Ulysses smiled as I stared at him. "Did you figure it out yet?"
"You're... a unicorn?" I blurted out.
That couldn't be possible. First of all, he was a man. He looked exactly like a human being, albeit a special-looking one. He wasn't galloping around on four hooves and he didn't have a horse face or a hairy tail and he certainly didn't have a big pointy horn jutting out of his forehead.
But... he did say he sensed my distress. Weren't maidens associated with unicorns, too? He helped Ms. Smith. And he did have super strength; though that wasn't usually a classic unicorn trait, I guessed we usedhorsepowerto measure things.
"Yes," Ulysses said. "A unicorn shifter, to be precise."
I couldn't wrap my mind around it. "What? Like in those romance books about werebears or whatever?"
Ulysses sniffed. "I am nothing like abearbut yes, I suppose we are similar in that way."
My mind was spinning. Shifters weren't real and unicornsdefinitelyweren't real, but Ulysses was telling me he was both. And the weird thing was, I believed him. He hadn't lied to me about anything so far. The little doubting naysayer in the back of my mind told me we only just met today but Ulysses was different than every alpha I'd known. Even if he wasn't a magical unicorn shifter, he would still be special.
"Would you like me to show you?" Ulysses asked.
I was in too much awe to speak. I nodded.
"Then it shall be done. But not here. I prefer to shift in fresh air."
"There's a little forest path behind my building," I said. "Is that okay?"
He stood and offered me a hand. "That is perfect, Ryan. Come."
6
Ulysses
After Ryan askedMs. Smith if she was available to babysit a sleeping Andrew, to which she vehemently agreed, he led me outside and into the small wooded area. The summer evening hummed around us, smelling of sweet flowers and clean air exuded from the trees. The light from the city faded as we entered the forest. In the darkness, it felt like we were the only two people in the world.
"Are you ready?" I asked Ryan.
He nodded, not taking his eyes off me.
I never showed humans my true form. I doubted any had glimpsed it by chance over the course of my life, and I'd certainly never done it on purpose. This was the first time. And what better human to be the first than my fated mate?
"Close your eyes," I instructed him.
He obeyed.
The magic of the shift fell over me. It began at the crown of my head, snaking down my limbs like rivulets of water, changing me. My legs grew. My fingers turned into graceful cloven hooves, and the hair on my head cascaded down my back in a soft white mane. The source of my magic, my horn, grew from my forehead. It sparkled even in the darkness.
Once the shift was complete and I stood on all four hooves, I told Ryan, "You may open them."
He peeked his eyes open, then gasped. "Oh. Ulysses, you're... beautiful."
Pride warmed me. To hear those words from my fated mate meant everything.
"Can I, um, touch you?" he asked. "Is that okay to ask? I've never interacted with a shifter, or a unicorn, so I don't know if it's appropriate. Also, how are you speaking to me?" He laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Geez, is this really happening or am I dreaming?"
"It's happening, Ryan. And yes, you may touch me."
He took a step forward and slowly raised his hands. They felt warm on the sides of my neck as he stroked my white fur.
"Wow," he murmured. "It's soft. And you still smell good, like cherry blossoms. Not like a horse at all."
I huffed a laugh as I nuzzled his cheek with my velvety snout. "That's because I am not a horse. That's like saying a human is like a lemur. And I can speak with you in any form. I am the same person, after all. Only my body has changed. And unicorns are not tied down to the physical constraints of a mere earthly equine."
