And in the middle of the room, tied to a chair and looking woefully confused, is Michael Lawrence. My high school boyfriend.
“Mike?”
“Bernie?”
We speak at the same time, matching exasperated tones.
“What are you doing here?” I ask before my brain can catch up to my mouth. He’s tied to a chair, Bernie. He’s not the one you should be asking.
I whip my head toward AJ, who’s stifling a laugh. “AJ, with God and three creatures from other realms as my witness, I will beat you to death with a ham hock if you don’t tell me what’s so funny right now.”
My burst of anger only makes her laugh harder, and she coughs up some of her beer in the process.
“Bernie,” Darius starts, “There’s no need to worry. We’ve brought this man--”
“No, no,” AJ cuts him off, “I need to tell her. You don’t understand comedy, Darius, your timing will suck and the joke won’t land.”
“I don’t believe there’s anything to joke about in this situation, Anna.”
There’s a real sibling vibe developing between Darius and AJ, one that I’m sure she likes and he can’t stand. I think for a second about what AJ would have been like in high school if she had an older brother who was a vampire. That’s not a thought I want to revisit.
“Okay, Jesus, just tell me!”
“Yeah, and tell me!” Michael looks terrified, and it’s clear he’s been told nothing.
“Okay!” AJ snaps back. “God, it’s not like anyone’s late for anything. All right, hold on, I have to set this up right.”
She takes another sip of beer, but neither Michael nor I say anything this time because we know another interruption will just set her off and she’ll take longer. Silence from Darius shows he’s learned the same lesson.
“Bernie, this is Michael, you may remember him from high school when you two dated and he took your V card… ”
I did not expect this part of my past to come up, and my face immediately turns fire engine red. When I turn away so Michael doesn’t see me blush, I point my face at Zev and Rune, who look entirely confused.
“Anyway,” AJ wisely gets back to her story before they can derail this ludicrous conversation with more questions, which is the first good thing that’s happened to me all day. “Turns out that while you and Michael were getting your hump on, Michael was also busy making little girls’ dreams come true.”
I couldn’t possibly be more confused, and I’m about to say as much when AJ finally spits out what she’s been dying to say this whole time.
“Because your high school beau was a freaking unicorn.”
Chapter Thirteen
"AJ, what the damn hell is wrong with you?" I shout, waking Rain who begins to howl at the top of her lungs. I sigh, pull her from her car seat and pop out a breast to stick into her greedy mouth.
Michael's eyebrows raise, and he clears his throat. "Um, can someone let me out of these restraints and explain to me what's going on?" He speaks in a very formal and polite tone for a kidnapee.
AJ hops down from the counter and saunters over to him. "You know what's going on, Mikey Mike. Why don't you tell Bernie here what you really are?"
He glances at me, then back at AJ, then his shoulders sag. "How did you find out?" he asks.
I nearly choke on my own tongue. "Wait, it's true? You're a... you're a unicorn?"
He nods, not able to maintain eye contact with me.
I switch Rain to my other breast and begin pacing the room while she feeds. "What the hell is going on? Does Rowley have any humans here? Is Joe an ogre and Frank, what is he? A leprechaun?"
No one answers as I vent. I think back to high school, to the giddy days of new lust that felt like love. Michael was unquestionably the best looking guy in the school, with his golden hair and matching eyes, his perfectly tanned skin and sleek muscles. He was on the track team, and won more medals than I can remember. We used to make out under the bleachers when he snuck away from practice. He seemed magical at the time, but a unicorn? That's beyond the scope of what I can handle right now. Though maybe it helps to explain him being such a fast runner.
"Let him go," I command everyone--anyone--in the room.
AJ sighs and goes to release his bonds, but not before glaring at him. "One wrong move and my vamp boy will eat you, got it?"
Michael's eyes widen and he nods his head nervously. I throw a look at AJ, a little annoyed that she’s talking tough to the majestic creature she brought here against his will.
I haven't seen Michael since graduation. Last I heard he moved out of town and didn’t keep in touch with anyone here. It’s the goal for most people growing up in Rowley, and he’s one of the few who accomplished it. I bet he’s really loving this homecoming party.
"So now we're kidnapping people?" I ask. Rain finishes feeding and I hand her to the closest person--Darius. The vampire looks at Rain in confusion, then walks over to the changing table while I try to figure out what to do next.
"It wasn't kidnapping," AJ says, barely containing her laughter. "More like… horsenapping." Now she's literally doubled over in laughter, and as much as I want to be mad, I start to laugh too, because this is just too absurd.
"I'm so... sorry, Michael," I say, as my hysterical laughter escalates. Now I can't control the fits and AJ and I are both doubled over as the guys all watch us warily.
Well, everyone but Darius, who seems to be having some trouble at the changing station. “Is this normal? I think the young human is ill.”
I dash over there, worry replacing all other emotions, then my laughter returns when I realize what he’s going on about. “Nope, that’s just normal newborn poop. Fun, right?
He wrinkles his nose. “It’s smelly. And oddly colored and formed.”
AJ hoots and slaps her leg. “I can’t with these guys. It’s too much.”
"Listen," Michael says, sidestepping us. "I'm just gonna get going if that's all right."
Darius stands and in a blink has handed the baby off to Rune and is blocking Michael's path to the door. "You may not leave."
Michael looks around nervously as Zev growls under his throat and Rune, who’s skillfully getting Rain diapered up and ready for a snooze, watches casually--in the way a cat is casual until it strikes.
"What do you want with me?" Michael asks, giving up and sinking into my new, luxurious couch. "No one knows what I am. I live a quiet life. I don't want to cause trouble."
"We need your blood," Darius says with his whole 'I'm gonna eat you and you'll like it' vibe.
"How much of it?" Michael asks, in an exasperated tone that makes it clear someone--or something--has asked for his blood before.
But Darius, who clearly doesn't like being questioned, hisses, flashing extra pointy teeth. "Who are you to question us? Do you know who we are?"
Oh Lord. "Chill your tits, vamp boy." I step forward and grab Darius by the arm. "You need some serious schooling in how to win friends and influence people."
His ink-dark gaze locks with mine. "I am fully capable of influencing people," he says.
"I mean without voodoo powers," I say. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar."
His brows crease in confusion.
"Nevermind. Look, just let me handle this. You and AJ have done quite enough." I focus my attention on Michael, and as I look closely at him for the first time, I realize how ageless he is. Like a model stepping off the cover of a magazine, sculpted from clay and photoshopped to perfection. He’s obviously matured since his teenage years, but he hasn’t been ravaged by time in the way one would expect. Now I can see it. The supernatural beauty at work in him. "We just need a vial or so," I say. "I'm sorry they brought you in like this. I had no idea they were going to do that. And, to state the obvious, I had no idea you were a unicorn."
He stares at me for some time, the room quiet. "It's good to see you again, Bernie," he says, surprising me. "It's been too long."
"It has," I
say, cocking my head.
"I meant to come by... when I heard." He pauses. "I'm sorry. For your loss. But. I didn't know if you'd want to see me after--"
"After you dumped her like the piece of shit you are," AJ says, getting in his face. "You broke her heart, you bastard. She was a wreck for weeks over your pathetic ass."
"For crying out loud, AJ, shut the hell up! That was like ten years ago."
She glances at me, nonplussed, but steps back a fraction. She still looks ready to cut a bitch though.
Michael shrugs sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I was worried. We were getting so close and if you found out what I was... I was scared."
"It was a long time ago," I say, and I know I'll be sitting with this later, worrying over every memory of Michael, reframing the end of my first serious relationship in light of all I've learned. But I'm a big girl now and have too much on my plate to stress about my high school broken heart. "I would be grateful if you could spare some blood though. I know it sounds weird and all but--"
"It's fine," he says as he pulls up his sleeve and holds out his arm. "Take what you need."
"We can't take it from your human form," Rune says, inserting himself into the awkward conversation.
"Right," Michael says. "Um. You'll need to stand back. I don't want to hurt anyone."
I move towards the kitchen to give him room, the realization washing over me that I’m about to watch the first guy I ever slept with turn into a horse.
A unicorn, not a horse.
I glance at Darius, who smirks.
Out of my head, vampire. And excuse me, a unicorn.
But I soon see that the distinction is an important one. Before my very eyes, Michael begins to glow an ethereal white. He doesn't contort and bend out of shape like Zev. Instead, I'm blinded by the light he emanates, and in a flash, he's transitioned from man to a gleaming white unicorn standing in my freaking living room.
"Michael?" I step forward tentatively and hold out my hand to him. He leans his head down and I touch the softness of his mane and let my hand slide over his golden horn. A tingling pulses up my arm, like magic infusing me, and a euphoric kind of happiness overwhelms me. I smile, soaking up the feeling like it’s water and I’m dying of thirst.
Darius clears his throat, rudely interrupting the exchange. "I will extract his blood now."
Rune shakes his head. "I don't think so. You'll contaminate it with centuries-old bacteria. Allow me." Rune produces from some pocket or another a small silver blade and a crystal vial covered in etchings.
I cringe as he slices into Michael's back leg and golden blood drips into the vial.
Once it's full, Rune waves his hand over the wound and mutters a few words in, I don't know, Elvin or some shit, and when he removes his hand, Michael's unicorn flesh is once again unblemished.
"This should be enough," Rune says, studying the glowing golden contents.
Michael nods and, in another blast of light, turns from unicorn to man once more. Unlike Zev, he still has his clothes on, and I try to convince myself I'm not the least bit disappointed by that. But I am curious. "You keep your clothes when you shift?" I ask, totally nonchalantly.
AJ blows my cover by snorting.
Michael grins like he knows what I'm thinking. "Sorry to disappoint. But yes, unlike shifters, my powers are pure magic. My body isn't changing form, my essence is returning to its true nature."
"Right. Sure. Makes perfect sense."
Michael looks around and frowns. "If there's nothing else, I assume I'm free to go?"
The Sexies don't object, and I sigh, assuming that means it's fine. "Let me buy you a drink first. It’s the least I can do." I glance at Rune. "Keep an eye on Rain?"
He nods, and the other two narrow their eyes like they're jealous, though that can't possibly be true.
Michael and I walk downstairs to the bar, and I pour us both a shot of whiskey. "Cheers," I say.
He downs his drink and I refill, then move to the other side to sit with him.
"I see your apartment's gotten an upgrade," he says.
"Uh, yeah. Those guys, they're kind of a big deal and decided they wanted to live in style while here."
Michael frowns. "They're dangerous, Bernie. I don’t really know what’s going on, but I’ve got a bad sense. Be careful with them."
"I know," I say. "It's... complicated."
He chuckles. "It always is with you."
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"Just that life was never easy for you." He pauses. "I hated ending things the way we did, but after your grandmother talked to me, I--"
"Nanny talked to you?" I ask, shocked. "About what? Why?"
"She didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
He sighs and sets his tumbler down. "After prom, she came to my house. Said she knew what I was and that I needed to leave you alone. That being with you would ruin your life. She was--convincing. I didn't want to hurt you, but really didn’t feel like I had a choice. It was the hardest thing I've ever done."
I lean back against my barstool, a wave of conflicting emotion flooding me. “She didn’t say anything to me, for obvious reasons, I suppose. All of this magic shit was kept secret from me up until Rain was born."
"Congratulations, by the way. On your baby. She's beautiful, just like her mother."
His compliment makes me flush. “What about you? I heard you left town. Just north of Boston, right? What do you do? Do you have kids? A wife?”
“Yeah, we’re in Saugus.” He pauses. “And I write fantasy novels for a living.”
I can’t help but smile at that. “They say write what you know. I guess that works out for you.”
He laughs. “Yeah, something like that. And, I have a daughter. Ellie. He reaches for his phone and pulls up a picture of a blond girl with big blue eyes who looks about kindergarten age.
“She’s lovely,” I say. “I’m glad you found happiness. Is her mother still in the picture?”
“Actually, my husband and I are her parents. We used a surrogate.”
“Husband?” I’m not sure if I’m more shocked my old flame is a unicorn or gay. Both are unexpected.
“Yeah. I didn’t know, or didn’t want to acknowledge it fully when we were together. It wasn’t until college that I finally came out. That’s when I met Robert. We’ve been together ever since.” He looks at me cautiously, waiting for my response.
I smile and take his hand. “I’m so happy for you, Michael. How, um, did your parents take it?” I ask with a sheepish look, already knowing the answer. Michael came from the type of family that wouldn’t be too keen on a gay son.
He returns my look and shakes his head, but then relief fills his eyes as he swipes the picture on his phone to one of him and his husband. “This is Robert.”
“You two make a gorgeous couple,” I say honestly. “Does he know about... ”
“That I’m a unicorn?” he asks with a chuckle. “Yes, it was kinda hard to hide. We used his DNA for our daughter to avoid any… complications with her down the road. And he’d never betray my secret. Just like I won’t betray yours.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Yeah, about all this. I can’t apologize enough. I’ve been thrown into the deep end of this supernatural shit, and it’s been a hard ride. You shouldn’t have been pulled into this.”
“It’s okay. I’m glad I could help.” He takes one last swig from his glass. “But next time, just ask?”
I laugh as we both stand. “I will.”
We hug and he pulls away to look at me. "It was good seeing you again, Bernie. Even under the circumstances."
“You too, Michael. Don’t be a stranger. And bring your family by sometime.”
I let him out the front door and lock it behind him, then walk back up to my apartment, my mind lost in the past to what was and what could have been. What did my grandmother know about this new world I now find myself thrust into? And why didn't she tell me the truth back then?
Rune is in the kitchen cooking something in a pot when I return. Darius and Zev are playing chess, and AJ is sitting at the piano picking at keys. She looks up when I walk in. "Wild, isn't it?" she says with a cheeky grin.
"That's one word for it," I say grimly. "How on earth did you know he was a unicorn?"
“Well, Darius pieced it all together,” she explains. “He asked about the families that have been in Rowley the longest, and I said the Lawrences since I’ve never heard of a Lawrence leaving town, until Michael, and even he didn’t get too far. Then he asked some weird questions about who was whose son and suddenly I’m off to kidnap Michael while Darius waits in his bat cave.” She gives me a ho-hum shrug and glances at the clock on the wall. "Time to open the bar. Ready boys?"
"I cannot leave the potion until it is complete," Rune says.
"How long will that be?" AJ asks.
"You cannot rush magic."
"Are you cooking Michael's blood in my kitchen?" I ask, marching over to look into the pot. It has a golden hue and sparkles, just like something that would come out of a unicorn.
"Once it is done, we can complete our pledge and you will feel safe," Rune says softly, and I realize in that moment he's not just doing this to keep the three of them honest, but so that I will trust them. It softens me just a little.
“Thank you,” I say. “For trying to make me feel better about all this.”
Rune stops stirring for a moment to turn to me, his eyes looking a deeper blue than before, like the ocean pulling me into its depths. He takes my hands in his, stepping forward so our bodies are mere inches apart. “I cannot say that I know how hard this has been for you, but I can feel your pain, your worry, your fear. I know it’s hard to trust us, but I hope you can at least believe that I want to make this easier for you while we work out what must be done.”
He drops one of my hands and brushes his knuckles lightly against my cheek. “I did not expect to feel the way I do about you and the child. It has complicated things. But I would not change that for anything.”
A Werewolf, a Vampire, and a Fae Walk Into a Bar Page 12
