A Highland Werewolf Wedding - By Terry Spear Page 0,113

said to the women.

Julia and Shelley were sitting together on one sofa. Cearnach’s mother and aunt had taken up another, while Cearnach’s cousin Heather and Calla sat on a third one in front of the fire as it crackled and popped with welcome heat. Sheba’s pups played in a bundle of teeth and fur and legs nearby, growling and woofing. Elaine’s own puppy, Whiskers, named because of her funny little beard, was chewing on her shoelaces.

She was conflicted about wearing her own plaid at the wedding. “I’ve never worn the sett of my clan, but I can’t just borrow someone else’s for the wedding.”

“You could wear a white wedding gown,” Shelley said. “Some of the wolves do for their Scottish weddings. I thought of doing so, but my Uncle Ethan wouldn’t hear of it.”

Surprised that Shelley hadn’t worn what she wished for such a special occasion, Elaine looked at Julia for her input.

“I wore my clan’s plaid,” Julia said. “It felt right to me.”

Elaine chewed her lip as she watched Sheba’s pups biting and growling and yipping in a variation on who’s top dog of the heap. “All right,” she said. “I’ll wear my clan’s plaid.”

Julia and Shelley frowned at her, not looking too happy about her decision, although all along they had said the choice was hers.

“Think of it as Romeo and Juliet, only with a happy ending. I doubt the feuding families will be happy with the match, but it’s kind of like mending fences… in a wolf way.”

Shelley smiled but shook her head. “More likely it will be another reason for them to hate our clan.”

Our clan. Elaine knew she was not only mating with a wolf from this clan, she was also joining them. Becoming family. Part of a pack. Who would have ever thought that a near collision with a wolf from an enemy clan would turn out so well? That he’d become her lover, her mate.

She was finally home. Not in a place she’d ever imagined. It felt right. Good.

“And,” she said, “I want to hold the wedding at Senton Castle.” She knew that would not go over well with Cearnach’s people. Senton Castle was beautiful, even in ruins. It was her birthright. The kirk was still standing. No glass on the windows, no pews to sit in. A stone floor and a roof over their heads in case it rained. That’s all that mattered.

“Not in our chapel?” his mother asked, her brows raised. She sounded more surprised than annoyed.

“I feel… I feel I must pay homage to my parents, to my uncles in some small way. What better way than to sanctify Cearnach’s and my marriage in my family’s chapel?” She thought it would feel like she was including her family in this joyous occasion. That the fighting between the clans had finally ceased. At least between her Hawthorn family and the MacNeills. The Kilpatricks and McKinleys were another story.

His mother nodded. “We will have to ask his lairdship if he approves, but I will put in a good word for you.” She smiled and looked at Julia.

Julia sighed. “I will attempt to convince Ian that you have your heart set on it.”

Calla smiled brightly, and Elaine didn’t think anything was too daunting for the woman when it came to setting up celebrations. “It’s a brilliant idea. Not unlike weddings held where the bride and groom stand in the waves at a beach or skydive into matrimony or scuba dive with their friends. They share in the history of a place.”

“But you’ve never shared anything with Cearnach at Senton Castle,” Cearnach’s Aunt Agnes said. “You’ve never been there with your family. I don’t see why we have to go to the ruins, truly.”

“Cearnach and I did spend time there,” Elaine said, recalling fondly how they’d visited the ruins like two lupus garous on a date. Their first. The way his hand had held hers, keeping her from slipping on the wet, mossy stones. The way he hadn’t wanted to release her even after she was safely inside the inner bailey. The way he’d smiled at her when she’d raced all over the castle as a wolf. “Have you ever entered a home and felt as if you were welcome and that you weren’t just a visitor? That something about the place made you feel good, joyful, at home?”

Shelley and Julia nodded. Cearnach’s mother and aunt had probably never considered going anywhere other than their home at Argent Castle so no place else would