Ulysses gazed around the front foyer. "So, where is this fated mate of yours?"
"They should be here any minute," I said, casting an anxious glance at the long driveway in front. Just then, a pink chassis breached the last incline. My heart leapt. "They're here!"
Ulysses shot me an amused look. "My word, this is the most excited I've ever seen you." He suddenly put two-and-two together in his mind. "Oh. He doesn't know you're a manticore yet, does he?"
Iwasa little nervous about that part. "No."
Ulysses put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't fret. Everything will work out."
Easy for him to say when he was a unicorn, beloved by all. Venomous man-eating beasts like me generally weren't as well-loved as magical horny horses.
But despite my tiny nagging anxiety, I had a good feeling about this. Chris must've felt the same deep connection when we looked into each other's eyes. Right?
A butler opened the front doors for Chris and Zoey. Chris was holding the handle of a large paper bag. They looked around in awe, their eyes full of stars.
"Welcome to my home," I said with a playful bow.
Zoey ran straight to one of the marble manticore statues and pointed at it. "Pretty kitty!"
Ulysses stifled a laugh. I had to admit, it amused me too. She looked straight past the huge fangs, demonic wings and barbed tail to the lion underneath.
"You like the pretty kitty?" I asked.
"Uh huh! Wow, there's more!" She ran off to observe all the manticore statues in the front foyer.
I went over to Chris, who stood frozen like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to do. I could tell he was out of his element.
"Roshan, this place is incredible," Chris murmured. "I can't believe you really live here."
"Please, make yourself feel at home," I said warmly.
Chris smiled. "I'll try." His face fell as he noticed Ulysses standing off to the side. "Oh. Is this your, um, partner?"
"Dearheavens, no," Ulysses cried.
I laughed, but secretly, I was glad to see Chris jealous of Ulysses, if only for a single misunderstanding moment. That meant he was possessive of me, didn't it?
"Like he said, hell no," I confirmed. "Ulysses is my friend. He has a mate and kids of his own."
"Oh!" Chris flushed in embarrassment. "Sorry for assuming. Nice to meet you."
Ulysses nodded politely. "Likewise."
"Don't worry about him, he's only here to watch the kids," I went on. "He brought his own to have a play date with Zoey."
Chris's face lit up. "Really? That's wonderful, it's been so long since she had a group of friends to play with."
Just as he finished speaking, a chorus of shrieking filled the hall. Three kids barrelled into the foyer. Zoey was on all fours chasing Andrew and Elizabeth, who were ecstatic to be chased. The two siblings hid behind Ulysses's legs, grinning.
"We're playing kitties. Rawr!" Zoey announced to her dad as she paused to take a breath. "Like the statues!"
"That's awesome," Chris said with a laugh. "Just don't break anything, okay?"
"I won't!"
Ulysses intuited that I wanted some alone time with Chris, so he suggested, "Have you kids seen Roshan's garden in the back? There's plenty of excellent places to play hide-and-seek there."
"I wanna see!" Zoey cried.
