by R. E. Butler
James stood and everyone quieted. “I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome you to the pride. Whatever you need, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us. The pride sticks together, and you’re one of us. Welcome.” He lifted his coffee mug a little higher, and everyone cheered her.
“Thanks everyone,” she said, her cheeks pink with blush. “I’m so glad to be calling Ashland home.”
As the meal progressed, Hope answered questions from the pride members at the table. It was easy to see she was excited for her first teaching job. Lachlyn, who was mated to Alek and Jericho, was the elementary school assistant librarian.
“The teachers and administration at the school are wonderful. I’m so excited for you! I teach the library lessons for the kindergarten and first graders, so we’ll get to see each other once a week,” Lachlyn said.
“I’m glad I’ll know someone.”
“Don’t forget about me,” Sam said. “I’m the music teacher.”
“That makes two,” Hope said. “Does anyone else work at the school?”
“No,” James said, “but the pride’s involved in a lot of things around town.” One by one, the adults shared where they worked. Owen hadn’t really thought about how many different industries the pride was involved in, but someone seemed to work in just about everything – from the police, to the school, to the shifter-friendly pediatrician.
When the meal was over, Owen and his brothers hustled Hope outside for a walk so they could talk. He’d second-guessed himself all night about whether leaving her when they had was right. He was relieved when she showed up, and anxious to get her alone so they could all talk. He held her hand, with Ben on her other side and Nathan to his right, and they walked aimlessly through the woods. The pride hunted in these woods on the full moon. It wasn’t a time of month that meant anything in particular to mountain lions, but it was important to Callie, who was a wolf shifter.
Ben had brought along a blanket, and he laid it out in a small clearing, far enough away from the boarding house that they were entirely secluded.
She smiled curiously at them. “Did you feel bad when you left last night?”
All three nodded. “We were worried you might think we didn’t want you,” Ben said.
She tapped the space over her heart. “I knew what we were when we met. I was surprised, but also kind of glad because I was exhausted from the drive and I don’t think I would have been much company. I didn’t sleep well, though. I wished I’d come over last night.”
“We would have loved that,” Nathan said.
“There’s something we should do first,” Owen said.
“Oh?” Hope asked.
“Ask you properly to be our mate. We made some assumptions, and we don’t want to start things off that way,” he added.
“I’d love that.”
One by one, he and his brothers asked her to be their mate. She said yes three times, kissing each of them. Owen was the last, and by the time her lips brushed his, the cat in his subconscious was yowling like crazy, urging him to mate and mark her. He was the happiest he’d ever been, and he knew things were just getting started.
Chapter Three
Hope waited just inside Rhett and Lisa’s home for her mates. They were taking her on their first official group date to Milan’s, a family-style Italian restaurant outside of Ashland.
An SUV she didn’t recognize pulled to a stop in front of the house, and she smiled from her perch at the front window as her mates exited the vehicle.
Rhett cleared his throat from behind her, and she looked over her shoulder. “They’re respectable males, and also my nephews, so I know they’re good guys. But I promised Holden and Jax that I’d give them a proper, fatherly stare-down when they came to pick you up.”
She giggled and rolled her eyes. “I’m not surprised they asked you to do that.”
The doorbell rang and Rhett opened it. “Boys.”
“Hi, Uncle Rhett,” Nathan said.
“Come on in,” he said, opening the door farther and letting them through.
“Wow, you look amazing!” Owen said.
He kissed her cheek and handed her a pink rose. His brothers followed suit, commenting on the cute sundress she’d chosen to wear, and each handing her a rose after a cheek kiss.
“Where are you going tonight?” Rhett asked.
“To Milan’s,” Ben said.
“Uh huh. And you’ll have her back at a decent hour?”
Owen glanced at Hope and then at Rhett. “Absolutely. We only just met yesterday, and while we’re mates, we’re not in a rush for anything.”
“That’s good,” Rhett said.
Lisa came out of the kitchen and greeted the guys. “You all look so handsome. Let me take a picture so I can send it to Honor.”
“Mom would love that,” Hope said.
After a few snaps from Lisa’s phone, she texted the images to Hope and Honor.
“Have fun,” Lisa said.
“But not too much fun,” Rhett added.
“Thanks, Rhett,” Hope said with a smile. “I’ll tell my dads you did a great job filling in for them.”
“I could snarl a little,” Rhett said with a chuckle. “Flex.”
“We’re fully intimidated,” Nathan assured him. “No need to flex.”
“Oh, flex for me,” Lisa said, wiggling her brows.
“That’s our cue,” Owen said, taking Hope’s hand and leading her outside.
Nathan hurried ahead and opened the passenger door for her. After they shut her inside, Owen got behind the wheel, with Ben and Nathan in the second row.
“We borrowed this from Alek and Jericho,” Ben said when she asked where the vehicle had come from.
“We have a second row in my truck,” Owen said, “but there isn’t a lot of room.”
“This is nice,” she said. “Although we could’ve taken my car.”
“We should get an SUV,” Nathan said. “Eventually we’ll need more room.”
Hope smiled and turned in her seat to look at them. Playing coy, she asked, “We will?”
Nathan’s brows rose for a moment, and then he smiled. “When the time is right for our family to grow, I absolutely hope it will. But first things first, of course. We only just met a day ago. It’s probably too early to talk babies.”
“Well,” Hope mused, “unlike human couples, who have to date someone for a while before they know they’re ‘the one,’ because of our beasts we knew on sight that we were meant to be together. I think it’s natural for our kind to be forward-thinking. We found each other, so the next logical step is mating, and I’ve been around the pride long enough to know that official matings and marriage ceremonies go hand in hand.”
Owen gave her knee a light squeeze. “There’s no timeline for us. You should set the pace.”
“What about what you want?” she asked.
“We want you to be happy,” Ben said.
She made a face. “Oh, okay, but seriously.”
“We promise that however things move ahead with us is perfect,” Nathan said. “The important thing is that you’re here with us.”
She let out a sigh. “Treasure’s getting married and mated in two weeks. I’d like to stay at Rhett and Lisa’s until then.”
“Sure,” Owen said.
“But I’d like to see you as much as possible so we can get to know each other, and I’d also like to...sleep over, sometime. When it’s right for us.”
All three of their cats purred at the same time, and her cat answered in kind.
“Are you hungry?” Ben asked.
“Very.”
The drive to the restaurant was short, and when the four of them walked inside Hope’s stomach growled at the delicious smells. They were seated at a table with a short candle flickering in the center, and handed menus. She ordered sweet tea. When the waiter came back with their drinks, Owen ordered for them: caprese salad, chicken parmesan, and spaghetti.
When they were a
lone, they asked about growing up in King, what it was like to have Honor come back into her life, and going to college.
“I was wary of Honor,” she admitted. “I didn’t trust that she was different. I’d spent fifteen years of my life being told that females didn’t even recognize their kids, and then to have her cry when she saw me on the video call for the first time? It was surreal.”
“I imagine it would be,” Owen said. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “When did you realize she really had changed?”
She hummed. “I guess when she moved to King. She made an effort to be with me, and she just wanted to get to know me so much. It was really clear that she was different. Do you know where your mother is?”
“We believe she’s with a pride in Ohio, but we’re not entirely sure,” Nathan said. “Maybe someday she’ll find her truemate and the curse will be broken for her. That would be amazing.”
Hope opened her mouth to tell them about her trip into the fae realm with Treasure later that night, but closed it swiftly. So far she’d kept those thoughts far from her mind so she could focus on her mates. She didn’t want to worry them, or have them try to come along or tell her she couldn’t go.
She was thankful when the food arrived and she didn’t have to think of something else to discuss. Her mates waited until she’d filled her plate, and then they helped themselves. For a while no one spoke as they enjoyed their food, and then slowly conversation started again. They talked about their landscaping business, which they’d started when they were teens mowing neighbors’ yards. She thought it was amazing that they’d started a business so young and had grown it well.
“Why did you want to be a teacher?” Ben asked.
“I guess because of Pop. I spent a lot of my free time at the high school while he was finishing up work, and being around teachers outside of the classroom made me see them in a whole new light. While high school teachers are amazing, I wanted to work with younger kids. My favorite teacher was Mrs. Kogan, in first grade. She was so encouraging of all the kids, and when I told her I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up, she said I could do anything I put my mind to. That kind of stuck with me.”
“That’s so awesome,” Nathan said. “I’m sure you’ll be able to touch the lives of your students, too. They’re lucky to have you.”
She beamed.
“So,” Ben said as the waiter cleared their plates for dessert, “what do you think of us so far?”
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Did you ever think you’d have three mates?” he clarified, giving her a sweet smile.
“Oh, no, not really,” she confessed. “In King there aren’t multiple matings, except for my parents. I figured I’d just have one mate. But I like you all. I feel really lucky to have you in my life.”
“Us too, sweetheart,” Ben said.
“You knew you’d share a mate?” she asked. “I mean, before I came along?”
They nodded, and Nathan said, “After Dad and Grant mated Sam, we just felt like our lives were going to go in the same direction. Of course, if it ended up that we didn’t share a mate, that would have been fine too.”
“Our cats are all crazy about you, so there’s no denying you’re our mate,” Owen said.
“I’m crazy about you guys, too.”
They shared a large dish of gelato, and the night soon drew to a close. She took Ben and Nathan’s arms as they left the restaurant, while Owen paid the bill. She’d wondered if people would gawk at their quartet, since it was pretty obvious from all the kisses and touches between her and her males that they were all together. Ashland was used to the pride and their multiple-partner matings, but Milan’s wasn’t in Ashland. Luckily no one seemed to mind.
Regardless, she was already head over heels for Owen, Nathan, and Ben, and she’d only known them for a day.
Ben opened the passenger door for her, giving her a sweet kiss before closing her in. He and Nathan climbed into the back, and Owen sat behind the wheel.
“I’m sorry to see our date end,” she said. “It was so wonderful.”
“For us, too,” Owen said.
They parked in front of the farmhouse. She was all too aware of the time, and that soon enough she’d be heading into the fae realm to look for information on the curse. Once more she thought about telling them, but she ignored the desire. She’d tell them tomorrow. Not that she wanted to start things off with her mates with a lie, but withholding wasn’t quite the same as outright lying, right?
Shaking her thoughts of the trip to come away, she focused on her mates.
“Walk me to the door?”
“Of course,” Owen said. He got out first and took her hand, leading her to the front porch. His brothers waited in the truck, and she smiled when she realized they were taking turns.
After a thorough kiss that made her knees weak and her head spin, she cupped his face and smiled. “Do you think it will be hard for you and your brothers to share me?”
He gave her waist a squeeze. “Probably. I think all the males who share a mate get jealous from time to time. As long as we don’t let it eat at us, or get in the way of our relationship or our business, we’ll be fine. We’ve certainly watched other mated groups navigate the waters of sharing and jealousy, and we’ve been given lots of advice.”
“I want to be enough for you.”
He went still in her arms, and she lifted her head and looked at him.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“There are three of you and one of me. It’s crossed my mind that you guys outnumber me, and I want to be enough for you. Individually and as a group.”
He lifted his hands slowly and cupped her face. Gazing intently into her eyes, he said, “Hope, you don’t ever have to worry about that. You’re not just enough for us, you’re everything.”
He brushed his lips over hers and her cat let out a heartfelt purr.
He slowly slipped from her arms and headed to the truck, Nathan taking his place. After saying goodbye to him, she spent a few minutes with Ben, and then she stood on the porch and watched their truck until the taillights disappeared. Inhaling the humid June night air, she shook herself out and walked into the house under the pretense of going to bed.
Hours later, she and Treasure walked into the fae realm through a portal and entered the dragonfae’s childhood home. It took a few hours, but they copied everything they found about the goddess Hrixalda and the curse against the female mountain lions. For the first time since her mother’s curse had been broken and she came back into Hope’s life, she felt an optimistic stirring deep within that she’d be able to set her people free. The plan had been for her and Treasure to make it to the fae realm and back without anyone the wiser, but when she and her bestie walked back into their own realm they were met by five unhappy males.
“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” Brian said in a stern voice.
Treasure seemed shocked into silence, so Hope nudged her with her elbow.
“Let me close the portal, and then we can talk,” Treasure said.
“Where were you?” Nathan asked as he pulled Hope to him, and he and his brothers surrounded her.
“Safe, I promise.” She let out a sigh as all their hands touched her at the same time. Despite them clearly being upset with her, she couldn’t stop her cat’s purr at their nearness. They’d come searching for her because they were worried. The idea warmed her through and through, even if it wasn’t the right time for sweet thoughts.
Treasure closed the portal and broke up the temporary fairy circle made of sticks and plants, then turned to face everyone. “What are you guys doing here?” There was accusation in her tone, and the way her wings were stretched out told Hope that she was pissed they’d been found out.
“Rhett and Lisa called us a couple hours ago, frantic,” Kevin said. He and Brian moved closer and took Treasure’s hands. “We grabbed the guys and headed here to search for you.”
“
Why the hell did you go to the fae realm? You said it was dangerous,” Brian demanded.
“No, I said it might be dangerous,” she corrected. “But I cast a protection spell on the two of us so that we would be undetectable. We were perfectly safe.”
“Why wouldn’t you tell us where you were going?” Kevin asked. “We could have come with you.”
She shook her head. “Hope and I needed to do this alone.”
“What are you talking about?” Owen asked.
“I think we should go to the house and tell the others, too,” Hope said. “There’s no sense repeating the story twice. Plus, this bag is heavy as heck.”
Ben immediately took the backpack from her shoulders and put it on his own.
“We’ll meet you there in a minute,” Kevin said.
Hope and her mates walked away from the trio and headed toward the farmhouse. It glowed like a beacon in the darkness, every light in the house on and shining brightly.
“I’m sorry,” she said, slowing to a stop. “Treasure cast a protection spell on us so we wouldn’t be seen in the realm. We thought we could get there and back, and then we’d tell you about our adventure after the fact.”
Owen folded his arms. He looked so stern, not like the sweet male who’d held her so tenderly after their date. “Adventure? You realize you disappeared into another realm without telling anyone. You went to a place we couldn’t follow. What if Treasure had been abducted by fae, or hurt, and couldn’t bring you home? So much could have gone wrong. I can’t think of anything more foolish to do than that.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, and her eyes stung.
Ben put his arm around her and let out a growl. “Back off, Owen. You’re upsetting her.”
“Tell me you weren’t frantic while we searched the damn cornfields,” he retorted.
“I was,” Ben said. “But she’s here and she’s safe.”
“What is this all about, anyway?” Nathan asked. He lifted her hand and brought it to his chest, right over his heart so she could feel the steady beat against her palm.
