A Unicorn for Christmas Read online

  A Unicorn for Christmas

  Zoe Chant

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  A note from Zoe Chant

  More Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant

  Author’s Note

  This book stands alone. However, it’s the third in the heartwarming Shifters for Christmas series, featuring agents of the Shifter Patrol Corp and their mates. Each book features a new couple. If you’d like to read the series in order, the first two books in the series are:

  A Griffin for Christmas (Rowan and Emilia’s book)

  A Dragon for Christmas (Garrett and Georgia’s book)

  A Hippogriff for Christmas (Beau and Annie’s book)

  Or you can buy all three books here, in one convenient collection!:

  Shifters for Christmas Collection One

  Chapter 1

  There were thirty-seven steps between his desk and his boss’s door, and Declan Reed counted each one as he made his way along the corridor.

  He wasn’t usually the type to take notice of these kinds of things. But in this instance, it was the last time he was ever going to take this particular walk, and every single step he took was carrying him closer to the end of his time here, away from his unicorn clan, living in the human world he’d come to love so much.

  Twenty-four steps left.

  Declan had always known this time would come – that had been part of the agreement he’d made with his clan, after all. Unicorns were secretive, mistrustful of outsiders, even other shifters. They hid themselves away in magically warded enclaves, shunning the outside world as much as they could, though in these modern times it wasn’t possible for them to shut themselves away entirely.

  Declan himself had grown up hearing stories about the human world from his uncle, who’d lived and worked amongst humans when he was young. When he was older, his father had taken him down from the mountain where their unicorn clan lived, to show him the world of humans – to show him how much better off unicorns were to simply have as little to do with them as they could.

  Humans are bad news, Declan, his father had told him. There’s no reason for us to want to get involved with them – nor any shifter that has anything to do with them. I know a lot of shifter types have compromised over the years, and decided to live with humans, try to be more like them. But we unicorns aren’t like that, and we never will be.

  But instead of being disgusted by humans the way his father had intended, Declan had been fascinated.

  He’d never seen so much hustle and bustle. The sleepy unicorn mountain clan was always the same – or so it had seemed to him. The same families, the same visitors from other unicorn clans. Nothing ever changed. And from the way his father had spoken about it, it seemed like nothing ever would.

  And Declan had decided right there and then, he was going to – somehow – get out.

  Ten steps.

  It had taken a long time and a lot of arguments to wear his father down. Declan would have headed out on his own even without his father’s permission, but he’d wanted it.

  Finally, it had been his mother who’d convinced him.

  If it’s just temporary, then where’s the harm? Let him see something of the world. You know what children are like, she’d said. Declan had bridled at the time at being called a child, but he’d managed to hold his tongue as his father shook his head, finally deciding to stop fighting.

  All right, fine, he’d said. But you’ve got seven years. That’s all. After that, you need to return.

  Declan had known why his father had given him seven years. After seven years, Declan would be at the age all unicorns were when they needed to find a suitable partner and settle down.

  Unless, of course, they’ve found their fated mate.

  Declan swallowed, his heart suddenly pounding, but he pushed the thought aside. It was useless to think about. He’d hoped that, somehow, he might have found his fated mate before now. He’d had seven years, after all.

  But he hadn’t. And now, there was nothing he could do but return home and face his responsibilities as a unicorn.

  It just seemed especially bitter that his birthday fell on Christmas Day.

  Christmas.

  His favorite holiday of the human calendar. The lights, the food, the caroling, the sense of wonder and magic – Declan had loved all of it. Unicorns didn’t really have any concept of Christmas, and Declan had fallen in love with it from the moment he’d seen his first Christmas tree, lit up and shining brilliantly against the velvet evening sky. It was hard to believe that this was the last Christmas he’d see.

  No more steps left.

  He raised his hand to knock on the door in front of him, but before he could, his boss, Hardwicke’s, voice sounded from inside his office.

  “Come in, Declan.”

  Declan frowned. Of course, there were rumors that Hardwicke had eyes and ears everywhere, that he saw into every desk and every file and even into things that hadn’t even happened yet. But Declan had never really believed them. That kind of thing wasn’t really true, was it, no matter what shifter type Hardwicke was.

  Right?!

  Regardless of Hardwicke’s possible ‘who’s behind my office door?’ clairvoyance, Declan turned the door handle and stepped into the room. Hardwicke sat behind his desk, looking like he always did – severe, gray-templed, and just a little bit grumpy.

  Or a lot grumpy.

  At the least, he was frowning kind of hard at the piece of paper he was holding in front of him.

  Declan could tell what it was as he approached: his letter of resignation from the Shifter Patrol Corps, written and sent a little over two weeks ago, when he’d received the message from his father: Son, it’s time to come home. Your seven years are up.

  Hardwicke looked up as Declan stood in front of him, eyes severe. He sighed.

  “I’m sure there’s nothing I can do to talk you out of this, is there.” Hardwicke’s voice was gravelly, and it clearly wasn’t a question.

  Declan swallowed, shaking his head. “No, you can’t, boss.”

  There wasn’t much point in trying to explain that if it were up to him, he wouldn’t be resigning at all. It wasn’t his choice. But he had responsibilities. He couldn’t just decide he didn’t want them. That wasn’t what being a unicorn was about.

  We have a duty, his unicorn said suddenly, shaking its head, its silvery mane shimmering. We have a duty to our family.

  Declan didn’t need it to remind him of that.

  “You’ve been a good agent, Declan,” Hardwicke said. “It’s a blow to lose you from the team. I won’t pretend otherwise.”

  Declan nodded. To be honest, he wished he could have let Hardwicke talk him out of it, somehow, not that he really needed any persuading. But Hardwicke knew the situation as well as he did; Declan knew that ordinarily he might not have been accepted into the Shifter Patrol Corps, since he’d only have to leave after a few years.

  But maybe Hardwicke had thought – or hoped, just like Declan himself had – that he would find his mate sometime during those years, and choose to stay in the world of humans.

  Or maybe a unicorn’s powers had simply been too much of a bonus to pass up, even if it was only for a limited amount of time.

&nb
sp; A unicorn’s powers were incredibly useful when dealing with criminals, after all: one touch, and he could compel anyone to tell the truth. It was impossible to lie or hide the truth if a unicorn was using its powers on you.

  It was a power that Declan, like all unicorns, used only when there was no other option. He’d had it hammered into him from when he was young that it was a special gift – not something to be used lightly or on a whim. It was not, for example, something he should use to compel his younger brother to tell him whether he’d used his colored pencils without permission, as his mother had sternly scolded him after that exact thing had happened one rainy afternoon when he was twelve, and Sean, his younger brother, had just had to go and snitch on him.

  Declan swallowed, his chest tightening at the memory. If nothing else, it would be good to see Sean and his parents again. Seven years was a long time to be away from home, even if he’d loved every moment he’d spent amongst humans.

  And he loved every minute of the time he’d spent with his team here at the Shifter Patrol Corps. Rowan, the griffin shifter, Garrett, the dragon, and Beau, the hippogriff – they’d become like brothers to him over this time. He’d seen each of them find their mate over the years he’d been here, and every single time he’d felt that spark of hope in his chest that he would be next – that his mate, too, was just around the corner, waiting for him to find her.

  His family was important to him, but Declan felt he’d found a new kind of family here too.

  I just wish I didn’t have to choose.

  “I’m sorry, boss. I wish it was different,” Declan said, after clearing his throat, trying to stop it from feeling tight. “But this is it, I’m afraid.”

  Hardwicke shook his head regretfully. “There’s no way you could fulfil your family’s wishes and stay here?”

  Grimacing, Declan looked down. “No. I’ve thought about it, but it wouldn’t be right. Whoever I end up picking for my match – whoever ends up picking me – probably wouldn’t have the same ideas as I do. She’d want to stay with our people. And I wouldn’t leave her to go fulfil my own selfish wishes – if I make a commitment to her, I need to honor it.”

  Hardwicke nodded. “I think that’s very honorable.”

  Honorable.

  That’s what all unicorns strived to be. That’s what they were told was their calling in life. That was why Declan had joined the Shifter Patrol Corps in the first place: what could be more honorable than bringing shifters who used their powers to hurt others to justice?

  Declan pulled in a deep breath. He couldn’t stay here long – every moment he delayed leaving was just a moment longer that made it that much more difficult to leave.

  It was why he’d chosen to make his exit while his team – Rowan, Garrett and Beau – were already away on Christmas leave with their mates and families. If they were here, he wasn’t sure he could bring himself to actually go.

  As if sensing his thoughts, Hardwicke nodded. “Well. As sorry as I am to see you go, I suppose I can’t delay you any longer.”

  Declan clenched his fists. “I suppose I can’t find any reason to delay myself, either.”

  Nodding to Hardwicke one last time, he turned and walked away, before he had a chance to change his mind.

  Perhaps it had been a mistake to drive this way, Declan thought as he passed yet another row of shops and restaurants by the side of the road, decked out in twinkling Christmas lights, tinsel and holly. Usually the sight of all this holiday cheer would have been a source of wonder for him – the Santa and his reindeer decorations, the sparkle of Christmas stars, the red and green baubles hanging from every available surface – but this time, it only served as a painful reminder of everything he’d lose once he was back in the secluded grove his unicorn clan lived in, shielded from outside eyes with powerful warding magic that had been passed down from unicorn to unicorn, from time immemorial.

  It was tempting to pull over and allow himself to bask in the last Christmas he’d ever see – but as quickly as the thought arrived, Declan shook his head, dismissing it.

  I can’t do that, he thought, as he passed a mall, advertising its enormous Christmas tree, Santa’s grotto, and present-wrapping service on a sign outside the parking lot.

  …Or could I?

  Declan gripped the steering wheel, willing himself to stay on the road he was on – but the temptation to spend just five minutes basking in the glow of Christmas was too strong. Before he could give himself a chance for second thoughts, he swung his car into the parking lot, pulling up into one of the few empty spaces available.

  Okay, he told himself, getting out and walking across the parking lot. It’s only for an hour, okay? Just an hour.

  Within him, his unicorn tossed its head, mane shining, hooves pawing in a way that seemed almost nervous. But it said nothing, and Declan assumed it was simply displeased at the delay – after all, the unicorn took its sense of responsibility very seriously. It knew where its duty lay, and it was certainly not at a mall.

  As soon as the doors opened, however, Declan forgot all about his irritated, anxious unicorn.

  Everything in the mall was decked out with Christmas colors. Green and red tinsel twined its way around the pillars that held up the ceiling; little Christmas trees stood at the ends of the escalators. Shining golden stars hung from the upper levels. Silvery glass icicles were strung across the doorways of the shops and boutiques, while a little wooden sign saying Santa’s Grotto This Way! pointed off to the left.

  And of course, everywhere there were happy families: laughing and smiling together as they looked at the decorations, kids pulling their parents by the hand to excitedly look into shop windows, sitting in cafes enjoying coffee and cakes and each other’s company.

  Declan looked around, trying to take it all in. Just to give himself one last memory.

  After that, I’ll go back to the car and be on my way –

  He swore that’s what he meant to do.

  He wasn’t trying to give himself an excuse to linger where he stood for as long as possible.

  But – what was that?!

  Declan blinked, certain he must be mistaken.

  It can’t have been. I can’t have sensed what I just thought I sensed.

  But within him, the unicorn had lifted its head too, nostrils scenting the air, ears twitching, one front leg poised, ready to break into a canter.

  Clearly, the unicorn had sensed it too. It couldn’t have been his imagination.

  Another unicorn? Here?!

  In seven years, Declan had never sensed another unicorn living here amongst humans. Hippogriffs, phoenixes, griffins, dragons, pegasi – but never another unicorn. He didn’t know of any others who’d done the same thing as he’d done and left their clans to live amongst people, even temporarily.

  But here? Now?!

  Declan had to find out more. He had to know if what he’d sensed was real.

  Closing his eyes, Declan tried to detect the unicorn again, in amongst the hustle and bustle of the shopping families and the Christmas carols cascading from the mall’s speaker system.

  But it seemed that as quickly as it had come it was gone again, like a flash of lightning. There one moment, gone the next.

  Still – I can try.

  Opening his eyes, Declan let his unicorn come forward, relying on its instincts to guide him, searching for that invisible sense of something left lingering in the air like an echo.

  Unseeing of the crowds around him, Declan began walking.

  He wasn’t even really paying attention to where he was going – not his physical surroundings, anyway. Within him, his unicorn was standing, flanks shivering and powerful shoulder muscles twitching, as its ears flicked this way and that, every sense on high alert.

  There. There. Go that way.

  Declan followed its instructions without demur.

  It wasn’t until he realized that the unicorn had led him down a dimly lit corridor that he stopped, letting his human senses com
e forward again.

  Uh. Are we even supposed to be down here? he thought, looking around. It seemed like he’d wandered down a corridor off one of the out-of-the-way alcoves where the mall’s bathrooms were.

  You asked me to follow my senses, the unicorn simply snorted. I only did what you asked.

  Declan had to admit that was true. He just hadn’t expected the unicorn’s senses to bring him… well, here. To a dim, damp corridor with a janitor’s mop and bucket sitting not three feet away from the door he was now standing in front of, with a bunch of crates piled high next it.

  And what was more, he had absolutely no sense of the unicorn he’d thought he’d found anymore. The feeling, tenuous even to begin with, had now completely vanished.

  Maybe it was just my imagination.

  Declan swallowed, not wanting to give in, but also aware he didn’t know where to turn next, and that someone – a janitor or a security guard – was probably going to turn up at any moment and tell him to leave.

  Reluctantly, he began to turn away.

  Or at least he would have, if the door he was standing in front of hadn’t suddenly been flung open with great force – and there, standing in the doorway, was an elf.

  Okay, well, not an elf, Declan realized, blinking, a moment later. Elves didn’t exist. It was a woman dressed as an elf.

  There was a little floppy green hat with a golden bell on the end on her head, and she was wearing a green and red tunic, a gold belt around her waist. Her – okay, really kind of nice – legs were covered by bright green stockings, and she had curly shoes, also featuring little jangly bells, on her feet.

  “Uh,” Declan said, staring at the two bright red circles that were painted on her cheeks – though to be honest, he wasn’t noticing those so much as the deep, golden hazel color of her eyes.