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

by Harmony Raines

  “Try and stop me.” He grinned, his teeth flashing in the half-light. He wanted nothing more than to slide back into the sleeping bag and hold her in his arms.

  Caleb switched his attention to the small amount of kindling leftover from last night and quickly lit it, adding a few dry twigs to the fire. Cupping his hands around it to protect it from the breeze, he nurtured it, placing larger twigs on the small pile until the flames crackled and sparked.

  Caleb sat back on his haunches, aware of Elise’s eyes on him as he prepared a pan of water. When the fire was hot enough, he placed the pan on the fire, waited to ensure it wasn’t going to tip over, and then got up and padded back to his mate.

  “I think I could get used to seeing you in the morning.” She ruffled his hair as he climbed inside the sleeping bag. “Oh, your feet are cold! I thought you said you were hot-blooded.”

  “They don’t feel cold to me.” He ran his foot down her calf and chuckled as she jumped away from him.

  “They’re cold!” She placed her hands on his chest. “This part is warm.”

  “Then let me hold you close.” He wrapped his arms around her, and she nestled against him. “I want to wake up like this every morning.”

  “I know.” Elise leaned on his shoulder. “We came here to pick up the items I needed for the recipe I wanted to prepare for Ivan. I thought it would make things simpler, but it’s made things more complicated.”

  “In what way?” Caleb asked.

  “You’ve woken something inside me. A deep longing I’d buried.” She looked up at him, her eyes locked with his. “I want this to work. For us to work. But I don’t see how that’s going to happen.”

  “We’ll figure out a way.” He kissed her shoulder.

  “We’ve just agreed to rent the house. Karros can’t afford it on his own but there’s no way the three of us could share the house together.” She sighed and stared at the fire.

  “He could take my apartment and I could move in with you there,” Caleb suggested. He could barely breathe at the thought of living with his mate. He’d figured it would take her a while to come around to the idea.

  “He’s committed to creating a beautiful yard at the house and then making a new business in town. I can’t ask him to leave. I think he’s planning on working on the yard every hour of the day and some of the night.” She chuckled. “Yesterday morning, he was drawing his plans while we ate breakfast. I think he was looking forward to having the day to himself so that he could make a real start.”

  “We’ll figure it out. I could stay with you some nights and you could stay with me. Split the time between our homes. And I suppose I could live without you a couple of evenings a week if you want to spend time with Karros.”

  “And I thought you couldn’t bear to spend one single night away from me. Since I’m your mate,” she teased.

  “I don’t want to. But if it’s what you need to do...” He nuzzled her neck. “I could survive as long as it wasn’t for long.”

  “Life was much simpler before we met each other.”

  “We can’t turn back time,” Caleb told her.

  “I wouldn’t want to even if I could.” Her words gave him some relief.

  “I know I’ve complicated your life. But we’ll figure it out.”

  “And live a simple life?” She inched away from him.

  “Simple in some ways. But you want your own restaurant, so there are going to be complications, too.” He wriggled out of the sleeping bag as the water began to boil.

  “I should get dressed.” Elise grabbed her clothes. “I have a sock missing, do you see it?”

  Caleb chuckled as he hunted around the campsite for her sock. “Here it is.”

  “How did it get over there?” Elise held out her hand for the sock as she wriggled around in the sleeping bag. “This is not easy.”

  “You could get out of the sleeping bag,” he suggested. “There’s no one around but us and I’ll look the other way if you want me to.”

  “I’m not shy,” she replied. “It’s just too cold.” She ducked her head into the sleeping bag. “It’s warm in here.” She came up for air. “There, all dressed.”

  “Why don’t you put my sweater on, too?” he asked. “And my jacket is here.” He got up from the fireside and fetched his jacket for her.

  “Thanks.” She pushed her arms into the sweater and pulled it over her head. “This is warm. Are you sure you don’t want the jacket?”

  “Hot shifter blood,” he reminded her as he went back to the fire.

  “Aside from your feet.” She smiled softly at him and then joined him next to the fire. “The sun is coming up.”

  “Here’s the coffee. We can sit down and watch the sunrise through the trees and then we should make our way back to the truck. I don’t want you to be late for work.” Caleb quickly put the coffee in the cups and poured on the hot water. “Here. It’s not the best coffee but it’ll help wake you up.”

  “I am awake,” she insisted as she accepted the cup and headed back to the sleeping bags.

  Caleb pushed himself to his feet and followed her, not wanting to waste a single moment of their morning alone. Soon they would be back in Wishing Moon Bay where they would be surrounded by other people.

  We need to figure this out, his bear told him.

  You mean figure out how we’re going to live with Elise. Alone. His bear mulled that over. It’s going to be tough. Elise is loyal to Karros and he left his life here to offer her support. There’s no way she’ll just ditch him.

  And we wouldn’t want her to. He’s her family. They understood Elise’s position completely, they would feel the same way about their brothers.

  However, they were determined to figure out a way to make it work out for everyone.

  Perhaps fate will lend a hand, his bear suggested.

  We can hope. If Karros got called back to the fae realm by his family, he might leave if he knew Elise would be all right without him.

  And she would be all right without him because she has us. His bear nodded sagely. I think you might have come up with a solution.

  Wait, that all depends on their family needing Karros. So at the moment, it’s just a dream, Caleb said.

  Maybe we should find ourselves a wishing stone of our own and make a wish. His bear settled down at the edges of Caleb’s mind, ready to take a nap as the sun finally rose overhead.

  “This is amazing.” Elise reached for his hand. “I have only ever seen the sunrise in the wildwood once. It was a long time ago.”

  “I’ve watched the sunrise from the top of a mountain many times. When we weren’t helping Valerie at the hotel, Aiden and I would often spend the weekend in the mountains. We’d shift and climb to a high peak near town and set up camp.” He arched his arm above his head. “The stars are so bright. It’s as if you could reach up and pluck one out of the sky.”

  “I’d like you to show me them.” Elise snuggled closer as the pale light around them changed the muted colors brought alive by the touch of the sun’s rays just as he’d come to life from the touch of his mate.

  Not that he hadn’t been alive before. He’d been happy. He’d been content but now he’d been shown something else, something bigger and brighter than he could ever have imagined.

  “When you have a couple of days off, we’ll go,” he promised. “The weather is still warm enough. We can hike up to the peak and camp. Or I could ask Ivan to take us.”

  She stiffened beside him. “Ride on the back of a dragon?”

  “Yes. He might take us up there and then we can camp and hike back down the next day. It’s a long way for my bear and he has four paws. On two legs, it might be exhausting.” He glanced sideways at her. “I lost you at ride on the back of a dragon, didn’t I?”

  “Yes. You did.” She turned her face toward the sun as the warmth washed over them. “That would be incredible. I mean, I’ve seen them across the water. When I was young, Karros and I used to go down to the beach with h
is telescope and we would look out across the ocean and see them flying. They would play, winding around each other before flying away at impossible speeds. I never dreamed I’d ever get to ride on the back of one. I heard they were very proud and only their mate ever rode on their backs.”

  “Ivan is incredible. Unique. But above all else, he’s my brother. We’ve ridden on his back before. He brought Penny and Milo down from the mountains after they were kidnapped by a witch. He even let Jeremy ride on his back.”

  “Jeremy, oh, he’s the guy on reception at the hotel. I like him.” She smiled softly.

  “Do you?” Caleb growled.

  “Don’t worry, you have nothing to be jealous of.” She poked him in the ribs. “Although come to think of it, you do sound sexy when you get jealous.”

  “I’m only joking around, I know you would never hurt me or even look at another man again.”

  “I’m not even allowed to look?” she asked in mock horror.

  “No, you only have eyes for me.” He arched an eyebrow at her. “I know you feel it, too.”

  “I do,” she admitted. “And since I’ve had my whole life to look and I never found anyone, then you’re safe. I am not going anywhere.” She snuggled closer to him.

  “Except home.” He sighed, the sun was rising steadily in the sky. They needed to get back to the truck and drive back to Wishing Moon Bay.

  “Thank you for bringing me here,” she told him. “It’s just what I needed. It’s reminded me of who I am at heart.”

  “You’re welcome. Although, I’ll admit I was also a little selfish in bringing you here. I wanted to spend some time alone with you.” He looked down at her and she cupped his face in her hand.

  “I wanted that, too.” She leaned forward and kissed his lips. “We will make this work. I know we will because it’s what we both want.”

  Those words were exactly what Caleb needed to hear.

  Chapter Nineteen – Elise

  “Back to the real world,” Elise said as they crossed out of the fae realm and into Wishing Moon Bay.

  “Your world is just as real.” Caleb glanced sideways at her. “And it’s there whenever you want to visit. Don’t shut yourself off from everything you love. It’s a short journey from this world to yours.”

  “I know, but I want to spend time getting to know this world. Since this is where we’d raise our children.” She smiled and ducked her head. After last night, her future seemed to have widened. It was no longer narrow with darkness crowding in, making it seem smaller and smaller as each year passed by. She had choices now that she had a mate.

  “Children.” Caleb chuckled and rubbed his chin. “I can’t wait. Especially since Aiden and Flora will have children, too. We’ll be able to raise our half-fae, half-shifter children together.”

  “That sounds perfect, since you and Aiden are so close, and I love Flora like a sister.” Elise’s cheeks turned pink as she placed her hand over her stomach and imagined her belly swollen with a child growing inside her. A child that would bring such joy into their lives.

  “Oh, that’s my phone. Can you reach into my pocket and get it?” Caleb asked.

  “Sure.” Elise still wore his sweater and jacket and so she shoved her hand in his pocket and pulled out his phone. “It’s Aiden.” An image of a face that looked almost exactly like Caleb showed on the screen. She could easily tell them apart in person but in photos, they looked eerily similar.

  “Can you answer it?” Caleb asked. “Just ask him what he wants. It’s probably work-related.”

  “Okay.” She nervously pressed accept and answered the call. Putting the phone to her ear, she said, “Hello, Aiden, it’s Elise.”

  “Elise.” Aiden paused. “Is Caleb with you?”

  “He is. He’s driving and he asked me to take a message.”

  “Where are you?” Aiden sounded off, she didn’t know him well enough to put her finger on the reason why. But her pulse pounded as tension grew in her body, as if she were preparing to fight. And she would fight for her mate.

  Elise inhaled deeply and let it go. There was no one to fight. Her reaction must be some primal connection to Caleb. So it wasn’t just a shifter thing.

  “We’re nearly in town. We’re heading back to my house.”

  “Can you swing by the hotel first? I need to talk to Caleb. It can’t wait.”

  Elise glanced at Caleb. “We’ll be right there.” Her mouth went dry as Caleb cast her a questioning look. “Is everything okay?”

  “I’ll tell you when you get here,” Aiden answered.

  “Okay.” She swallowed hard as she ended the call. “We have to go straight to the hotel.”

  “Did Aiden say why?” Caleb asked.

  “No. He said he’ll tell us when we get there.” She reached across to him and placed her hand on his thigh. “Whatever it is, I’m here for you.”

  Caleb nodded. “It’s probably nothing. A problem with a job.” He was trying to reassure himself, but he chewed his bottom lip and eased his foot down on the gas.

  “It didn’t sound like nothing,” she said quietly. Perhaps she should just leave it until they were back at the hotel. Caleb knew his brother better than anyone. Aiden might get worried about the small stuff.

  “What if it’s Valerie?” Caleb whispered. “What if something happened to her while we were away?”

  “We’ll be there soon.” She breathed in deeply and let go of her own fear. She needed to be strong for her mate.

  Yet she couldn’t ignore the nagging worry in the back of her head that if something bad had happened while they were away, Caleb would somehow blame her. No, he wouldn’t. This wasn’t her fault.

  But people react in strange ways. Her parents had proved that over and over again.

  They drove the short distance to the hotel in silence. There was nothing else to say until they spoke to Aiden.

  Caleb slowed as they reached the hotel parking lot. Once he’d parked the truck, he got out and stood still for a moment, his body rigid and his eyes unfocused. “I can sense Valerie. And Aiden and Flora.”

  “You were worried something might have happened to Flora?” Elise got out of the truck and went to join him.

  “Yes.” He glanced at Elise, his expression clearer. “I’m not sure what else it could be. Our other brothers are here. We might be twins, but we know we can count on the others for whatever we need.” His eyes widened. “Unless...”

  “What?” Elise grabbed his hand as he strode toward the hotel.

  “Unless there’s a problem elsewhere.”

  “You mean in the world beyond?”

  “Yes. Our family lives out there. Our blood relatives. My aunt and uncle, cousins...and my sister.”

  Aiden appeared on the hotel steps before Caleb reached them. “You’re here.”

  “What’s wrong?” Caleb asked hoarsely as he noted his brother’s worried expression.

  “It might be nothing...” Aiden glanced up and down the street and Elise shivered and hugged Caleb’s jacket closer around her.

  “Tell me.” Caleb went to his brother and slid his arm around his shoulders, but he didn’t let go of Elise, as if he needed to feel her touch, to know she was there when Aiden broke the bad news.

  And it was bad news, she could sense Aiden’s worry, even if he tried to hide it from Caleb.

  “Zara called me.” Aiden locked eyes with Caleb.

  “Did something happen to her, is she all right? Or is it...”

  “They’re all fine,” Aiden replied quickly. “But Zara is certain someone is following her.”

  “Someone is following her?” Caleb repeated.

  “Yes. She’s supposed to come here in a couple of days and she’s afraid she’ll lead whoever is following her here.” Aiden chewed his bottom lip. “We need to find out who it is.”

  Caleb nodded and glanced at Elise. “We’ll leave today.”

  Aiden nodded. “We should go inside. Flora is insisting she’s coming with us, bu
t I don’t want her to.”

  Elise followed the twins inside. Of course Flora would want to go. Just as Elise wanted to go. She’d sworn in the forest that she would protect Caleb in the same way he would always protect her. There was no way she could let him down.

  “I’m going to check in on Ivan.” She pointed toward the kitchen where the smell of breakfast cooking escaped through the door. Her stomach growled as she let go of Caleb’s hand and headed to the kitchen. But there were more important things than food.

  “Elise.” Ivan glanced up at her as he plated up some eggs and bacon. “You’re not due in until later.”

  “About that...” She clasped her hands together in front of her and bowed her head. “I’m not going to be able to make my shift.”

  “Oh.” Ivan placed the pan down on the stovetop and came around the counter to stand in front of her. “You realize that’s going to leave me shorthanded?”

  “I do.” She nodded and lifted her head to look him in the eyes. “But Aiden and Caleb are leaving to check on their sister and I need to go with them.”

  “You think they can’t take care of themselves?” Ivan mocked. “You do know they are two big bear shifters who can practically read each other’s thoughts. They are a force in themselves.”

  “Physically, yes. But this is about their sister. And family can sometimes mean you don’t think straight.” She inhaled deeply. “And there are some monsters you can’t fight with your fists or your paws.”

  “You’re going because you think your mate might need your protection.” A smile crept across his face.

  “I do.” She shrugged. “I understand if this means I lose my place here.”

  Ivan chuckled. “You still don’t know us too well.” He backed away and picked up the pan once more. “Take as much time as you need. I’m happy that you’ll be there for Caleb. He might need you.”

  “So, we’re okay?” Her shoulders slumped forward, and she brushed her hand across her eyes.

  “We’re okay. More than if you’d chosen to stay behind,” he admitted. “Your mate is more important than anything in the world...or so I’m told. You are supposed to be by his side. And seeing that you know that makes me happy.”