Then that left only one other possibility.
Could there be other shifters here?I wondered.
Shifters didn't live in human societies, not anymore. They'd tried and given up ages ago. If therewereshifters, they were closeted for their whole existence. Not a very fulfilling way for a shifter to live. I could never do such a thing. My unicorn side needed fresh air, to feel the grass beneath my cloven hooves. Thankfully, there were still pockets of nature in the city, so I found places to do so.
Ah, but what of humans and their newfangled intelligent phones, you might ask?
A good thing about being a mythical shifter is the fact that nobody believes we exist, save for the fringe folks whose claims are easily shot down. Therefore, even if someonewereto snap a photo of my unicorn form out in the forest—and I am quite careful never to be spotted—nobody would ever believe it was real. News outlets and critics would claim it was doctored and the person who took the photo would be a laughingstock.
Thank you, Photoshop.
A sharp pain seared through my chest, making me gasp. The distress feeling amplified.
"What in blazes?" I mumbled.
I looked around for the source but sensed nothing, despite the crowd of people. No, not from any of them. It came from beyond the masses.
Striding quickly on my long legs, I avoided the crowd and zoned in on following the distress signal. I knew I was on the right path because it sharpened acutely.
Ahead of me stood a circle of young people around a bench. They mumbled among themselves, most likely gossiping. I felt nothing when I gazed upon them. None of them were my fated mate.
Then I followed their narrowed gazes up the hill. There was nobody there at all, except—
My heart skipped a beat.
An omega and a toddler. Both human, as far as I could tell.
But there he was. The man was my fated mate.
The world re-aligned with crystal clarity. My inner unicorn reared with the desperate need to approach him, to know him, to keep him safe from all harm.
Tolovehim.
Before I could rush up to this human omega and declare it so, I needed to get to the bottom of this scene. Obviously, something had happened to cause my mate's distress, and I had a feeling it had to do with this muttering bunch of baboons.
"I beg your pardon," I announced. "Could one of you enlighten me as to what happened here?"
Brows raised as the group of people exchanged glances with each other.
"Uh, sure," one said. "We were sitting on the bench, minding our own business, whenthatguy's stroller crashed into us."
He pointed a stern finger athim.At my fated mate. My eye twitched with irritation. My unicorn side was going to chomp down on that finger like a carrot if he didn't stop jabbing it at my mate.
"Were you injured?" I asked.
"No?"
"Then what is the reason for your foul attitude?"
The young man's jaw dropped. Some of his friends snickered.
"I'm just saying," he went on, heated now, "why does he have to bring a stroller to a crowded park?"
"What other form of transportation, pray tell, do you suppose he should use for a literal baby?" I countered.
The bully—which is what he was—began to sweat as his cronies laughed at him. He huffed. "Whatever, Shakespeare, I'm out of here."
He couldn't even come up with an original insult. How disappointing.
