“I just don’t want you or Helena to get hurt out there.” Ivan glanced in the direction of the tunnel that led to the world outside of Wishing Moon Bay. Ivan had spent the least time in that world. He was a true creature of the supernatural, as a dragon, he could never blend in with a herd of horses or meander across remote mountain ranges as a white wolf or a bear.
He’s afraid of the unknown and he is right to be, but we know that world, his horse reminded Dario.
“I appreciate your concern,” Dario said gently. “But if I don’t go with Helena then she’ll go alone. I don’t think I could talk her out of it.”
Ivan sighed. “It was worth a try.”
“And I appreciate you trying to help, I appreciate your wise words and you might be right.” Dario went to his brother and hugged him.
“And I might be wrong,” Ivan said quietly. “There is no right or wrong, only hindsight.”
“You are the wisest man I know, Ivan.” Dario ignored the small voice inside his head that told him his brother was rarely wrong. This was different, it concerned his mate and he had to follow his gut.
“And you are one of the luckiest. You have an incredible mate.” Ivan let go of his brother. “Now, if you give me some space to work, I can get all the meals prepared for the last of the diners, and then we can go for a run.”
“A run?” Rift came back into the kitchen with dirty dishes and began loading them into the dishwasher.
“I thought since we are all together for once that we could go for a run in the snow. Maybe along the beach.” Ivan added a handful of onions to a pan, they crackled and sizzled in the hot oil and a delicious smell filled the kitchen.
“I like the sound of that.” Logan picked up two plates and headed out of the kitchen. “I’ll just tell Valerie we’re going out. Jeremy is working the late evening shift since it’s quiet then. I’m sure with Valerie keeping an eye on him, he’ll do just fine.”
“Who would have thought one of the most annoying guests we’ve ever had would wind up working here.” Ivan chuckled.
“He’s still on a trial,” Logan rumbled. “But he really wants the job.”
“A motivated employee. Just what you need.” Ivan locked eyes with Rift who chuckled.
“What?” Logan asked as he paused before entering the restaurant.
“Well, Sophie was motivated, too. But for a whole different reason.” Rift closed the dishwasher. “She wanted your body. Jeremy just wants a paycheck.”
“We hope.” Ivan turned away from Logan and focused on cooking his onions.
“Jeremy knows, in no uncertain terms, that if he screws up, if he is working here for any other reason than because he needs a job, I will personally chew his head off. And I do not mean verbally.” With that, Logan left the kitchen.
“Okay, I am going to go get some fresh air,” Dario said. “I’ll meet you all out in front of the hotel when you’ve finished up here and we can go for a run.”
“I’ll give Aiden and Caleb a call. I think they’re out somewhere already.” Ivan added chicken to the pan.
“Okay, thanks. For everything. I appreciate your advice.”
“Even if you don’t take it.” Ivan’s jaw tightened but he didn’t say anymore as Dario went outside.
The air was cool, the snow crisp beneath his feet as he strolled around the outer edges of the formal gardens behind the hotel. There was no one else outside, but he could sense the people in the hotel.
He could sense his mate. He stood in the deep shadows of a weeping willow tree and stared up at her window. She was inside the room with Penny and Milo. Was she happy? Were they talking about him?
His horse laughed. I’m sure they have a lot of catching up to do and we are only a small part of that. Penny is probably telling Helena about Logan and everything that’s happened since they arrived.
Trouble sure has been seeking them out, Dario remarked. Is that a coincidence?
From what Logan said, at first Sophie was after him, not Penny. She wanted to put Rad the Bad’s spirit inside of his body. Penny and Milo got caught in the crossfire. This has nothing to do with Helena’s intruder.
Someone is coming. Dario lifted his chin and inhaled deeply. Bears.
Aiden and Caleb entered the garden and crossed the lawn in bear form before shifting into their human forms. They were broad-chested and tall, almost identical in every way. At least to those who didn’t know them.
“There you are skulking in the shrubbery,” Aiden said as the two brothers joined Dario under the willow tree.
“Can you sense her?” Caleb asked. “I mean, out of all the other people in the hotel, can you tell which one is Helena?”
“I can.” He nodded. “It’s like there’s a connection between us, as if our souls are joined together.”
“Congratulations, by the way,” Aiden said. “We’re hoping a little of your good fortune might brush off on us.” His brother enveloped him in a bear hug.
“You and Logan.” Caleb hugged Dario, too.
“I hope you both get lucky,” Dario’s sincerity brought tears to his eyes. “I wish we could all feel this happy.”
“One day.” Caleb stood back and followed Dario’s stare. “You’re going to track down the guy who broke into Helena’s apartment.”
“I am.”
“Do you need backup? We know you’ve told Logan to stay here with Penny and Milo, but we’re free to come with you,” Aiden told him.
“Thanks. I appreciate the offer, and I’d appreciate you as backup. But I think we should go alone. We’ll draw less attention that way.”
“If you’re sure.” Aiden didn’t sound sure.
“I am, but I’d appreciate it if you could be on standby. I know it’s a four-hour drive...”
“But we have a dragon who could fly us there in an hour or less if it’s dark,” Caleb reminded him.
“No, I’d never ask Ivan to take that kind of risk,” Dario said firmly.
“What kind of risk?” Ivan asked as he approached with Logan and Rift.
“The kind of risk that might expose you to the outside world,” Dario replied.
“You know I’d risk everything for you and Helena,” Ivan’s gruff voice caught in his throat.
“I know.” Dario inhaled deeply. “Enough of the future, let’s celebrate the present and the six of us being together. It’s been a long time.”
“Too long.” With that, Aiden and Caleb shifted into their bears and loped out of the garden. Logan and Rift followed while Dario lingered behind, waiting for Ivan to shift into his dragon.
Struck by the awesome sight, he stared as the dragon took off, his wingbeats thrumming the cold air as he rode up into the night sky and flew toward the beach.
Dario took one last look at the hotel where his mate sat oblivious to the shifters outside her window. Then the air popped and crackled as he shifted, and his horse trotted out of the garden and onto the street.
With a toss of his head, he ran after the others, the snow crunching beneath his hooves as he galloped down the street toward the beach. When he reached the beach, he leaped the wall and galloped across the sand, reveling in the freedom.
But ready to face a future with his mate. Wherever that might lead.
Chapter Eleven – Helena
“Happy birthday, Mommy!” Milo’s excitement beamed across his face as he slid out of his bed, rummaged in a backpack, and then ran to his mom.
Penny sat up in bed and helped her son as he wriggled up next to her. “Can I have a birthday hug?”
“Yes.” Milo threw his arms around her as Helena got out of bed and padded across the carpet to her purse. “I have a present for you, too.”
“Just having you both here is enough for me.” Penny’s eyes glistened with tears as she held her son tightly.
“It’s not exactly where I expected to celebrate your birthday. I’d planned to take you both out to dinner. Somewhere really fancy.” Helena perched on the side of Penny’s bed.
“Logan has arranged for us to eat in Valerie’s apartment this afternoon. It’s an odd time because Ivan’s fitting it in between lunch and dinner.” Penny accepted the card Milo handed to her and a small box wrapped up in pretty paper.
“Logan helped me wrap the box and Rift took me to choose a card yesterday.” Milo shuffled as he watched his mom open the card. “Do you like it?”
“I love it.” She held the card up so that Helena could see the picture of a beautifully decorated birthday cake sitting on a table, surrounded by ribbons and balloons and champagne glasses.
“Ivan is making you a cake.” Milo moved his hands as he talked. “It’s going to have icing and sugar flowers and candles.”
“I’m very lucky.” Penny hugged her son again.
“Open the box.” Milo stared at the box as Penny carefully unwrapped it.
“I wonder what it is?” Penny kissed Milo’s cheek.
“You know what it is,” he told her. “It’s all the things I collected on the beach when we went for a picnic. Don’t you remember?”
“I remember, I was teasing.” Penny set the unwrapped box on her lap and then carefully lifted the lid. “Wow, these are beautiful.”
“This one is my favorite.” Milo picked up a spiral shell that glittered in the light. “It’s so sparkly.”
“It is sparkly.” Penny picked up a large conch. “You found this on the beach?”
“I did. Logan helped me.” Milo sat back thoughtfully. “Logan helps me a lot.”
“He does.” Penny picked out a smooth, flat, gold-colored pebble. “Is this a wishing stone?”
“It is. I wanted you to have a birthday wish.” Milo stared at it for a moment and then asked, “What are you going to wish for?”
“Oh, I think it might be for us all to be happy.” Penny reached out for Helena’s hand. “And safe.”
“Is that two wishes?” Helena swallowed down her emotions.
“Mommy already has a wish stone so she could make two wishes,” Milo informed his aunt. “And I have one, too.” He got off the bed and went to his backpack. “Here. Logan said we have to throw them in the ocean on a full moon and make a wish and it’ll come true.”
“Although, wishes can sometimes take a while to come true,” Penny added a voice of reason.
“I know.” Milo came back with a small flat stone of a similar shape to the one in the box. “We should go to the beach and find a wish stone for Aunt Helena.”
“When I get back, we’ll do that.” Helena didn’t meet Penny’s eyes as Milo placed his stone in her hand. She turned it over and over, the small smooth stone was warm as she held it. “These look too good to throw in the ocean.”
“But that’s how you make a wish,” Milo told her firmly. “And there are plenty of them on the beach.”
“I can’t wait to make a wish.” Helena handed the stone back to Milo.
“You can keep it.” He closed her fingers around the stone. “Logan will help me find another one next time we go to the beach.”
“Are you sure?” The stone felt warm in her palm.
“Yes.” He nodded firmly.
“Thanks, Milo.” She kissed her nephew on the cheek. “What’s your wish going to be?”
“I shouldn’t really say in case it doesn’t come true,” Milo said seriously.
“Then why not keep it to yourself,” Penny advised. “Because I want all of our wishes to come true.”
Milo nodded and took the stone back to his backpack. “What present did you get for Mommy?” he asked Helena.
“My gift to you isn’t as exciting or as valuable as a wish.” Helena handed Penny an envelope. “And I got this for you before I knew about Wishing Moon Bay and Logan.”
“What is it?” Penny’s brows furrowed together as she slid her finger under the envelope and pulled out a card. “Oh, that’s too much.”
“I know you don’t have much in the way of money so I thought this would ease things for you a little bit.” She handed a large rectangular box to Penny. “And these are for you to enjoy now.”
“Helena, the check is too much.” Penny grabbed hold of her sister and hugged her. “It’s much too much.”
“I have some money saved away. And I wanted to do something special for you and I figured this was it. You could have put it down as a deposit for a place of your own. Or bought some furniture, since you left everything behind. Or you could use it to start your own business.”
“My own business?” Penny asked. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“Then maybe we should get our heads together and figure something out. If I move to Wishing Moon Bay, I am going to need a job. Since that mate of mine has spent the last couple of years running around in the wild.” She pressed her lips together, she’d said too much.
“Dario will find a job. If there is one thing I have learned about shifters, it’s their need to provide for their family,” Penny assured her.
“That’s the thing, we aren’t a family. Not like you and Logan and Milo.” Helena stroked Milo’s head. “You’ll make a beautiful family.”
“And so will you and Dario. You’re not too old to have children. Or to even adopt a child.”
“We’ll see.”
“Helena, if that’s your dream, and I always thought it was, then you should go after it with the same drive and determination you went after your career.” Penny clasped Helena’s hand tightly. “Don’t ever give up on your dreams.”
Helena wiped a tear from her cheek. “Look at me, I’m crying on your birthday.”
“I love you.” Penny pulled her sister close. “And thank you. The check is more than I could ever have expected but don’t you need it now? What about you and Dario setting up a business or something?”
“No, it’s yours. It was a decision I made before I arrived in town and it’s one I plan on sticking to. So put it in your bank account until you know what you want to do with it.” She wiped her cheeks and chuckled. “They do have banks here, don’t they?”
“I have no idea,” Penny admitted. “Milo and I only explored a very small part of town before we were kidnapped by Sophie. Maybe when you get back, we can go explore together.” She chewed the inside of her cheek. “I’d like to know if there’s any part of town that you recognize.”
“When I drove through town yesterday to get here and then when we went into the mountains, there was nothing familiar at all,” Helena told Penny.
Penny sighed and stared at the window. “Not even the library? I know I have seen it somewhere before.”
“Maybe you saw it in a photo. It could have been one of your friends. We know there are shifters and all other kinds of magic users outside of Wishing Moon Bay. What if one of our friends had been here?”
“That would explain it,” Penny agreed but didn’t sound too convinced.
“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Helena assured Penny. “But first we need to get dressed and go down to breakfast.”
“We usually have breakfast in our room.” Milo was sorting through the box of shells he’d given to Penny.
“Ah, but today is special and Logan and his family want to do something special. They’re all waiting for you downstairs.” Helena glanced at her phone. “At least they will be in ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes.” Penny dragged her fingers through her hair. “It’s going to take more than ten minutes to tame my hair and put on some makeup.”
“You know Logan doesn’t care what you look like. You could go downstairs like that, and he’ll think you are adorable. As for the rest of his family, they are so happy he’s got a mate they don’t care either.” Helena laughed as she got up off the bed. “I guess the same goes for me, too. Why don’t we go down like this and test that theory?”
“It’s a good thing I know you well enough to realize you are joking,” Penny told her sister.
“I am. But, since it’s your birthday, why don’t you go jump in the shower and I’ll help Milo get
dressed,” Helena suggested.
“I can get myself dressed,” Milo said firmly.
“No,” Penny wagged her finger at her son. “Let Helena help you. I remember what happened when your dad let you pick what to wear. You picked out a T-shirt when the temperature was hardly above freezing.”
Milo shuddered. “At least my clothes matched, I had flip-flops on my feet, too.” He sat down on the bed and held up his feet, wiggling his toes.
“I think we can figure out something between us.” Helena shooed her sister into the bathroom. “Go on, make yourself beautiful while we muddle through out here.”
“If you are picking my outfit, does that mean I get to pick yours?” Milo asked hopefully.
“No, it doesn’t.” She chuckled. “I do love you, Milo.”
“I love you, too, Aunt Helena.”
A little over ten minutes later, they were leaving the hotel room and heading downstairs. Penny was dressed in smart black slacks and a thick gray-blue fleece jacket, with her newly washed and hastily dried hair framing her face.
Helena had opted for jeans and a green woolen cardigan that covered her thighs. As for Milo, he wore a dinosaur sweater and jeans, plus a big smile as Logan met them at the bottom of the stairs. The wolf shifter looked a little nervous, but his eyes filled with love and admiration as he saw Penny.
“Happy birthday.” Logan rushed forward and wrapped his arms around his mate. The warmth of his expression and the way he held his mate dispelled any fears Helena might have that these two people were not meant to be together. Their love was real, it was as if she could reach out and touch it.
“We are eating breakfast in Valerie’s apartment. Ivan won’t be joining us, but everyone else is there.” He let her go, albeit reluctantly.
“Morning, Logan.” Milo ran up to the shifter and wrapped his arms around Logan’s knees.
“Morning, young man.” Logan leaned down and picked the boy up. “Have you grown overnight?”
“No,” Milo laughed as he slipped his arms around Logan’s neck.
“Are you sure? You feel heavier, and you look taller.” Logan looked up at Milo, whose eyes were level with the top of the shifter’s head.
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