Chapter 15

The following Friday, Honor and Hope were accompanied to the coffee shop by Jax, Holden, and her father. She’d been tempted to skip it altogether, because she didn’t want to think about how close she’d come to losing her daughter. But her mates had been supportive, promising it was better to face the fear head-on than hide. When the five of them arrived in the parking lot, she was surprised to see the lot nearly full, including several police vehicles.

The pride males stood all around the perimeter of the parking lot and across the front of the shop.

“What’s going on?” she asked as Jax parked in one of the empty spots in front of the shop.

Jax just hummed and didn’t answer. She wanted to ask him what he knew, but he got out of the truck before she could. She climbed out and looked at Daniel, who stood at the shop’s front door.

“Morning ladies,” he said, pulling the door open.

Hope joined Honor, giving her a wide-eyed, curious look.

“Morning, Daniel,” Honor said. “What’s going on?”

“We talked to your mates and father earlier this week about how you and Hope were feeling about coming to the shop. My brothers and I mentioned it to some of the males, and before long, a big group wanted to be here to support you and Honor.”

Tears stung her eyes at the sweet gesture. She looked at her mates and father, who were smiling in encouragement, and then swept her gaze to the rest of the males. She was overwhelmed.

“You and Hope are part of the pride,” Frank said, stepping forward. “You two never should have been in danger. We failed you, but we won’t fail again.”

“Thanks, everyone,” Honor said, blinking back the tears. “It means the world to me and Hope that you’re here.”

Holden held out his hand to her, and she and Hope joined him, with Jax and her father behind them. “Ready for some coffee?” he asked.

She leaned against him when they stopped in front of the register. “Yeah. Thank you.”

“It was actually Daniel’s mate’s idea,” Jax said. “She worked at a bank a few years ago and was held up at gunpoint. She was scared to go to work, but her family needed the money. Even though she was human, her parents reached out to the pride to ask for help, and Daniel and his brothers volunteered to escort her and hang around for a while.”

“Is that why they’re mated?” Hope asked.

“Yep,” Holden said. “According to Daniel, he took one look at her and vowed she’d never be afraid again. He went to the police academy so he could help others, too.”

“That’s sweet,” Honor said.

“The pride really came through for our family,” Eli said. “There’s a silver lining to what happened to you two, and that was the pride getting to witness firsthand the difference between a cursed female and one whose curse is broken.”

“They could have taken our word for it,” Hope said, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, but seeing is believing for some people,” Honor said. “I’m glad they’re here for us, and I’m thankful the threat to our family is put down.”

She had no doubt that the females left behind in Canada would be fine. Gretchen and Julia had wanted to just live their lives away from the males, and with Victoria and her cronies out of the way, they’d get their wish. She wasn’t sure how long it would take for them to realize Victoria’s group wasn’t coming back, but it wasn’t her problem anymore.

Once she and her family had gotten their coffees, they sat at a table and chatted until it was time to head to work and school. The pride members had stopped by their table to say hello to them, and she was humbled by the sweet nature of the males.

After the school day ended, she was surprised when Hope didn’t show up in the office. They’d all made plans to go to dinner and see a movie, and she’d promised to give Hope a ride home. She sent a text asking where she was, and a few moments later received a reply.

Library.

Honor stuck her head in her dad’s office. “Hope’s in the library. I’m going to grab her and head home. Do you want us to pick you up for dinner, or meet us there?”

“I’ll meet you there.”

“Six o’clock,” she reminded him.

“I’ll be there with bells on.”

“You know,” she said with a chuckle, “I actually believe that.”

Honor walked into the library and greeted Mrs. Jordan, who had been librarian when she was in school. The human female’s long gray hair was woven into a thick braid, and she wore reading glasses on a chain around her neck.

“Hello Honor,” Mrs. Jordan said. “How have you been?”

Honor looked around the library, inhaling the scent of old books and papers. “Good. You?”

“I can’t complain. As long as I have books and students eager to read, I’m in my happy place.”

“I heard my daughter was in here.”

“She’s in the mythology section.”

Honor hummed in curiosity as she walked through the aisles until she found Hope. She was sitting on the floor with several books open around her, and one in her lap.

“Hey honey,” she said, squatting down.

“Oh, hey Mom.”

“Whatcha reading?” She picked up one book and read the title out loud. “Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology.”

Hope sighed and leaned her head back against the bookshelf. “I was thinking about the goddess’s curse on the females.”

“Oh? What about it?” Honor sat down and leaned over, looking at the open book in Hope’s lap.

“I was just wondering if there was a way to break it.”

“We know how to break the curse,” she pointed out. “With blood sharing.”

“Yeah, but that’s breaking it individually. I wanted to know if there was a way to break the curse for every single female. Like all at once.”

Honor hummed. “I don’t know if that’s possible. We’ve been speculating about the curse and the goddess, but I’ve never thought about whether the curse itself could be broken for everyone. The original curse happened eons ago, and the knowledge of the curse itself was lost to the generations, so no one – male or female – knew about it. It’s only because the panthers are shifter historians that we have any information about it at all.”

Hope leveled a long look at Honor. “You think it’s not worth looking into?”

“I didn’t say that. If you want to research mythology, I think you should. Maybe you’ll be the person who figures things out.”

“Figures what out?” Mrs. Jordan asked from the end of the aisle.

“The curse on the female lions,” Hope said.

Honor and Hope gathered the books and stood, and Mrs. Jordan joined them, taking a volume from Honor and looking at it. “I heard about the curse from one of the males who teaches here. I had no idea the reason the females behaved as they did was because of a curse from a goddess. You can read all you want to about them, but I’m afraid that curses and their antidotes are not of our realm.”

Honor’s brows furrowed. “Antidotes?”

“My brother is a bit of a mythology expert, and when he and I were discussing the mountain lion curse, he told me that the only information available in our realm is on the gods and goddesses themselves: their lineage, powers, and wars. But curses leveled by them are hidden in another realm.”

“There’s another realm?” Hope asked.

“I’m sure there’s more than one,” Mrs. Jordan said. “But specifically, my brother was talking about the fae realm.”

“Fae, like fairies?” Honor asked.

“Yes. Curses are powerful things, and fae are as close to gods and goddesses as we can get without living in the heavens.”

“Do goddesses live forever?” Hope asked.

“I don’t know the answer to that,” Mrs. Jordan said, shrugging. “But curses never die, that much I know. The curse would have to be broken by the goddess who cast it.”

Hope let out a dejected sigh. “I guess that wraps it up, then. It’s hopeless.”

“Nothing is hopeless,” Honor said, giving her a hug. “If there’s a way to end the curse once and for all, then maybe someday someone will figure it out. The important thing is that you’re not fully cursed, and I’m not cursed anymore.”

“I hope I meet my truemates soon so I can stop being cursed entirely,” Hope said.

“I wish the same thing for you,” Honor agreed. To Mrs. Jordan she said, “Thanks for your help.”

“Anytime.”

After returning the books to the shelves, she and Hope headed home. Holden and Jax worked until five, so she and Hope had time to partake in their new favorite activity – baking. After finding a recipe for mini apple tarts, they got to work, and soon the kitchen smelled like apples and cinnamon. The time passed quickly. She loved the times she got to spend with her daughter alone and just talk. The conversation in the library was rehashed, but Hope didn’t think anything would ever come of that little bit of knowledge.

“I don’t think I’ll ever stop wishing things were different,” Hope said.

“Me too.”

“Do you think I’ll meet my truemates soon?”

“I don’t know. Do you think any of the males in King are your mates?”

She hummed and then shook her head. “Nope.”

“Well, if I hadn’t been cursed, I might have known Holden and Jax were mine back then. It would have been wonderful to grow up with them.”

“Yeah. I guess I’ll just wish for that, too.”

Honor chuckled. “While you’re wishing for things, how about for everyone to hurry up so we can get to dinner?”

“Seems like a waste of a wish, but okay.”

Hope dissolved into laughter, and Honor hugged her and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

“Sweet lioness,” she murmured, smiling at her daughter’s bright eyes and sweet grin. “All my wishes have come true. I hope yours do, too.”