The Horse Shifter's Mate: A Wishing Moon Bay Shifter Romance (The Bond of Brothers Book 2)

by Harmony Raines

  “Tricks and make-believe. You know that.” Helena curled her fingers around Penny’s hand, not wanting to let her go. If she had been brainwashed, getting her to leave town would be difficult.

  However, she owed it to her sister to get her out of there.

  “It’s all true,” Milo said. “Logan is a white wolf and Rift is a snow leopard. Oh, and Ivan is a dragon. We rode on his back last night after we were rescued from the witch who wanted to take control of Mom’s body.”

  “Penny. This isn’t healthy for Milo. Damn, you know what it was like for us growing up with Mom believing in spells and talismans...”

  “It was all real. All of it.”

  “Okay, you are scaring me. This isn’t like you.” Helena stood up and locked eyes with Logan. “I don’t know what you have been telling my sister and nephew, but this is wrong. And it needs to stop.”

  “Helena.” The second guy stepped forward.

  Penny smiled softly at the guy. “Helena, this is Dario. He is the horse that you saw on the road outside of town.”

  “A horse.” Helena let go of Penny’s hand and strode toward the Dario. “He’s a man. Look at him. He’s a man.” She reached out and touched Dario’s arm, wanting to show her sister that he wasn’t a horse, he wasn’t magic, he was simply flesh and blood. But as her fingertips touched his skin, a spark of electricity shot up her arm.

  She jumped back, her eyes fixed on his, seeking an answer to the question in her head. Had he felt that, too?

  “Helena, I am a horse shifter. When I saw your car on the road outside of Wishing Moon Bay, you caught me by surprise. I needed you to find the town, I needed you to come here.”

  “Why? So that you can brainwash me, too? Is that how you guys get your kicks?” she asked hotly.

  “No, I needed you to come here so that I could meet you. You and I are mates.” He was deadly serious, and Helena could see exactly why Penny would fall for this con trick. They pretended to believe it so thoroughly that it was hard to deny it wasn’t the truth.

  But Helena knew better, she knew this road led to crazy. This road led to your daughters practically having to raise themselves. She wasn’t going to let that happen again. Not to Penny, not to Milo.

  “I know this is hard to believe and if you weren’t Dario’s mate and if you hadn’t told me someone had broken into your apartment then I wasn’t going to tell you.”

  “What does this have to do with someone breaking into my apartment?” She put her hand to the side of her head. “I don’t even know if anyone did break in.” Her eyes widened and she turned her fury onto Dario and Logan. It all made sense now. “That was you? This was all planned. What is your game?”

  “No game.” He held her stare and she believed him even though she didn’t want to.

  “Then what the hell is going on?” She tore her gaze from Dario’s and faced Penny.

  “We don’t know. Not about the intruder in your apartment at least. But what we do know…” Penny glanced at Dario and then closed the space between her and Helena, reaching for her hand. “Is that Dario is your mate. And he is a horse shifter, whether you want to believe it or not.”

  “Penny, this isn’t what I want.” She cast a glance over her shoulder. “What does it even mean? What does being a person’s mate mean?”

  “It means that we are meant to be together forever,” Dario replied, but he didn’t draw closer, even though she sensed he wanted to. Or maybe that was her overactive imagination.

  “Together forever. We’ve only just met, and you think I’m yours forever?” Helena scoffed at the idea yet there was a part of her that wanted to give herself to Dario right now. It didn’t matter that they didn’t know each other. Destiny was on their side and fate had set up their first meeting on the road outside of Wishing Moon Bay.

  She shook her head. That would mean she believed he could shift into a horse and that was just not possible outside of TV shows and movies.

  “Listen, why don’t I show you?” Dario came closer, talking quietly as if he were trying to calm a startled pony.

  “Show me?” She covered her mouth as she shook her head. “You mean so you can make me believe in all of this mumbo jumbo. I don’t believe you.”

  “You won’t even believe your own eyes?” Dario asked.

  “No. I think this is all smoke and mirrors. You’ll show me but really it’s just a projection, a trick, like stage magicians use.”

  “It’s not a trick, Helena. I promise.” Penny chewed the inside of her cheek, her expression pained.

  “Aunt Helena.” Milo came to her and threaded his small hand into hers. “It is real. We rode on the back of a dragon.”

  “Milo, it was a trick.”

  The small boy shook his head. “I know what’s real and what’s not. I know that last night I sat on the back of a dragon and flew through the sky, just as I know that Sophie is a witch and she used magic on us.”

  “Can I have a few minutes alone with Helena, please?” Penny nodded at Logan who had kept out of the discussion.

  “Come on, Milo. Shall we go and play in the snow?” Logan held out his hand and Milo skipped toward him, his face burning bright with happiness. Even if this was all a bunch of lies, there was no denying the love Logan had for Milo. Milo who had been through so much. Who had lost his home because of his asshat of a father.

  Dario lingered for a few moments longer before he turned and walked away as if it pained him to put any more distance between them. And damn it, Helena hated the idea of him being out of her sight.

  “What is this?” Helena hissed at Penny. “Do they put something in the water?” She spun around and stalked back to the table. “Is there something in the coffee? Or the food?”

  “Helena.” Penny followed her sister and touched her arm lightly. “Listen to me because this is important. Really important.”

  “Don’t try to convince me that all that stuff about shifters, mates, and magic is real.” She rounded on Penny. This was her one chance to make her sister see sense.

  “Okay, let’s backtrack a little. Forget for a moment that I told you about magic and everything. This is about you and me.” She reached out for Helena’s hands. “When I first came to Wishing Moon Bay, when I walked down the street toward this hotel, I had a sense that I’d been here before.”

  “We have never been to this crazy town before,” Helena insisted.

  “Okay. Now this intruder in your house. Do you think it’s a coincidence that he was in your house the day that Milo and I were supposed to arrive? You’d told him that we were coming that day, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, in conversation.” Helena’s face paled and her stomach lurched. “I don’t understand. Do you think you know the guy? His name is Barry Matthews.”

  “I don’t know. I certainly don’t recognize the name. But what I do know is that we both found this place. What if we arrived here so we would be safe? I’ve driven along that same stretch of road before, ten times or more, and never seen the signs for this town. You drove along there how many times this morning before you saw Dar...the horse, and then saw the road?”

  “You really believe in all of this, don’t you?” Helena brushed her sister’s hair back from her face. Her heart ached for her. After being so let down by her husband, Penny was desperate to be loved. So desperate that she was willing to believe in magic and a man who would love her until his dying breath.

  “I’ve seen it. I’ve touched it. I felt the power of the witch last night. And I know deep in my soul that Logan is my mate, the man I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with. And I know that he would protect me and Milo with his life if he had to.”

  “That’s some kind of love, no wonder you are hooked.”

  “Would you do one thing for me? Because you know how much I love you.”

  “Don’t ask me to believe,” Helena shook her head at Penny. “You can’t ask me to believe. You know how I felt about Mom.”

  Penny nodded. “I
know how much you hated the way she got sometimes.”

  “And now you’re asking me to believe what she said was true.” Helena trembled as her throat constricted. “If I let go and believe then it means all the things I said, all the things I thought were wrong.” Her voice caught in her throat.

  “I know, honey.” Penny slipped her arms around Helena and held her tight as she sobbed on her shoulder.

  “Are you sure?”

  “As sure as we are standing here now. As sure as I love Milo with all my heart. This is real, this is true, and I think that what happened with this guy and him being in your apartment are all linked.”

  Helena held Penny tightly as her head throbbed. “Okay. If you believe in this. If you think this is all connected...” She lifted her head and looked Penny in the eyes. “I’m willing to believe if it means keeping you and Milo safe.”

  “I want you to believe because Dario will make you happy.”

  “Penny, the days of me thinking I need a man to make me happy are long gone, believe me.”

  “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.” Penny smothered a smile. “Honestly, Logan is the best thing to happen to me in a very long time. I love him and I know he loves me and more importantly, he loves Milo.” Her eyes misted with tears.

  “I’m so happy for you. You and Milo deserve the best.”

  “And so do you, Helena. I want you to believe that.”

  “All I can promise is that I’ll keep an open mind.” She hugged Penny again. “Okay, so what happens next?”

  “Next?” Penny shrugged. “We figure out what the hell is going on and then deal with it.”

  Helena nodded. “So, a horse shifter.”

  “You always did badger Mom to go horseback riding. Now you have your very own horse.” Penny giggled.

  “Oh, this is so weird.”

  “I am learning that weird is good.”

  “Didn’t you nearly get taken over by a witch?”

  “Yes, but we defeated her. And if we can defeat Sophie, whatever is out there trying to mess with us does not stand a chance.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Helena shuddered. When she got home and realized Barry had been in her apartment, she’d felt violated. She’d also figured he was some sicko who had gotten inside her apartment to check out her underwear drawer.

  But if magic were real then it could be something much deeper and darker.

  The monsters in the closet were real.

  I’m sorry I never believed you, Mom. Helena glanced out of the windows, her eyes were drawn to the clear blue sky. Was her mom up there somewhere looking down on them? If so, did she know how sorry her eldest daughter was for ever doubting her?

  “Come on, Helena. Let’s go outside. I can’t wait to see Dario shift.” Penny held out her hand to Helena and she took it. Together they would get through this.

  Chapter Four – Dario

  She’s coming, his horse told him, as if Dario couldn’t sense her for himself. Yet he didn’t begrudge the thrill of excitement coursing through his horse. They had both waited long enough for this day. The day when they met the woman who would complete them.

  “Dario. Helena and I have talked and she’s willing to suspend her disbelief.” Penny linked arms with Helena who was wrapped up against the cold. Her cheeks were flushed pink and a woolen hat covered her raven dark hair, but nothing could hide or diminish her beauty. It shone through her.

  “I can’t tell you how happy and relieved I am to hear that.” Dario approached the two women, leaving Logan playing with Milo in the snow. They had been building a snowman, rolling large snowballs across the hidden lawn, just as they had when they were children.

  “Don’t get too excited,” Helena warned him. “I said I would suspend my disbelief. That doesn’t mean I am willing to believe you, without proof.”

  “Proof.” Dario grinned and backed away a couple of paces. “That, I can do.”

  “Here?” Helena asked, looking around. “Anyone could see you.”

  “That’s the thing about Wishing Moon Bay,” Penny explained. “No one hides who they are.”

  “Wait!” Helena held up her finger. “So this means that magic and shifters and everything else are real in here and out there. Like you can just travel in and out of Wishing Moon Bay, but in here you don’t hide what you are while out there you do?”

  “A quick learner, I like that.” Dario tilted his head to one side. “I was coming home when I passed you out on the road. If you believe in anything, believe that fate brought us together at that exact moment in time for a reason.”

  “Yeah, you couldn’t have appeared and shown me the way to town when I drove along there the first time. Or the second.” Helena arched an eyebrow.

  “Timing has nothing to do with me.” Dario held up his hands.

  “Okay, do your thing.” She waved him away but still glanced nervously up at the windows of the hotel.

  Dario stood still for a moment and stared at his mate before he let go of the world around him and slipped away. In a blink of an eye, his horse replaced him. A rich ruddy brown with a black mane and tail, he tossed his head and snorted as he inhaled the scent of his mate.

  “Are you a believer now?” Penny whispered in Helena’s ear.

  “I might be.”

  “Wow!” Milo came running toward Dario’s horse, but Logan was fast and caught hold of the little guy.

  “Slow down there, Milo. You shouldn’t run up behind a horse. You might get kicked.” Logan scooped Milo up into his arms.

  “Dario wouldn’t kick me,” Milo protested.

  “It’s good practice to treat all creatures you see in and out of Wishing Moon Bay with the respect they deserve. There are wild horses and wolves and bears in the mountains. I need you to take care and always presume any animal you meet might be a real animal and not a shifter.”

  “Okay, I get it.” Milo settled in Logan’s arms and Dario’s heart ached for a child of his own. Logan would make a great dad for the boy and Dario couldn’t help the pang of jealousy that pierced his gut.

  “Just pet him gently on the face. That’s right.” Logan held Milo while the boy petted his nose and Dario’s horse lifted his head and snorted, blowing warm air over his hand. Milo collapsed in a fit of giggles as he imitated the horse.

  “Why don’t you pet him, too?” Penny encouraged but Helena hung back.

  “Isn’t that weird?” Helena asked. “I mean petting his face.” He pointed at the horse. “I mean, that is Dario in there, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Logan answered. “That’s Dario, but the other side of a shifter, it’s connected but not exactly the same. It’s hard to explain. We’re like two separate entities with a linked consciousness.”

  “And there is only ever one of you in this world at the same time?” Helena asked.

  “Yes. One side must give up its hold on this world so the other can come forth. When my wolf isn’t here, it’s like he’s inside of my head. We can talk and communicate, he can sense things...” Logan shrugged. “It’s like trying to explain how we eat or breathe. It’s just a natural process.”

  “But if I pet him.” Helena looked at Dario’s horse with longing. “Isn’t that like invading his space? I wouldn’t walk up to Dario and just pet his face. That would be too...intimate.”

  Logan chuckled. “He wouldn’t mind.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” With an outstretched hand, Helena approached the horse.

  Dario huffed gently, his warm breath caressing his mate’s hand as he stood in anticipation. She could touch him all over, she could jump on his back and ride away into the sunset with him if she allowed him to love her.

  Since when did having a mate make you so soft, Dario complained. He was a man who knew his own mind and followed his own path and yet here he was talking about giving himself over to a woman.

  She’s not just a woman, his horse reminded him. She is our mate.

  His horse closed his eyes as He
lena’s fingers touched his nose. Tentative at first, as her confidence grew, she stepped closer and cupped his large head in her hands. “You are sweet.”

  His horse closed his eyes and rested his head against her as Logan chuckled. “I don’t think Dario has ever been called sweet.”

  “But he’s so gentle.” She rested her forehead against him and inhaled his scent. “I always dreamed of having a pony when I was younger. But we never had enough money.”

  “Are you okay?” Penny slipped her arm around Helena’s shoulders.

  “Yeah. At least I think I am. I’m in shock, to be honest. When I came to meet you, this is not how I saw things playing out. Since it’s your birthday tomorrow, I figured we’d have a few drinks and maybe dance...”

  “Isn’t this better?” Logan asked.

  “Yes.” Helena nodded and Dario sighed in relief. “Although, I think I’m still going to need a few drinks.”

  Penny laughed. “You and me both.”

  Dario pulled away from the small group of people and walked away, before shifting back into his human form. “Will you come with me for a ride?”

  “Me?” Helena asked. “On your back?”

  “Yes. I won’t let you fall. We could go to the mountains and spend some time getting to know each other. I’d have you back before sundown.” Dario held out his hand to her.

  “Why don’t you go up to my cabin?” Logan suggested.

  “Yes, you could go up there and take all the stuff back inside. We left Logan’s food and bedding out in the snow last night.”

  “You want me to go to your cabin and clean up...”

  “We’ll do it,” Helena said quickly.

  “This is our first date, in a way, and you are happy to spend it doing someone else’s chores?” Dario didn’t understand why his mate would volunteer them for such a job but if that’s what she wanted, he would not deny her.

  “I’ll need to dress warmly. And maybe we could drive some of the way there. My car has snow tires. We could drive some of the way, couldn’t we?” Helena’s eyes lit up as she looked at Dario.

  “Sure.” He nodded.

  “Great, then let’s go.” She backed away from Penny and Dario followed.