Page 19 of Beautiful Soul

White with a shimmery silver overlay, the dress made her think of Cinderella after the fairy godmother had finished with her. Instead of glass shoes or high heels, they insisted she wear silver ballet flats that would make her feel like she was walking on clouds. When she came out of the dressing room, Kingsley looked gobsmacked for a moment before he nodded and said, “We’ll take it, and any underthings she needs to wear with them.”

It was the easiest shopping trip Lena had ever been on. Once she was back in her own clothes with the dress and everything else in a clothes bag that Kingsley carried, they headed to a barbecue restaurant, another one she had never seen before, though she walked this street at least once or twice a week. This hole-in-the-wall restaurant was owned by the shifter pack and proved to serve the best brisket dinner she had ever tasted.

“Figured what out yet?” Lena asked as they followed Mystic to a table in the back. It was one where she and Kingsley had first met several nights before

“Figured out what you are,” Mystic said as she waved at one of the women behind the counter. “Lavender tea for Kingsley and his lady.”

The woman behind the counter nodded and set to work as Lena and Kingsley settled at the table.

“Apparently you know, so why don’t you tell us?” Kingsley said, sounding as if Mystic were testing his patience.

Instead of sharing what she had figured out, Mystic turned to study her. Lena looked squarely into the woman’s dark, dark eyes for several long seconds. She had to drop her gaze to the table when it appeared that Mystic was seeing far more than Lena wanted anyone to see.

“Have you ever died, Lena? Maybe as a young child?”

The question was so out of the ordinary, yet right on target. Lena nodded. “When I was three. We were in the car and were hit by a drunk driver. They said I died in the emergency room, but they were able to bring me back. My parents didn’t survive.”

Mystic nodded with a pleased smile on her face. “Just as I thought. Who raised you?”

“My father’s parents. They died two days apart when I was in college,” Lena said.

Mystic’s smile grew as she nodded again. She then turned to Kingsley. “You, my friend, have hit the jackpot. Have you already mated with her?”

“Yes. What does that mean?” Kingsley asked the question before Lena could. “Hit the jackpot?”

Lena sat in stunned confusion as Mystic began speaking in a foreign language. She couldn’t tell if it was Italian or Greek or something else. All she knew was she had no idea what the other woman was saying.

When Kingsley responded in the same language, she blinked and stared at the man. Apparently he was as fluent as Mystic in whatever this language was. The conversation continued until the café server arrived with their tea.

“Croissants will be out in a minute,” she said before scurrying back to the kitchen.

Lena set about pouring the tea before adding a bit of sugar to hers. When both Mystic and Kingsley turned to study her as she sipped at the cup, she frowned. “What?”

“I’ll let you two talk,” Mystic said. She turned and walked away to greet the people who had entered since she had been tied up with them.

Lena then turned her attention to Kingsley. “So? What did she say I was?”

Kingsley took a sip of his tea before answering. She was not sure if he needed the time to come up with an answer or just needed the calming effect of the tea.

“She claims you are a unicorn,” Kingsley said, though she could tell he was not telling the truth.

“A unicorn, huh?”

****

“A rare, one-of-a-kind, magical creature,” he said, holding her gaze.

Kingsley lied easily enough, though he could tell she knew he’d lied to her. But the reality of Mystic’s claim—that Lena was an Earth-walking angel whose full magic remained dormant—tested even his belief. And he was a magical creature himself who thought he had met every magical creature there was.

If Mystic’s pronouncement was correct and Lena really was an angel, he needed to move her in with him immediately and not wait until she could grow comfortable with her role in his life. Now that their loving had activated her magic, others would come looking for her, wanting to use her magic for their own purposes. Since Lena did not understand what she was or the possibilities that lay within her, it was up to him to protect her.

Lena looked stunned at his explanation, then blinked and shook her head. “I’m hardly a unicorn. I don’t have a swishy tail or horns,” she said with a giggle then glanced at the clock on the wall. “And if I don’t head home now to get ready, I’ll be late for the ceremony.”

“I’ll walk you,” Kingsley said.

Lena shook her head. “You have to get ready yourself, oh powerful Mage. I’ll go home, get ready, and be back before eleven-thirty. How’s that sound? I’ll be back before you know it.”

She scooped up the dress bag that held everything and was gone before Kingsley could form a reasonable argument for her not to walk home alone.

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