Chapter twenty seven ~ edited
"Summer." Someone whispered my name. "Are you okay?" They asked. A hand rested on my neck. I opened my eyes. Stacy kneeled next to me with her mother standing outside the stall, holding Midnight's lead. He stood behind her, looking at me with his ears forward.
I never slept lying down, was that why Stacy and Midnight looked concerned?
"Stacy, she's just a horse. There are no such things as horse shifters." Liz said. I stood up and nickered, walking past Stacy and straight out of the stall. Liz grabbed for me. "Don't let her run away." I stopped once I was a metre away from Midnight and I turned around.
"Mum, take the halter off Night." Stacy said. Liz gave her daughter a look.
"Why? He'll run away!"
"Trust me." Stacy said. Liz sighed and removed the halter from Midnight.
"You ready?" I asked.
"Yeah. Let's get this over and done with." Midnight said.
"Count of three. One," I started.
"Two," Midnight said. We looked at each other.
"Three." We said together, shifting back at the same time. Liz gasped when we stood facing her in our human forms.
"Hi." I said. "I'm Summer. But you know me as Shimmer. And this is Seth, or Night." Liz's mouth moved but nothing came out.
"I found out last night mum." Stacy said. "Horse shifters are real." Liz stayed silent. "We can't tell anybody. They have to be kept a secret and that means not telling Tori." Liz nodded.
"Can I just say that Tori is the cutest little thing on earth. She's so adorable!" I said.
"So this was why, when Tori got on you, you didn't spook or anything and you actually helped her on and off?" Liz asked. I nodded.
"I hope you don't mind. She was too cute and she wanted a ride so badly and I wasn't planning on going any faster then a slow walk around the stable aisle. And I had a mini heart attack when I thought she was falling, when she was just giving me a hug. But it still scared the life out of me." I rambled on. Seth chuckled, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. Liz smiled.
"It's ok, Summer? Was that it?" I nodded. "She was really happy and wouldn't stop talking about it. She loves you. Says you're the best horse." I smiled. Seth rubbed my arm. I knew he wanted to leave. I owed it to him to at least do this for him.
"Is there any way you could possibly let us go?" I asked. Stacy looked down before she looked up at Liz.
"It's the right thing to do." Stacy said. Liz nodded.
"Alright. Where do you two kids live?"
"Texas." Seth spoke up.
"Oh." Liz said. I smiled weakly and got out of Seth's grasp. I stood so I was facing Seth's stall, with Stacy and Liz to my left and Seth to my right.
"There's something we have to do first." I said.
"What's that?" Liz asked. "Can we help at all?"
I nodded. "We'll need a ride." I said. Seth looked at me confused. I gave him a small smile. "We're freeing our herd." Seth smiled, giving me a hug. "What?" I asked with a giggle. Liz and Stacy left the stable, leaving Seth and me alone.
"You said 'our' herd. You've finally accepted you're part of my herd?" He asked.
"My herd too now. We're co-leaders." I said.
"Since when?" He asked with a laugh.
"Since now. And you can't say shit. You're lead stallion and I'm lead mare." I said. Seth pulled back, a grin on his face.
"Oh, is that your way of saying you're my girlfriend?" He asked. I pushed him back gently. I turned and began walking out of the stable.
"In your dreams Seth. In your dreams." I said with a laugh, over my shoulder.
I walked in the direction of the house. We needed to plan how we were getting the herd out. I heard footsteps behind me but ignored it. It was probably just Seth. I was picked up bridle style and I squealed.
"Seth! Put me down!" I ordered with a laugh. He chuckled and put me down. "You moron." I said, walking to the house again. He walked next to me and bumped my shoulder. I stopped, making him stop too. I looked at him then shoved him, before sprinting to the house while laughing.
"Hey! You don't shove people." Seth scolded.
"Yeah, well, I do. Now stop complaining and let's plan how to free our herd." I said, waiting for Seth to catch up. I waited at the porch steps. He finally made his way over and we walked into the house, holding hands. I smiled and we interlocked our fingers, entering the house. The four of us sat down with food and drinks and got to work, coming up with several ideas of how to get all the horses that were in our herd, out.
An hour later, we had the plan down. Tomorrow, we were going back to Trent's. For the first time in months, Seth and I slept in a bed, in a house. We were sharing a bed. Both of us laid on our backs, staring at the ceiling.
"You don't snore do you?" I asked Seth with a laugh.
"Nope. You?" He asked.
"I have no clue." I said.
"Well, if you wake up in a different room, or even outside, then you'll know that you snore." Seth said, turning so he was lying on his side, looking at me.
I turned my head and looked at him. "Gee, thanks. Will you at least leave me a blanket?" I asked.
He smirked, "Maybe."
"Aren't you nice?" I said. "Oh, one thing I am sure about. I'm a blanket hog. And a bed hog."
Seth chuckled. "I'm sure you are."
"I've been told many times by Jason when we had to share a bed in the past. He actually pushed me off the bed once, which was a stupid idea because I took the blanket with me." I said. Seth laughed.
"Go to sleep already you two!" Stacy called. Seth and I both laughed.
"Sorry!" I apologised. Seth and I settled down and fell asleep.
I woke up and stretched. I looked beside me. Seth wasn't there. Where was he? I heard people talking and I got out of bed, following the voices to the kitchen. Seth, Tori and Liz were there. Tori was in the lounge room, watching something and Seth and Liz were sitting at the island counter, talking.
Liz spotted me. "Morning." She said.
"Morning." I said.
"So the blanket and bed hog awakens. You weren't kidding. You stole the blanket, which I had to fight you for, several times. I won't even repeat the threats you made. And you also tried kicking me off the bed."
I held my hands up, walking to the seat on the other side of Seth.
"Hey, I did warn you." I said. Liz got up and began making breakfast. Stacy joined us not long after. We all ate together then got on the road when Liz's friend arrived to look after Tori.
~*~
We were all piled in the car, driving to Trent's. Stacy and her mum in the front and Seth and I in the back. Seth sat next to the window behind Liz and I sat in the middle, resting my head on his shoulder. He grabbed my hand, interlocking our fingers, resting them on my thigh. Seth stayed quiet. His sister and friend died close to where we were going. I felt my chest starting to ache. I rubbed his arm with my free hand, trying to comfort him.
We got out of the car. I spotted Caleb and smiled. I turned around to Stacy. I whispered in her ear not to say anything about her knowledge of Caleb being a werewolf. She nodded and when Caleb spotted us, he walked over.
"What are you doing here? And in human form? With the people who bought you?" He whispered.
"Caleb, calm down. They know about Seth and me." Caleb stared at me with a blank face.
"You told them?" He asked.
"Well... There may have been a slip up, but they won't tell anyone."
"You knew about them? And you still let them be sold to us?" Liz asked.
"No, Caleb only found out a short time ago." I defended Caleb. Liz nodded and I turned back to Caleb. "We need your help. We're freeing all the horses that were in our herd and we're going back to the wild."
Caleb nodded. It was time for our plan to go into action. Liz and Stacy distracted Trent while Caleb and I freed all the horses from our herd. Seth was in horse form, telling all the horses to follow him into the woods, away from the national park. When they were in a safe spot, Seth was coming back to get me.
I watched Seth and the horses disappear and I waited with Caleb until Seth returned. It took about twenty minutes but finally, I spotted a glimpse of Seth's black horse form. I turned to Caleb, hugging him and saying goodbye. I hugged Liz too and said goodbye and thank you. Lastly it was Stacy. I gave her a small smile and a tight hug. I hugged her for a long time.
"Thank you so much. For looking after me. For helping me. You're a great friend." I pulled out a piece of paper from my jeans. "This is my mobile number, home phone and address. I can't guarantee when I'll reply. That's if I actually go home or not. But still text me and if my parents call you, sorry just don't answer it. I want to surprise them and see them in person." I gave her another hug. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too." She said. I pulled back and shifted. Stacy rubbed my neck and kissed me between the eyes. "Be safe."
I nickered and turned, cantering to Seth. I stopped, and turned around. They all waved. I reared and when my hooves hit the ground, I turned and the both of us cantered into the woods, Seth leading the way to the herd.
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