Page 94 of Stubborn as a Shadow

“Of course.”

“Yours is pretty spiffy too,” I said, gesturing toward the bit of green hair at his temple that hadn’t been there when I’d met him.

“Thank you. My mate…” He turned, but no one was at his side. Then his gaze caught on a fluffy black tail slipping under a sofa. He smiled indulgently before turning back to me and shrugging. “You’ll meet my mate later. He can be a bit shy.”

“I think Eric is shy too.”

“Eric? Is that Eric talking to Van?” Ogden nodded toward Keenan, who was having a quiet discussion with a gorgeous man in a police uniform. Nelson had mentioned the hellhound in one of our many talks at the cabin, and I’d been hoping I’d meet him. I was super curious about his ability to detect lies. I bet that’d make him an excellent judge of character… A bit like me. Except I couldn’t see myself in a profession like that.

Huh. A profession… I hadn’t really thought about what I could do for a living. Uncle Fraser had always insisted I stay home, which had limited my options. For years, I’d helped him prepare his magical tinctures—just the assembly of his products, since my magic couldn’t be used to make things like that—and then I was captured. Since I hadn’t ever gone anywhere, I had saved all the money I’d earned, which was a good thing. That had supported me after my escape so I could look for the crystal. But after today, I would have the crystal. So, then what?

I’d have to think about that. Later. Not now.

As the vampire spoke to the hellhound, he scanned the area, almost like he was looking for someone. His gaze caught mine for a second, before moving on to someone else. After a moment, the police officer—Van—nodded, shook the vampire’s hand, then walked away from him. It looked like I wasn’t the only one who trusted the vampire. I hoped Nelson would feel better about him now that the hellhound had talked to him.

“No, that’s Keenan,” I said to Ogden. “Eric is the other guy.”

I looked around but didn’t see him. Wait, now Keenan was gone too. When had that happened?

“Well, no matter,” Ogden said. “Come and eat. Don’t worry, I told everyone to give you space, so you shouldn’t be bombarded with people.”

“Bombarded?” That didn’t sound good.

“You’re a bit of a celebrity.”

“I am?” I glanced around. Yep. Almost everyone was still looking at me. Violet would not approve, even if they were all smiling and happy. Normally, I was all for smiling and being happy, but it was a bit odd to see all these strangers staring at me like that.

“For a couple of reasons. The oracle’s paintings… Did Nelson mention those? Okay, good. And then the fact that I was worried about you, and Nelson was looking for you… So of course everyone is excited to meet you. We’re all so happy you are safe.” I wondered if my being a unicorn was another factor in their curiosity, but I didn’t ask as Ogden guided me forward. “Or do you want to go up to Nelson’s room instead?”

I glanced at my mate, who seemed ready to do whatever I wanted. A shower and a change of clothes would be amazing, but I could smell food, and that was a bigger temptation.

“I am hungry,” I confessed. I didn’t usually eat this early, but the last few days had turned my normal schedule upside down.

And this was only the beginning, wasn’t it? Now that I had a mate, a lot of other things would change too.

One of the men who’d raced outside when we arrived was making his way toward us. Nelson stepped between us, as if to shield me from the other man, but the way the others were smirking I doubted he meant any harm.

“Operation: Stop the Assholes wasn’t supposed to take this long,” the man said, waggling his finger at Nelson. “I didn’t like my mate being away so long. I mean, I understand. Operation:Stop the Assholes morphed into Operation: Pot of Gold, but still. My mate’s been gone for days! Days, Nelson!”

“Operation: Pot of Gold isn’t a thing,” Nelson said.

The man threw his hands up in the air. “Of course it is.” He leaned around Nelson to wave at me. “Congrats on being rescued, by the way! I knew Nelson would find you!”

“That’s Jeremy,” Ogden said. “He’s a writer. He’s mostly human, but he’s also mated to a wolf shifter.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes at Ogden’s description of him. “I’m so much more than that! I’m amazing. Morgan and I are going to be fantastic friends.”

Nelson groaned.

Ogden laughed. “On that note, I’m going to track down my mate. I will catch up with you later, Morgan.” Then he caught my eye and squeezed my hand. “Just know that I am so happy you are here, and you are safe.”

“Thank you.” I blinked away some tears. Crying was bad. But I was feeling a little emotional. Then I turned to Jeremy. “Wait. Am I the pot of gold?”

“You are! Ogden said you were like a rainbow, so it was a great name for your rescue mission.” Jeremy squinted at me, like he was cataloguing my appearance. “I just didn’t realize how literal the rainbow thing was. You’re likeallrainbow.” His fingers twitched. “I need my notebook. And a pen. Maybe two. Can I ask you some questions?”

“No.” Nelson shook his head.

“Oh.” A crestfallen expression washed over Jeremy’s face. I couldn’t stand it.