Chapter 3

Jax’s mind was racing a mile a minute as they ran through the woods toward the truck. He thought they’d have to fight the females to get Honor free, but breaking down the kitchen door had surprised them enough that Honor had been able to get away easily. She held his hand tightly as they wove through the trees. He knew she was trusting them to get her to safety, even though they’d only spoken a handful of words to each other. This immediate faith was what he’d been hoping to have. If they’d had to convince her to leave with them, the element of surprise would’ve been lost, and they might never have had another chance to get her free.

The truck came into view. Holden clicked the lock, the lights flashing twice. Jax opened the passenger door and Honor jumped inside, scooting to the middle of the bench seat as he and Holden got in and slammed their doors. In seconds, Holden had turned on the engine and hit the gas, swinging wide in the street, the tires screaming as he accelerated.

The silence in the truck was punctuated by a soft purr.

“Can I say thank you now?” Honor asked.

“Yes,” Holden said with a chuckle. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

“How did you know where I was?”

“Our niece Melody,” Jax said. “She used maps to try to estimate where she’d been when she escaped from the house.”

“Clever. I wish I’d been able to get a message to you.”

“What happened when you got back here?” Holden asked.

“They knew something was different about me, even though I tried to hide it. I didn’t really understand it – and I still don’t – but after a couple weeks I knew I needed to leave. But by the time I was ready, Victoria had taken over the pride and ousted me as leader. The house was locked all the time. I wasn’t allowed to leave for any reason. At night they secured me in my room. The computer and all the cell phones were password-protected, and they watched me like a hawk.” She let out a deep sigh. “It’s been hell being away from you.”

Jax stared at their linked hands, and then put his arm around her and drew her close, kissing the top of her head. “It was hell for us, too.”

“I don’t understand what happened between us.”

Jax glanced over her head at his brother, who took his eyes off the road for a moment to meet his gaze.

“Tell us what you think is going on,” Holden said slowly, as if he were measuring every word before he spoke it.

She sat up and blew out a breath. “Well, I started to feel weird when we were coming down to Ashland. My cat’s never really been vocal in my head before, but for some reason she suddenly was. I was antsy, and… I don’t know how to describe it except that I felt like I needed to do something, but I didn’t know what.

“I saw the girls get burned up by that dragon and then you tackled me. I don’t know why I bit and kissed you guys, but I couldn’t help myself. And then the pain was so awful.”

“Pain?” Jax asked.

“My head hurt like it was going to split my skull apart. I’ve actually had a headache ever since, just a relentless gnawing pain.”

“Is it still there?” Holden asked.

“No. It went away when I saw you. I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know that you’re both my mates, which is weird on a bunch of different levels.”

“Why is it weird?” Holden asked.

“Because we’re not supposed to mate.”

“What if I told you that the reason our people don’t mate together is because of a pissed-off goddess and a curse?”

“I’d say you need your head examined.”

He snorted. “Seriously, Honor.”

She looked at him for a quiet moment, her brows drawn. “Really?”

“It’s true,” Holden said. “We realized the truth about our people when Jilly shared blood with the twin panthers Wyked and Fate. Our people are cursed – specifically the females – by a goddess.”

Eons ago, the goddess who had created shifters loved the mountain lions the most. The females became jealous of the attention she paid to the males, and tried to oust her from the heavens by attempting to turn other gods against her. In retaliation, she cursed the older females to poison the younger ones with the venom in their claws three times before they turned sixteen, slowly changing their personalities until they became cold and unfeeling. The males continued to want to be in matings with the females, but the females no longer had the desire. The curse meant they wouldn’t even recognize their own children.

“When you bit me,” Jax said, showing her the scar on his palm, “you took my blood and started to break the curse. Then you kissed Holden and bit him, and the curse was entirely broken for you.”

“That’s why my head hurt and I suddenly remembered everything from my past?”

“Yep,” Holden said.

“What a bitch.”

“The goddess?” Jax asked. When Honor nodded, he said, “We agree one hundred percent.”

“How did you find out about the curse through Jilly? And why don’t our people know about it?”

“The panther clan she mated into has all kinds of history books on shifter groups. They didn’t know we were unaware of the curse. When Jilly shared blood with Wyked and Fate, the curse was broken for her. The clan gave her the book on our people, and she shared it with us.”

“Did you tell the King pride?”

Holden said, “It’s common knowledge now, but there aren’t any adult females in the States.”

“Um, yeah there are.”

“There are?” Jax asked.

“There’s a small pride, maybe six or seven females, in central Ohio. They left when I was a kid. When my group left, the females there offered to let us come live with them, but Sandra was their leader. She made it clear that we’d be under her rule if we came to live there, and I didn’t want that.”

Holden hummed. “Sandra is the Fallon males’ mother.”

Jax’s brows rose. He knew that James, John, Grant, Aaron, and Rhett all had the same mother, but that they didn’t know where she was. “Is she still alive?”

“I suppose so,” Honor said. “But I don’t really know. The prides all kind of kept to themselves. Sandra’s group left first, and then mine, then the rest went to live in the town near King until their leader died. Unfortunately, that bitch’s crew came to live with us, and boy could they hold a grudge.”

“You mean Tanya?” Holden asked.

“Yeah. When I was with you two in the woods, I ran away because of her.”

“What do you mean?” Jax asked.

“They went to Ashland to kill Jilly’s mates. I knew what they were doing – hell, I drove them there – and I didn’t try to stop them. Even though I felt connected to you two, when I heard the other males come near, I panicked. I thought they’d arrest me or kill me because of what happened.”

“We wouldn’t have let that happen,” Holden said.

“I didn’t know that. I was so confused, and my head hurt so much.”

Jax pulled her close, and she sank against him with a deep sigh. “You’re here now, babe. That’s all that matters.”

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

Holden glanced at Jax, then said, “It’ll be okay.”

“How can you be sure?” she asked.

“Because you’re our mate,” Jax said. “The curse is broken for you, and that means you’re one of us and part of the pride again. We’ll help you come to terms with everything. You just have to trust us.”

“I do trust you.” She rested her hand on his chest, right over his heart. “I don’t know why I do, but I do.”

“Good,” he said. “We’ll take care of you, I swear.”

 

* * *

 

Holden pulled up to the gas pump at a truck stop and turned off the engine. Honor was asleep with her head in Jax’s lap.

“I hate to disturb her, but I’ve gotta take a piss,” Jax said.

Holden chuckled. They’d been driving for several hours, trying to put as much distance between them and the females as possible. Now, the truck was close to empty and he was starving and needed to stretch his legs. He got out, swiped his credit card for the pump, and put it into the gas tank. He yawned, his jaw cracking with the motion.

Honor sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking at Jax and then him through the open door.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Still in Canada,” Jax said. “It’s a thirteen-hour drive back to Ashland, and we’ve only come about three hours.”

In another three hours or so, they’d cross into the States, and he’d be thankful to be out of Canada, and never ever go there again.

“Do you have a passport, sweetheart?” Holden asked.

“Yeah,” she said as she climbed out of the truck. “I don’t have a valid driver’s license for the States anymore, though.”

“You can get it updated,” Jax said. He shut the truck door and joined them. “I’m ready for some breakfast.”

She chewed her lip and looked past them to the diner. “Are we okay to stop? Should we keep going?”

“Are you worried they’re following us?” Jax asked.

“I don’t know. Victoria was pretty pissed, but I don’t think they’d have left right away. They know where we’re headed, assuming we’re going to Ashland.”

“Unless you don’t want to go there?” Jax asked.

“No, I do. I have a lot of apologies to make.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Holden said. “You were under a curse.”

She let out a frustrated grunt. “Okay, but I still know right from wrong. I drove those four females to the pride territory, knowing they were going to try to kill Jilly’s mates. If I had an ounce of goodness in me, I wouldn’t have done that. I’d have called the police or stopped them.”

Holden took her hands and felt the fine tremble in them. Her blue eyes were wide and glittering with emotion. “Listen, sweetheart, the venom that you were poisoned with as a child is so strong that it makes you like a robot. You only cared about yourself. It’s the way the curse was designed. That you feel guilt now should tell you just how good a person you were underneath the curse. If that damn goddess hadn’t cursed the females eons ago, it would have changed the course of countless lives.”

Jax cleared his throat. “What matters isn’t what you did in the past, it’s what you do going forward, now that you’re out from under the curse.”

“I just want to be with you both,” she said. “I haven’t thought about anything else for the last seven months. Now that we’re together, I have no idea what I want to do.”

“We’ll figure it out together,” Jax said.

The gas pump clicked, and Holden kissed her cheek and took care of the truck. “I’ll park and meet you two inside,” he said.

Jax took Honor’s hand, and they walked toward the diner while Holden found a parking space. He met them inside, and they sat in a curved booth at the back of the nearly-empty diner, Honor between him and his brother. A stout waitress brought menus over and filled mugs with coffee before promising to return to take their orders.

Honor chewed on her lip as she stared at the menu. Then she put it down and yawned, leaning against Holden’s shoulder. He adored how quickly she was becoming comfortable with them. After they ordered, Honor fixed her coffee with cream and sugar and said, “I remember in King that you worked at the garage. What do you do in Ashland?”

“Same thing,” Jax said. “We both work for Ashland Automotive. What did you do for work?”

“Gretchen has a catering business and Raquel has an online medical transcription company, so I worked for one or the other whenever they needed a hand. We were careful with money. We didn’t live extravagantly, but no one did without anything they needed.”

“Did you like working for them?” Holden asked.

“Does anyone really like work?” she asked, raising a brow.

“We like working with cars,” Jax said.

“Well, I don’t really like to serve food to strangers, but I do like to cook. I thought the transcribing was pretty boring.”

“If you could do anything, what would you do?” Holden asked.

“I don’t know. No one ever really asked me that before.”

The food arrived, and no one said anything while they all inhaled the scents of fried potatoes, omelets, and sizzling breakfast meats. Honor spread jam on her toast and took a bite.

“My dad was the principal at King High School when I was growing up. When I was very little, I liked going to school with him and sitting in the office with the secretary from time to time. She was so nice. I guess if I had my dream job, I’d like to work in a school office. That probably sounds dumb, though.”

“Why would that be dumb?” Holden asked.

“Because it’s not very cool. My dream job is answering phones at a high school.” She blew out a breath. “As if anyone would trust me around their kids.”

Jax snarled softly. “Things are different for you now, and people will understand that.”

“Not the King males. They hate us.”

“The King pride know about the curse,” Holden said. “It’s not the same there as it was before.”

“Isn’t Jilly the only female who’s been changed? What if they think she was a fluke and don’t ever trust me?”

Jax set his utensils down. “Our niece Melody was raised away from the pride by our brother Bradley. When she found us in King, the pride wasn’t trusting of her at first, but they realized she was different. They know about the curse, and how it’s broken.”

“Because I bit you both,” she said.

“Not just bit us,” Holden said, “you took our blood. It’s called blood-sharing, and it’s what breaks the curse. When we get to Ashland, we’ll show you the history book of our people that Jilly’s panther clan had in their library, so you can read about it.”

“I’d like that.” She stared down at her plate, seeming lost in thought for a few moments. Then she looked up suddenly and said, “I have a daughter.”

Both their brows rose. “You do? Where is she?” Holden asked.

Honor’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I don’t know. I mean, she might still be in King, but I honestly have no idea. She’s… I had her when I was twenty, so she’d be fifteen now.”

Jax growled softly and brushed the tears from her cheeks. “We’ve only been in Ashland for a few years, so we might know her.”

“I don’t know her name. I had her and just walked out of the hospital.” She let out a snarl and clenched her hands. “What kind of mother does that? I didn’t even see if she was okay, I just bailed.”

“It was the curse,” Holden said gently. He took one of her fists and brought it to his lips, kissing the white knuckles.

“I hate that so much. The curse took everything from me. What kind of goddess does that to people?”

“We don’t know, but you can bet that everyone who knows about the curse hates her too,” Jax said.

She let out a shuddering breath and used her napkin to dry her eyes. “I had her with Silas Lannard. He was just a male in the pride who approached me to ask if I’d have a child with him.” She put her head in her hands. “I can’t believe how callous I was. I don’t know anything about him – if he was a good father, or if he even wanted her.”

Holden glanced at Jax, who was frowning deeply. “We knew Silas, but we weren’t close to him. I do remember him having a daughter, but I don’t know anything about the situation.”

She blinked tear-filled eyes at him. “Do you know her name?”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said, his heart cracking. “But we can find out. I’m sure your dad knows. He’s not the sort of male who would let his granddaughter grow up not knowing him.”

“Do you think so?” she asked.

“We both do,” Jax said.

She blew out a breath. “Okay. Do you think I could call him when we get to Ashland?”

“Of course,” Jax said. “I’ll send a text to James and ask him get your dad’s contact information. He’s still friendly with the King police.”

“James must hate me. Hell, all the pride must.”

“We hate the curse, not the females,” Holden said. “You’re more than just your past, Honor. You weren’t in control of your emotions, because the curse dampened everything and changed the core of what you are. Now that you’re free, the choices you make going forward are what will matter.”

“And whatever you want to do, Holden and I are here for you, every step of the way.”

“Good. I don’t think I could face my past alone.”

“You could if you needed to,” Holden said. “I honestly believe that.”

She smiled at him and dabbed at her eyes with the napkin again. “You’re both very sweet. I feel supremely lucky to be your mate.”

“We’re lucky too, trust us,” Jax said.

They finished their meals, and Jax paid while Holden walked with Honor to the restroom. When Jax met him outside the bathroom to wait for Honor, Holden said, “I was thinking we could get a hotel room.”

“Here?”

“No. We’ve still got ten hours of driving to go before we hit Ashland. I’m damn tired, and I know she is. I thought we could drive until dinner and then stop someplace nice. That would get us more than halfway home. We were in a hurry to get her, but we don’t necessarily have to be in a hurry to get back.”

“If it’s okay with Honor, it’s okay with me.”

“What is?” Honor asked as she joined them.

“Stopping for the night.”

“It’s almost dawn.”

Holden smiled. “I mean drive all day, and then stop for dinner somewhere and get a hotel.”

“Are you guys tired? I would offer to drive, but I don’t want to get busted for not having a valid license.”

“Tired, yes, but not so much so that we can’t keep going,” Holden said. “It’s just that we don’t necessarily have to rush home, and it would be nice to take a break from sitting in the truck for hours on end. Unless you don’t want to stop.”

“It’s okay with me,” she said.

They got back in the truck, Honor sitting between him and Jackson, and continued their journey home. Although he couldn’t wait to get her to Ashland, he was looking forward to stopping for the night and spending time with her when they weren’t cramped up in the truck.

“Not that it wasn’t nice to visit,” Holden said, “but I can’t wait to get out of Canada."

“Me, too,” she said.