“Well, yeah, that's what we went there for. I thought that I’d lost my mind or something.”
“No, you're just not human.”
“I know now, no thanks to you. Is there anything else that I need to know?”
“Just know that I loved your father, and I'm sorry that you were cursed. It means that his curse is up too...”
Sarah felt alarm. “You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you? You can’t leave Gerald.”
“No, I love your stepfather.”
“But the witches said that Fredrick was your true love.”
Carolyn waved her daughter off. “I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm glad that you know. It has killed me inside for so long. If anybody would have told you of the curse, you would have never been able to break it. You had to get together naturally. That is what I was told a long time ago and I had to keep it a secret. I never wanted to do that to you, Sarah. You have to believe me.”
“Well, it’s a little late now.”
“I know.”
“The witches told me that I need to go find him. They said that you need to be with me.”
“Do they say why?”
“No, I get the feeling that they don't like to give you straight answers.”
“You're right, they really don't.”
“This is all new to me. Let us go then and see Fredrick.”
“It's not going to work, Mom. Harold has a lot to deal with. He got kicked out of the pride. He tried to kill his dad, almost killed my dad.”
“Almost killed your father?”
Carolyn looked over at Harold like she had stabbed him in the heart right in front of her. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he's fine. A few scars are what the witches say. You’re going to have to give him some time to get himself together. We need at least a week.”
“I'm ready when you are.”
Sarah shook her head vehemently to disagree. “I am not ready yet. This is going to take a little bit longer for me to wrap my head around. I'm glad that everybody is cool with the whole thing, but I'm not. A few hours ago, I thought I was human, and now I know better. It's going to take me some time.”
“Well, come on and just stay in your room. I’m sure that your boss will give you a little bit of time off.”
Sarah disagreed again. “I think that I'm going to go stay with Harold.” She turned to Harold. “If that's alright with you?”
He agreed immediately. “I would love to have you with me. I don’t want you to leave my side ever again.”
Sarah looked back at her mom, still not ready to forgive her all her trespasses. “Since you aren't sick, you don't need me to take care of you any longer.”
Carolyn agreed quietly, with a tear in her eye. Sarah knew that she was going to forgive her mother. They were so close it was impossible not to. But she didn't have to make it easy for her. When she wasn’t so mad, Sarah was sure that she would work things out with her, just not yet.
Chapter 26
Harold
One Month Later…
It took longer for Sarah to get used to the whole idea of her being a shifter. Harold helped her to learn more about her magic and the extra senses that she had picked up. Soon, she had control of her inner lioness and the couple had gotten closer together.
