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

by Harmony Raines

  But what if Barry had gotten into the apartment some other way? What if he were a shifter and could turn into a mouse and squeeze through the air vents? Or he might be a snake that could slither through small gaps, maybe up through the drain in the shower.

  Stop it, she told herself sharply. This was not helping. She’d spent her life fearing the monsters in the closet, she didn’t need to see monsters everywhere, that was a one-way ticket to crazy town.

  Taking out her phone, she occupied herself with texting Penny. Helena wanted to check in and make sure everything was okay with her sister. A couple of text exchanges set Helena’s mind at rest. Penny had spent the afternoon with Valerie rummaging through the hotel attic for some toys and clothes for Milo.

  Glad you’ve had fun, speak tomorrow xx

  I hope you’re enjoying some alone time with Dario. Goodnight xx

  Helena wasn’t about to tell Penny that she wasn’t alone with Dario, just alone. Goodnight xx

  He’ll be back soon, she reminded herself, then shivered as the hairs on the back of her neck prickled against her sweater. She shivered and rubbed her neck. She was safe, Dario had checked the apartment, there was no one else here.

  She tensed at the knock on the door.

  Relax, it’s only Dario.

  Or was it? He must have been fast to leave the apartment, grab a takeout and get back here so soon.

  But he was a shifter, shifters were fast.

  He wouldn’t risk showing off his enhanced abilities for just anyone to see.

  The knock came again.

  Helena tiptoed toward the door. If she called out to ask if it was Dario, then whoever was out there would know she was in here.

  She stopped five steps away from the door. Five steps away from opening it and meeting her fate.

  Was that fate her mate, or Barry?

  “Helena, if you’re in there, please open the door.” A softer knock accompanied Barry’s voice.

  She covered her mouth with her hand.

  “You texted me. I thought we could go to dinner.” Another knock. “Helena.”

  If she just let him walk away believing she wasn’t home, then what? They’d spent all afternoon looking for him, this might be her one chance at finding out the truth from him.

  “Barry, I thought you’d text me back, not show up on the doorstep.” She winced as her voice wavered.

  “I thought I’d surprise you.”

  You have. She glanced at her phone. “Give me a minute.”

  Barry is at the door. I’m going to let him in and then leave the door open. She sent the text message to Dario and then set her phone to mute.

  “Are you okay?” Barry’s voice held the right amount of concern. If he wasn’t genuine, he was certainly a good actor.

  “Yes, I just needed to switch something off in the kitchen,” she lied smoothly. Could she match his deceit?

  What if he was genuinely concerned for her? He might genuinely like her, and she’d gotten this all wrong. But the smell. He had been in her apartment, of that she had no doubt.

  Don’t let him in. Dario’s reply came through as she reached for the lock. With no time to answer, she opened the door and shoved her phone in the back pocket of her jeans.

  “Hey, Barry. What are you doing here?” Helena kept her voice level.

  “I wanted to see you.” He smiled warmly and took a step forward, but she didn’t move, blocking his entry. Dario would get back here super-fast, she was certain. All Helena had to do was stall Barry at the door.

  “I mean how did you know I lived here?” She cocked her head to one side. “I don’t recall telling you where I lived.”

  “Sure you did.” He gave a low laugh. “You told me you lived in Tower Heights Apartments.”

  “I didn’t. I certainly didn’t ever tell you my apartment number.” Her jaw tensed. This was a mistake, she should have let him walk away. Dario could have picked up his scent and tracked him down.

  Unless he got in a cab. Then he’d be lost to them again. She’d done the right thing.

  Her heart, hammering in her chest, told her otherwise.

  “Okay.” He held up his hands. “I admit it. I heard you tell the cab driver where you lived.”

  She pressed her lips together, her eyes narrowed as she shook her head. “Again, you would know my apartment building but not the number of my apartment. I don’t tell that to any cab driver.”

  He sighed and reached out his hand, placing it on her upper arm. When they’d first met, his touch used to send tingles of excitement through her. Now he left her cold. “I found out the same way I found out your telephone number at work. I’m good at finding things.”

  “That’s no explanation.” She stepped back and his hand fell to his side. “Can you just be honest with me, Barry, please? What is going on here?”

  “Can we talk inside?” He smiled his most disarming smile.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, do you? At least not until you give me an explanation. Most men don’t stalk women and that’s what this is. Was you bumping into me really an accident?”

  Her direct question made him jerk back, his mouth opening and closing. “Yes. Of course.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Helena, where’s this coming from?” he asked in hushed tones.

  She took a deep breath. “It comes from the fact that I know you have been in my apartment.”

  He put his hand to his temple, his shoulders heaving as he looked down at the floor. “Damn.” He looked her directly in the eye, his stare as cold as his touch. “How did you know?”

  “Your cologne.” She inched forward and inhaled. “Yep. Very distinctive.”

  “Bravo!” He clapped lightly. “Okay, the game is up. I didn’t expect you to figure it out. Now that you have, we need to talk.” He went to walk into her apartment, but she shook her head.

  “We can talk here.”

  “You do not want to hear what I have to say standing on your doorstep,” Barry said firmly, his eyes darting up and down the corridor.

  “Just tell me, Barry. If Barry is even your real name.”

  “You really don’t trust me at all.” He turned his head as if looking at her from different angles. “Something has changed. What is it?” He spoke as if he were talking to himself, as if he were musing over an abstract problem.

  “Me.” Dario appeared by Barry’s side, grabbed him by the collar, and shoved him into Helena’s apartment.

  Helena dodged out of the way, her throat constricted in panic as she closed the door behind them, sealing them in the apartment with Barry. If the guy were something other than human, they could be in a whole heap of trouble.

  “Helena? What’s going on?” Barry squawked as Dario let go of him. They were in the living room, surrounded by her furniture, surrounded by her life, that until she’d met Barry, was normal. Too normal. She’d wanted a change, to get out of a rut, but she wasn’t sure she wanted this.

  “Barry, you let yourself into my apartment. You admitted as much. I need to know why. What did you want? Were you looking for something?” Helena folded her arms across her body.

  “I just wanted to...” He put on his puppy dog eyes and she sighed and shook her head.

  “Don’t play me, Barry. Not anymore. I fell for it before, but I know things now. And I think you do, too.” She took a gamble, attempting to push Barry into admitting the truth.

  Barry straightened his shoulders, his expression cool as he turned his attention to Dario. “You do know things, don’t you?” He laughed and shook his head. “Well, look at that, after all these long, lonely years, you bagged yourself a shifter, Helena.”

  “You know what I am.” Dario kept his eyes fixed on Barry as if he were a slippery eel who might attempt to slide out of there.

  “I can smell you.” Barry wrinkled his nose.

  “What else do you know?” Helena asked.

  “I know more than you.” He twisted around, his cold
eyes on her. “I know where you come from. I know you were born in Wishing Moon Bay. I know your father was murdered there.”

  Stunned, she froze, her eyes wide, her breath caught in her chest as the news she’d always dreaded hit her.

  “How do you know all this?” Dario asked.

  “Because the same person who killed Helena’s father killed mine and I want to get back there so I can finally find some peace.” Barry’s expression softened. “You’ve been there, haven’t you?”

  Helena shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”

  “Of course you don’t. You’ve spent your whole life imagining that your daddy would just appear and make some sense of your world, of your mother and her delusions.” Barry shook his head, his expression sympathetic. “I didn’t want to be the one to break the news to you, Helena.” He reached out to her, but Dario snarled, and Barry’s hand snapped back.

  “What is your game here?” Helena forced herself to ask. “Why are you toying with me?”

  “That day I bumped into you outside of your office, that was a coincidence. Although I like to think of it as serendipity. When I looked up and saw those earrings.” He touched his earlobes. “I knew you were connected to Wishing Moon Bay.”

  “My earrings?” She mimicked his action.

  “They belonged to your mother. You told me that. But I already knew. I met your mom when I was young. I expect I met you back then...” His voice drifted off.

  “So you bumped into me, saw my earrings, and then decided to stalk me?”

  “No. You make it sound so sordid. When I saw your earrings, I admit that I asked you on a date because I wanted to know what you knew. But when I realized you had no idea about any of it, I just wanted to be with you.” He glanced at Dario. “But it’s too late for us now, I understand that.”

  “What happened to my father?”

  “Helena, I’m sorry. All I know is that he was murdered by the same man who murdered my father.” He pressed his lips together, the puppy dog eyes back in place. “The answers we both seek are in Wishing Moon Bay.” He stepped forward but then froze as he caught a glimpse of Dario out of the corner of his eye. “Why don’t we go there together and find the answers.”

  “Okay.” She went to the kitchen and grabbed her purse. “Let’s go.”

  “Really?” His eyes brightened.

  “Yes, tell me where to drive and I’ll drive us right now.” She dangled the keys on her fingers.

  Confusion crossed Barry’s face. “I thought you knew. I thought that’s where you met your shifter.”

  “No, we met in a bar across town. O’Malley’s, you know the one.” She sidled close to Dario. “We’ve had a wild couple of days.”

  “So you don’t know where this Wishing Moon Bay is?” Dario asked.

  “No.”

  “Does it even exist?” Dario asked incredulously.

  “Yes, it exists.” Barry leaned forward, his focus on Helena. “You really don’t remember a thing?”

  “No. If what you say is true, I have no memory of the town. I can’t help you, Barry.” Helena shook her head. “Are you sure about my dad?”

  “Oh, yes. Very sure.” His cool tone left Helena in no doubt that this part of his story was true.

  “I’d like you to leave now.” She went to the front door and yanked it open.

  “Helena, please, I’m not the bad guy here.” His eyes said otherwise, but Helena controlled her emotions and kept her thoughts firmly in her head. “I want us to find Wishing Moon Bay together. I want us to find answers together.”

  “You’ve just told me my dad is dead. I need time to process this. Don’t you understand?” Her voice cracked and tears threatened but she swallowed them down. She wouldn’t break until this horrible man was out of her apartment.

  “Of course.” A flicker of a smile crossed his mouth before he nodded and left.

  Helena closed the door behind Barry and locked it. Her breath shuddered through her body as she inhaled deeply, unsure if her legs could support her. Then Dario was there, his strong arms wrapped around her, his warm body pressed against her, his words of comfort in her ears.

  “I’m here, Helena. Let it out, let it all out.” He lifted her and carried her to her bedroom, where he laid her down on the bed, then slid down by her side, holding her while she cried for the man she’d never known. Yet where she now believed this all began.

  Her father.

  Chapter Sixteen – Dario

  “Do you think he was telling the truth?” Helena’s hoarse voice broke his heart.

  “Not entirely.” Dario’s arms tightened around her as she sobbed.

  “But you think my father is dead?” Her fingers dug into his lower arm as she fought for control of her breathing.

  “Yes.” He kissed the top of her head, wishing he could take her pain away. But the pain and loss of a parent was not something he could shoulder, even for his mate.

  “And the rest of it? Do you think the same person killed his father?”

  Dario hesitated. In the hour or more since Barry had left, he’d gone over and over the conversation. He’d explored every angle and come up with some disturbing scenarios. “Yes.”

  “But?” Helena turned to face him and propped herself up on one elbow.

  “I don’t know.” He raked his hand through his hair, his eyes were gritty with unshed tears, tears for his mate.

  We need to keep calm and keep control of our temper, his horse warned him.

  I know, but right now I want to hunt Barry down and wring his neck until he tells us the truth.

  You don’t think he already has? His horse had come to the same disturbing conclusion.

  “We should get back to Wishing Moon Bay.” He sat up. “Do you think you can drive?”

  “We’re going to lead Barry back to town?” Helena shook her head. “We don’t know what he truly wants. We don’t know if he’s a threat to Penny and Milo.”

  “Which is why we’re going to drive in the opposite direction. We’ll ditch your car and travel across country to Wishing Moon Bay.”

  “Okay. That’s a good plan. A really good plan.” She sat up and leaned back on the headboard. “Did you get any sense of what he might be?”

  “No. He either knows how to hide himself really well, or else he is just a normal person. The one thing I’m sure about is that he isn’t a shifter. I’d know.”

  “He knew you were a shifter.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “How did he know that?”

  “He said he could smell me.” Dario lifted his arm and sniffed it. “Maybe we do give off a scent.”

  She sniffed his neck and he shivered as her breath caressed his skin. “You smell just fine to me.”

  “Thanks.” He lifted his arm and slid it around her shoulders.

  “And thank you for being there for me and having my back. I don’t know if I would’ve had the guts to lie to his face like that without you there to back me up.” She placed her hand on his chest and his heart thumped so hard he was scared it might break through his ribcage.

  “You would have done what you had to do. You’re stronger than you think, believe me.” He looked down at her red-rimmed eyes, noting the salty tracks down her cheeks. “But I’m here, whatever you need.”

  “I need you right here right now.” She nestled closer to him. “Just being next to you makes it all seem a little less bleak.”

  “I’m here for you. Always.” He kissed the top of her head and she tilted her chin back and stroked his cheek with her hand.

  “What did I do to deserve you?” She inched closer and licked her lips as she kissed him.

  Dario groaned, his arms tightened around her as their kiss deepened. “We deserve each other, remember?”

  “I do.” Her breath was warm across his skin as she smiled through her tears. “I want you, Dario. I want to be with you and forget all about the rest of it for a while.”

  “Are you sure? You’re upset, I don’t want you to do
something you might regret.”

  “We’re here for tonight, we’re not going anywhere until the morning. I want to make the most of this night. You and me together. It’s what I want and it’s what I want for the right reasons.” She slipped her hand under his sweater and caressed his stomach. His muscles clenched, he’d denied his mate yesterday at the cabin. He was not going to deny her again.

  Helena knew her own mind, she’d proved that when she’d controlled her reaction to the news her dad was dead. Dario wasn’t going to insult her by telling her he knew what was best for her.

  He lifted the bedspread and they slid down into the warmth. “You have no idea how much I want you. How much I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you in the car.” He chuckled as he cupped her face in his hand and brushed his lips against hers. “It was just a flash of recognition, but I knew you were the one.”

  “I am the one.” She tugged his sweater up over his head and he wriggled out of it, before casting it to the floor. “You have the physique of a man half your age.”

  “I work out a lot. Not in the gym, but outdoors. When I traveled, I didn’t only spend time as a horse. I often sought work where I was needed. Building schools, helping the old and frail to stock up on wood for the winter.”

  “You’re a good man, Dario.” She sat up and tugged at the hem of her sweater.

  “Here, let me help you with that.” He swept it over her head in a flash, before he cupped her breast in his hand, his thumb brushing against her hardened nipple through the lace of her bra.

  “Are you going to help me with this, too?” She reached for the clasp.

  “If you insist.” He swallowed hard as he pulled the clasp undone and the lacy undergarment fell forward, revealing her generous breasts. “You are beautiful.”

  “A little curved around the edges.” Color tinged her cheeks as she snuggled back down under the bedspread.

  “I like curves.” He trailed his fingers across the swell of her breasts, and she gasped as he pinched her nipple between his thumb and fingers. “I like everything about you, Helena.”

  “You might want to get to know me before you make such a blanket statement.”