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

by Harmony Raines

  “I know.” Karros nodded and headed around to the back of the truck. “Let’s just get the packs and get on the road.”

  “Will he be okay?” Caleb whispered to Elise.

  “He’ll be okay. He’s got to learn how to act around Flora now that they are no longer engaged. This might be the easiest way. He’ll see how happy she is with Aiden and maybe he’ll move on. Then when we get back, he can focus on finding the love of his life.”

  “You make it sound so simple.” Caleb slipped his arms around her and pulled her close.

  “Okay, I might have one request while we’re on this trip,” Karros called from the back of the truck.

  “And that is?” Elise asked.

  “You can tone down the smooching and the kissing. Some of us are single and don’t need to be reminded every five minutes that you are in lurve.”

  Elise grabbed Caleb and kissed him, clinging to him as Karros made puking noises.

  Siblings, his bear laughed.

  Chapter Twenty-One – Elise

  “We survived the trip.” Elise climbed out of the truck. Flora had sat in the front with Aiden while Caleb, Elise, and Karros had sat in the back. With no smooching.

  She cast a sidelong glance at her brother as he got out of the truck and stretched his arms over his head. He’d been so quiet on the journey, but he looked okay.

  “Stop staring.” Karros suddenly locked eyes with her.

  “I was just checking that you were okay.” Elise switched her attention to Caleb who was talking quietly with Aiden. She suspected they were using their shifter senses to search the area around the nearby house.

  “I’m fine. But I’d be better if you stopped looking at me.” He moved closer to her. “This is a nice place.” He inhaled deeply. “The mountain air is so cool and fresh.”

  “Are you tempted to live here?” she asked.

  “Not live but a long visit might be nice.” He glanced at Flora.

  “It would give you a chance to reset your thoughts and emotions.”

  “That sounds as if you want to get rid of me,” he replied.

  “Not get rid of.” She linked arms with him. “I just want you to be happy.”

  “Zara.” Caleb raised his hand as a pretty woman, a few years younger than the twins but with similar facial features, opened the door of the nearby house. “Are you okay?”

  Elise pulled Karros forward as they hurried toward the young woman who was clinging to the doorframe. Were they too late? Had someone attacked her?

  There was no sign of blood and with some effort, Zara pushed herself back to a standing position. “Sorry, I don’t know what happened.” She threaded her hand through her hair. “I felt faint. I don’t know why.”

  “Shall we go inside and sit down?” Caleb asked as he put his arm around her.

  “No.” She shook her head. “I don’t think I want to go inside. I think I’m right where I’m supposed to be.” Her eyes were unfocused as she looked toward Karros.

  “Oh.” Flora put her hands over her mouth, her cheeks flushed pink as she looked from Zara and then to Karros.

  “Oh, what?” Aiden asked as he followed her gaze. “Oh.”

  “Well, that both simplifies things and makes them a whole lot harder,” Caleb said.

  “What are you talking about?” Elise asked.

  “Zara just met her mate.” Aiden’s jaw tightened.

  “It looks as if we’re going to be family in a weird way after all.” Flora cracked a smile.

  “Oh.” Elise shook her head as she looked at Zara, who was now intently focused on Karros as if nothing else in the world existed. “Oh.”

  “Exactly,” Flora said.

  “What have I missed?” Karros asked as everyone stared at him.

  “Karros, this is our sister, Zara.” Caleb put his arm around Zara. “And if I’m not mistaken, you are her mate.”

  “Mate?” Karros shook his head as his eyes narrowed. “Is this some kind of joke?”

  “No, why would it be a joke?” Aiden’s voice hardened.

  “Because the easiest way to stop me from loving Flora and wanting her as my wife would be for you to find me someone else. A shifter who says she’s my mate and we’re supposed to be together forever.” Karros didn’t sound happy at all.

  “That’s exactly what we are,” Zara told him as the color came back to her cheeks.

  “This is just...” Karros looked to Elise for help.

  “Fate,” she told him. “This is just fate.”

  “You’re telling me that fate decided to make me the mate of your mate’s sister?” he asked hotly.

  “Yes,” Zara told him.

  “It’s too convenient,” Karros insisted but he didn’t back away from Zara. It was as if his feet were glued to the spot.

  “Can’t you feel it?” Elise put her hand on his stomach. “Can’t you feel it here? There’s a connection between you. An unbreakable bond. You must feel it.”

  Karros looked at his sister for a long moment. Perhaps he didn’t feel it. Maybe not every shifter mate did. She hadn’t thought about that. Elise had assumed that the connection was strong between all mates.

  “Don’t you feel it?” Zara stepped forward and placed her hand on Karros’s.

  It was as if he’d been hit by a bolt of lightning, his body jerked and his skin paled as he stared at Zara. As his eyes widened, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that he felt it. That his life and love were now bound to Zara.

  Elise glanced at Flora. How would she react to losing the man who had loved her for all her life? The smile on her friend’s face said it all. She was smiling ecstatically, her hands clasped together as she watched.

  “I can feel it.” Karros’s voice trembled as he stared at her. “I don’t understand it, but I can feel it.”

  “You’re not supposed to try to understand it,” Zara told him. “All you have to do is accept it.”

  “Accept it.” Karros glanced at Flora for a moment. Then he took a big breath and let it out slowly as if he were finally letting go of the woman he had loved. And so graciously lost.

  “Yes. You just have to accept what is in your heart,” Elise told him. She reached for his hand. “And you have the biggest heart out of everyone I know.”

  Karros hugged her, his face buried in her shoulder. He might be her older brother but right now, he was vulnerable and exposed, his emotions raw.

  “Shall we go inside?” Caleb put his arm around his sister and guided her into the house. “If someone is watching you, the last thing we want to do is let them see what’s happening.”

  Karros lifted his head, his eyes flashed with anger as he turned and looked out into the distance. “Now more than ever I wish I had your shifter senses.”

  “They won’t do you much good,” Zara told him. “I can’t seem to get a fix on whoever or whatever is out there.”

  “Do you have any clue?” Aiden asked as they went inside, and he shut the door behind them.

  “Not really. The first couple of times I sensed there was someone out there, I went out the next morning and scoured the area, trying to pick up the scent of anything different. But it’s impossible, there are so many shifters who pass by.” She led them into the kitchen, her cheeks were less flushed, and she seemed to be recovering herself. However, she was constantly looking at Karros as if her eyes were drawn to him of their own accord.

  They entered the kitchen area, which was in a bad state of repair, although the tools laid out on the floor suggested she was working on it.

  “You’ve worked hard on the house,” Aiden complimented his sister as she made a fresh pot of coffee.

  “Since I planned to come and visit you for a couple of days I’ve been trying to get ahead of schedule. Uncle Peter has been coming around to help in the evenings.” She smiled fondly. “Not that I need it, but I think he and Aunt Harriet are keeping a close watch on me.”

  “Are you sure whoever you sensed wasn’t one of your cousins?” F
lora sat down at the table. “Maybe one of them comes past when they are out and checks on you.”

  “I had a similar idea. But I know what my cousins feel like and anyway, their senses are no better than mine. This is too far away, like something brushing against my mind.” She put her hand to her temple. “I know it’s vague but can’t explain it any better than that.”

  “Vampires?” Karros finally found his voice.

  “A what?” Zara’s eyes went wide. “Vampires aren’t real.”

  “Yes, they are,” Aiden confirmed. “Not only are they real but they also have the ability to glamor people and take away their memories.”

  “Like the effects of the sycombre but a lot worse,” Elise said. “Sorry, you don’t know what that is either.”

  Zara pulled out a chair and sat down heavily. With her elbows on the table, she put her head in her hands. “I’m beginning to realize there’s a lot I don’t know about.”

  “This is a shock. We all felt the same way when we found our mates.” Caleb glanced over to Elise.

  “A real shock and I’m not a shifter. I can’t imagine how intense this is for you all.” She touched her brother’s arm. “But that’s the great thing, we know it’s true. We feel it in our hearts. There’s a connection. It’s like I can sense Caleb with a part of me.”

  “That’s exactly how I felt the first time I met Aiden.” Flora sidled over to her mate and he slid his arm around her shoulders. “Of course, I tried to push him away at first.” She fixed her eyes on Karros. “I was confused because it wasn’t part of the plan. I also felt resentful that once again someone or something was deciding my fate. But honestly, things got a lot easier when I just gave in to the inevitable.”

  “You make it sound so romantic,” Aiden teased.

  “Hey, I’m being honest. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?” She dug him in the ribs.

  “Yes. Be honest with each other about your feelings,” Caleb advised. “It’s the best way. It’s the only way because this isn’t going to stop.”

  “Thanks for the advice.” Zara glanced shyly at Karros.

  “Yes, thanks for the advice.” Karros smiled softly at Zara. “We just take it slow.”

  “We just take it slow.” She wiped a hand across her eyes. “I’ll get us that coffee.”

  “You sit down and take a moment. We can make coffee.” Caleb squeezed his sister’s shoulder before opening the cupboard next to him. “Cups?”

  “Oh, in that cupboard there.” Zara pointed to a cupboard to his left and Caleb set to work, with the help of Aiden.

  “How are you doing?” Elise asked Karros quietly.

  “I’m okay.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I feel a little removed from reality if I’m honest, as if this is happening to someone else and I’m an observer.”

  “It gets easier.” Flora joined them. “I’m so happy for you, Karros.”

  She hesitated for a moment before holding her arms out wide to the man she would have married if Aiden hadn’t come into her life. Karros slipped into her arms and hugged her. “Thanks. When you told me you were mates with Aiden, I never understood how you could know he was the one for you. I mean really know.”

  “But you feel it now.” Flora pulled away from Karros and wiped her hand across her eyes. “These are happy tears, by the way.”

  “Ah, and there I was thinking that you were crying because I’ve found another woman to love.” Karros put his hand over his mouth and his eyes drifted across the room until they locked with Zara’s.

  “Yes. You have found the love you deserve.” Flora blotted her cheeks. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “I know you are.” Karros inhaled deeply and went to the table and pulled out a chair. He sat down awkwardly across the table from Zara. “I’m Karros.”

  “Zara.” She held out her hand to Karros. “Good to meet you.”

  He chuckled, her cheeks pink as he slid his hand into hers. “Good to meet you.” His eyes widened with recognition as their skin touched and Elise recalled the first moment Caleb had touched her. The intense feelings that flooded her body were like an inferno, as if something inside of her were being torn apart and made anew.

  The wonder on Karros’s face was intense, as if he’d just found the most precious thing in the world. Zara mirrored that expression back at him.

  “So that’s what we looked like,” Flora said to Elise.

  “I guess it is.” She slipped her hand around Flora’s shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  Flora wiped more tears from her cheeks. “I’m blubbering like a baby but only because I’m so happy for Karros. After he let me go... His sadness... I wanted him to heal and find the love he deserved. Real love with someone who would reciprocate his feelings. Something I could never do.”

  “He knows you never loved him, but he was holding onto the hope that if you gave him a chance, you would learn to love him.” Elise loved her brother so much, she’d wanted him to find real love, too.

  “Now he’s with someone who doesn’t need to learn to love him. And I know the intensity of that kind of love.” She glanced at Aiden who kept looking at Karros and then at Flora. “I couldn’t be happier.”

  “Me neither.” Elise inhaled deeply and her breath shuddered through her body as she tried to contain her tears. But they came anyway, happy tears for her brother.

  Although even though they were witnessing a small miracle, they could not forget the reason they were here.

  Her brother’s mate was in danger.

  Chapter Twenty-Two – Caleb

  “So, can you tell us anything else?” Caleb needed to focus on the threat to his sister, but he was so incredibly happy for her and Karros, it was hard. They should be celebrating their good fortune, instead they were stuck in the small kitchen trying to figure out who was lurking in the shadows of Zara’s life.

  “No.” Zara ran her hand through her hair, her cheeks were flushed, and she looked as if she’d been hit by a hurricane. “Even if my head was clearer, I don’t think there’s anything else I can add. That’s why I called you guys. I was planning on coming to visit but I’d feel terrible if I led anyone to Wishing Moon Bay who might cause you problems.”

  “Is this possibly just connected to finding Wishing Moon Bay?” Flora asked. “You said there was that guy who stalked Helena and Penny because he wanted to get back there. Is it possible he’s the one behind this?”

  “No.” Caleb shook his head. “Silas dealt with him.”

  “Silas again. He sure does get caught up in a lot of shady stuff.” Flora blew the air out of her cheeks. “Okay, let’s brainstorm this.”

  “I’ve gone over it from every angle and can’t figure out who it is or what they want,” Zara said. “So I’d be grateful for any input.”

  “Okay. Is this possibly related to your parents?” Flora asked.

  “Why now?” Zara asked. “After all this time, why come after us? And what is there to gain? Our parents are dead, he can’t exactly punish them anymore. He took their lives and they never got to see their kids grow up.”

  She ducked her head and sobbed, her hands covering her face. Karros reached across the table and grasped one of her hands. Sandwiching it between his two hands, he rubbed her skin as if trying to give her his warmth and strength.

  He really does care for her, Caleb’s bear said.

  Of course he does, Caleb answered. They’re mates and we heard what Elise told Flora.

  We shouldn’t have been listening, his bear chastised.

  It’s hard not to hear when we’re in the same room. It wasn’t as if I was trying to eavesdrop, Caleb protested.

  It’s done, his bear answered sagely. And it’s good to know our mate feels the same way about us as we do about her. That she can feel the same connection even if it’s not as strong.

  We already knew she did. But hearing her talk to Flora about it. To know she’s happy. He sighed and forced his attention back to the problem before them.

>   Who was stalking Zara?

  “I’m going to call Oscar Renshaw.” Aiden put his coffee cup down on the counter and headed toward the back door leading into the yard behind the house. “I called him earlier to see if he could dig up some information on the guy who is suspected of killing our parents. Let’s see if he’s figured out a connection.”

  “Again, after all this time.” Zara didn’t want to believe it was connected to their parents’ deaths and neither did Caleb. That was in the past, they had all moved on. Aiden and Caleb had agreed that taking revenge now would hurt them more than the guy responsible. They didn’t want to be consumed with hatred and revenge when they had so much ahead of them.

  However, the person responsible might not feel the same way. Or perhaps it was someone else, a family member who had chosen to take revenge.

  This is like looking for a needle in a haystack, his bear grumbled.

  “I think it’s worth making the call,” Caleb agreed. “But what doesn’t make sense is that this must be a very powerful shifter.”

  “Or a highly trained one.” All eyes turned to Karros. “I heard that some shifters could train their senses to be really powerful. Like an athlete can train their body.”

  “He might be right,” Caleb agreed.

  A fae who knows more about shifters than shifters, his bear grumbled.

  “So now we think there’s a highly trained shifter watching me?” Zara asked.

  “Why hasn’t he, or she, made a move?” Elise asked.

  “Because of Wishing Moon Bay?” Karros suggested. “If Zara was planning on visiting, they might be simply biding their time.”

  “But how did they connect Zara to town?” Flora turned her laser focus on Zara. “Have you been going around telling people you are visiting Wishing Moon Bay?”

  “No,” Zara insisted, and Flora earned herself a reproving look from Karros. “The only people who know are my aunt and uncle and my cousins. We agreed not to mention the town to anyone else.” She placed her hand over her heart. “Your secret is our secret.”

  “I’ll call Oscar.” Aiden closed the door behind him, leaving the other people in the kitchen in silence.