warmly.
She stares back at me silently, which is mildly ominous.
I give her a wry smile as I absently rub my forehead around the base of my horn with one hand. “It seems that our courtship is one that is going to include multiple incidents with a door—or my mate has a penchant for violence,” I murmur sweetly.
I can tell that it doesn’t charm her in the slightest if her expression is anything to go by. Her eyes are practically twin slits of suspicion, and for once, I feel a tremor of unease facing a female. It is an entirely unnatural feeling, and I’m at a loss. My confidence slips in a jarring internal note, and suddenly I have no idea what I’m doing or any idea of how to win my mate’s affection.
Carrying off one’s mate has always been the easy part among our species—isn’t she supposed to be overcome by attraction and wonder right now? The potent magical calling between us should be just as irresistible for her as it is for me, never mind the fact that a unicorn’s voice and beauty have never failed to draw a desired female. For ages, those two things have been reliable tools that we have used to ensnare our mates.
A soft giggle draws my attention to the human foal at my side. She grins up at me and holds up the mating gift I had dropped in my moment of desperation.
“Here,” she whispers, “you dropped this. Looks like you’re going to need it.”
I’m starting to think that she may be right.
“Harriet,” another female hisses from another doorway, “get over here.”
“Yes, Mama,” Harriet replies.
She shoves the mating gift into my arms at the exact moment I bend down to accept them and hurries over to her mother’s side. The moment she comes within reaching distance, the female pulls her foal behind her before passing her off to an older female standing off to the side, watching our exchange with amusement.
“Let’s give them a minute alone, shall we?” the older female drawls.
She takes the foal by the hand and grips the mother by the arm and hustles them ahead of her, back through the entrance from which they had emerged.
With their absence, I glance hopefully at my mate and am disappointed to see that there is no softness that comes in our moment of privacy. This is worrisome. She is my ahandral. She is supposed to recognize the call of magic just as much as I do. She should be feeling the bubbling cascade of it through her blood and respond to that. Dragging a hand through my mane, I pinch my lips together in frustration and look away, trying to make sense of this strange mating.
“I don’t know who you think you are…” she begins in a tight voice.
Oh, right. I never did introduce myself.
“Eliph,” I offer in an attempt to correct my error.
“Okay, Eliph, I want to know how you found me,” Steph demands.
She sounds… angry. Why is she angry? Not only is she not responding to the draw between us like a normal mate would, but she is reacting hostilely to my presence. This is all wrong.
I peer at her, looking for any clue as to where I erred, but instead of finding what I seek, I am strangely captivated. Her cheeks burn with a flush, and her eyes spark with inner fires. Her chest heaves, making the swell of her breasts rise with each breath. She’s glorious.
Under the scrutiny of her temper, I feel an unexpected surge of desire as my blood heats and pools deep within me. A shiver runs over my flesh, my skin tightening with need. Thankfully, my tunic is long and loose so that my state is not blatantly visible. Not that I would normally mind, but I do not think my female would appreciate seeing the effect she has on me at this moment.
But oh, I love that I have a delightfully fierce mate. Undaunted, I gaze back at her with honest admiration. That she is surprised I knew her location amuses me a little, because it is just one of many little things she will discover of our bond. But I won’t distress her by keeping it a secret.
“I can always find you. No matter where you are,” I state casually.
Perhaps I should have been less truthful or framed it in a different manner. Her mouth drops open in horror, and she makes a choking sound in the back of her throat that