Liam looked at her. “Then get me there.”
She took a step back when he strode her way with a ferocious scowl she knew wasn’t directed at her but was intimidating nonetheless.
“Get me there, Madison,” he said more intensely when she shook her head, clueless how she had even returned. His heart was in his eyes. “Please. Now.” His scowl deepened. “There’s no time to waste.”
“If I knew how I would,” she replied, in as much pain as him. Just as desperate. “You know I would.”
“But ye can.” He grabbed her wrist to pull her to the tree, only for a huge white wolf with golden eyes to appear out of nowhere and bare its teeth in a vicious growl.
“Let go of my sisternow, Irishman,” Shannon growled, the sound as dangerous in its own way as the wolf's. “Or you won’t like what happens next.”
Clearly not intimidated by the wolf, but maybe by Shannon a little, Liam released Madison's wrist and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Madison.” Her heart broke at the hurt in his eyes. “This is not....” He shook his head again. “I did not mean....”
He strode to the tree, braced his hand against its trunk, and hung his head. When Riona looked her way in concern, Madison nodded that all was well. He hadn’t hurt her. So, not surprisingly, Riona went to him. Luna merely gave the gigantic wolf a snappy bark in passing and remained by her sister's side.
“So you have a familiar too,” Madison said softly, joining Shannon. She eyed the wolf stalking back into the forest. “For how long?”
“Long enough.” Shannon frowned at Riona embracing Liam. “He was brought into the clinic when he was a cub. They didn’t realize he was a wolf, or he would have probably been shipped off to a zoo or put down.”
“So you what?” Riona prompted when Shannon continued frowning at the other two. “Kept him somehow and raised him?”
“I made sure he was safe.” Rather than go on about it, Shannon tore her gaze from Liam and Riona. “Come on.” She pulled Madison inside. “Sit with me and tell me the good stuff about you and your new husband. It’ll hurt, but I want to hear it.” She issued a rare smile. “Congrats, by the way. Fast, but I get it.” She squeezed Madison's hand. “Tell me about the happy moments because, until things get squared away, you need to focus on the good right now.”
Squared away? As though there was hope?
But she got what Shannon was doing. Trying to get her to focus on the positive when she’d much rather drown in misery. Much, she supposed, like the Irish did when they lost loved ones. So she did, sharing all the normal things sisters are supposed to share when they fall in love. She laughed. And cried. Then laughed some more, even though it led to more tears.
“This can’t be it,” Shannon said at one point. Neither were big drinkers, but both were well on their way to getting drunk. They sat on the couch with their feet propped on the coffee table like they did when they were younger. “Otherwise, how is Liam still here?” She gestured around the room. “All of this?” She pointed from Madison to herself. “You and me. Our history. Ireland as we know it.”
“Yeah?” She had been terrified to ask if things had changed. If the world was still the same.
“Yup.” Riona plunked down on her other side and propped her feet on the table beside them. Luna leapt up, rested her head on Riona’s lap, and watched curiously when her sister said, “See.” She handed her cell phone to Madison and pointed at the screen. “Still good ol’ Northern and Southern Ireland. One half’s still part of the United Kingdom when, heck, it would have been nice if everything got worked out and they were one big country still.”
Well, that was something. More than something. She kept scrolling through articles about Ireland. All was as it had been.
“This is...good.” Madison bit back tears and nodded. “Really good.” She looked at her sisters with hope. “Right?”
Riona grinned. “I’d say so.”
Shannon offered a small smile, no doubt for Madison’s sake versus the possibility of the four of them saving the world by hooking up with Irishmen. “I’d say it’s something for sure.”
She knew Shannon still digested everything that had been shared. More fantastical truths than her medical mind could probably handle. At least at the moment.
“So have you two felt anything yet?” she asked, curious. “Any druidess powers blossoming inside you?”
“No,” both replied a little too quickly. Yet when she went to ask more, she felt their hesitation. Their overwhelming need to sort things out on their own. So she held back because, truly, this wasn't something she could teach but was an inherent part of them. One they needed to learn on their own.Embraceon their own.
A part shehadto trust would keep them safe.
Now that she had calmed down a little, she could see things clearer. Knew for certain, thanks to her brief contact with Siobhán's magic, that the enemy druidess might have been seeking out Madison over the past few months but never actually located her. So at least for now, her sisters were safe here in the twenty-first century.
While tempted to rest her head on Riona’s shoulder, she refrained so she didn’t hurt Shannon’s feelings. Because one way or another, they looked up to her, and she didn’t want it to seem like she played favorites.
But hell, what she wouldn’t do for a strong shoulder to lean on. Cian’s shoulder, to be precise. Instead, she leaned her head back against the couch, closed her eyes, and bit back more tears. Considering she didn’t even remember knowing him days ago, she had never felt so lonely or heartsick. And she knew his brother felt the same. Could sense it even though he wasn’t inside the house with them.
“Where’s Liam, Riona?” she asked without opening her eyes. “Is he okay?”
“He is,” Liam said, joining them. “Thanks to your sister.”
