they brake, and several shouts fill my ears as the transformative magic fades. I toss my head and half-rear up as I break away from the humans creeping closer with a look of wonder. I feel the weight of the goblin leaping onto my back and nearly throw him. Only at the last minute do I reconsider and settle back on all four hooves.
I may need the male yet.
Hooves flying, I race down the street. There’s nothing but excitement milling around me, but I ignore it, focusing on getting to my mate. The secret is out, and I no longer care if the whole city knows that a unicorn is among them!
Chapter 8
Steph
Eliph has been on my mind all day while I’ve been at work, which has made it hard to focus on anything. I doubt anyone could blame me. How many people out there are facing the exact same problem? With the arrival of the fae, there have been numerous reports of human-fae pairings, which has caused high tensions with the rise of human purity groups. I never had really strong feelings about human-fae relationships. I didn’t understand the attraction—after all, that’s a huge power imbalance if I ever saw one—and yet the purity movements disgust me. It seems that no matter what, people are just determined to hate.
Now that I have my own would-be fae mate, it’s on my mind a lot more, starting with the protesters I saw when I had to drive through the fae quarter due to a traffic rerouting. As if knowing that’s there isn’t disturbing enough, I hate driving through it. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes as neglected by the city as the inner-city neighborhoods. No one in any position of power cares about the fae who have chosen to settle here. That I actively avoid going anywhere near there makes me feel like a hypocrite, but it is depressing and there’s little I can do outside of voting. I don’t have time for the counterprotests with my schedule, but I donate, at least. All the same, this entire mess is disheartening, and it hits much closer to home as of yesterday thanks to a unicorn barging into my life.
The fact that my situation is temporary doesn’t escape me or make me feel any better. Reasonable or not, I still feel as if there’s some sort of invisible mark on me. That one of those hateful people will take one look at me and know I have a fae mate, unasked for or not. I’ve seen the way they treat women who are mated to fae males. Despite how many human men take up with fae females, it seems like human women get the raw end of the deal when it comes to hatefulness.
It has made me edgy all day. I’ve felt the need to hurry and close with my current client so I can get home, slip into my comfy robe with a mug of hot cocoa, and pretend the world outside doesn’t exist for a bit before I call for Eliph.
Unfortunately, it only took me half a day to see that this client was a lost cause. Not only did I spend an entire day showing one house after another, but in the end, I made the call to transfer him to another realtor. I hate to do it, but there’s no other option. I want to get whatever this is with the unicorn settled so I can get back to normal.
The house is mercifully quiet when I enter. I slip off my shoes and decide to go straight for my first cup of cocoa before I get changed. Chocolate therapy can go a long way, and I feel a real need for it right now. Then maybe a bath.
Harriet is at ballet until late this evening while Tonya is at work, which means that I have the condo all to myself for the next few hours. I love my family, but it’s such a rare treat that I’m practically dancing as I walk into the kitchen and set the kettle on the stove to boil.
Leaning against the counter, I let my head drop back to loosen my neck while thinking about what I still have to do this evening. I need to pay the monthly bills and get autopay set up for the next couple of months—just in case. That’s the most important thing. Then I need to make an out-of-town automatic response note for my