Fae-ted to the Bear - Harmony Raines Page 0,87

was stunned. More than stunned. Was this finally over?

“Your mate is right. I have survived millennia. If I agreed to forget, there must have been a good reason. I trust myself to accept that. For now at least.” She half-turned to look at Ivan. “It seems you were wrong. You have met a dragon shifter before.”

“I wish I remembered,” Ivan answered.

Fiona shrugged. “Aiden and Caleb know where we live if you want to spend time among your own kind.” Her eyes darted back to Elise. “I won’t ask questions. I won’t try to find Wishing Moon Bay.”

“You promise?” Ivan asked.

“I promise.” Her eyes narrowed. “Unless there comes a time you need me to remember. Unless you need my help once more.”

“Agreed.” Ivan bowed his head.

Fiona nodded, then the air shimmered all around her and she shifted before taking off and disappearing into the night.

“She’s gone.” Ivan sounded sad somehow as he stared into the night.

“We know where she lives,” Aiden told his brother. “And maybe it’s time you visited with other dragons and found out more about yourself.”

“I don’t know. Do you think Fiona will stick to her word and not try to find Wishing Moon Bay?” Ivan asked.

“I think she’ll keep her word.” Flora slipped her arms around Elise. “You were amazing. See, shifters do need fae.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I felt more desperate than amazing.” Elise ducked her head and blushed.

“No, you were amazing.” Caleb went to his mate.

“I wasn’t sure it would work. I was afraid that I’d betrayed you all for nothing,” Elise admitted.

“You are going to be a wonderful addition to the hotel restaurant staff,” Ivan told her.

“I am?” Elise asked warily.

“Yes, because you’re a fae and fae think differently than shifters,” Ivan told her.

“And that’s a good thing?” Elise asked suspiciously.

“A very good thing,” Caleb told his mate. “You saved us just then.”

“I didn’t do anything special,” she insisted.

“You did,” Flora agreed. “You made Fiona stop and think. You made her realize that she wouldn’t have agreed to give up a part of herself unless it was for her own self-preservation.”

“And because others would have gotten hurt if she’d pursued it. Fiona helps shifter children find families. She helped Ivan stay with Valerie. She would understand she did what she did for the right reasons.”

“She trusted in herself. Just like you trusted in yourself,” Caleb told her proudly.

“I don’t think I did anything special,” Elise insisted.

“You protected me,” Caleb told her. “And everyone else.”

“I did, didn’t I?” She winked at him. “See, you don’t need big muscles and sharp claws to keep those you love safe.”

“Shall we go join Zara and Karros and tell them the news?” Flora stifled a yawn. “It’s been a long day.”

“We can’t stay long,” Ivan said. “I have to get back to town. I have breakfasts to prepare in the morning.”

“Maybe in a few weeks, you could let Elise run the kitchen for a day. You could come here and spend some time with the dragons,” Caleb suggested.

“Smooth, are you trying to impress your mate?” Ivan asked.

“I don’t have to impress her, she loves me already.” Caleb laughed.

“What are we going to do about…the other stuff?” Elise hesitated.

“About Murray?” Caleb asked.

“Yes. Are you going to let it go?” Elise asked.

“Aiden?” Caleb asked.

“I think we should leave it up to fate,” Aiden answered.

“What does that mean?” Flora linked arms with him and leaned on his shoulder.

“If we find out who he is, then I think it’s time we truly faced our past and finally gave ourselves some closure.” Aiden sucked in a lungful of air. “But if we hit another dead end, we let it go. Perhaps we were supposed to go on this journey, so we could find out a little bit more about who we are.”

“We’ve been given a gift. The memories were buried. Perhaps that was all we were meant to find.” He patted Ivan on the back. “And it led us here. Perhaps that was the point, too. All of this was for you to finally meet your own kind. Dragons.”

Ivan gave a short laugh. “Except I already knew my own kind. There are six of us. Six brothers bonded by more than blood. And a mother who loves us all.”

“You’re okay with Valerie not telling you about Fiona?” Aiden asked.

“Yes. I’m not saying I didn’t feel hurt and betrayed, but Mom has always watched out for us all. And if Fiona understands and accepts what happens, who am I to argue with an