Page 13 of Unicorn Shifter Academy
And I wasangry.
My mother blinked at me as if I’d slapped her, her mouth popping open in stunned shock.
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” I shouted, throwing my hands up in the air. “You hated me for being a human—being anembarrassmentto your precious bloodline. And you know what? That shouldn’t have been my responsibility. You could have married someone else and had more children if I was such a disappointment.” I crossed my arms and glowered at her. “If you weren’t such a stuck-upbitch, maybe someone other than Dad would have taken you.”
My mother moved so fast that I didn’t see it coming.
She smacked me across the face, sending my whole body lashing to the side as thunder cracked through the air.
The Coven members all around us watched in stunned shock. However, the male at my back moved to my side as his ruby eyes blazed with powerful magic.
“You will not touch her again,” he warned as the air heated all around us.
I swallowed hard becausedamn,he was both gorgeous and terrifying.
Holding out a hand, I told him without words that this was my fight.
He glowered at me for a moment, clearly displeased with the situation, but finally gave me a subtle nod and backed away.
I blinked a few times. It was as if we could communicate without words. I sensed his need to defend me. The desire was almost overwhelming and I didn’t understand it, but I knew these weren’t my own feelings. Somehow, I was able to sense his emotions, and even though he didn’t know me, he was compelled to protect me.
Finding the whole thing eerie and exciting at the same time, I turned back to my mother. Her rage was palpable, evident by the stormcloud that had formed over our heads. Tiny droplets of rain stung my shoulders and cheeks, but I raised my nose in defiance. It was the only response my mother would respect.
“Don’t ever talk about your father to me,” she growled. Thunder accentuated her words as lightning rolled through the ceiling. Ned summoned an umbrella for Angel—she still didn’t quite have perfect control over her shifts and water often gave her a tail.
As lightning blasted through the walls, I decided that Angel turning into a mermaid was the least of my concerns. The foundation split and the whole place might have crashed down on us had another coven witch not swiftly acted.
A black-haired beauty raised her hand and chanted a spell, one that sealed the crack that had formed.
“Thank you, Ella,” Becca said, then eyed us. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but instead, she turned back to her book and began desperately flipping the pages again as if looking for something that might help.
Because my mom waspissed.
I’d hit my mother below the belt, sure, but she was falling off her damn rocker.
“I’m never allowed to talk about him!” I shouted, apparently having lost my damn mind.
But, in my defense, I’d just sprouted a horn, so I figured I was allowed a meltdown.
Ned and Angel watched me from the stairs, their wide eyes holding a level of shock I’d never seen on their faces before—not even that time when I’d covered myself in temporary tattoos as a fashion statement.
It had taken three weeks for them to come off, too. My mother hadnotbeen happy and had isolated me to my room and ordered Auntie Linda to scrub me raw every night until it came off.
Now, though, this wasn’t something that she could just wash away.
I felt the change all the way down to my fuckingsoul.I wasn’t human anymore, and every second it felt like something was about to burst out of me.
I hiccuped at that moment, another rainbow bubble popping into the air. This time, though, it rippled with flames and burst a moment later, releasing a wave of heat.
Well, that can’t be good.
“Shit,” the male behind me cursed. “We need to go, Bonny.Now.”
Hearing him say my name sent chills down my spine.
I liked how my name rolled off his tongue with a subtle hint of desire, betraying his emotions that burned under my skin like fire.
Maybe that’s why I just popped out a fire bubble.
