Having Hope (Ashland Pride Book Eleven)

By R.E. Butler

When mountain lion shifter Hope Parkins arrives in Ashland to take a job at an elementary school, she's met with the shock of a lifetime— three mountain lion males who she and her cat recognize on sight. They are her mates, and she knows that her life will never be the same.

Owen, Ben, and Nathan Fallon have felt an odd longing for years, and now they've finally found the female of their dreams in Hope. But the joy of finally finding her mates is overshadowed by Hope's desire to help the female mountain lions, who were cursed by a goddess to never know love.

Can Hope succeed in setting things right for her people, or will they be trapped under a curse forever?

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.E. Butler
• Release date: Nov 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463830451

R.E. Butler

A Midwesterner by birth, R.E. spent much of her childhood rewriting her favorite books to include herself as the main character. Later, she graduated on to writing her own books after "retiring" from her day job as a secretary to become a stay-at-home mom.When not playing with her kids, wrestling her dogs out the door, or cooking dinner for her family, you'll find her typing furiously and growling obscenities to the characters on the screen.Her best-selling series Wiccan-Were-Bear, The Necklace Chronicles, Hyena Heat, Wilde Creek, Were-Zoo, Arctic Shifters, Norlanian Brides, Saber Chronicles, and Ashland Pride are available now.

Book preview

Having Hope (Ashland Pride Book Eleven)

By R. E. Butler

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Excerpt from Lyric & The Cats

Other Books by R. E. Butler

About the Author

Copyright

Chapter One

Hope Parkins looked down at her suitcase, mentally comparing the items inside against the list of what she wanted to take. Her life seemed to be moving on fast forward. After graduating from college a week ago, she was now heading to Ashland, Indiana, where she’d accepted a job as a first-grade teacher at the local elementary school. She hadn’t randomly sought a job in Ashland—it was where a mountain lion pride lived that included her cousin Melody and her family.

Hope had grown up in King, Pennsylvania. Her grandfather, Elijah Parkins, had raised her, because the mountain lion females were under an ancient curse—thanks to a bitch of a goddess who had a hissy fit and decided that every female mountain lion would use their claws to poison the next generation of females, marking the girls three times in their life, culminating at age fourteen. Once fully cursed, females became uncaring. Their only focus was protecting themselves and continuing the species. They abhorred males except for the purpose of procreation.

Fortunately for Hope, she’d only been clawed once, at age four. She still had the little pinprick scars on the underside of her arms. But after that, the females scattered from King and set up small, female-only prides in other places, including a large settlement in Canada. Her own mother, Honor, had been one of those cursed females. She’d contracted with a male lion to have a cub, and then left Hope in the hospital and disappeared. Her biological father, Silas, had been killed crossing the street when she was a baby, and Honor’s father took over her care.

Honor was one of the lucky few females to have the curse broken for her by sharing blood with her mates. Once the curse had been broken for Honor, she’d come to King with Holden and Jax to get to know Hope and build a life for themselves.

Hey honey, Honor said as she leaned against the doorjamb of Hope’s bedroom. Do you have everything?

I think so. She let out a sigh, pulled the lid down and zipped it closed.

You look pretty introspective.

Hope hummed. I was just thinking about the curse.

What on earth for?

Hope resisted the urge to touch the scars under her arms. It bothered her that she’d been scarred, even if it was pretty clear from talking to her mother that the females weren’t aware they were poisoning little girls, let alone why.

I don’t know. I lost so much time with you because of the curse. I don’t like the idea of other females out there still cursed and not living a good life.

Honor crossed the distance to the bed and gave Hope a hug. You have such a big heart, honey. She pushed her gently to arm’s length. I believe that eventually the curse will be lifted from all the females, whether it’s from them finding their truemates and sharing blood like I did, or by the curse somehow being broken. But I don’t think you should worry about something you can’t change. We know nothing about the goddess or how she performed the curse, and there’s no way to find instructions for breaking it.

You’re saying it’s hopeless?

Of course not. I’m just saying that you can’t let it get to you. I’d love to see all the females free. I just don’t know that it will ever happen.

Maybe they’ll be changed one by one, Hope said.

It’s possible. There’s always hope.

Hope snorted. True.

Honor hugged her tightly. I’m going to miss you so much! I can’t believe my little girl is already a college graduate and moving away from home.

You still have Faith, she said, hearing the sound of her little half-sister running around in the family room. Her mother’s curse had been broken by two males—Jax and Holden Whitman—who had been living in Ashland when they found Honor. They moved to King shortly after the curse was lifted to be close to Hope and Eli. Every day Hope was thankful for Jax and Holden, the two males she called Dad, because they’d brought her mother back to her.

It won’t be the same without you here, Honor said. I love you to pieces, Hope. I want only the best things in life for you.

Trust me, she said with a chuckle, I want that, too.

The drive to her new home took about eleven hours. Although she’d made the trip with her family over the years, she’d never made such a long drive by herself, and for the first time she really felt like an adult. Here she was, fresh out of college, with a job waiting for her at Ashland Elementary and her best friend in the whole world excited for her arrival. Treasure and Hope had become close the first time Hope visited Ashland with her parents. Like the males in the Ashland Pride, Jax and Holden were originally from King, where Hope had grown up. Jax and Holden moved to King with Honor so they could be together as a family. While King was the home of her heart, Ashland had always felt like home, too. Treasure had wanted Hope to move to Ashland immediately, but she’d wanted to finish high school, especially since her grandfather Eli was the principal there.

She hadn’t really planned where she’d live once she graduated from college. She’d applied to be a teacher at a number of public and private elementary schools around Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. While she’d gotten several offers, the one she’d most liked was the quaint farming town of Ashland. Her job didn’t technically start until the end of August, but Treasure was getting mated and married to two mountain lion males on July fourteenth, and Hope was going to be her maid of honor. Going early to Ashland meant she could be part of the wedding festivities, and also spend time with her bestie and get to know the town better.

As she turned down the dirt road that led to the home of Treasure’s adoptive parents, Rhett and Lisa Fallon, she could see her friend standing on the front porch, arms waving wildly like she was trying to signal a plane in to land. Hope parked next to the farmhouse and Treasure raced off the porch, clapping and cheering. When Hope opened the door, the two friends embraced.

How was the drive? Treasure asked as Hope opened the back door and pulled out a backpack, then followed her to the porch.

Long but uneventful, so that’s good.

I have great news.

Oh?

I had a dream about you last night. Moving here was definitely the right choice.

Oh, good, Hope said with a laugh. I was waiting for confirmation from your subconscious.

Hey, don’t knock it. I’m prone to prophetic dreams, you know. Especially in the summer for some reason.

Because you’re a whackadoodle?

Takes one to know one, Treasure said with a laugh.

It sure does.

Treasure’s mom opened the front door as the two climbed the porch steps. You get more beautiful every time I see you, honey.

Hope hugged her. Thank you.

Something poked at Hope’s subconscious, and she looked to the side of the porch, her cat’s curiosity piqued. She walked to the railing and leaned over, peering at the side of the house.

You okay, beastie? Treasure asked.

Hope chuckled as she corrected the dragonfae, who had a knack for mispronouncing words. Bestie.

Bestie. Technically I’m right, though. You are a beastie.

Hope planted her hands on the porch rail and leaped over. As she walked toward the corner of the house, she saw three males rounding it, heading in her direction. She froze in place as everything within her quieted except for her cat, which was roaring in happiness at the sight of them. They seemed frozen as well, their gazes locked to hers. She moved forward cautiously, trying to concentrate over the noisy exclamations of her cat.

Who are you? Hope whispered.

They introduced themselves to her as Ben, Owen, and Nathan Fallon.

I’m Hope, she said. I’m…

Ours, Nathan said.

Treasure let out a woohoo from the porch, and Hope glanced at her.

Told you coming here was the right decision, Treasure said. I’m psycho.

Owen snorted good-naturedly. Psychic.

That’s what I said.

Are you from here? Hope asked, turning her attention back to the males.

We live at the boarding house, Ben said. We’ve heard so much about you, but we never seemed to be in town when you were here.

If I’d known you were mine, I would have made sure our paths crossed, she said.

Fate doesn’t work like that, Treasure reminded them. You can’t force it. It just happens when it happens.

Fate’s a wonderful thing, Owen said. Even if it did take forever to get here.

Hope looked at Treasure. Did you dream about the four of us?

No, just you.

Hope mulled over her current situation. I just got here. I need to unpack my car and spend time with Treasure. But I want to be with you, too.

Nathan nodded. We’ll help you get your things, and we can spend a little time together.

I promise not to monopoly all your time, Treasure said.

Hope frowned and then grinned. Monopolize.

Same thing, Treasure said.

After gathering her things from her car, they went with Treasure up to the bedroom that Hope was going to call home for the foreseeable future. She set her mini-backpack on the bed and turned to face the four people in her room. Three males she didn’t know but wanted to spend all her time with, and her best friend, who had been instrumental in her decision to apply for a job in Ashland.

As if she could read Hope’s mind, Treasure smiled in understanding and gave her a quick hug. I’ll be downstairs helping with dinner. We’ve got plenty of time to catch up.

Thanks, bestie, Hope said.

Treasure nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Hope stared at the closed door for a long moment and then turned her attention to the brothers. They were the sexiest males she’d ever seen in her life. Owen, with hazel eyes and stylish blond hair, wore a button-down shirt that was rolled up to his elbows and seemed to be straining to stay together over the clearly muscular body underneath. Nathan had pale blue eyes and a neatly trimmed beard, and Ben had dark blond hair and sapphire eyes. His lips were tipped up at one corner in an adorably curious smile. She was drawn to how sexy and utterly kissable all three were. In all the daydreams she’d had of what her future husband or husbands might be like, she’d never envisioned three of them. But while it seemed crazy, it also felt very right.

My mind is going a mile a minute, Hope said.

Ours, too, Owen said. My cat’s being particularly vocal.

Oh? She moved closer to them, her cat prancing in her head as the scent of them filled her. They smelled amazing; an enticing combination of fresh grass, sweet flowers, and a sweet spice like cinnamon.

Nathan gave her a curious look as he reached for her hand and linked their fingers. The touch, so simple and yet so powerful, made everything inside her go warm and tingly. We’ve thought since we were teens that the three of us would share a mate. We didn’t know if she’d be a shifter or a human, but all that ever mattered was that we were sure we’d recognize her on sight. I was feeling antsy all day and I didn’t know why. Now I do.

We all were feeling like that, Ben said. He took her other hand and gave it a squeeze. We went for a run in our shifts at lunchtime, but it didn’t make us feel any better. If anything, it made our cats more disgruntled.

How do you mean?

While we were in our shifts, our cats kept urging us to leave the woods. We didn’t know where we were supposed to go, but there was an urgency that we couldn’t shake, Owen said. Rhett’s our uncle. We came here to talk to him about fixing one of our mowers, and we just kind of stuck around. We were walking in the fields and I told my brothers that I had an urge to go to the farmhouse; and they said they felt the same.

Imagine our surprise when we felt your presence, Ben said. And then you were there.

Owen laid his warm hand on her shoulder. The moment that all three were touching her, she knew without a doubt they were meant to be hers. She looked up at Owen, who stood almost a foot taller than her. He gave her a sweet smile laced with heat and cupped her face, lowering his head and brushing his lips over hers. He paused there, with his lips a fraction away from hers, as if wanting her to make the next move. Extracting her hands from the others, she wrapped her arms around Owen’s neck and kissed him, tilting her head and parting her lips to deepen it. She played her fingers through the shorter hair at the sides of his head, the soft strands tickling her palms, and then eased away from him.

Breathlessly, she whispered his name and smiled as his eyes flashed from hazel to the amber of his cat. She turned to Nathan and kissed him as well, enjoying the light scratch of his beard. When she finally kissed Ben, who pulled her close and held her tightly, she couldn’t believe how fortunate she was to be in this place. To have come to Ashland with no romantic notions at all, and to now be touching