Unicorn Vet Read online

  Outside, the late afternoon sunlight cast a deep golden light, turning the fallen leaves into scattered heaps of pirate treasure. Everly walked into the woods, taking deep breaths of pine-scented air and scuffling her feet in the leaves. Birds sang, squirrels chattered, and a few early crickets began to chirp. She could feel the worries and tension and pressure that was her life in the city falling away, replaced by a feeling of deep calm.

  A gust of wind sent leaves tumbling, and uncovered a small blue-and-white rock that had been buried in a pile. Its shininess caught her eye, and she stopped to look. Everly didn’t know much about rocks, but she thought it might be agate. It was a beautiful color and an interesting shape. She bent to pick it up.

  The rock opened its eyes.

  Everly froze, staring at the little creature. It was a lizard, she supposed—it had to be a lizard—but she’d never seen such a beautiful one before. Its gleaming scales were sky-blue, except for its back, which was white and strangely shaped. It looked like folded wings, but it had to be some kind of ridge, like the spines along an iguana’s back. Lizards didn’t have—

  The lizard spread out its white wings.

  Everly gasped. It was impossible, but she couldn’t deny the evidence of her eyes. There, crouched on the ground before her, was a dragon small enough to fit into the palm of her hand.

  The tiny dragon leaped upward, wings flapping awkwardly, as if it was a baby bird still learning to fly. It crash-landed immediately, let out a pained squeak as it caught one wing beneath its body, then thrashed around in the leaves until it was on its feet again. Its shiny black eyes fixed on Everly, it let out another squeak. That one sounded eager. The little dragon made another attempt to get airborne. Its wings flapped even harder, and it flew for a moment before it started to go down again.

  Instinctively, Everly caught it. The little dragon landed safely in her cupped hands. Its body was warm as a stone on a sunny day, and its scales felt smooth as a rock tumbled in the sea. It scrabbled around, its little talons pricking her like a cat’s claws, curled up in her hands, and went to sleep.

  Everly held the tiny creature to her chest. As it snuggled into her, her disbelief and shock faded, replaced by a surge of protectiveness. As far as she could tell from its behavior, it was a baby, and its mama sure didn’t seem to be around. If she’d found an orphaned kitten or lost puppy, she’d take it to a veterinarian for a checkup, and then try to find a home for it.

  How do you explain a baby dragon to a vet?

  Chapter 3

  Angel drove back from the Jeon farm, full of apple pie and mixed feelings. On the one hand, he’d rescued a cow from a tree, and had been fed absolutely delicious pie and treated like a king. On the other hand, he’d sat in the Jeon’s kitchen and watched Mr. and Mrs. Jeon bustling around it, treating each other with an offhanded affection that was obviously the product of a deep and lasting love.

  You didn’t have to be a shifter to have a mate. Lots of ordinary people found true love. It was an everyday kind of miracle. The only difference was that shifters could recognize their one true mate at first sight. They mostly talked about that like it was a blessing, but Angel had always thought it was a double-edged sword. You never had the chance to glance at a stranger and imagine that she might be the one; once you looked into her eyes, you knew she wasn’t.

  Angel had already looked into the eyes of every single woman in La Puerta. None of them were his mate. Seeing loving couples like the Jeons was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. He was happy for them, but also reminded of what would probably never be his.

  He pushed aside those gloomy thoughts as he approached Vets For All Pets, the veterinary practice he shared with two other shifter vets. His workday wasn’t over, and it would alarm his patients’ owners if they caught him looking sad. They’d think it meant bad news for their pets.

  Angel plastered on what he hoped was a professional and upbeat expression as he walked in, then realized that he was coming in through the back door rather than the lobby and let it drop.

  Let your friends see how you really feel, put in his unicorn. They can argue you out of your silliness.

  Angel promptly replaced the upbeat expression, though he now felt like he’d been posing for a photo so long that his smile had changed into some horrifying murder clown grin. The last thing he wanted was for the other vets to ask him what was wrong. They had enough problems of their own for him to bother them with his.

  He was about to go check on his overnight patients when the speaker on the wall buzzed. It was Maisie, the receptionist. “Angel? I saw your car pull in. Are you there?”

  He hit the button. “Just got back. What’s up?”

  “I have a possible unusual case,” she said.

  That got his attention. “Unusual” was code for “something that came through the portal.” Now he didn’t need to fake a smile; he loved those cases. “Oh?”

  “The client is Everly Sawyer,” Maisie said. “She found what she says is ‘some kind of baby reptile.’ I haven’t seen it; she said it was shy and she didn’t want to scare it. She says she’s not sure exactly what it is. I’ve got room three open.”

  “Send her in,” said Angel. “I’ll be right there.”

  As he approached room three, he wondered about the baby reptile. It might just be an unusual kind of snake or lizard, like an escaped pet chameleon. Still…

  Unusual, sang out his unicorn, prancing about inside his mind. Maisie said unusual!

  She said “possibly unusual,” Angel corrected his inner animal. But his hopes were up too. The portal had opened recently, and they’d found nothing. It was extremely possible that something unusual had come through and taken off, to be found by Everly Sawyer.

  Everly Sawyer, he thought. That’s a pretty name. I’d sure I’d remember it if I’d heard it before. She must be new in town.

  He knocked on the door of room three. “Hello? I’m Dr. Angel Rosado. May I come in?”

  “Yes, please,” said a woman’s voice. Everly’s voice was low and a little husky. Sexy.

  Watch, Angel told himself. She’s going to be eighty years old and married.

  He opened the door just wide enough to squeeze in, and shut it quickly behind him, so nothing could escape, but not so quickly that he couldn’t stop himself from squashing anything that did make a break for it. The in-and-shut maneuver was one of a vet’s most important skills.

  His attention was immediately caught by the creature that Everly was holding on the exam table. It was unusual, all right: a beautiful blue-and-white dragonette. But so small! It was as tiny compared to an adult dragonette as a newborn kitten is compared to a cat.

  He reached out for it, but that seemed to alarm the little creature. It launched itself from Everly’s hands and onto her chest, then tried to crawl inside her blouse.

  “Stop it,” she exclaimed, trying to pry it out.

  Angel couldn’t help her remove it without groping her, so he left her to it. Her head was bent and her box braids fell forward, hiding her eyes. But he could see the rest of her perfectly well, and she was well worth seeing.

  She was tall for a woman, only a few inches shorter than himself, with a slim figure and strong-looking arms. Her skin was a very dark brown, like polished mahogany, and her lips were plump and kissable. Her shoulder-length box braids swung as she wrestled with the dragonette, and since she had to reach inside her blouse to extract it, Angel got an excellent view of her luscious cleavage.

  Everly finally managed to remove the dragonette. Angel hurriedly yanked his gaze upward, embarrassed and hoping she hadn’t caught him looking down the front of her blouse. He never did things like that with the owners of his patients.

  That was so unprofessional, he thought. What in the world got into me?

  His eyes met hers.

  Everly’s eyes were deep brown with a honey-golden sheen. They were the most beautiful, the most sensual, and the kindest eyes he’d ever seen. As he looked into them, he fe
lt as if he was catching a glimpse into her very soul, and his own soul yearned toward hers. It was a moment that felt like it lasted a lifetime.

  Love at first sight, he thought in wonder. It’s actually real.

  Not only was it real, but it felt utterly right. How could he not love this gorgeous, sexy woman who rescued animals and whom he’d first seen trying to fish a baby dragonette out of her cleavage?

  She’s the one. His unicorn’s voice rang out, bright and clear as a silver bell. Our mate.

  Chapter 4

  Oh no, Everly thought. I broke the vet.

  The moment she’d gotten the baby dragon out of her blouse and the hot vet had gotten a good look at it, he’d frozen in utter shock. He was still standing there, gazing directly into her eyes, not moving a single one of his very fine muscles. It was like he’d short-circuited.

  Trust me to get the sexiest veterinarian in the entire state—probably in the entire country, if not the entire world—and present him with something so impossible that it breaks his brain.

  Speaking in slow, soothing tones, like she’d use in the event of a new waiter dropping a bowl of hot tomato soup in the lap of a food critic wearing a fancy white dress (something which, sadly, had actually happened), she said, “I know it’s hard to believe. Maybe it would be easier if you thought of it as an unusual type of lizard… that’s blue… and has wings.”

  That seemed to snap the hot vet out of his paralysis. Dr. Rosado blinked, broke eye contact, and said, “No, it’s exactly what it looks like.”

  Then it was her turn to be taken aback. The baby dragon was squirming in her hands right now, but she still felt like he might laugh at her when she said, “You’re saying it’s a dragon?”

  He didn’t show the slightest trace of mockery as he replied, “It’s a dragonette. They’re like dragons, but much smaller. An adult would be the size of your forearm. This one’s a baby.”

  “But... I mean… Dragons are magic. They’re not real.”

  Still completely serious, Dr. Rosado said, “Magic is real. You can see it for yourself. You’re holding it in your hands.”

  The dragonette squeaked.

  “Here, let me take it,” said Dr. Rosado.

  He deftly took the dragonette. The instant he touched the little creature, it stopped squirming and flapping, and settled down calmly into his hands. He spread out its wings, looked at them closely, then lifted it up to examine its belly. “I don’t see any injuries. And it doesn’t seem to be sick. I’ll do a full examination, but I think it’s fine.”

  “Oh, good,” said Everly.

  He resumed his examination, even listening to its heart with an extra-small stethoscope he pulled out of a drawer.

  She watched him, fascinated. It wasn’t every day that you got to see a vet doing a physical exam on a baby dragonette. But even if Dr. Rosado had been looking over a kitten, she’d have been just as captivated. It wasn’t only that he was smoking hot, though he was: tall, handsome, leanly muscled, with warm brown skin and tousled black hair that kept falling into his eyes. It was his strong but gentle hands, the total concentration he gave to his work, and the skill with which he handled the little creature.

  Wish he worked in Refuge City, Everly thought. Not that it matters. A guy like him is sure to be married. He probably doesn’t wear his ring to work so he doesn’t get it dirty.

  Dr. Almost Certainly Married moved the dragonette’s tail out of the way, gave her a close look, and said, “She’s a girl.”

  For some reason, that broke the dam that had been keeping Everly from peppering him with questions. “How do you know about dragonettes? Why is there a dragonette here? What do you mean, magic is real? What else is magical? Are you a wizard? Are there dragons here? Is La Puerta next to Elfland? Why are you telling me all this? Shouldn’t it be a secret? If it’s not a secret, why doesn’t everyone know about it already?”

  She forced herself to shut up before she got to her next, completely ridiculous question, which would have been “Do unicorns exist?”

  Dr. Rosado blinked. He had absolutely gorgeous eyes, big and dark, with long black lashes. “Yes, it’s a secret. I assume you didn’t tell anyone else?”

  “No. I searched for a veterinary hospital on my cell phone, because I didn’t want to ask the owner of my bed-and-breakfast.”

  “Oh!” Dr. Rosado looked inexplicably crestfallen. “Are you just visiting La Puerta? Or—” Now, equally inexplicably, he seemed hopeful. “Or are you checking it out because you’re thinking of moving here?”

  “I’m here for a week’s vacation,” Everly said. “I live in Refuge City.”

  For a second, she could have sworn that he looked absolutely heartbroken. Then the expression vanished so completely that she wondered if she’d imagined it, replaced by an upbeat, professional look. “Ah. Well, the reason I told you is that you literally already had a dragonette in your hands, and I didn’t think I could get away with claiming that it was a very unusual lizard that’s blue and has wings.”

  His deadpan echoing of her own words made her laugh. “That’s right, Dr. Rosado. You couldn’t.”

  “Please, call me Angel.” His smile lit up his entire face.

  “Angel,” she repeated. It was just a name, but it somehow tasted sweet in her mouth. “Then you’ll have to call me Everly.”

  “Everly,” he said. She loved the way he said her name. It was as if he found it the most beautiful name in the world. “So, to answer your questions—at least, the ones I remember—”

  “Sorry, I know it was a lot.”

  “This is a lot,” said Angel, indicating the dragonette.

  He opened his hands, and she launched herself back to Everly. This time, instead of crawling into her blouse, the dragonette perched on her shoulder. Craning her neck, Everly could see the little creature’s bright, alert eyes, shining like polished obsidian. A pang went through her heart at the thought of having to give her up.

  “I have another question,” said Everly. “Maybe the most important one. Can I keep her?”

  “I don’t see why not. You’ve obviously already bonded. She wouldn’t want to go back now.”

  Everly was immensely relieved. And, once again, curious. “Go back where?”

  “La Puerta has more than one gateway,” said Angel. “There’s the famous one, the stone arch. Have you seen it yet?”

  She shook her head. “I only drove up today. And I’m more interested in nature than architecture or history.”

  “It’s worth seeing anyway. But there’s another gateway, which only a few people know about. A portal. Sometimes it opens, and animals come out. Magical animals: dragonettes and rain birds and kelpies and house hippos and creatures no one knows the name of. If they’re hurt or sick or hungry or cold, we take care of them. We mostly do catch-and-release back into the portal, but sometimes they bond with humans and refuse to go back in.”

  “That’s amazing,” breathed Everly. “You must feel so lucky to be able to work here. Did you know about it already, or did you think you were taking a regular job and then someone brought in a kitten with wings?”

  Angel hesitated, then said, “I already knew.” Before she could ask any follow-up questions, he said, “Baby dragonettes eat the same things as adults, so she doesn’t need a special diet. Feed her chopped raw meat or fish and raw leafy dark greens, like kale or collards.”

  The dragonette nuzzled Everly’s cheek, and she stroked it with a fingertip. She was so smooth, like the stone Everly had mistaken her for. “I think I’ll name her Rock.”

  “Rocky, like the boxer?”

  “Rock. Like a rock.”

  Everly’s phone buzzed. An instant later, so did Angel’s.

  “I’m sorry,” they said simultaneously, then laughed.

  “I have to take this,” he said.

  “Me too.” Everly looked at her phone.

  LOADED OYSTERS AND MYSTERY FISH BACK INTO TRUCK. DRIVER NOW REFUSING TO LEAVE UNTIL WE LET HIM UNLOAD IT.


  Everly texted, DID HE BRING THE LOBSTER?

  YES.

  TAKE LOBSTER TO KITCHEN. TAKE DRIVER TO PHONE. CALL SUPPLIER AND HASH IT OUT.

  She dropped her phone back in her purse and met Angel’s gorgeous dark eyes. “Fish truck strike,” she said.

  At the same time, he said, “Lambing elbow lock.”

  “What?”

  “What?”

  “I’m a restaurant manager,” Everly explained. “We’ve got a truck driver who delivered a truck full of mystery fish and is refusing to leave.”

  “I have a sheep giving birth. The lamb’s got its elbows stuck in the birth canal.”

  “Is that serious?”

  “No, I just need to push the lamb back a bit and extend its legs. But it’s a house call. I mean a field call. Anyway, I have to go.” He pushed back his silky black hair, looking frustrated. It immediately fell back over his forehead. Everly ached to brush it back for him. Then he seemed to come to a decision. “I know you have a lot more questions, and I’d be happy to answer them. You said you like nature—would you like to go on a hike with me tomorrow? And a picnic?”

  Was Dr. Hot And Maybe Not Married After All asking her out? Or was taking women on a hike and a picnic to answer their questions about magical animals a normal and totally platonic thing for a country vet who treated baby dragonettes to do?

  Going on a picnic with Angel sounded like a slice of Heaven on Earth. For all that she was madly curious about the magical animals, what she really wanted was to know more about him. How had he come to be a veterinarian for magical animals? What sort of books did he read, or was he more of a movies-and-TV guy? Did he like living in La Puerta? Had he ever lived in a big city?

  Did he like her?

  There was only one catch, but it was a big one. In exactly six and a half days, she was leaving. Refuge City was a five-hour drive away from La Puerta, which was inconvenient but not impossible. But the reality was that once she got back to her job, it might as well be on the moon. She didn’t have time to date a man who lived one hour away. She didn’t have time to date anyone. She didn’t even know how she’d manage to carve out the time to care for her dragonette!