Chapter 158 FINAL CHAPTER- Bonus Chapter 10- Do Not Pretend 

You’re Not Interested 

LEXI 

Gemma stays in her Cindercorn shape for almost half an hour. I would say Blake spends that entire time coaching 

her gently through shifting back, but honestly, I’m fairly sure she could have done it sooner if she really wanted 

1. She’s just absolutely thriving on the attention. Blake crouches in the grass in front of her, talking her through 

it calmly while she prances in little circles around him showing off her horn and occasionally puffing tiny bursts 

of smoke into the air because she thinks it’s hilarious. 

“You need to focus,” Blake tells her patiently. I snort despite myself while Mum quietly wipes tears from her eyes 

beside me. Eventually, after much dramatic stalling, Gemma finally manages to shift back into her human form. 

Without her clothes. Oops. Thankfully Mum immediately rushes inside to grab her something to wear before 

Gemma can decide streaking around the property is a fun new game. I watch Blake scoop her up in a blanket while 

she giggles uncontrollably, smoke still occasionally escaping her nose whenever she laughs too hard. And 

suddenly, the reality of it hits me. I’m not the only unicorn anymore. For years Blake and I searched. Quietly. 

Carefully. Cage even helped us, though he insisted his ‘completely unrelated overseas investigations into magical 

anomalies’ had absolutely nothing to do with me. We followed rumours, stories, vague sightings. Most led 

nowhere. Some turned out to be other shifters entirely. Some were just myths people wanted to believe. We never 

found another unicorn. Not one. And now… Our daughter exists. A little impossible creature made from both of us. 

The thought is so overwhelming my chest physically aches with it. Blake must notice immediately because he 

turns toward me at once, expression softening, and pulls me against his chest without hesitation. I grip the front 

of his shirt tightly. 

“People are going to hunt her,” I whisper quietly, careful to keep my voice low enough that Gemma can’t hear. 

“We don’t know what she can do yet. We don’t know if her healing will work like mine, or if her horn does the 

same thing or-” I start, but he cuts me off. 

“We’ll keep her safe,” Blake says immediately, firm and certain in that way only he can manage. 

“And we’ll teach her to keep herself safe too.” He adds. He presses a kiss into my hair. 

“Besides… no one pushes our little Gem around.” He adds dryly. I glance over toward her. She’s sitting happily in 

my father’s lap now, wrapped in a blanket while he shows her the photos he took during the shift. She’s practically 

vibrating with excitement as she points at each image and loudly explains exactly how amazing she looked. 

“It felt all sparkly!. And my feet were weird but in a cool way!” she declares enthusiastically. Dad nods seriously 

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Chapter 158 FINAL CHAPTER- Bonus Chapter 10- Do Not Pretend You’re Not Interested 

like this is a very important scientific observation. Gemma gasps dramatically as another photo appears. 

“Oh! Mama! Look! My horn is shiny!” She tells me. Then, without even pausing for breath, she continues. 

“I wanna learn healing magic like you so I can help people!” She announces. My heart melts instantly. And then… 

“So if someone is rude to me I can stab them with my new horn and heal them after so I don’t get in trouble.” She 

reasons. I stare. Blake coughs suspiciously beside me. Dad outright cackles. 

“Okay. Maybe you do have a point.” I tell Blake slowly. He looks unbearably smug. A minute later Gemma wriggles 

free from Dad’s lap and comes skipping back toward us, still wrapped like a little blanket burrito. 

“Daddy!” she announces excitedly, waving Dad’s phone around. 

“Grandpa said I should ask if Maya and Rushton can come over so I can show them my pictures!” She thrusts the 

phone toward us proudly. Blake glances at me. I smile and nod immediately. 

“Of course little Gem, I’ll call right now.” he says. He could never tell her no anyway. Gemma cheers loudly and 

races off across the grass again. 

“She is never sleeping tonight,” Mum mutters fondly. 

“Nope,” I agree. I pull out my phone too. 

“I should probably call El. And Layla. Oh, and Cage.” I realise. Blake snorts softly. 

“He’ll absolutely show up uninvited.” He points out. 

“He’s way too nosy not to,” I agree. Gemma suddenly skids to a stop mid-run. 

“Uncle Cage?!” she gasps dramatically. 

“Is Uncle Cage coming?!” She demands. I laugh. 

“Probably,” I answer. She squeals and resumes zooming around the garden. Blake is already making the first call. 

“Aaron,” he says as soon as the line connects, immediately dropping into his usual cool, stoic tone. 

“It happened. She shifted.” He says. There’s a pause. 

“Yes. Come see for yourself.” Another pause. 

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Chapter 158 FINAL CHAPTER- Bonus Chapter 10- Do Not Pretend You’re Not Interested 

“She wants to show off to your children.” Blake adds, then rolls his eyes slightly. 

“I don’t care that they’re in pyjamas.” He says bluntly. I can faintly hear Aaron arguing through the phone. 

“Fine, but make it quick.” Blake sighs dramatically. Another pause. Blake narrows his eyes. 

“I know your daughter shifted first. That’s irrelevant.” He answers. More talking. 

A 

“Yeah, yeah. Just get over here.” He hangs up grumbling under his breath, but I can see the amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth. Honestly, watching Blake and Aaron become friends over the years has been one of the weirdest experiences of my life. Aaron officially became Alpha three years ago after his father stepped down, and somehow he’s turned into exactly the kind of leader he wanted to be all those years ago. Protective, practical, surprisingly thoughtful. And true to his word, he’s always looked out for me. We’ve never had another issue with the wolves. Not once. His twins are only a few months older than Gemma, a girl and a boy, and the three of them are absolute chaos together. Mostly because both Aaron and Blake supervise every playdate personally like two terrifying security guards pretending they’re casual. The funniest part is that Blake and Aaron still act like they barely tolerate each other. Meanwhile they spend hours together complaining about parenting, discussing security systems and traumatically bonding over their terrible fathers. They are basically best friends. Neither of them would ever admit it. While Blake finishes his call, I message Layla and Cage, then call Ellorie. She and Theo travel constantly these days, so I doubt they’ll be able to make it tonight. Ellorie has somehow become the cool aunt who appears every few months with bizarre magical trinkets from overseas and stories that definitely sound illegal. Gemma worships her. Layla replies almost immediately asking if she can visit sometime in the next few 

days. Cage does not respond. I lower my phone slowly. 

“Nothing from Cage yet,” I say thoughtfully. Blake hums knowingly. I grin. 

“Bet you fifty dollars he’s rattling our front gate within fifteen minutes.” I challenge. Blake considers this then 

shakes his head. 

“Ten.” He answers. 

Nine and a half minutes later, the security alarm by the gate starts blaring while someone aggressively leans on 

the intercom. Blake smirks. 

“Told you.” He says smugly. I burst out laughing. 

“You had better go let him in before he tries to scale the fence,” I warn him. Blake shrugs like that is a totally reasonable possibility and heads off toward the gate. Sure enough, less than a minute later, Cage comes literally sprinting across the property. Breathless. Hair a mess. Coat half buttoned wrong. Gemma spots him instantly. 

“UNCLE CAGE!” she shrieks dramatically. Then she launches herself at him at full speed. Cage barely has time to 

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Chapter 158 FINAL CHAPTER- Bonus Chapter 10- Do Not Pretend You’re Not Interested 

brace before she crashes into him. 

“I shifted!” she announces loudly. 

“I’m a Cindercorn! I have pictures!” She tells him. 

“Show me immediately,” Cage demands without hesitation. Gemma proudly shoves the phone into his hands. Cage 

drops to one knee beside her and immediately starts swiping through the photos with intense concentration like 

he’s examining critical scientific evidence instead of adorable pictures of a magical child. 

“Hm.” he mumbles. Swipe. 

“Oh.” Swipe. 

“That smoke production is fascinating.” He comments. Swipe. 

“The horn structure is different too.” He observes. Swipe. 

“Huh.” He says faintly. Gemma beams up at him proudly while he starts firing questions at her rapid-fire. 

“What did the shift feel like?” He asks. 

“Warm and sparkly!” She answers. 

“Did your senses change?” He prompts. 

“I could smell Grandpa’s biscuits from outside.” She says after thinking for a moment. 

“Impressive.” He compliments. 

“Daddy said I was beautiful!” She adds. 

“You are,” Cage agrees immediately without even looking up from the phone. Honestly, the fact that Professor 

Harry Cage somehow became ‘Uncle Cage’ over the years remains one of the weirdest developments of my entire 

life. 

Cage stays glued to Gemma’s side asking approximately one million questions until another car finally pulls up 

outside. Aaron steps out first. The twins immediately tumble out after him wearing pyjamas and sneakers that 

very clearly do not match. 

“Kelly couldn’t make it. She’s out tonight.” Aaron tells us as he approaches. Blake nods once. Then the kids spot each other. Chaos immediately erupts. 

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Chapter 158 FINAL CHAPTER- Bonus Chapter 10- Do Not Pretend You’re Not Interested 

“GEMMA!” Maya yells. 

“MAYA!” Gemma screams. 

“SHOW US!” Maya continues. The girls go sprinting off together while Rushton trails after them at a much calmer 

pace. Gemma immediately restarts her entire story from the beginning at top volume while showing off the 

photos. Maya and Gemma dissolve into hysterical laughter the second Gemma demonstrates the smoke thing 

again. Rushton simply sits nearby watching them quietly with the expression of someone already exhausted by the 

nonsense around him. Finally Cage wanders back over toward us. 

“She’s unique,” he comments. 

“We always knew that,” Blake answers. 

“True. But while she appears to be mostly unicorn, she has the temperament of a dragon. Which is perfect actually. Pop out a few more of those and eventually we’re going to end up with a whole generation of part 

unicorns that won’t go down without a fight,” Cage announces. 

“I don’t know if that’s cool or alarming,” Aaron comments dryly. He’s watching the three kids playing, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Gemma and Maya have given up looking at the photos and are now giggling maniacally while Gemma puffs smoke from her nose on purpose to impress her. Rushton is sitting nearby just watching them contentedly. Aaron’s expression stays oddly focused. Suspiciously focused. His gaze keeps flicking between Gemma and Rushton in particular, narrowing slightly every time Gemma runs back over to drag him into whatever chaos she and Maya are causing. Rushton follows along without complaint, calm and steady beside her while she chatters a mile a minute. I can’t help wondering if Aaron knows something the rest of us don’t. 

“What do you think?” Blake suddenly asks. 

“Hmm?” I glance up at him, dragged from my thoughts. 

“About having more children,” he clarifies. 

“Oh.” I respond blankly. 

“I want them,” he adds, in case I somehow hadn’t already worked that out. I laugh softly. 

“I know. And I am definitely not opposed to giving Gemma a sibling or two.” I inform him with a grin, Blake grins 

and leans down to kiss me. And somehow, after everything, all the ways this could have turned out wrong. Everything turned out perfectly. I have fallen completely in love with my dragon and I have no regrets. 

Hey everyone! 

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Chapter 158 FINAL CHAPTER- Bonus Chapter 10- Do Not Pretend You’re Not Interested 

Thank you so much for reading this story 

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Comments 

Rossella Marika D’Alterio 

29 Comments > 

Amazing. This book is amazing. Really. I love the way you elaborate the characters! I’ll go reading everything else you published here! 

1 days ago 

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