Fae-ted to the Bear - Harmony Raines Page 0,90

with happiness.

“Wishing Moon Bay will be a fresh start for us both.” Karros inched toward the door. “Do you need us?”

“No, you go enjoy the fresh air.” Elise wiped her hand across her eyes then turned around. “Oh! You could set up the chairs and table if you want to help.”

“We can do that.” Karros and Zara left the kitchen as quickly as they arrived.

“Are you okay?” Caleb came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Elise leaned back on his shoulder and nodded.

“A little overwhelmed, that’s all. Only a few days ago, Karros was broken-hearted, now look at him.” She tilted her head back and looked up at her mate. “Now look at us.”

He kissed her cheek. “I couldn’t be happier.”

And yet there was a flicker of doubt in his eyes. Since he’d dream walked, she’d caught a glimpse of unease in his eyes. He tried to hide it, but his memories of Murray haunted him.

Despite his words, she suspected he needed closure. He needed to know what happened to the man who kidnapped the twins. Even though Murray had no connection to Zara being stalked, Elise suspected there was a lingering fear in Caleb that he might be out there watching them.

“Everyone else is arriving.” Caleb kissed her cheek and went back to washing the lettuce.

“Okay, the sauce is done. Everything else is ready.” She sighed as she mentally went over the dishes she’d prepared.

“It’ll be fine,” Caleb assured her.

“I know. And if it’s not, I’ll just feed everyone some sycombre fruit and they’ll forget all about it.” She fetched plates and set them down on the counter.

“My bear could also eat fermented mushrooms and make a fool of himself. That might leave a more lasting impression,” he offered.

“I’ll bear that in mind, but I think the food is okay.”

“More than okay by the smell of it.” Flora came into the kitchen with a couple of bottles of wine. “The smells remind me of home.”

“I have focused on fae flavors,” Elise said.

“Fae Flavors,” Ivan repeated. “Why don’t we add that to the menu? You can come up with some recipes we could serve at the hotel.”

“Really?” Elise’s cheeks flushed pink with pride.

“Really.” Ivan picked up the plates. “Shall I take these outside?”

“What else do you need?” Flora offered.

Caleb’s family helped carry the food outside and they were soon seated around the table in the fresh air, eating Elise’s food while enjoying views of the distant mountains.

This was her life now. She only hoped one day her family might join them at the table. Grandma Sylvie had lived up to her promise and her parents were okay with Elise and Karros’s choice of life partners. Not happy, but okay. It was a start.

“You did it.” Caleb leaned across and kissed her cheek.

“We did it.” She cupped his face in her hands.

“Partners.” He held out his hand and she entwined her fingers with his.

“Partners for life.” She shuffled her chair towards his and leaned on his shoulder, sipping wine and watching the happy faces of the people around her.

She was living the dream. A dream bigger than she could ever have wished for.

Epilogue

“Okay. This is it.” Rift pointed to a small house with paint peeling off the doors and windows and moss on the roof. Only the yard looked as if it had received any TLC in recent weeks.

“That’s where the location spell points to?” Caleb ducked his head and looked out of the window.

Oscar had found the box of evidence containing the toy and they had taken the chance and used a location spell in the hope of finding the owner, who in turn might know the whereabouts of Murray.

The location spell had led them here to a rundown part of town a couple of hundred miles away from Wishing Moon Bay. Caleb could only hope today would give them all closure. That he might finally be able to lay to rest the ghost of the man who stole them as children. A ghost who had haunted him for the last couple of weeks.

“Yeah. This is the place.” Rift brushed his hand across his forehead. “Is it me or is it hot in here?”

“No hotter than it’s been for the whole journey.” Elise’s concerned glance made him uneasy.

“You look pale,” Caleb told him bluntly. “Are you feeling all right? You don’t normally get travel sick.”

Rift shook his head. “I’m not sick.”

“I’ll go knock on the door.” Aiden switched off the engine and was about to open