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Melanie spoke up from the side of the room. "I don't believe in fictional destinies, but maybe they will help in some way. If it's happened several times throughout history, it's bound to happen again. Who knows, maybe they can finally secure peace between all dragon-shifters and maybe even with the humans."
Finn sighed. "You never think small, do you, Mel?"
Melanie grinned. "If I did, I wouldn't be standing here right now."
Lorna cleared her throat. "How about we save talk of influence and destiny for later? The lasses are barely an hour old. Maybe they can learn to walk and talk first, aye?"
Finn held out his arms and Lorna placed Skye into them. As he readjusted the blanket around the bairn's sleeping face, he said, "I agree. But at least Freya will have some female cousins to play with."
"You mean plan to take over the world with."
At his cousin Faye's voice, he glanced at the door. "It's not nice to sneak up on someone holding a sleeping bairn."
Faye rolled her eyes. "I wasn't sneaking, just walking." She walked over to Ross, who transferred Summer into her arms. "I wanted to say hello to my latest recruits. Auntie Faye is going to ensure all her nieces can take care of themselves, when needed."
Holly bobbed her head. "I like that idea."
Fraser added, "As long as it doesn't involve you putting them into dangerous situations, then maybe I'll allow it."
"Allow it? Brother, you won't have a say in it."
Fraser raised his brows. "Does that mean I get to advise your bairns on how to get into mischief? That's only fair."
"Mischief is not the same as self-defense training," Faye said softly, so as to not disturb the bairns. "Besides, you may be out of luck, anyway. They may both take after Grant."
Ross snorted. "I somehow think that may not be in your cards, Faye, my dear. That would be too easy."
Fraser grunted. "For once, I agree with Ross."
As Faye and Fraser continued to argue about influencing each other's children—albeit in soothing, quiet tones—Finn noticed Grant in the d
oorway, bouncing wee Jamie. He shared a looked with the Protector; Grant signaled that he had finished the background check on George MacLeod.
After kissing Skye's forehead, Finn waited for Aunt Lorna to take Freya before handing over the bairn to Arabella. He whispered, "I'll be right back, love."
Arabella nodded, and Finn went into the hallway. Once he closed the door, he demanded, "Well?"
Grant didn't miss a beat. "For the most part, he's clean. Although he's been receiving hospital care in Perth, which is less than forty miles from where some of the rogue dragon-shifters have been spotted in Cairngorms National Park."
George's former location didn't automatically make the male guilty. Finn would have to check into it more soon. "Did you find out where he's been living?"
"In an abandoned cottage, somewhere in the countryside between Perth and Cairngorms National Park. He received enough from his disability benefits to buy food and some clothes, but not much else. I don't think he's had electricity for quite a while."
"So what's your professional recommendation then?"
"Well, I wouldn't grant him access to the deepest secrets or security features, but I don't see the harm in allowing him to stay. Keep an eye on him, of course, but my initial feeling is that he's unconnected to the rogue dragon-shifters. I think he just wanted to be out of sight, and that was one of the best places to hide."
He nodded. "Keep looking and let me know if you find out anything else. Brenna can't stay on Lochguard forever, so rotate who can be his guard, when needed."
Grant jostled wee Jamie, and he gurgled to himself. The lad was probably the most behaved of anyone in Finn's extended family so far.
Grant spoke again. "There's one more thing, Finn. Things have been hectic, but Bram has requested a video conference with you yet again."
"About the foster candidate?"
"Aye. I'll hold him off as long as I can, but you can't do it forever."
He ran a hand through his hair. He had already agreed to allow a human from the DDA to observe his clan, and he or she should be arriving before too much longer. Now, he needed to settle the business with Stonefire as well. Bram had delayed the process long enough. Finn couldn't do the same after so much badgering.
