Page 49 of Secret Pucking Unicorn

“Hey, Ma. I’m okay. Sophie’s here, she’s okay too. I need your help. Miranda is here, and she just found out she’s a witch. She made one of my teammates shift accidentally. She’s upset.”

“What do you mean, she just found out? She’s twenty-four years old. How could she not know? Put her on.”

Dec turns the phone toward me. I think he expects me to take it, but my hands are not leaving my pockets.

“Miranda darlin’, what’s wrong?” Nora’s face, an older version of Sophie’s, fills the screen. I can see care for me I’ve never seen in my own mother’s eyes, and my already shattered heart breaks into more pieces.

“The unicorn was real. It wasn’t a dream. I wasn’t lying. I’m a witch and I don’t know what to do. I’m scared.” I whisper the last part because it’s the hardest to admit. I’m terrified. I know I didn’t have these powers before right now. I can feel them, and they weren’t there before.

“What?” she asks. Then realization dawns on her face. “Sit tight, my lamb. Try to get some rest. I’m on my way. Alex and I are in Chicago. We will fly to you. Let me talk to Declan again. It will be okay. You will be okay. I love you.”

Dec turns the phone back to himself and steps away. Sophie joins him and talks to their mother too. I don’t pay attention to the conversation. Nora said she loves me. She meant it. I could see it. My own mother has never told me that. Maybe one of those broken pieces has fused back together. But as one piece is repaired, a dozen other cracks spread like a spider web.

When I woke up this morning, I thought I finally had a home, a community, people who loved me, people I could be my true self with. Now I know I had none of those things. My closest friends kept secrets, huge secrets from me. I have powers that can hurt people I love. I can’t believe I was dreaming of a future, thinking about building a life on the shakiest of foundations. I was considering following Declan wherever he wanted to go and put his dreams ahead of mine as long as we were together after one night of great sex and some claims of love. I’m never going to learn. Suddenly exhausted, I close my eyes and rest my cheek against Trevor’s chest. He’s the one man I can trust. He’s never dropped me. I’m safe with him. Why can’t he be the one I’m desperately in love with? His steady heartbeat is comforting as I drift off to sleep.

20

DECLAN

Ma disconnects the call, but before she did, I heard my father in the background calling the pilot of their private jet to arrange the flight here. They will get here in a few hours. I’ll pick them up from the local airport. I hope she can help Miranda. She’s asleep in Carter’s arms. Part of me is glad she’s calmed down, but a larger part of me is disappointed she’s not in my arms.

Carter rises effortlessly, holding Miranda as if he’s done it countless times before. Maybe he has. I shouldn’t be jealous, now is not the time for jealousy about their friendship to rear its head. But damn it, I can’t help it. I should be the one holding her. I should be the one she turns to for comfort.

He walks to the stairs. “Can you get the door?” he asks Stone.

Brick goes first, presumably to get the upstairs door. We all trail behind, a quiet procession of people trying to deal with everything happening. He carries her into our apartment and lays her on her bed, pulling up the covers. The bed we spent the night together in. I check the time on my phone. I can’t believe how much has changed in less than two hours. It’s like my life has gone from perfection to shit in the blink of an eye. Or the intrusion of my sister. That reminds me—I need answers.

Miranda is still sleeping, but I’m not concerned. She was like this as a girl. She’d be upset by something, cry her heart out, and then fall asleep. It’s like her mind and body needed a break and a chance to reset from the turmoil. There were quite a few times when we were kids she’d be upset by something with her parents or a horse she loved being sold, and she’d go to our gazebo to cry it out and then fall asleep among the wildflowers. I’d lay there next to her and watch the clouds float by, content to be near her. I didn’t realize then I was falling in love. We were children. Adult love wasn’t a thought in our heads yet. But it was there in my heart.

“Here, eat something,” Stone says as he slides a turkey sandwich in front of me. “Everyone else, help yourselves.”

Feeding people is Stone’s thing. He’s a bearded, burly guy like most of my teammates, but he has a Betty Crocker heart.

“Thanks.” I pick up my sandwich. He used his special cranberry mayonnaise made from cranberries his family grows. It’s my favorite.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re here, Soph?”

“You don’t know?” Coach asks.

“Him and Miranda left before midnight. They missed it,” Mallory says.

“Missed what?” I ask.

Coach chuckles. “Sparky, show him the video.”

Mallory pulls her phone out of her back pocket, pokes and swipes, and hands it to me. “Hit play.”

I do and watch as the last bits of confetti drift down over the crowd of revelers. Teagan wishes everyone a happy new year when Coach takes the microphone.

“Happy New Year everyone. Before you go back to celebrating, we have one more thing to do. Where’s Carter?” He appears to be looking through the crowd. “There you are. Come on up here.”

Carter makes his way through the crowd and joins Coach on the stage. He’s smiling and waving to the crowd, but his confusion is obvious.

“You’re our first line center and my future brother-in-law.” There are some hoots and hollers from the crowd. “You showed us you can dance earlier tonight.” Now there are cheers. “So, I dare you to show the nation you can dance. You have been chosen to compete on the upcoming season of Celebrity Dance Dare-Shifter Edition.”

Carter stands there in shock, his eyes wide and scanning the crowd. A camera crew has joined them on stage.

“Meet your partner, Sophie Mackenzie!”

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