Shifter's Destiny

by Anna Leonard

  She shook her head, disbelieving, but a tiny shift inside her told her that it was true. She hadn’t imagined it, not then, not during the battle, when she could hear his heartbeat.

  She hadn’t endangered him. He wasn’t at risk. He had saved her...and she had saved him, in turn.

  Epilogue

  It was a beautiful day. The sky overhead was a pale blue, and the air was fresh and filled with the scent of grass and a healthy tang of sweat. Only some of that sweat was due to exertion.

  Elizabeth was terrified. “I’m not so sure about this.”

  “Love, relax. You’ll do fine.”

  “Easy for you to say. What if I smell wrong? Or say something wrong? Or...”

  Josh laughed. “Impossible. You’re my mate. More, you’re lead mare of your own herd. We all give way before you and tremble to hear your decision.”

  She snorted, a noise remarkably similar to the noise made by their companions, two Mustang mares. Josh’s sisters, Roseanna and Judith, were both gangly, giggling teenagers in their human form, but tall and lovely mares when they shifted. Maggie, on Judith’s back, leaned forward against her sister-to-be’s neck, their silent communication evident even without Maggie’s particular gifts. In the two days since they had arrived at Josh’s family home, the three girls had formed a tight triangle, and as much as Elizabeth missed being her sister’s first confidante, she was delighted to see how easily Maggie had adapted to this new life. Maggie didn’t have to hide what she could do, here.

  But that made the thought of losing it all, of somehow screwing it up, all the more terrifying.

  There was nothing to go back to. That life was part of the past. This was her future...maybe.

  “What if...” Elizabeth ran out of questions to ask, and took a deep breath. “All right. Wait...” She waved a hand downward. “Here.”

  “As my lady commands,” Josh said, his dark eyes sparkling, and he bowed over her hand in affectionate mockery, shimmering with the shift even as he did so. By the time she looked again, there were three Mustang standing on the hill, their coats almost blindingly white, their horns sharp and fierce, their dark eyes bright and alert. Magical...and expectant.

  Her herd. If she wanted it. If she could earn it.

  Elizabeth took a deep breath, and tried to soak up their love and belief in her, before turning to face the valley, and what she needed to do.

  A small herd of wild horses grazed in the valley, overseen by a single Mustang. Her white coat was shading to gray with age, but her eyes were still alert as Elizabeth approached her; evaluating the human interloper.

  Grace. The herd’s lead mare.

  It’s like meeting the in-laws for the first time after the wedding’s already over, she had said to Josh that morning, when she learned what was required.

  My mother already adores you, he’d said. She could tell he was trying not to laugh, but she didn’t mind. He had laughed so little when she first met him, it was a revelation to hear his chuckle, spreading out like the ripples in a lake. The face that had seemed so stern, so fierce, relaxed now that they were back among his herd, and she loved to wake every morning and watch him sleep, peaceful and secure.

  The same way she felt; the way she thought she would never find again. Secure...and loved.

  And this one meeting could rip that all from them. If the lead mare did not accept her...

  What happens then? she had asked that morning, unable to control her nerves. Josh had kissed her, so soundly that they had both forgotten everything except the touch, the scent of each other, and then touched his forehead to hers, in a gesture she now knew was how the herd greeted each other, horn against horn to show no threat, only trust.

  She will accept you, he had said.

  By the time she reached the bottom of the valley, the horses had wheeled and turned, coming closer. There were maybe thirty, some of them spotted white and black, others gray, and more a seemingly endless wave of brown. And one single spot of grayish-white, the dark eyes and pearly horn filling Elizabeth’s gaze.

  “Greetings, grandmother,” she said when the mare trotted to a half a few feet away. She thought about bowing, to show respect, then decided against it. If she was to be her family’s lead mare, she had to meet this woman on equal footing. Hooving?

  The older mare considered her, and Elizabeth waited, holding her breath. If Grace changed to human form, was that good? Or bad? If she trotted away, what would Elizabeth do? If...

  The Mustang paced forward slowly, each step the graceful movement of a four-legged waltz, never taking her eyes from the intruding human, and then turned slightly.

  It took Elizabeth a moment to realize that, far from challenging her, or turning away from her, the mare was offering her side—inviting her to mount.

  By now, taking the handful of mane and swinging her leg over was practically second nature, although it felt odd doing it to another Mustang; the mare was a good six inches shorter than Josh, which threw Elizabeth’s movements off. She managed to seat herself easily once that adjustment was made, however. The moment the mare felt Elizabeth settle, she was off—not at a gentle walk, or a graceful trot, but a full-out run. The wild horses scattered before her, and they thundered across the grassy plains, Elizabeth’s legs wrapped around the mare’s belly and her hands fisted in the silky-coarse mane. After the initial shock and terror ebbed, Elizabeth was able to relax a little, secure in the knowledge that the Mustang would not step in a gopher hole or bolt at some sudden distraction. The rhythm of the mare’s stride slowly soaked into her, and she adjusted her body to fit it almost unconsciously. Her elbows softened, her shoulders relaxed, and suddenly it was as though she had been born on horseback—even more so than riding with Josh, oddly enough. This was not the almost erotic melding she had with her mate, but the joyous sharing of sisters.

  Elizabeth felt the wind tangle her hair, blowing the still startlingly short strands in her face, but rather than panic because she couldn’t see where she was going, she merely laughed, sitting upright and letting her fingers untangle from the mare’s mane, lifting her arms into the air as though to catch a handful of the blue sky.

  Blue sky. The blue sky of her dreams, the smell of warm grass and clean flesh. Elizabeth laughed again, the sound rising up from deep within her.

  The moment she did so, the mare’s muscles shifted, and her pace slowed, until they were moving at a smooth gait barely faster than a fast walk, and then they were turning, heading back to where the wild horses had regathered, skirting them and heading up the hill to where the other Mustang, and Maggie, waited. By the time they reached the top of the hill, the mare had slowed to a deliberate walk, and Elizabeth, heeding some inner prompt, slid from her back to walk alongside her.

  There was the shimmer that foretold a shift, and the mare’s Mustang form was replaced with an elegant woman, old enough that Elizabeth felt a start of shame at having ridden her so hard. Then the woman turned and smiled, as though hearing Elizabeth’s thoughts, and she changed her initial impression; the woman might be a grandmother, but she was strong as an oak tree, and didn’t seem at all winded by their run.

  “Grandmother,” Josh said, taking the woman’s hand in his own and kissing the age-spotted fingertips.

  “We are glad to have you home, Joshua,” Grace said, her voice rough and sweet as honey. “And this must be Maggie.” Maggie slid down from Judith’s back, and the woman looked Elizabeth’s sister up and down, and then smiled. “Welcome home, my dear.”

  Elizabeth looked up and met Josh’s gaze, the feeling still swirling within her. For a moment she saw the overlay of the Mustang, fierce and powerful, and then it faded, and he was her Josh again.

  “Home,” he mouthed to her silently, and she smiled, reaching out to take his free hand.

  Finally. Home.

  * * * * *
/>
  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin ebook. Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

  Subscribe to our newsletter: Harlequin.com/newsletters

  Visit Harlequin.com

  We like you—why not like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks

  Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks

  Read our blog for all the latest news on our authors and books:

  HarlequinBlog.com

  Harlequin and Mills & Boon are joining forces in a global search for new authors.

  In September 2012 we’re launching our biggest contest yet—with the prize of being published by the world’s leader in romance fiction!

  Look for more information on our website, www.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com

  So you think you can write? Show us!

  ISBN: 9781459238435

  Copyright © 2012 by Laura Anne Gilman

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  www.Harlequin.com