Chapter 11
Darcy was intrigued. Ford was leading her outside after midnight to one of the barns on the property, and not the one that they used for storage with the studio apartment, and not the one where he’d told her there were a few cows.
He pulled open the door of the barn and turned on an overhead light.
She had to shield her eyes for a moment at the brightness, but when she got used to it, she saw a tractor and a few other smaller farm machines, a workbench against one wall, and on the other side, there were a few stalls and another set of large doors.
It made her think of horses.
Not that she’d ever been in a horse barn.
“This is the tractor you’ve been working on?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “But that’s not what I wanted you to see.”
“Oh-kay.”
Behind them, she heard footsteps and moved closer to him.
“Hey, guys,” Ford said, as two people walked into the barn. “Thanks for coming out so late.”
“We were up,” the woman said. “I was reading about yetis and Grey was shopping online for a ceiling fan and comparing prices. Hi! I’m Tatum.”
“Hi. I’m Darcy.” She looked at Ford and he gave her an encouraging smile.
“I’m Grey,” the man said. “I’m the resident animal handler. I take care of what we have here on the farm, and also work at the construction company.”
“I’m a librarian and I work at the library in Little River,” Tatum said.
“I’m confused,” Darcy said. She turned to Ford. “I thought you were going to tell me what was going on with you?”
“I am,” he said. “But what I’m going to tell you is pretty crazy, and it’s related to the guy I told you was trying to take over the farm.”
“Oh right,” she said. “But you said you hadn’t heard from him in a while.”
“He showed up Tuesday night,” Grey said. “And he attacked two of our friends—Khyle and his mate Tris. They were both pretty seriously injured, but we got there in time to keep things from going really south.”
“Did you say mate?” Darcy asked.
“Yes.”
“That’s a… weird thing to call someone.”
“It’s what stallions call their mates,” Ford said.
He stared at her intently.
“What now?”
“I can change forms. I’m not really human, I’m a shifter. Specifically a stallion shifter. I can turn into a stallion whenever I want, and my friends are stallions too. Even Grey.”
“It’s true, Darcy,” Grey said. “My Tatum is human like you.”
Darcy glanced over her shoulder at them, then looked back at Ford. She couldn’t even begin to wonder where he was going with this. It was too fantastical. “You’re nuts.”
“I’m not nuts, I’m telling the truth. Just hear me out, and then I’ll show you.”
He told her that shifters were real and had kept their nature secret from humans, because humans couldn’t be trusted with the knowledge.
Shifters only told their soulmates the truth.
It was a secret that had to be kept no matter what, because if the truth got out to the general public, shifters would most certainly die.
When he stopped speaking, his gaze full of hope, she stared at him, pretty sure he’d gone insane overnight.
“Okay, you’re not nuts, you’re certifiably insane.
There’s no such thing as people who can turn into animals outside of books and movies.
It’s science fiction. Impossible.” She suddenly got angry.
“Are you trying to drive me away or something? If you want to break up with me, just do it for goodness’ sake! ”
“No! No, I don’t want to end things between us. I’m telling you the truth. Our farm is home for our stallion herd. There are four of us who live here—me, Crew, Grey, and Avi. All in, there are six stallions, and everyone is mated now. Except for me, because I haven’t mated you properly yet.”
“Oh my gosh, get me the hell out of here,” Darcy said, turning to leave.
“Wait, wait!” Ford practically roared the word.
When she turned back to look at him, he said, “I’ll show you.
But I won’t be able to talk to you again for a few hours, which is partly why I wanted Grey and Tatum here.
You can talk to them. They’ll tell you about the herd, about Colton, the other stallion leader trying to take over, and what it means to have a shifter for a soulmate.
” He moved closer, invading her space, until he was all she could see.
“You can’t tell anyone, Darcy. Not Reagan.
Not Cruz. I’m telling you because you’re my soulmate and I want you to know everything about me. And because I love you.”
Her brows lifted high.
But she didn’t tell him that she loved him too, because even though the feeling was mutual, he’d just spouted off the most ridiculous nonsense and expected her to go along with it.
Her heart was breaking a little bit right now.
How could he say something like this? How could he just… lie?
When she didn’t return the sentiment, he growled softly and glanced at his friends. “Tatum isn’t looking. She doesn’t need to see anyone else’s bits and pieces but mine,” Grey said.
Ford nodded and began to strip.
Darcy folded her arms.
He was a loon.
But she couldn’t mistake the determined look in his eyes. He genuinely thought he was going to turn into a horse! Of all the weird animals to pick. He couldn’t say he was a bear or a tiger?
She scoffed as he finished stripping, ignoring how just looking at him in all his sexy glory made all the lower parts of her body go woo woo.
She glared at him.
And then something happened.
His skin rippled, his muscles contracting, and his bones popping. Short, dark fur flowed over his skin and his hair lengthened, and right before her eyes, he changed.
Truly changed.
Into a freaking horse.
Her brain misfired as a million thoughts conflicted at once and everything she’d ever thought she knew about the world changed in an instant.
Her vision went dark and she couldn’t stop herself from falling, but someone caught her.
“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Tatum said. “I’ve got you. I know it’s a lot. But it’s real. Ford is a stallion and he’s your soulmate. It’s why you two were meant to meet when you did. Fate brought you together.”
As Darcy’s vision cleared and her body began to listen to her so she could stand, she looked at Tatum who was smiling sweetly, and then she looked at Ford.
Ford the horse.
He was enormous. And so beautiful, with a dark brown coat and black mane. He was staring at her intently, and she could practically feel how worried he was.
The man she’d been falling for over the last week was an actual horse shifter, something that she’d never imagined was actually real. She moved forward slowly, her hand raised. She whispered his name as her hand landed gently on his neck.
He nickered at her.
Her heart practically beat out of her chest as acceptance for all he was bloomed inside her.
He lowered his head toward her, his warm breath fanning her neck. Tears pricked her eyes. “Oh my gosh, I feel it. I knew there was a reason that I fell so fast for you. It’s because you’re special and we were meant to be together.”
He whinnied softly and gently bumped the side of her head with his muzzle.
“You said you loved me.” She moved back enough so she could look into his eyes. “I love you too.”
He whinnied louder, happier, and she smiled, tears spilling over her cheeks.
Grey cleared his throat. “I’ll open the barn doors and we can walk around the pasture a bit. Ford wanted me to tell you about what happened Tuesday night and the guy who’s trying to take over the farm.”
He opened the doors and they moved out into the night, the pasture lit only by the stars above.
As they walked, her hand gently holding a lock of Ford’s long mane, Grey told her about Colton and the herd that had come to the farm for sanctuary, but he’d actually planned to oust their leader Crew and take over all along.
When he was kicked out, he started attacking, going after anyone and everyone they could and trying to hurt them.
“When Khyle and Tris were hurt walking home from the farm, we were all shaken. They’re okay now—Tris is a wolf shifter and she and Khyle both shifted and healed themselves—but it worried us. Especially Ford, because you’re not living with us, and he’s concerned about your safety.”
“Oh, that’s why Ford’s been so distracted,” she said.
“We’ve all been preoccupied with how to keep everyone safe. Our other herd members are staying in the barn apartment for a while until we know for sure that it’s safe for them to be in their own homes. But it’s caused a lot of worry for all of us.”
“Why won’t Colton just leave you alone?”
“He’s crazy and he’s dangerous, a bad combination.”
“Thanks for trusting me with the secret. I promise I’ll keep it and I won’t tell anyone.”
“That’s all we ask,” Grey said. “Now, would you like to take a ride on your soulmate?”
“I’d love to.”
They walked back to the barn, where Grey put a blanket on Ford’s back and offered Darcy a boost. When she was settled on his back, she held onto his mane and leaned into him, resting her free hand on his warm hair as he trotted out of the barn.
“Have fun,” Grey said.
“We’ll be here when you’re done with your ride,” Tatum said.
“This is incredible,” Darcy said to Ford. “All of it. I can’t believe my soulmate is a horse. This is…wild. But feels right too. I love you, Ford. And I’m going to tell you again when you’re human.”
As he moved around the pasture, she let herself go into the moment, inhaling the sweet night air and looking up at the stars. He carried her smoothly around the pasture for a long time, and despite the crazy circumstances, she was well and truly enjoying the heck out of this.
She was riding her boyfriend who was a horse.
What were the odds?
She patted his neck and leaned over to rest her head against him. “My Ford. You’re an amazing guy. I’m so glad you’re mine.”
He whinnied loudly and she smiled.
She was pretty sure he’d just said the same thing back to her.