Chapter 35
OPERATION: POT OF GOLD
MORGAN
As soon as I was through the door, Ogden yanked me into a tight hug.
“Are you really okay?” he whispered in my ear.
I nodded, even though I could feel at least a dozen sets of eyes watching me. I was okay. I was safe. I was with my mate. And after Nelson got the crystal looked at, I’d finally get the answers I needed.
“Good.” Ogden pulled back, holding me by my shoulders as he studied me. His blue eyes snagged on the pretty lock of hair that showed I was mated, at least according to Nelson. I knew he hadn’t lied about it, but it was still a novel idea to me.
“That’s new.” The dragon’s gaze darted to Nelson’s hair with its matching mark. “That makes sense. Congratulations on finding your mate.”
I grinned and patted the patch of hair. “It looks good, right?”
“Of course.”
“Yours is pretty spiffy too,” I said, gesturing toward the bit of green hair at his temple that hadn’t been there when I’d met him.
“Thank you. My mate…” He turned, but no one was at his side. Then his gaze caught on a fluffy black tail slipping under a sofa. He smiled indulgently before turning back to me and shrugging. “You’ll meet my mate later. He can be a bit shy.”
“I think Eric is shy too.”
“Eric? Is that Eric talking to Van?” Ogden nodded toward Keenan, who was having a quiet discussion with a gorgeous man in a police uniform.
Nelson had mentioned the hellhound in one of our many talks at the cabin, and I’d been hoping I’d meet him.
I was super curious about his ability to detect lies.
I bet that’d make him an excellent judge of character…
A bit like me. Except I couldn’t see myself in a profession like that.
Huh. A profession… I hadn’t really thought about what I could do for a living.
Uncle Fraser had always insisted I stay home, which had limited my options.
For years, I’d helped him prepare his magical tinctures—just the assembly of his products, since my magic couldn’t be used to make things like that—and then I was captured.
Since I hadn’t ever gone anywhere, I had saved all the money I’d earned, which was a good thing.
That had supported me after my escape so I could look for the crystal.
But after today, I would have the crystal. So, then what?
I’d have to think about that. Later. Not now.
As the vampire spoke to the hellhound, he scanned the area, almost like he was looking for someone.
His gaze caught mine for a second, before moving on to someone else.
After a moment, the police officer—Van—nodded, shook the vampire’s hand, then walked away from him.
It looked like I wasn’t the only one who trusted the vampire.
I hoped Nelson would feel better about him now that the hellhound had talked to him.
“No, that’s Keenan,” I said to Ogden. “Eric is the other guy.”
I looked around but didn’t see him. Wait, now Keenan was gone too. When had that happened?
“Well, no matter,” Ogden said. “Come and eat. Don’t worry, I told everyone to give you space, so you shouldn’t be bombarded with people.”
“Bombarded?” That didn’t sound good.
“You’re a bit of a celebrity.”
“I am?” I glanced around. Yep. Almost everyone was still looking at me. Violet would not approve, even if they were all smiling and happy. Normally, I was all for smiling and being happy, but it was a bit odd to see all these strangers staring at me like that.
“For a couple of reasons. The oracle’s paintings…
Did Nelson mention those? Okay, good. And then the fact that I was worried about you, and Nelson was looking for you…
So of course everyone is excited to meet you.
We’re all so happy you are safe.” I wondered if my being a unicorn was another factor in their curiosity, but I didn’t ask as Ogden guided me forward.
“Or do you want to go up to Nelson’s room instead? ”
I glanced at my mate, who seemed ready to do whatever I wanted. A shower and a change of clothes would be amazing, but I could smell food, and that was a bigger temptation.
“I am hungry,” I confessed. I didn’t usually eat this early, but the last few days had turned my normal schedule upside down.
And this was only the beginning, wasn’t it? Now that I had a mate, a lot of other things would change too.
One of the men who’d raced outside when we arrived was making his way toward us. Nelson stepped between us, as if to shield me from the other man, but the way the others were smirking I doubted he meant any harm.
“Operation: Stop the Assholes wasn’t supposed to take this long,” the man said, waggling his finger at Nelson. “I didn’t like my mate being away so long. I mean, I understand. Operation: Stop the Assholes morphed into Operation: Pot of Gold, but still. My mate’s been gone for days! Days, Nelson!”
“Operation: Pot of Gold isn’t a thing,” Nelson said.
The man threw his hands up in the air. “Of course it is.” He leaned around Nelson to wave at me. “Congrats on being rescued, by the way! I knew Nelson would find you!”
“That’s Jeremy,” Ogden said. “He’s a writer. He’s mostly human, but he’s also mated to a wolf shifter.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes at Ogden’s description of him. “I’m so much more than that! I’m amazing. Morgan and I are going to be fantastic friends.”
Nelson groaned.
Ogden laughed. “On that note, I’m going to track down my mate. I will catch up with you later, Morgan.” Then he caught my eye and squeezed my hand. “Just know that I am so happy you are here, and you are safe.”
“Thank you.” I blinked away some tears. Crying was bad. But I was feeling a little emotional. Then I turned to Jeremy. “Wait. Am I the pot of gold?”
“You are! Ogden said you were like a rainbow, so it was a great name for your rescue mission.” Jeremy squinted at me, like he was cataloguing my appearance.
“I just didn’t realize how literal the rainbow thing was.
You’re like all rainbow.” His fingers twitched.
“I need my notebook. And a pen. Maybe two. Can I ask you some questions?”
“No.” Nelson shook his head.
“Oh.” A crestfallen expression washed over Jeremy’s face. I couldn’t stand it.
“Maybe later,” I said, and his smile returned. It made me happy.
“You must be starving, right? Days on end, holed up God only knows where… Just the two of you…” Jeremy grinned. “Forced proximity. It’s a classic.”
“Let’s get some food,” Nelson said, as if determined to get me away from Jeremy.
I patted my stomach. “I wouldn’t say no to food…”
“Oh, right! When Parker heard about you guys coming back this morning, he came over to make a shit-ton of muffins and breakfast burrito things and who knows what else. He said after roughing it for that long, you’d need something good.
Brodie and Dakota are helping, but they don’t usually make breakfast, so they are more sous-chefs.
” Jeremy leaned in. “Honestly, if we’d known Parker would make food for us like this, we would have told him about supes ages ago. ”
I had no idea who any of those people were, but I just followed along as he pulled me through the large lobby with its oversized sofas and big fireplace toward a dining area with a lot of large tables. Was this an actual hotel?
“What about the guests?”
“Guests?” Jeremy looked confused.
“Isn’t this an inn?”
“Oh! Right! It used to be. Now it’s a pack house. Again. Sort of.” He tilted his hand back and forth. “It’s where we all live, like one big magical family. Emphasis on magical.” He sighed happily. “Come meet everyone.”
“Uh… Okay.”
Nelson stepped in front of us. “We don’t have to stay down here. We can fix up plates and go to my room instead.”
“I’m good to stay down here,” I said. “I want to meet your friends. But you aren’t going anywhere, are you?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think I could let you out of my sight. Not yet.”
I grinned and popped a kiss on his sexy lips. My mate was the best. Jeremy swung his arm over my shoulders and pulled me forward.
I didn’t even try to remember everyone’s names. But they were all so very lovely. They seemed so happy to see me.
I was high-fived, patted on the shoulder, and hugged. The alpha, a wolf shifter named Hayden, even came by and squeezed the back of my neck like I was a member of his pack.
Even the grumpy calico cat named Paws, who really wasn’t a cat at all, was charming in his own way.
When we finally sat down at the tables to eat, and I was finally beside my mate again, Paws had commanded I be brought mango juice not coffee, like he understood I needed sugar.
It made me wonder if he’d known other unicorns.
Maybe I could ask him about it later.
Our table had Ogden and his shy mate Simon, Jeremy and his mate Adrian, and Nelson. Apparently, Simon and Ogden usually ate breakfast with Simon’s family, so I was honored that they’d changed their plans for me. Ogden assured me, very convincingly, that it was his pleasure to do it.
When I’d arrived, I hadn’t known anyone but Ogden and Nelson, but the others made me feel welcome, and the whole meal was comfortable.
It reminded me of Saturday morning breakfasts when I was little and my uncle was still alive.
Laughter and conversation flowed around us, and my mate relaxed more with each passing moment.
I hadn’t realized how stressed we’d been, or how hungry all that stress made me until it started ebbing away.
I even grabbed a second helping. The food had been set up along the one wall like the Chinese food buffet my uncle used to love.
Except instead of stir-fried rice and ginger beef, this one had pancakes, bacon, sausages, eggs, those burritos Jeremy had mentioned, and about a dozen kinds of muffins.
When I’d used all the maple syrup on my plate, a container of the stuff appeared in front of me.