Fae-ted to the Bear: A Wishing Moon Bay Shifter Romance (The Bond of Brothers Book 4)

by Harmony Raines

  I need to do this now, Caleb insisted. I need to do it before I give in to the memories of our family. Because those are the memories I want to dwell on. Those are the memories I want to relive over and over again. Instead, I keep going over the other memories on repeat because we need to figure this out, so he doesn’t tear our family apart again.

  His bear bowed his head. Then we should go.

  “I have to do this now,” he said quietly as he set his teacup down on the tray. “Until we figure this out, Zara and Karros could be in danger.”

  “I agree.” Aiden drained his cup and pushed himself to his feet. “Even if we don’t go see Oscar, we should get back to Zara.”

  “Bear shifters sure are hardheaded.” Grandma Sylvie stood before the two bear shifters. Despite her short stature compared to the bears, she wasn’t daunted as she wagged her finger at them. “Now, since you are insisting on leaving, I want Flora or Elise to drive. You two need to rest. You’ll be no good protecting those you love if you’re tired.”

  “I’ll drive,” Flora volunteered.

  “Okay,” Elise agreed. “Grandma Hannah, can I grab the ingredients we need for a location spell, please?”

  “Of course, I have what you need in my workroom. I’ll also pack some of the herbal tea. I suggest you drink some when you get home, or wherever it is you’re going.” Grandma Hannah bustled off to fetch the ingredients while Elise poured the twins another cup of tea.

  “Here. Drink this. Once we’re on the road, you can call Oscar and tell him what you remembered. I’ll call Karros and check in on them.” She pressed a teacup into Caleb’s hand. “Drink.”

  He nodded and leaned forward, pressing his lips to her cheek as he accepted the cup. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” She cocked her head to one side.

  “Everything. For being you. For bringing us here. For persuading your grandma to help us.” He straightened up, although he looked a little unsteady on his feet.

  “We’re partners. Remember.” She slipped into his arms and he held her close, his chin resting on the top of her head.

  As she nestled closer to him, his eyes locked with Grandma Sylvie who smiled sadly before she turned around and wiped a hand across her eyes.

  Those were good tears, weren’t they? his bear asked.

  I think they were, Caleb replied. It seems miracles do happen.

  Their journey here had been successful in more ways than one. Caleb only hoped that the details he’d remembered would be enough to help them track down the person stalking Zara. Unfortunately, just figuring out who it was wouldn’t help them if they couldn’t actually locate the person.

  It’s a pity you couldn’t figure out if Murray was a shifter, his bear said. If we had some idea what he was, we might be able to track him. All those tracks on the mountain. At least if we knew Murray was a bear or a wolf, we could narrow down our search.

  If it’s him, Caleb reminded his other side. Just because he was the one who took us, it doesn’t mean he’s come back. In some ways, it doesn’t make sense.

  But if it’s not him, then who is it? His bear grumbled in concern. They might be no closer to solving the mystery after all.

  “Here’s everything you need for a location spell.” Grandma Hannah came back to the living area with a small cloth bag and handed it to Elise. “And here is the tea.” She handed a tin box to Flora. “Drink it every four hours over the next couple of days and you should feel more like your normal selves.”

  “Thank you.” Caleb embraced Grandma Hannah in a bear hug, thankfully she didn’t object. “If there’s anything you need, just let us know.”

  “A bear shifter who owes me a favor.”

  “Two bear shifters.” Aiden hugged her as soon as Caleb let her go. “Because we’re family.”

  “I suppose we are.” Grandma Hannah wrapped her arms around Aiden. “Look after yourselves and each other. My grandchildren are very special to me.”

  “We will.” Aiden let her go and turned around, ready to leave.

  “I’m going, too,” Grandma Sylvie announced. “I’m going to go talk to your parents, Elise.”

  “Oh.” Elise groaned and her shoulders slumped forward. “Can’t it wait until after we’ve figured this out? I don’t have the time or the energy to deal with their disappointment right now and neither does Karros.”

  “Which is why I am going to tell them I approve, and they should, too. I can see you’re happy. And I suspect Karros is, too. All he ever wanted was to find a woman to settle down with. If that happens to be a shifter then so be it.” Grandma Sylvie shoved her arms into her coat sleeves while ignoring the stunned faces staring at her. “Come on, I thought you all had somewhere to be.”

  She ushered them out of the house, but Elise blocked her path and hugged her tightly. “Thank you. We’re going to be just fine, you know.”

  “I do know,” Grandma Sylvie replied gruffly. “I don’t think I understood before, but I do now. I know what is important to you. I can see it in your eyes every time you look at Caleb. If that isn’t the look of love, then I don’t know what is.”

  “I love you.” Elise let her grandma go.

  “And we love you, too. I only ever acted from a place of love and caring. I just don’t think I was very good at being open about my feelings.” She took Elise’s hands and stared at her for a moment. “I’m looking forward to being a great-grandma.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” Elise waved goodbye and then ran to catch up with Caleb.

  “Things are settled then?” he asked as he helped her into the truck.

  “I think they are. At least with my family. Now we just have to figure out who is stalking Zara.” She settled back in her seat as Flora started the engine and put the truck in drive.

  “At least we have a lead,” Caleb stared out into the darkness as they drove back through the wildwood. “It’s more than we had a couple of hours ago.”

  “I’ll call Oscar.” Aiden dialed the number on his phone. “No signal.”

  “You’ll have to wait until we’re on the other side of the trees,” Flora told him. “The trees block the signal this deep inside the forest.”

  Aiden tapped his phone screen again but there was still no signal. Caleb took out his phone and glanced at the screen, but he couldn’t call out either.

  “I’ll call Karros as soon as we get a signal.” Elise stared at her phone screen, too.

  “Whatever did people do before cell phones?” Aiden asked.

  “They were more patient,” Flora replied.

  “Is that a criticism?” Aiden asked.

  “If you want it to be.” She eased her foot down on the gas as they reached a straight section of road.

  “Now who is impatient?” Aiden asked as he checked her speed.

  “I’m going slower than you do,” she replied. “It just feels faster because you’re not in control.”

  “Oh, I got a signal.” Elise’s phone beeped as a message came through. Then it beeped again and again.

  “Someone’s popular,” Caleb said.

  “Is it your parents?” Flora asked. “Don’t say Grandma Sylvie called them and broke the news?”

  “No, it’s from Karros.” She tapped the screen, her heart rate quickening as she scanned the first text and scrolled down to the next one.

  “What’s wrong?” Caleb reached for her hand, sensing her growing panic.

  “Zara sensed someone was watching her. She went to confront them.” Elise glanced up with tears in her eyes. “She hasn’t come back.”

  “How long?” Caleb asked quickly.

  “I don’t know.” She sucked air into her lungs before letting it out slowly. “I can’t tell when the texts were sent because of the lack of signal.” She turned the phone screen to face Caleb. “I don’t know if the time means what time the message was sent or what time I received it.”

  “Okay, calm down, deep breaths.” He took the phone from. “We can call Karros. For all w
e know, Elise might be back by now.”

  He quickly scanned the rest of the texts, there were five in total, the first explained that Elise was missing, the last ones asking Elise where she was. Caleb pressed dial and put the phone on speaker.

  “He’s not picking up. Why isn’t he picking up?” Elise whispered.

  Flora pressed her foot down on the gas, sending them speeding through the forest. Her grim expression reflected in the rearview mirror and despite his unease at the truck traveling too fast on the winding road, Caleb trusted her to keep them safe.

  She has good reflexes, we learned that when we were searching for Imelda, his bear said supportively.

  “Karros?” Caleb cursed under his breath as the phone went to voicemail.

  “I’ll call Ivan.” Aiden grabbed his phone and pressed dial.

  “Will he go and check that they’re all right?” Elise asked.

  “No, I’m going to ask him to meet us at the edge of the fae realm. He can fly us to Zara’s house. We should be there…” Aiden sucked in a breath as his brother answered. “Ivan. I need a favor.”

  We also need a large dose of luck, Caleb’s bear said as they raced toward the edge of the fae realm.

  Caleb closed his eyes, his thoughts haunted by the man whose face he now remembered. The man who had stolen two young shifters.

  What was his plan for Zara? Caleb tapped the screen and listened to Karros’s phone ring and ring until it once more went to voicemail.

  Damn it. What was happening?

  On the day he’d finally recalled long-forgotten memories of his parents and his baby sister, Caleb was not ready to lose Zara once again.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine – Elise

  “Where is he?” Elise stared out of the window as Flora drove out of the fae realm and slowed to a stop. They had agreed to rendezvous with Ivan but so far there was no sign of the dragon shifter.

  “He’ll be here.” Caleb reached across and placed his hand on hers.

  “Flora, park the truck off the road. We should grab anything we might need and get ready to go as soon as Ivan gets here.” Aiden opened the truck door and got out.

  “It’ll be okay.” Caleb glanced down at the phone in his hand, willing it to ring.

  “Will it?” Elise sobbed before covering her mouth. “Sorry, crying isn’t going to help anyone.”

  “It’s okay to cry.” Caleb froze and looked up at the roof of the truck as if it were invisible.

  “Is Ivan here?” Elise asked.

  “He is.” Caleb leaned over, kissed her cheek, and then opened the door. “Come on, let’s move. We should be at Zara’s house in about a half-hour.”

  “That soon?” Elise asked.

  “Ivan is fast. He doesn’t usually fly fast when he’s got people on his back, but this is an emergency.” Caleb pocketed the tea Grandma Sylvie had given them while Elise shoved the bag containing the ingredients for the location spell inside her pack.

  Once Aiden had spoken to Ivan, he’d called Oscar and relayed all the information to the ex-detective. Oscar had promised to do whatever he could to get hold of the toy if it were still with the case evidence. He also said he’d find out who Murray was.

  With Zara and Karros potentially missing, they had to trust Oscar to do his job while they flew to Bear Creek.

  “Oh, my goodness.” Elise covered her face with her hands as the distant thrum of dragon wings grew louder.

  “He won’t hurt you,” Caleb assured her.

  “I’m not afraid. I just never thought I’d get to see a dragon so close up.” She stared into the sky as the moon reflected off Ivan’s scales, which shimmered like the ocean.

  “We’re going to get more than close.” He took her hand and they joined Aiden and Flora.

  “I hope I don’t fall.” Elise shivered as the dragon flew over them and then dropped to the ground to land lightly before them.

  In a blink of an eye, the air shimmered and the dragon disappeared to be replaced by Ivan’s human form. “Have you made contact with them?” he asked.

  “No, there’s still no answer from either phone,” Aiden replied.

  “Okay. Let’s go. I know where Bear Creek is, but you’ll have to guide me in to land,” Ivan called.

  “We should land in the mountains. There’s a shallow outcrop above Zara’s house. If it’s all clear, we should land there.” Caleb nodded to his brother. “We can’t thank you enough for this.”

  “We’re family, right? I’m sure there’ll be a day when I need your help.” Ivan inhaled deeply and then the air popped and fizzled as he disappeared.

  Even though Elise was prepared for the sight of the dragon, he still took her breath away as he appeared as if from nowhere. However, she didn’t have time to stare at him, to absorb every feature of his massive body, his shimmering scales, and his noble head. Instead, Caleb pulled her forward and she ran toward the dragon, who crouched down, extending his leg so they could climb on board.

  Caleb went first and sat at the front. Leaning down, he held out his hand to Elise, who reached for it and pulled herself onto the back of the dragon. Not exactly as if she were mounting a horse, but she tried to calm her nerves by telling herself that’s all she was doing.

  Riding a horse. Riding a horse, she repeated to herself over and over again.

  Flora sat behind Elise, and then Aiden sat at the back, his arms around Flora. Flora put her arms around Elise’s waist, while Elise hung on to Caleb as if her life depended on it. Which it probably did.

  When the dragon pushed himself back onto all fours, she let out a small cry, which she swallowed down. She didn’t want to draw attention to them.

  But as he crouched down and then sprang into the air, she couldn’t contain the wail of excitement and pure terror that escaped.

  “It’s all right, you’re safe!” Caleb yelled as the dragon leaped into the air.

  As he leveled out and flew toward the edge of town, where tall hills rose up as a barrier between Wishing Moon Bay and the world beyond, her terror was replaced by a sense of elation. This was the most incredible thing she’d ever done.

  Ivan was the most incredible creature she’d ever seen.

  Mentally, she apologized to Caleb, but she was certain he understood how incredible the dragon was.

  Ivan’s dragon stretched out his neck, his wings beating a fast tempo as they raced across the land. Straight and true, he flew toward Bear Creek, only diverting a little to skirt around towns.

  The land blurred beneath them. If anyone happened to look up at the sky as the dragon flew overhead, they would likely believe the dragon was nothing more than a fast-moving cloud.

  In the distance, she saw the high mountain peaks silhouetted against the moonlit sky. They were close. Soon they would land and the search for Karros and Zara would begin.

  Would Ivan help them? Were his senses stronger than the bears’?

  The wind brought tears to her eyes as they climbed higher, skimming the peaks of the mountains before swooping down the other side. The dragon flew low, skimming the treetops, and she was certain he was enjoying the freedom of flight despite the reason they were here.

  Then he suddenly banked right, tucked in his wings, and dropped out of the sky like a stone.

  Ivan’s four passengers clung to each other as the change in direction and speed nearly unseated them.

  Down, down, the dragon headed for a small clearing where he landed with a thud, rocking forward before steadying himself.

  “What’s wrong?” Aiden scrambled off Ivan’s back and helped the others down.

  As soon as they were on the ground, Ivan shifted. “There’s another dragon.” His words came out in a gasp.

  “Another dragon?” Elise looked up at the sky. “Here?”

  “I can sense another dragon.” He stared at the others in the moonlight. “Can’t you?”

  “No.” Caleb stared up at the sky. “I can’t see anything, I can’t hear a dragon or sense one.”

&n
bsp; “I can.” Ivan took a couple of steps away from them, his expression one of longing.

  “Have you ever met another dragon?” Elise went to him and placed her hand on his elbow, turning him to face her.

  “No.” He shook his head. “At least not one I can remember. I was raised by Valerie. The dragons across the ocean never bothered with me. It was as if I was tainted in some way.”

  “You never flew across the ocean to the dragon isle? You were never tempted?” Elise asked.

  “No.” He looked down at the ground. “I always thought they were hostile to outsiders. And I am an outsider. I came from out here.” He held out his arms. “I’m from the world beyond. I don’t fit in anywhere. Except with my family. With my brothers.”

  Ivan pulled away from her and stared into the air. “I can feel the dragon.” He tilted his head to one side. “Closer now. Can you feel it?”

  Aiden and Caleb exchanged worried glances. “We should leave,” Caleb said quickly.

  “Leave?” Ivan asked. “There’s another dragon here.”

  “Aiden?” Flora asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a family of dragons that live close by,” Aiden explained.

  “A family of dragons. You knew and never told me?” Ivan’s cutting accusation caused Aiden to flinch.

  “We couldn’t tell you,” Caleb explained.

  “Why?” Ivan asked.

  “Because they can’t know about Wishing Moon Bay.” Aiden held out his hands. “I’ll explain more when we’re safe.”

  “You go,” Elise said. “I need to stay and look for Karros.”

  “We should all stay,” Aiden said. “Except Ivan.”

  “No.” Ivan shook his head.

  “Please. You have to leave,” Aiden replied. “It’s not safe.”

  “Try calling Karros again,” Flora told Elise as the brothers stared each other down.

  Elise nodded and pressed dial. The phone rang and rang before going to voicemail. “Damn it!”

  “Keep trying.” Flora locked eyes with Elise. They were in danger. All of them. But how much danger?

  Elise hit dial again.

  “I can sense the dragon,” Caleb said quietly.