Page 19 of Delivered to My Shadow Unicorn Alphas

“Hi.” I felt shy having slept in their home, even if I hadn’t slept with them at all. “Smells great in here.”

“Oh, that’s the cinnamon rolls,” Shaman said, setting down his spatula on the counter. “They should be just about done.”

“Let me get them for you.” Juven hopped up and grabbed a pair of oven mitts. “It’s the least I can do.”

“And the least is the most he does in the kitchen,” intoned Shaman.

The two of them went about finishing breakfast, mostly Shaman but Juven did help him. They poured me a mug of coffee and told me to stay at the table and keep them company while they cooked.

I settled back with my mug and watched as the two of them teased and joked, such a cheerful picture in the morning, and something I could easily imagine enjoying every day. “I feel like I should be helping somehow.”

“No way.” Juven topped off my cup. “We’re here to spoil you and make you miss us every minute we’re apart.”

“That’s not fair, being so wonderful all the time. How am I supposed to consider whether I am ready to mate with you both if you do nothing but make me happy?”

Shaman’s arched brow answered that question. He brought over a plate of cinnamon rolls and drizzled frosting over the warm buns. The scent made my mouth water almost as much asthe sight of the two of them without shirts on. Another sneaky move. They were irresistible. So, why was I trying so hard to resist them? Sometimes I made no sense to myself.

Sitting with them at the table, we talked about the solstice party, and they filled me in on who various people were at the event. Also, what they were. Quite a variety of shifters there.

“Do you think I’ll ever be able to look at someone and know if they are a big cat, a wolf, or a bear?”

“Sure, you will.” Juven patted my hand. “It just takes experience. Until then, we’ll be glad to help you figure it out if you want. Now, more eggs?”

I was definitely going to be late for work, but I didn’t really care.

I returned to my boring life because what choice did I have? After spending time seeing what Juven and Shaman’s life was like, I’d remembered why I answered their message to start with. I’d known how boring mine was. Not a secret to anyone. And I thought I knew why I felt the way I did.

Juven and Shaman had shown me how they lived, and I was completely confused. They did everything for nothing. Or maybe that wasn’t it at all. Their friends did give them things in thanks, but the main reason they did it was out of a sense of community. They didn’t take money because they had enough put away that they didn’t need to. I wondered how many shifters lived in a similar way, but it wasn’t a question I could ask without being rude. Or maybe not one I even needed the answer to.

I didn’t see them the rest of the week. At work, I spent long hours researching things, something I used to love, but that suddenly felt lonely. Or maybe I felt lonely. Since I’d left their home, there was no sparkle on anything I did. We did speak on the phone, but I knew there wasn’t much more time for Shaman before his birthday, and it was unfair of me to make him wait while I was undecided.

Book club night came, and I almost didn’t go. For one thing, I hadn’t read the book, and for another, I wasn’t sure what kind of company I’d be, but I couldn’t stand being alone one more night, so I pulled it together and headed on over after work.

Everyone was all atwitter about the new book, but when I came in, they all turned to stare at me. I knew what they wanted to know, but I wasn’t prepared to talk about it. It was too raw, and I didn’t know what I was going to do, so I told them about the first unicorn, and they all laughed at his lack of real sparkle.

Then they returned to talking about the book. The hero was a real alpha protector, my favorite kind of hero. The heroine was human and in a bad spot. I honestly wasn’t sure what her tragedy was because my mind had begun to move in a different direction. Unlike the girl in the story, I had not been in the middle of tragedy when my heroes showed up, unless you considered having no real joy in life a tragedy.

Every time I saw them, I was a different person. I wore my bright fun new clothes and laughed and ate good food and was learning what it meant to be part of a real community. And all of that was just side notes to the real thing. I was living my own real-life romance and I was taking a chance of losing them because I couldn’t decide?

Beauty, happiness, fun, community, and two wonderful, kind guys who liked me for me. What the heck was wrong with me?

I made my decision right then.

It was time to live.

Chapter Nineteen

Shaman

Juven was back to being a brooding unicorn. His furrowed brow. His downturned mouth. The way his shoulders slumped as he walked. He was acting as though Amber had rejected us. She hadn’t. She just hadn’t given us much hope that she was ready to be in our lives.

Not the same thing in my book, but my best friend was slouching and being grumpy anyway.

“I think we need to spruce up the guest room. If she comes here to stay, we want it to be the best it can be for her.”

“Be practical, Shaman,” he said across the island from me. “She left here. After all day of having a great time and kissing us and dancing. She said she loved this place and our community and to what end? She left. Packed her shit up and walked out the door like this was some Airbnb she stayed at on vacation.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” I argued.

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