Unicorn's Unease Read online

  Zodiac Shifters Series

  Book 4

  Unicorn’s Unease

  A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Pisces

  By Crystal Dawn

  @ Copyright 2017 Crystal Dawn

  Cover by Raven Blackburn

  Editing by Eagle Editing

  Proofreader Tammy Payne

  This book is a work of fiction. All contents, including names, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to persons, living or deceased, or to businesses, locations or events are completely coincidental.

  None of this work may be used, reproduced, exchanged or transmitted by anyone, except the person the book was purchased for. Any reproductions of this book in any part or any form must be done with the express written permission of the author or not at all.

  The thing about Pisces…

  The dreamers… that’s what Pisces are. Normally they don’t like confrontation and they prefer helping others. Many are empathic and intuitive making them excellent second in commands. They are creative with a lot of self-motivation and inspiration but they can be easily sent off course and depressed by the realities of modern life.

  Good characteristics: Creative, idealistic, caring, sensitive, flexible, and even romantic.

  Bad characteristics: Flighty, emotional, moody, sensitive, lack self-discipline, and restless.

  For every good trait, they have an equally bad one. Even some good traits in excess can be bad. Those of this sign are also the most likely to be effected by depression and escapism. When dreams go wrong, they can crash painfully and that often leaves the Pisces struggling for stability. They will fall back on what’s familiar and easy for them. Sometimes this means abandoning new plans or situations or even people.

  The ruling planet of these dreamers born between February 19th and March 20th is Neptune and Pisces is considered the last sign of the Zodiac. They are gentle and patient, but also loners. Enjoying solitude more than most. Pisces is a water sign.

  Two Pisces together can be a recipe for disaster. They have to learn to work together and really be committed to make things work.

  Phoenix Under Fire:

  Book 1

  A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Aries

  There is a battle brewing, and the witches are looking for allies. Annie's father plans to force her to mate a male of his choice at the behest of his brother. She wants her fated one and casts a spell to find him. Problem solved, right?

  Ramiros wakes up with sand up his nose. What happened to his nice comfortable bed? When he finds the person who dumped him on the beach thousands of miles from home, there will be hell to pay. He almost felt sorry for the fool who'd chosen to mess with a Phoenix.

  As this book ends, it leads to Dragon in Distress which is more enjoyable and easier to understand if read after Phoenix Under Fire.

  Dragon in Distress

  Book 2

  A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Virgo

  Sophie needed to find her fated mate to avoid being forced to mate someone of her Uncle’s choosing. Her cousin spells for her fated one, but an angry dragon shows up. This wasn’t at all what she expected.

  Knossos wakes up, and he’s not in his lair anymore. Someone has dared to summon him out of his slumber. The guilty party turns out to be his fated mate, so he can’t burn her to a crisp. He wasn’t really ready for this, so what’s a dragon to do?

  Pegasus in Peril

  Book 3

  A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Capricorn

  Meeting Herkules at a dinner at her sister’s place had been weird. They’d gotten along so well. Too well maybe. But now he didn’t write or call. Had she been wrong? Was he not her mate and he’d realized it first? Or was he like Gertie’s mate, unwilling to settle for just one female?

  Herk was taken with the female, but he couldn’t give in. He’d even considered going ahead with it. But these were dangerous times and claiming a mate just wasn’t in the cards. He looked back regretfully before he flew away.

  Will love escape them or will they do what they must to claim their own little piece of happiness?

  Unicorn’s Unease

  Book 4

  A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Pisces

  Julio didn’t know much about love, but his mate was challenging everything he wanted in life. That couldn’t be right, could it? Maybe he was wrong about her being his mate, but he felt bad now that he’d gone back to the plains leaving her behind. No matter what he did it seemed to be wrong.

  Janel had thought she’d found her one and only, but he’d left without a backwards look. She tried to date, but he was the only one on her mind. For now she would pour everything into her job and eventually things would settle.

  Two stubborn Pisces who each think they are right. Will they give in or face life alone?

  Prologue

  Julio felt the soft grasses of the plains under his hooves as he raced at the head of the herd. They all followed him when Herk wasn’t here as they should. He missed his mate but he tried not to think about her and even managed not to for a few moments. Without her life wasn’t good, but he was comfortable here and that was something.

  This was where he would be until Herk needed him for some mission or another. Here he would escape the difficulties of the real world and he would roam in his animal form where no one could bother him. No cares or worries would get him here and if his mate was absent he would just push thoughts of her away. She could have been here too had she chosen to be.

  He couldn’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t prefer to be here where life was simple rather than in the modern world where it was all crazy. It was enough that he would have to go when called to defend that crazy world. An image of Janel came to mind but he banished it. Not here and not now, he would see her soon enough.

  Chapter 1

  Crazy

  The bottle hit the wall causing glass to explode everywhere. It didn’t make her feel any better. Janel looked in the mirror behind the bar and she just wanted to cry. Ever since she’d been little she’d heard how important a mate was and how they were drawn to each other. Lies! It was all lies.

  “Do you need help getting home?” Pru asked.

  “No, I’m staying here.” She spoke slowly so she’d be understood. The slur from being drunk was barely there.

  “Sweetheart, let me take you home.” Pru begged.

  Pru was alright. She understood having just fought the good fight for her mate but she’d won. That was because Pru was stronger than she was and Herk wasn’t as big an ass as Julio was.

  “I don’t ever want to go home again. I wanna stay here until I grow old and die.”

  “Shh, Sweetie. Somehow, it’ll all end up alright.” Pru hoped.

  “Promise?”

  She hesitated then nodded. “We’ll make sure of it.”

  “If he doesn’t settle, let’s cut his balls off.” Janel said feeling bloodthirsty. Why not? He deserved it for what he’d done. It wouldn’t be so bad but she was almost certain he’d gone native on the plains without a thought of anything except where the best grass was.

  “Come on.” Pru helped her up and led her to the SUV she drove. Janel had a car too, somewhere. Ah, the hell with it. She slipped into the passenger seat with Pru’s help.

  This bar wasn’t far from where they lived at the edge of the small village. Some of the men who hung around there were a touch dangerous or thought they were. She’d considered showing them what dangerous was, but they hadn’t hurt her. Those guys actually played cards with her and joked around to cheer her up. The only one who hurt her was her disappearing mate.

  Janel knew she needed to get a hold of herself. He’d be aroun
d eventually to do his duty in this fight. Even that low life asshole would do that much. Pru needed to keep a close eye on her so she didn’t hurt the asshole. It would be so tempting. She started to cry. Damn. Nothing worse than a crying drunk. Red eyes, red nose, and a headache come morning; there was no doubt about it. The blame fell securely on Julio.

  She’d heard females talking about how much they wanted to meet a unicorn and love on one of them. Well she could tell them from personal experience Unicorn’s sucked. He was the worst experience she’d ever had in her life. Janel had a few really bad experiences like going drinking with Amy, a cousin.

  Her cousin got drunk then sick and puked all over her as she tried to help her home. That was bad, Julio was worse. There was the time she and Pru had snuck down the rain spout one night to go see some boys. It had started to break away from the house so they had dropped off it. Pru had fallen in a pile of hay while she had fallen in the blackberry bushes. She’d picked thorns out of her ass for hours. Again, that was bad while Julio was worse.

  They arrived at the big house that they all lived in now. It was like a compound with the house and other buildings surrounded by a stone wall. The guards at the gate waved them through once they were certain of who they were. It was a relief when they parked, Pru finally got her to her room so she could collapse on her bed.

  The next morning as soon as she entered the kitchen, everyone stopped talking. She got her own coffee but a server brought her an omelet. “Thank you.” She said as the young girl hurried away.

  “How are you today?” Pru asked,

  “You have bad news, don’t you?” Janel asked.

  “Everyone is being called in for a planned attack. Julio will be here tomorrow.” Pru explained.

  “I can manage.” She forced a smile. “Really.”

  Pru looked at her disbelieving. “You don’t have to pretend to be strong. I went through some of that too and I understand.”

  Janel hadn’t seen much of that. She’d come in when Herk was trying to make up for his mistake. The couple had been growing closer and they missed each other when they were separated by their missions. That’s when Janel had met Julio. Tall dark and handsome but with startling blue eyes. She’d known immediately and he’d seemed to know as well. That hadn’t lasted long though. The sex had been incredible, but that was all they’d had in common.

  “You’re thinking too hard.” Pru observed.

  “That’s better than before when I didn’t think hard enough.”

  “It’s not your fault. Males are crazy most of the time. I would compare them to children. I will know how to handle kids when this one comes along.” Pru rubbed her still flat belly.

  “Me too.” She whispered, but Pru heard her.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. It’s okay. I can handle it.”

  “You do know you shouldn’t be drinking?”

  “Yes, Mother. I wasn’t ready to accept it. I’m all better now.”

  “Eventually you’ll have to tell him.”

  “Not now. I’m not ready to be around him.”

  “I can’t blame you there. At least our kids will be able to play together.” Pru laughed.

  “You always find the bright side. I hate you.”

  “No you don’t. Come here and let me give you a hug.” Pru put her arms around her and Janel dissolved into tears. “At least we have each other.”

  “It’s alright. Once I put him behind me I’ll find someone else. A true mate isn’t all that it’s said to be.”

  “Once this battle is over, we’ll go shopping for baby stuff. It’ll make us both feel better.”

  “Oh joy!” She was feeling mean and sarcastic, sue her.

  “Have you already eaten? You look pale.” Pru looked at her with concern.

  “I’m drinking some OJ to see if that stays down. If it does, I’ll consider something else.”

  “You need to take care of yourself now.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Don’t hurt myself, let someone else do it.” Janel declared.

  “I’m sorry he hurt you and you know I understand, but think of the little one.”

  “I’m doing the best I can. We will have to be careful, but we both will be needed in the upcoming battles.”

  “I know. We will be in a support position throwing magic at the enemy. Herk plans an attack that will be the first true battle in the war against Hubolla. It seems so unfair that all the destruction will be in our world and none in his.”

  “Death will come on speeding winds with vicious cries and unearthly strength. Many will fall, but if we fight together, we will win the day.” Janel said staring straight ahead of her. Pru looked at her with shock. Janel shook her head as if to clear it. “What were we talking about?”

  She felt dazed and uncertain of what had just happened as she looked at Pru hoping for her to clear things up. “I believe you went into a trance.” Pru guessed.

  “And what did I say?” She asked wishing Pru would just fill her on and not make her pull everything out of her.

  “Something about death coming on the wind.”

  “That was all?”

  “No, you also said if we stick together we will win, but many will fall.”

  “Not really anything new in that.” Janel said.

  “Yes there is. We now have hope.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your prophesy that we could win. If we stick together, we will win. Some of us are doubters. Word of this will spread and encourage our fighters.”

  “But I said many will fall.”

  “We expected that, but you didn’t say that most would be ours. Maybe most of those who fall will be theirs? So far that has been the case and we’ve lost few if any.”

  “When this battle is behind us, we’ll have a better idea of what’s in front of us.”

  “With them entrenched in a village surrounded by innocents, it won’t be easy or painless.” Janel imagined.

  “War never is nor should it be. When it becomes easy to take a life, we become as cold as the one we fight. I never want to be that.

  “How long before we move on the village?”

  “Right now we are waiting for the others. Herk and Julio’s people will join us before we head out. I suspect they will be here before lunch. They travel speedily in their own magical way.”

  “In a different way from us, but just as fast.”

  “Herk sent a messenger who should have arrived by now. Once the message is received, they will have to round up their soldiers. That will take the longest.”

  Chapter 2

  Arrival

  Julio was in the field in his horse form which he loved. Yet he was feeling unsettled and pawing the ground. He didn’t know what was wrong, just that something was in his human type brain that wouldn’t allow him peace in any form. It was aggravating and even long runs over the plains at the head of the herd didn’t help. Nothing did.

  Excitement was running through the herd, the natural horses ran away while the others stood around waiting. A messenger had come. Now he would be drawn back into the human world whether he wanted to go or not. He flashed to where the messenger waited. No point in leaving them cooling their heels, they were just doing their job.

  “Greetings, Julio.” The female werewolf said.

  “Greetings, Bernice. It’s been a long time. What tidings do you have?” She had been a lover a few times in the distant past.

  “I bring news of the war. A battle is being planned and you and your followers as well as Herk’s are needed.”

  “How much time do we have?”

  “None. They want you as soon as possible.”

  “Thank you for bringing the word. We will arrive as soon as we have gathered our soldiers.”

  “I will give your message to Herk.” Bernice was gone in the blink of an eye.

  Her artifact was the same one all messengers carried. It allowed almost instantaneous travel, protection for the messenger as long as the
artifact was on them, and they could be tracked so headquarters always knew the status of the messenger. That came in handy.

  “Jolie, we must gather our troops for travel right away.” Julio said.

  Jolie is his younger sister. She was a warrior whether he approved or not so he kept her under his authority to protect her. Mostly, he had her in support services. So far she’d not complained or asked to be in a battle, but this one coming up all warriors would be in on including his sister. Just one more thing for Julio to be unhappy about.

  “I’ll spread the word. They’ll come here and once they are gathered we’ll go?”

  “Yes, they wait for us to finish planning and attack our target. It won’t be pretty.”

  “War never is.”

  “True. Go now and spread the word.”

  Jolie left and Jespers, his brother, came. “We are all here. At least all of the southern herd that is going to fight.”

  As Julio’s second, Jespers often took part of the herd south to keep them spread out. The natural horses, the young, old, and nonsoldiers would be left behind. Apollo was Herk’s younger brother and he had the western herd. He should be arriving soon. Then they would wait for the eastern and northern herd before they could leave. The main herd was centrally located.

  By spreading out, they ensured their survival. They were also proactive in setting traps for the humans that hunted and thinned the herds, but every year there were still less of them. Eventually, his natural horses might be gone along with many of the unicorns and Pegasus that were caught along with them.

  Now the horse shifters were going and the natural horses would be on their own for all intent and purposes. Julio felt bad about leaving them on their own but hopefully they would return soon. This was his world, the plains that he and the other horses, both natural and shifter, ran over day after day. The other places he went were like a dream and only this place was real to him.