Unicorn Truth (Valentine Pride Book 3)

by Laura Greenwood

  Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Epilogue

  Excerpt: Magical Mischief

  Other Series by L.A. Boruff

  About L.A. Boruff

  Also by Laura Greenwood

  About the Author

  © 2019 Laura Greenwood & L.A. Boruff

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission of the published, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address; lauragreenwood@authorlauragreenwood.co.uk.

  Visit Laura Greenwood’s website at:

  www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk

  Visit L.A. Boruff’s website at:

  www.laboruff.com

  Cover Design by Ammonia Book Covers

  Formatting by Gina Writes Words

  Unicorn Truth is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Blurb

  Leola thought she had the answers to her past, but soon discovers that's not the case.

  When mysterious presents keep showing up, Leola and her mates know that something isn't right. But the truth behind the situation turns out to be even stranger than they originally thought. Leola will do everything she can to protect her family, especially now they have a cub of their own.

  Can she figure out who is behind the perceived threats? Or is it too late...

  Unicorn Truth is the third and final book in a steamy paranormal reverse harem romance featuring three hot mountain lion shifters and one rare brown unicorn.

  Chapter One

  Sunlight streamed through the breaks in the trees, illuminating my skin as I moved. The only sound I heard was my heavy breathing. I stopped, bending over with my hands on my knees. Why couldn't it be easier to get back into shape after having a baby? Hannah was my world, even if she was only a newborn, but it had wrecked my body to have her. I just had to hope that my inner-unicorn shifter would take pity on me and help me get back into shape relatively quickly.

  But she needed some encouragement. Hence the running. That, and I was out here because I enjoyed it. Nothing compared to running through the forest with the wind rippling through my hair. The isolation in this part of the mountain only added to the experience and the peace it brought me. Here there was no need to hide. Any part of me. It hardly seemed real to think that ten months ago, I'd still been concealing my true self.

  Or that I still thought I was a deer.

  I chuckled at that memory. Never in my wildest dreams had I considered that I'd be taught how wrong I was by three smoking hot mountain lions.

  "Right, come on Leola, time to get running again," I muttered.

  Taking a deep breath, I set off again, starting a steady jog. I had to work myself up to a run, or I'd regret it later.

  Fallen leaves and twigs crunched underfoot, and I lost myself in the sounds of the wood. There was nothing like living up here. The freedom, the privacy, the other shifters around who acted like one big family. I was so lucky to have found my mates and the people who lived around them.

  I passed by one of the huge rocks that lined the way home. A nice, cool almond-milk shake was waiting for me in the fridge. Maybe it wasn't the healthiest of options, but I needed a lot of energy to look after a baby. I deserved all the dairy-free goodness I wanted.

  A shiver passed down my spine, and I slowed to a walk. I frowned as I looked around. My skin crawled, almost as if someone was watching me as I worked out. I recognized the feeling from when the guys and I played predator and prey. They found it fun to chase me, and I liked it when I was caught. They always made it worth my while.

  Except that this wasn't one of my guys watching. I'd recognize the feel of their attention on me. I felt it often enough. This wasn't friendly.

  "Hello?" I called out. "Is anyone there?"

  Of course, I didn't get an answer, I hadn't really expected one if I was honest. But that didn't mean I shouldn't try. Perhaps it was one of the kids from the shifter village; they liked to play in the woods. Maybe they'd decided to play a stalking game with me. It was good practice for them.

  "Hello?" I repeated, suppressing the urge to step back and block myself against a tree. At least then I'd only have to watch in front of me. Cas had been teaching me the best ways to protect myself, and while I doubted I could do much against claws and teeth, I could do some damage against a human.

  In theory. As it was, I couldn't let whoever it was watching realize that I was uncomfortable.

  I gulped down my fear. "I know you're there."

  A rustle in the bushes to my right drew my attention. The urge to call out for my mates intensified, but they weren't anywhere around and wouldn't be able to hear. It wouldn't make any difference to do that, other than letting the person know I was scared.

  Deciding that the person probably knew where we lived already, given how close we were to our home, I did the only thing I could and sped up, moving back into a jog. With every moment that passed, I increased my speed, until I was running faster than I had intended when I'd set out today. My unicorn begged to take over, but I ignored her. Nothing would bring out the other person's shifter side faster, and that would very likely be more dangerous than this.

  The moment I saw a familiar cluster of trees, I let out a sigh of relief. Soon, I'd be able to get inside and lock the door. That would hopefully mean whoever it was watching me wouldn't be able to anymore.

  My toes caught on an upturned root, and I stumbled forward, throwing out my hands and catching hold of a tree trunk to steady myself. A sharp sting flew through me. No doubt my hand would be grazed now, but it was a small price to pay in place of a bloody nose.

  Prickles traveled up my back. The person was still there, then. Meaning they had to be moving through the woods at the same pace as I was. Which could only be one of two things. Either it was a crazy coincidence, or it was someone who wanted me specifically. I just had to hope it was nothing sinister.

  I brushed my hands against my leggings, knocking the worst of the dirt and bark from them.

  "Hello?" I called out again, though I knew it wasn't going to make a difference. "I can't help you if you don't talk to me." I knew it probably wasn't someone who just wanted to talk, but if I accepted the more sinister reasoning, I'd just end up more scared than I needed to be.

  I shook my head. There really was nothing for it. Setting off at a brisk walk, I tried not to let my haste take over. That was how I'd nearly ended up falling in the first place. If I wasn't more careful, I'd end up with three overprotective mountain lions trying to tell me I couldn't go out without their supervision. It didn't even come from a controlling place on their part, they'd just gone from finding me, to having a pregnant me around all the time in the space of a few days, they hadn't had a chance to get used to having a normal me around.

  Every time I stepped through a break in the trees, the sensation of being watched increased. This person really wasn't going to leave me alone. I should lap the house a few times and hope they got bored, but the need to b
e somewhere safe, and to check that Hannah was safe too, filled me. Besides, whoever it was must know where I lived. It wasn't exactly hard to find, even if it was carved into the mountain itself. And if they were a shifter, they could just walk up to any of the others and ask, and the next thing they knew, they'd be in my kitchen with Kerry making them spiced hot chocolate.

  The incline made my legs burn, but I welcomed the sensation. It meant I was nearly home and to safety.

  What felt like both hours and seconds later, I stood in front of the gaping hole that our door left on the mountain. I glanced behind me, still aware of my follower's gaze on my back.

  Deciding there was nothing for it, I entered my house and closed the door swiftly behind me, only relaxing when I heard the telltale click of the lock.

  "Leola?" Kerry's new apprentice, April, whisper-called out.

  "Just me," I responded, following the sound of her voice into Hannah's bedroom.

  My little girl lay in the crib, sleeping soundly on her back. She preferred sleeping on her stomach, but the human mantra ‘back to sleep’ was something I couldn’t get out of my head.

  "She's just gone down for a nap," the slight girl said.

  "Great." I smiled at her. We might not have known her long, but something within me knew she was trustworthy. Plus, she was a trained vet, which was better than a doctor in most shifters' eyes. They thought it gave her a better insight into their shifter sides and how they worked. To some extent, I had to agree, but I'd still insisted on her becoming Kerry's apprentice to learn more about us.

  "She's been good as gold."

  "She always is." I reached out and stroked a gentle hand over my little girl's downy hair. "Do you mind staying ten minutes longer while I grab a shower?" I didn't want to keep her from the other shifters that might need her help, but I also didn't want to send her out when I knew someone was watching our front door. As far as I knew, her mates were off doing their own jobs today, and couldn't be around to escort her everywhere.

  "Of course. I don't think Kerry needs me until the afternoon." She shrugged, clearly pretending not to know her own schedule for my benefit. She needn't have bothered. Kerry told me about his plans every morning.

  "Thanks." I gave Hannah one last lingering look before heading back to Cas' room to jump in the shower. His bathroom was the biggest and the best, so the one I used most often. Plus, it came with some great memories attached to it.

  I dumped my clothes in the laundry basket. Normally, I wouldn't wash workout gear after one run, but I didn't want my men to smell the fear in my sweat. I wouldn't keep what happened a secret, but that didn't mean I wanted to make it dramatic. I'd rather avoid that conversation. I wasn't hurt, and that was the main thing.

  Steam filled the room as the water heated up. I couldn't wait to step under and wash away the perspiration. It would help with the knot in my shoulders too. I stepped under, groaning as water sluiced down my skin. Everything seemed a little less scary with every moment I spent in the shower.

  But I couldn't stay here forever. April had her own work to do, and I needed to write my newest blog post. I was overdue on it, and while the guys could take care of me, I didn't want to be a burden on them and never contribute anything. Plus, my blog was important to me. Sharing my love of vegan food was a real passion, especially as I couldn't eat meat even if I wanted to, something to do with my unicorn shifting side not allowing me to.

  I shut off the water and wrapped myself in a towel.

  Something clattered to the floor, and I bent down to pick up the small package.

  "Another one? Really?" A smile stretched over my face. The guys had taken to leaving me the small presents all over the place. Not very often, I found them every couple of weeks, but no more than that. I kept meaning to bring it up, but they had this way of distracting me and making me forget completely.

  But the gift would have to wait. I pulled an outfit from the closet—I kept a few in each bedroom so I never had to walk around the house naked. I never knew what pride member might be in the house.

  I padded out of the bedroom and placed it on the dining table before heading back to Hannah's room.

  "I can take it from here," I said to April. "Thank you."

  "Any time." The platypus shifter flashed me a huge smile. "I love watching her. She's such a beautiful baby."

  "Are you thinking about having one?" I asked. She did always look at my little girl with longing in her eyes.

  "I don't think I'm ready yet." She shrugged. "We're still so young."

  "It'll happen when it happens," I assured her. "And not a moment before you're ready."

  She laughed lightly. "I've no doubt of that. In a world of fated mates, I don't believe the universe would give us children before we're ready."

  It was my turn to laugh. "My lions got me pregnant almost straight away, I think we're as prone to accidents as humans are." Though I had to admit, this was an accident I could get on board with. I wouldn't trade anything for my family. I loved all four of them so much.

  Chapter Two

  Humming, I smiled at Cas as he passed by Hannah’s door. He stopped and tiptoed in the room, pressing a soft kiss on my lips and an even softer kiss on her sweet head. My heart swelled as I watched his firm backside leave the room.

  She’d woken up from her nap early, and if I didn’t make sure she got her full sleep in, she’d be cranky all evening. Cas had stopped in for lunch. He was working this week up in the backcountry, helping an older wolf family whose home needed repairs. They wouldn’t accept money, but they didn’t mind what they called a barn raisin’. The community came together and did the repairs by hand, each person contributing a few supplies and a lot of labor. What the older couple didn’t know was that Cas had paid for all the supplies beforehand. And paid the ‘volunteers.’

  What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. I smiled at the almost-asleep Hannah as I hummed a tune I’d always known, but had no idea where I’d learned. I liked to think my parents had sung it to me.

  She finally drifted off, but I gave it a few minutes before setting her gently in her cradle. I'd learned early not to put her down as soon as she drifted off or she'd end up waking right back up.

  All the experts said to lay them down awake, but she was my sweet girl, and if I wanted to rock her to sleep, well, I would. The experts could stuff it.

  The guys had left again by the time I made it out of Hannah's room. They'd mostly cleaned up their mess, but never as clean as I could, so I went behind them and neatened the kitchen back up. I'd been a stay-at-home-mom since I'd learned I was pregnant, my blog really not taking too much of my time up. I'd insisted that I could care for our home and they'd found other work for their housekeeper. They'd never have let her go without something on backup.

  They loved to cook for me, though, so I rarely ended up doing that. And now that Hannah was here, they'd all three split many of the chores so I was able to spend a large part of my day caring for her without feeling the need to get back to other jobs.

  Once my kitchen was in order, I pulled out the ingredients to make my next vegan meal for my blog. I liked starting with a clean kitchen. It made taking photos and videos to upload much easier if I wouldn't have to stop and move things out of the way or clean up a counter.

  Reaching into a drawer for a large spoon, I found a small, wrapped gift. Smiling at it in surprise, I counted the days since I'd received my last one. It had only been a week since April had watched Hannah so I could run alone. I'd been doing aerobic exercise at home since then, a little concerned about the presence I'd felt.

  I'd told my mates about it that night, but I tried to downplay it. I didn't want them to know how much I'd freaked out. They'd gone out to see if they could find any strange scents or markings but hadn't come up with anything. They seemed to have forgotten about it, but I couldn't get the chills and neck-prickling anxiety out of my mind, so I'd stayed inside to exercise.

  Hannah loved watching me move to old
videos uploaded online, moving my body in a silly way. Opening the gift, I found a pair of earrings. They weren't too expensive, probably just nice costume jewelry, but they were my favorite color. I didn't have any in, so I slipped them in and tossed the box. I'd have to remember to thank the guys later.

  Guiltily, I remembered I'd never thanked them for the last gift, the one left in the bathroom. It had been a bottle of perfume. It suited me, but I knew they couldn't handle much of it, so I'd only worn the tiniest dab every day since then.

  They hadn't mentioned it, but then they'd been busy working on that house all week and had come home exhausted.

  I finished the meal with a bit of music in the background, contentedly moving around what had finally begun to feel like my kitchen. For so long, it had felt like I was working in my mates' kitchen, it was nice that the home was beginning to sink in as my own.

  By the time I finished the recipe, took all my pictures, ate it, and uploaded everything, Hannah was stirring. We spent the afternoon doing tummy time and vacuuming the house. I'd heard that the roar of the vacuum was soothing for babies, but she loved watching it. Every time I lunged forward she smiled.

  My life was peaceful, something I'd become attached to. I had no desire for an eventful life.

  No, thanks.

  "Your daddies will be home soon, Hannah-Banana." She stared at me from her bouncy seat, kicking her little hands and fists as hard as she could. "They're bringing pizza, since I cooked for my blog today, they're feeding themselves." I talked to her like that all day, every day.

  She was my delight.