Page 68 of A Celtic Longing
“Siobhán took ye,” Tréan said gravely. “Just like she saw da dead too.” He looked at Liam grimly. “’Twas why after ye passed and the waters receded, I carved yer face in stone and created the symbols. ‘Twas all to remind ye both. A wish, as it were, that they might lead ye back to each other and all that had happened. To where I believe, as do many who now worship at King’s End, came a great new beginning in the midst of so much heartache. Became a place where wishes can be made and come true.”
Tréan shook his head and paused a moment, emotional, before he went on. “Though ‘twas a king’s end, ‘twas also where that king came together with his druidess and honored me with conception. With not just one great life made of two separate beings, but two lives now, that I’m honored with such.”
Shannon swallowed hard and wiped away a tear. “So you...like being part wolf, part man?”
“Ta.” Tréan looked at her as though she’d asked a foolish question. “And I was honored to follow ye from life to life as such. To be the great beast I am.” He looked at them with not just love but sympathy. “My only regret is that ye were not lucky enough to be born the same.”
Liam bit back a smile. That statement very much aligned with several looks Tréan had tossed him over the past week.
“I’m curious,” Liam couldn’t help but ask. “If you’re my son and loved me so much, why such animosity toward me when we first met?”
“Because he might be your son, but he’smyfamiliar.” Shannon saw it clearly enough. “Which means he was beholden to me until he knew I was safe even from his own father.”
“’Tis true.” Tréan looked at Liam with regret. “I had to protect ma as she protected me until I knew Siobhán had not truly gotten to ye. Until ye started remembering things as ye should.”
He was about to go on but stilled when he heard something even they didn’t. Then broke into a smile moments later and proved just how much a part of their life he really was.
Chapter Twenty-Three
SHANNON COULDN’T HELP but smile when Riona squealed in delight, swung down from her horse, and flew into Tréan’s waiting arms. She hugged him tightly, then held him at arm’s length and looked him over. “I have a nephew.Hada nephew after I passed away in my last life.” She blinked back happy tears and embraced him again. “I’msoglad to meet you.”
“’Tis good to meet ye as well, aunt.” Clearly fond of her, Tréan met her smile. “Da spoke of ye so often in our last life it feels as if I actually knew ye.”
“Lovethat.” Riona wiped away tears and grinned at Shannon. “See, Itoldyou your adventure was going to be exciting.” She shook her head and hugged her next. “You’re an insta-mom!”
“So it seems.” And she couldn’t stop smiling about it. Couldn’t get over going from the terrible grief of saying goodbye to her newborn in another life to finding him again in this one. “Regrettably, that didn’t get me out of experiencing labor pains.”
“Yeah, I started sensing all that back at the castle.” Riona cringed. “Ouch.” Her eyes welled again. “As painful as it was, I’m glad you had them, though. That you got to experience those moments with your child.” She shook her head, marveling at Tréan. “And what a man he grew up to be!” She chuckled andlooked at her sister in warning. “I can just imagine what the young women at your castle will think of him.”
As it happened, when they returned to said castle, they appeared to think a great deal. She gave Mór a look when she wasted no time flirting with Tréan after Liam introduced everyone to him. Thankfully, everybody seemed accepting. Proud even that their king and druidess already had an heir.
Especially one like Tréan.
“This is going to take some getting used to,” she grumbled to Liam when Tréan flirted back with Mór. “For goodness sake, she’s already slept with you. His father!”
Mór wasn’t the only one making eyes at her son, either. Just about every woman, no matter their age, wasn’t above glancing his way.
“What did you expect?” Riona shrugged and kept on smiling. “Nephew or not, heispretty hot, plus he’s got that whole wolf thing going on. You might not see it, but I’m sure everyone senses his wild side. The danger.” She winked. “That’s obviously got its own appeal.” It spoke to her confidence in her marriage when she went on. “Aodh’s got that, too, because of his dragon.” She scrunched her nose a little when she looked at Liam. “Sorry, I know you don’t like—”
“’Tis all right,” he assured her as they sat down to eat breakfast and discussed how they were going to save Aodh. “I’m no longer angry at my brother. ‘Tis more than clear at this point that Siobhán purposefully interfered in our lives.” He shook his head. “I wonder now if she and I ever had much of anything from the start. The closer Shannon and I become, and the more we remember, the more my time with Siobhán seems as though it never actually happened.”
