Unicorn Vet

by Zoe Chant

  “You’re just a little baby, aren’t you,” Angel said soothingly. “Bet your mama will be glad to see you again.”

  The baby basilisk cheeped and nuzzled him.

  Waylon gave a snort.

  Everly, stepping very carefully, edged backward until she was beside Angel. Gazing fixedly into her phone, she pulled a black drawstring bag out of her purse, dropped it over the baby basilisk, and tied the strings around Angel’s elbows.

  “Everly, you were incredible,” he said.

  “So were you. I’d never have had the nerve to fling myself like that when I couldn’t see.”

  He smiled that sweet smile of his. “Didn’t take any nerve. You told me to do it, so I knew it’d be fine.”

  She reversed her camera view and led him back to the portal. This time Bryan and Waylon followed her scent, and the sound of Angel’s voice as he spoke gently to the baby basilisk, which happily chirped back to him, unperturbed by the bag encasing it.

  At last they reached the portal. She guided Angel to it, then turned her back and watched through the phone as he removed the baby basilisk from the bag. He knelt down and, cupping his hands around the basilisk, scooted the creature through the portal.

  There was a soft ringing sound, and her ears popped. The portal vanished.

  Instantly, the grove was filled with sound and movement. Birds exploded up from the forest floor, wings flapping and feathers flying. Rabbits, mice, and squirrels bolted in every direction, squealing and squeaking. Crickets resumed chirping, and millipedes trundled away on their many-legged business. With the basilisk’s departure, all the stone creatures had come back to life.

  Everly’s relief was so intense that she felt dizzy. She swayed, the phone falling from her hand. It hit a rock with a sharp crack.

  Angel yanked off his blindfold and rushed to her side, steadying her in his strong arms. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she gasped. “Don’t worry.”

  “You were amazing,” said Angel. “You saved so many lives.”

  “Especially in the bug population,” said Bryan from behind her. She nearly turned around, then decided to leave him a little more time to get dressed.

  “More than that,” said Waylon, also from behind her. “That basilisk was fast. If it wasn’t for Everly, it might’ve turned up in Raelynn’s bedroom!”

  “None of us could’ve gotten back here if it wasn’t for Angel,” said Everly. He shrugged, brushing it off, but she persisted. “No, it’s true. Angel, you really have a gift. Who cares that you can’t heal? What you do is better than healing. Anyone can stitch a cut or set a broken bone, but only you can touch a terrified, dangerous creature and make it calm down. That basilisk wasn’t sick or hurt, it was just lost and scared. It didn’t need a healer. It needed you.”

  Chapter 11

  Angel looked into his mate’s beautiful brown eyes, and felt the truth of her words. The power he had might not be the power his family had expected, but it was important and useful, and it was his. He’d heard that before, from friends and colleagues, but it had taken Everly saying so to make him believe it.

  His inner unicorn tossed his mane. I’ve been telling you all along. We’re perfect exactly the way we are.

  “I believe you,” Angel said to Everly, mentally adding, I don’t know about perfect. But you’re right enough to say ‘I told you so.’

  I told you so, said his unicorn.

  Angel laughed. In that moment, all his doubts and hesitations vanished. Everly had come up with a plan to capture a baby basilisk, and risked her own life to carry it out. She was strong as steel. He could tell her the truth of his heart, and trust her not to feel pressured or rushed by it.

  “I love you,” he said. “I’ve loved you since the first moment I laid eyes on you. It’s a gift that shifters have, to recognize their mate—their true love—at first sight. You’re mine, and I’m yours. I don’t know how we’ll work out the details, but I know we can.”

  Her eyes glistened in the moonlight. But if she was holding back tears, they were clearly tears of joy. She threw herself into his arms, and the heat of her mouth on his told him everything he needed to know.

  Some time later, when they were capable again of noticing anything but each other, they heard the faint sound of a truck engine starting, then the sound of a truck driving away. They broke apart and glanced around. At some time while they’d been kissing and lost to the world, Waylon and Bryan had taken off.

  “Should I be embarrassed?” Everly asked.

  “Nah,” said Angel, though he was, a little bit. Trying not to think about his colleagues packing up and leaving while he and Everly had been obliviously lip-locked, he went on, “Like I said, it’s a shifter thing. They understand. Sort of.”

  “Do they have mates?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. Bryan doesn’t socialize, and Raelynn’s mom isn’t in the picture. So… I guess they understand, but they don’t understand understand.” He touched his heart. “Here.”

  “I understand here.” Everly put her own hand on her heart. “And I’m glad you explained—I kept thinking it was way too soon to fall in love so hard. But if it isn’t just me, then it’s not weird.”

  “It’s not weird at all.”

  She stooped to pick up her phone from the forest floor. Shards of glass tinkled down as she lifted it.

  “Oh, no,” said Angel.

  Everly looked down at it thoughtfully, then said, “To be honest… It’s a relief. This thing is like the One Ring from Lord of the Rings. It takes over my life. It sucks out my energy. It’s always on my mind. Even when it’s not buzzing, I know it could at any minute.”

  “And it doesn’t even make you invisible.”

  She chuckled, then hit the power button. “Just to see…”

  To his surprise, the phone lit up. The screen was spiderwebbed with cracks, but the phone still worked. It buzzed aggressively, text message after text message popping up. She caught a glimpse of FROZEN MYSTERY FISH THROWN INSIDE, HIT RESTAURANT CRITIC ON HEAD before she averted her eyes.

  “You know, Waylon and Bryan and me have a system for after-hours calls,” Angel said. “None of us are on call all the time, unless it’s an actual emergency that requires all of us. We rotate which of us is on call for the portal, and which of us is on call for regular veterinary emergencies. That way none of us are getting bugged on our days off.”

  “But I’m the only manager,” Everly began, then trailed off. “You’re right, though. I do have a staff. I don’t have to be on call during my vacation. I guess it just feels like this is how high-pressure jobs are supposed to work. If you’re not on duty 24-7, you’re slacking.”

  “No one can be on duty 24-7 without burning out.”

  Decisively, she wrote a brief text message, then showed it to him.

  PLEASE STOP TEXTING ME WHILE I’M ON VACATION. USE YOUR OWN BEST JUDGMENT TO DEAL WITH ANY PROBLEMS.

  Her finger hovered over the “send” button.

  “It’s a great text,” said Angel.

  She hit the button.

  He gathered her into his arms. “I’m proud of you. I bet that took even more nerve than the basilisk hunt.”

  “You are so right.”

  They drove back to Vets For All Pets, which Angel was rather relieved to find empty, and went to the unusual animal room to collect Rock.

  The guinea moth was curled up in a nest of straw, its antennae twitching gently as it dreamed. Nightcrawler was a ball of white feathers in the dimness, sleeping on her perch with her head tucked under her wing. The merhorse slept on the beach, kneeling with its legs on the sand and its tail in the water. The gem toads, which were sleepy in the day, were wide awake now, hopping around and croaking and polishing their jewels on tufts of moss.

  Rock was clinging to the bars of the cage, looking deeply annoyed at being in it. When Everly opened the door, the little dragonette flew at her, then veered aside and flapped all the way across the room b
efore colliding with Angel’s chest and glomming onto it with her sharp little talons.

  “She flew!” Everly picked her up and petted her. “Good girl, Rock. What a good first flight.”

  Rock, apparently overwhelmed with success, dove into Everly’s cleavage and hid there. It reminded Angel just how much he’d like to get a better look at her cleavage. Minus the dragonette.

  “Spend the night with me,” he said, taking her into his arms.

  She melted into his touch, nuzzling his throat in a way that set his blood on fire. He couldn’t wait to take her home and—

  Home. That brought his dreams to a screeching halt.

  I told you to make your apartment a place of romance and sensuality fit for a mate, said his unicorn. But no. Gaming consoles and muddy boots and pizza boxes everywhere! You cannot subject our mate to such horrors.

  Angel had to agree. “My place is kind of a bachelor pad. To put it mildly.”

  “Mine is the world’s coziest and most romantic bed & breakfast.” Her voice dropped to a purr that sent desire thrilling through his entire body. “Just wait till you see my bed.”

  Angel couldn’t resist. Lifting her into his arms, he said, “Just wait till you see my horn.”

  Chapter 12

  Everly awoke beside Angel’s warm body, filled with a bone-deep sense of satisfaction. She stretched luxuriously, curling into him, then leaned on her elbow to look at him. Her gaze lingered on the fine bone structure of his sleeping face, his hair like black silk, his thick eyelashes, the ripped muscles of his arms and shoulders and chest, the elegant bones of his pelvis…

  His horn, she thought, and giggled.

  He woke up, his warm brown eyes opening, and the sweetest smile spread over his face. He drew her down and kissed her, and her satisfaction blossomed into a pure, true love. It was as if an invisible bond connected them, living and unbreakable. She never wanted to leave him—not even to go to a city five hours away.

  Angel must have been having the same thoughts, because he said, “I’ve been thinking. This isn’t the only place where I could be a vet. I could do that anywhere. There’s lots of pets in Refuge City. Some of them are even magical animals.”

  That was the last thing she’d expected. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Not a lot of them. But there’s a few. I’m scheduled to see some of them today, actually. Their owners have to drive all the way here to get their shots and so forth. If I moved to the city and opened a practice, I’d mostly see regular animals, but I’d still have a few magical ones.”

  “But Angel, would you really be happy there?”

  “I’d be happy anywhere that I could be with you.” His sincerity and love were unmistakable. He really would go anywhere in the world, just to be with her.

  But that went both ways. She’d go anywhere to be with him.

  In Refuge City, he’d have his practice and she’d have her restaurant. He loved all animals, so he really would be happy even if there were fewer magical ones. She’d keep a better work-life balance, so while she’d still be busy, she’d draw a hard line at being pestered when she was off-duty.

  “In La Puerta,” she said, only realizing she was speaking aloud when she heard her own words, “You’d have your practice with Waylon and Bryan. They’re not just colleagues, they’re friends. I don’t have real friends at Des Dieux a Tes Levres. And I’ve never even met any of my co-workers’ kids. You have Raelynn hanging around all the time. She’s great. I know you’d miss them.”

  “I would. But…”

  “You have a restaurant space here that needs to be filled. There’s successful restaurants here, so there’s enough locals and tourists to support them. But you know what you don’t have? A really good café. You know what would make that work? A really excellent manager.”

  Angel was starting to smile. “I bet running a café in La Puerta would be less stressful than running a five-star gourmet restaurant in Refuge City, huh?”

  “And a lot more fun.” Everly’s mind was racing ahead. “La Puerta is closer to my family. They’d love to see me more. And I’d love to see them more. I don’t think they care at all exactly what work I’m doing, so long as I’m happy with it. I like the people here—the vets and Raelynn and Isa. I like the forests. I like the ice cream. And I love the magical animals.”

  Angel’s eyes gleamed like stars. “No wonder we’re mates. We’re going to be so happy together.”

  A loud squawk above their heads made them both jump. Rock was perched on the top of the headboard, white wings spread wide, tail lashing.

  “I think she’s hungry,” said Angel, at the same time that Everly said, “She wants breakfast.”

  They scrambled out of bed, then almost collided as they rushed for the mini-fridge where Everly kept Rock’s collards and chopped meat.

  “My unicorn says we’re made for each other,” said Angel.

  Everly reached up and brushed his silky black hair out of his eyes. “Your unicorn’s right.”

  After they fed Rock, they showered together, which was an incredible experience all by itself, then called down for coffee and breakfast for two. Isa brought it up to them, remarking, “I wondered how long it’d be before I saw Angel here.”

  “He’s my mate,” said Everly. “I’m moving to La Puerta.”

  Isa hugged her. “Congratulations! You’ll love it here. I knew it from the moment I saw you. This place is much more your style.” Then she hugged Angel, saying, “You’ve got a strong, smart, beautiful mate. Don’t let it go to your… horn.”

  He gave a theatrical groan. Isa stooped to pet Rock, then went out, laughing.

  They squeezed into the window seat and ate breakfast together, bare feet and knees touching, looking out at the pine forest below.

  “Our house should have a window seat,” said Angel.

  “Are we getting a house now?”

  “My unicorn would really like me to get rid of my apartment. And I would too. What do you think?”

  “I think I have enough money saved from Des Dieux a Tes Levres that if I pool it with whatever you’ve saved, it’s possible. So yes. We’ll hold out for a window seat.”

  Angel had to work that day, but she came with him to Vets For All Pets. There were some things she needed to do, and she wanted to do them with him around, even if he was mostly busy. She greeted all the unusual animals, and the ordinary animals as well. Then she sat down in the break room with a mug of coffee (nowhere near as good as Isa’s) and composed her letter of resignation to Des Dieux a Tes Levres, while Rock made vain attempts to fly all the way up to the counters.

  When Angel came in between patients to give her a kiss and see if she needed anything, she told him what she’d done.

  “Can I read it?”

  She passed him her phone. He looked, then burst out laughing. “You resigned over text message?”

  “I thought it was appropriate,” said Everly.

  “Extremely. What else do you have on your schedule?”

  “Giving notice to my landlord and utilities, and hiring movers. I’ll save telling my family for later. After I catch them up, we can all do a video call, so I can introduce you. They’ll love you.”

  Angel rubbed his forehead, looking a bit alarmed. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. Come on, Angel, you faced down a basilisk that could have turned you to stone. How scary are a pair of parents… and grandparents… and sisters… and their spouses and kids…”

  “Much scarier than the basilisk. But I guess they can’t turn me to stone over a video call. Anyway, I wanted to tell you to stick around for another hour. We have the unusual pets coming in. Raelynn even wheedled her dad into letting her stay home from school so she could spend extra time with them.”

  “What kind of unusual pets are they?”

  “They’ve never been here before,” Angel said. “I gather their owners only got them recently.”

  “You must know what they are, though.”

  He gr
inned. “I’ve gotten descriptions. And from the descriptions, I think it’ll be really fun to see your face when you see them.”

  He ducked out before she could reply. As she worked through her phone calls, people started joining her in the break room.

  First Bryan came in, got a cup of coffee, leaned against the wall, and looked at her over the edge of the mug with his amber wolf eyes. She was expecting something along the lines of “If you break Angel’s heart I will lock you in a room with the basilisk,” but instead he said, “Anyone who can bond with a dragonette and help catch a basilisk and make Angel that happy is all right with me.”

  “Thank you. Any friend of Angel’s is a friend of mine.”

  “You two are mates, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, we are.”

  “I wonder what that’s like,” he said, very quietly and more to himself than to her. “To have someone.”

  Then he picked up a file and started reading it with an air of “do not disturb.”

  “You’re moving here, right?” Raelynn demanded, bursting through the door. “Angel’s not leaving, is he?”

  “No, no,” Everly assured her. “I’ll be living with him right here.”

  “Oh, good. It’ll be nice having you here, too. I’ve always hoped a dragonette would choose me… or anything would choose me… well, anyway, I’m so happy to have a dragonette around.”

  Waylon, who had come in after her and caught the end of her speech, said pointedly, “And…?”

  “And you too, of course, Everly,” Raelynn added.

  “Congratulations,” Waylon said. “Welcome to La Puerta.”

  “Welcome to the pa—” Bryan broke off in mid-word, coughed, and said, “Welcome to Vets For All Pets.”

  “We should throw her a party,” suggested Raelynn. “With cake!”

  “You just want cake,” said Waylon.

  “I want cake,” said Everly.

  Waylon opened his huge hands in surrender. “Cake it is.”

  “Not chocolate,” said Bryan.

  “He’s allergic,” confided Raelynn to Everly. “Isn’t that tragic?”