased out of our bond and I smiled at him, reaching towards his horn. “May I?” I asked.

He let out a gentler chuff of breath and lowered his head carefully. When my fingertips brushed the glossy gold surface, I was momentarily surprised. “It’s warm,” I said out loud, more for Micah’s benefit than for Eric’s, though I knew he was taking notes. My brother was also likely dying of jealousy, but I just knew that Micah would not allow him the privilege of this kind of exploration. At least, not yet. When I stroked the gold ridges a little more firmly, Micah nickered. A rush of arousal traveled through the bond and I immediately understood.

He must feel the same way as I do when he strokes the scales on my face.

“Apologies, darling,” I soothed.

“What? Why? Talk me through what’s happening.” Eric demanded with a hint of a whine. “Please, Bran.”

“It’s an erogenous zone,” I murmured, removing my fingers and stroking the length of Micah’s muzzle instead. “I felt similarly when I par-shifted during our mating, and he stroked the scales on my face. Instant arousal.”

“Huh,” from the corner of my eye, I watched my youngest brother tilt his head and cock his hip. “I’ve never experienced anything like that.”

“Have your scales erupted during sex?”

“Well…no.” He frowned at me. “Most men don’t like it when you go lizard on them mid-coitus.”

Micah snorted lightly, and I assumed he felt as amused as I did.

“Humans, no,” I agreed with Eric’s sentiments, “but shifters can surprise you.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not something I’ve ever done — spontaneously or otherwise.” He frowned at me. “Have you always— pppffft ?” he accompanied the odd sound with extended fingers gesturing at his face.

I chuckled. “No. It only happens when I am extremely…how do people phrase it now? Into it?”

“Don’t strain yourself to sound young, Bran,” he teased me in response, “and there’s no need for euphemisms, either. It’s a hyper-aroused thing, huh?”

“I suppose,” I shrugged. “It has happened every time with my mate, though.”

“Fascinating…”

I groaned. “Please do not tell me you wish to watch us mate. I draw the line at that.”

Micah stamped his front hooves and whipped his nearly-white tail in what I assumed was agreement.

“Ew, no. Not even for science, big brother.” Eric shuddered.

Rolling my eyes, I turned my complete attention back to my mate. “Should we test your wings?”

His body swayed as he stepped backwards, shaking his head.

“Darling,” I pleaded, “I will shift and fly with you.” Just speaking the promise filled me with anticipation and excitement. “Fate…the universe —however you wish to see it— has granted us the ability to fly together. Is that not a sign to you?”

Apprehension traveled between us and I tried to see this from his perspective. This was the first time he had shifted into this form. For his entire life, he had been a horse, comfortable on the ground. The ground was firm and stable and solid: the sky was unknown and fathomless. Then there was the risk of falling, of plummeting to certain death from unsurvivable heights.

“I will be with you,” I told him gently. “I won’t allow anything to happen to you.”

On some level, a voice at the back of my head said that he had no reason to trust me. I had not yet earned his trust, not so soon at any rate. However, my mate proved that voice wrong, letting out a sigh before he bowed his head in obvious acquiescence.

“We will not go too high or too fast,” I promised him, backing away so that I could shift in return.

He neighed at me and stamped his hooves again, stretching out his wings as he gave them what I could only describe as an experimental shake.

“It will come naturally,” I told him, assuming he was making a point of not knowing how to fly. “I will attempt to share through the bond what I feel when I take flight, but your instincts should take over.”

There were no more disgruntled sounds, so I backed away and then shifted back into my dragon form. I did not feel too drained, and I made a note to report as much to Eric, as much as it irritated me that I had become his lab rat. Still, it would help us to treat our pack’s shifters, and to share the knowledge with others like us around the world.

With the shift completed, I looked down at my mate and purred with appreciation. My dragon had never seen anything as perfect. Even though our size difference was ridiculous, that was my alpha. My mate. And he was glorious.

Forcing myself to concentrate on what usually came naturally, I flexed my wings for flight. Leaping from the ground, I beat my wings to create thrust, working the muscles until I was soaring through the air, gliding and only flapping when necessary. I focused on sending the entire process through the connection I shared with Micah, and I paired it with encouragement.

Then I circled the field, watching with bated breath.

At first, Micah attempted to repeat my actions. His equine form reared back on its hind legs and leaped, beating its wings…only to land without any lift off. He gave it a few tries, all with the same results, before Eric moved towards him. I assumed my brother was giving my mate some kind of pep talk or advice, but from my altitude, I could not hear what he said.

But I felt a wave of determination emanating from the bond before Micah’s golden form turned around and galloped through the field. I followed from above, and felt a surge of pride for him as he sprang forward during his run into the wind, spreading his wings and finally gaining the lift and thrust he had been missing before.

I swooped down to meet him, giving him space to get his bearings, but remaining close enough that I could intervene as promised should anything go wrong.

At first, the emotions that traveled through the bond were shock and awe, followed by fear as he rose higher and higher into the air, leaving the ground far behind us. But, as his wings slowed their frantic beating and began to glide and flap slowly in the same relaxed pattern as my own, the fear dissipated.

His coat and horn reflected the sun’s rays as he experimented with dipping and diving along currents of air. Had I been human, I would have whooped as I joined him, twirling around his smaller form as he became more confident with his abilities.

Joy tinted with disbelief filtered through the bond, and I was certain he could feel my echoing enjoyment and amusement, too. Never in my wildest dreams had I dared to believe that my mate —my alpha— would have the capacity to join me in flight.

I lost track of time as we meandered through the sky above Beck’s farmland, but movement below us caught my eye. Focusing, I smothered a dragonly sigh at the sight of my brother waving us down.

Making certain that Micah was following me, I began a lazy descent, then landed not far from where I had taken flight. I cast my gaze back up to the sky to watch as my mate also came in for a landing, his hooves touching the ground so he could canter then trot to a stop. He made the movement seem effortless, as though he had been flying his entire life.

“Sorry to cut that short,” Eric apologized as we shifted back to our human forms. “But I really do have appointments to get to, and I have so many questions…”

“Yeah, well,” Micah breathed heavily as he hastily tugged on his underwear, sounding as if he had been running a marathon, “you know where we, uh, Brandt lives. You could have come knocking later. Or, better yet, texted.”

Eric shrugged. “I could have, but this way I can take new blood samples.” His eyes lit up. “I’d like to take them from you in shifted form, too, if possible.”

“Does it have to be right now?” I asked him, which earned me a baleful glare.

“Aren’t you itching to get answers too?”

I was actually itching to get my alpha back into bed, but I did not think Eric would appreciate that answer, so I sighed. “I suppose I would like to do some research on the existence of unicorns.” I cast Micah an apologetic glance. “We are starting from scratch when it comes to knowledge of your kind.”

“My kind,” he repeated. “I’m a horse. That…the wings and the horn and the super shiny gold coat? That’s not my usual form. I mean, I’ve always been a golden color…but not like that.”

“Perhaps,” Eric postulated, “you’re not all that different to the other alphas after all. I mean, yeah, you knew you were a shifter…but your alpha is an entirely different breed which you never knew about, much like they didn’t know they could shift at all.” He pulled out his phone to type notes. “I wish we had some sort of baseline reading of the others’ blood prior to their alphas making an appearance. I know we have yours,” he looked up at Micah briefly before burying his nose in his screen again, “but, for obvious reasons, we don’t have any of the others on file.”

“And they can’t contact their doctors from before they shifted?”

Eric’s head shot up and he met my wide-eyed stare before slowly turning back to Micah. “I never even thought of that.” Before Micah could say anything more, Eric flung himself into his arms and kissed his cheek. “You’re brilliant!”

Pausing with my shorts halfway up my legs, I growled.

“Scales, sugar,” Micah extricated himself from my brother’s grasp and closed the space between us, cupping my jaw. I shuddered as he ran his thumb over the side of my face. “You’re the only omega for me.”

“Sorry,” Eric sounded genuinely apologetic. “I keep forgetting how possessive pregnant omegas can be. Especially in the early days of their bond forming.”

“You won’t forget if I bite you,” I grumbled back at him, and Micah chuckled as he resumed dressing.

“I think the growly, jealous vibes are hot, sugar.”

I huffed, “I am not jealous . You are mine. ”

Eric snorted.

I rolled my eyes at my brother. “You can shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” he protested, but he sounded amused.

Choosing to pointedly ignore him as we finished getting dressed, I accepted Micah’s outstretched hand and fell into step with him as we made our way back towards the clinic. Eric trailed behind us, asking Micah questions about his shift and how it differed to his original form.

“Yeah, once I was in the air instinct just…took over, I guess,” Micah answered when Eric asked him about his first flight. We approached the front door to the clinic and he opened the door, gesturing for me and Eric to precede him inside.

Chivalry is not yet dead, I thought as I smiled and walked inside.

“Well look who decided to come to work,” Day teased from the receptionist desk.

“It is a tough life being one of your bosses,” I sassed back, coming to a stop in front of him. I folded my arms across my chest. “When were you going to tell me your son was speaking, hmm?”

He had the grace to appear apologetic. “With the excitement of everything else happening, I forgot to brag,” he admitted. “Sorry, Bran. Rex texted and said you got to hear it in person, though.”

“I did.” I grinned, feeling all warm and gooey at the memory of hearing the little voice speak a broken version of my name. “It is very exciting. He is growing up so fast.”

“They do that,” he agreed lightly, then gestured at my belly with his chin, the corner of his lips quirking. “It won’t be long until yours are here and growing like weeds.”

“Six months at most,” I smoothed my palm over the soft bulge which I swore was more prominent than it had been only a few days earlier. “But with multiples, it will likely be sooner.”

He grimaced. “I do not envy you having to push three of them out. I felt wrecked enough after one, and you both said it was such a quick and easy delivery.” He shuddered as if reliving the experience. “Never again.”

“But is it not worth it to have your son?”

Playfully, Day rolled his eyes. “Fine, bring up the reward at the end. Let’s see if you’re as cheerful after popping one of yours out, shall we?”

“I still reserve the right to complain about the pain.”

“Too late,” he turned away to tap at his computer keyboard. “ Think of the reward , Bran.”

I looked over at my mate, who was still patiently answering Eric’s questions, and I imagined how patient he would be with our babies.

Think of the reward indeed.