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“
Yer
wouldn’t.”

“
That is true,”
Eli nodded honestly. “After everything you did to us. We would have
killed you without a seconds thought.”

“
So, why are
you here now?” Cora asked.

“
A don’t expect
forgiveness... but A don’t regret what I did. A did everythin’ A
did tae survive. Yer gave as much as A gave anyway... What A want
is a life, with ma sister. When A believed she was injured, that
she would die... that turned things for me. A knew I could no
longer do Alastair’s dirty work.”

“
I suppose it
helped knowing we were going to take him down,” Ayden growled.
“That is would be easier for you to leave.”

“
Yeah, yer made
it easier... but A’ve had time tae think. A’ve had time to see what
really happened. Yer coven has made life easier for our kind.
”

Everyone
looked at Tavish. If Cora was being honest, she was a little
stunned by what he was saying. She hated this man. She wanted to
hurt this man, but had that been some sort of apology? “So you
actually want me to believe that you will live quietly? That you
won’t cause problems for us?”

“
A’ve stayed
away to prove to you that A can. A will be part of any coven you
tell me to, just to keep the peace. All A want is tae live a quiet
life with ma sister. That is all A’ve wanted for a long time
now.”

Cora looked at
her coven. Would killing him change things? She knew that it would
help them feel better, especially Clay, but how would their actions
stain this new beginning?

If they killed
him now, he deserved it, he really did, she couldn’t argue with
that. But if they killed him, what would that make them? They would
be no better than Alastair.

“
Have you
spoken with Quinn?” Jack asked Tavish.

“
A huv. He
wants tae live a quiet life also.”

“
Do you believe
him?” Jack asked.

“
Yes. He stayed
away until Alastair demanded he came back, the day we all visited
yer.”

“
Oh, yes, that
was a lovely day,” Eli snapped sarcastically.

“
Just make sure
he never steps foot in this village,” Jack snarled.

“
He
understands. He wants tae make sure his brother is safe. That is
all he ever wanted.”

“
His brother
will be safe, if he doesn’t step foot in this village,” Jack
assured Tavish.

“
He accepts
that.”

“
Why can’t you
or Quinn understand that your family are safe, would have been
safer if Alastair had been dealt with?” Ember asked.

Tavish
shrugged.

“
Alastair had a
power that you couldn’t go up against if you didn’t have the
confidence, I suppose,” Tommy offered.

“
Did you know
he was going to kill people? Did you know he was going to kill
Bri?” Ciaran asked.

The room
stilled as they watched Ciaran. Tavish seemed to mull over his
answer.

“
A didn’t know.
Alastair never revealed his plans...A had to be there for him, no
matter whit...”

“
Were you never
affected by his actions?”

“
No. Like A
said, A love ma sister. She is the one that matters.”

Clay looked
like he still wanted to punch Tavish. Tabitha and Ember eyes
revealed nothing. She had to make this decision. She had to choose
what was right. Was it time?

“
Okay. I have a
few conditions if we are going to do this. One. You will live a
quiet life away from everyone you have ever hurt, so that will be
a
very
quiet life.
You will only be called upon if your coven leader wants to speak
with you but other than that, you must stay away from people. Two.
When I place you in a coven, that leader will lead you absolutely,
but I will have the final say over all things.”

Tavish nodded.
“Okay.”

“
Three. Don’t
antagonise Clay or Ciaran. They will punch you and I will not stop
them. If you ask for it, you will get it. Four....I want you to
enjoy your life with your sister because family is so important.
But after everything you have put us through, be warned we will do
everything in our power to protect our kind.” Cora stepped towards
the twins. “I will kill you both if you put one little toe out of
line.”

“
A want to
thank you, Cora,” Alva began, “A understand whit we huv done tae
yer. A understand why yer hate us, but Alastair was-”

“
Do not say he
controlled you, don’t use that excuse,” Jack spat. “Otherwise I
will seriously punch you.”

“
Okay. A just
want tae say thank you. Yer could huv killed us outright, yer
didn’t, yer listened.”

Cora
nodded.

“
A can lead the
Scottish coven... if yer would like me tae?” Cathella spoke
up.

“
Are you sure?
That would mean overseeing Tavish and the history there
is...”

“
Yes, A’m sure.
A’ve learnt how to lead. A respect yer as our leader and A think if
A lead, it would bring happiness back intae the Scottish coven
again. Tavish?”

Tavish looked
at James before turning his attention back to Cathella. “If you
lead, A will respect and follow yer. All A want is for my sister
tae be safe.”

“
Okay,” Cora
agreed. “Tavish and Alva, you may leave.”

Tavish nodded
his head and left via the door, for once.

“
That was
surreal,” Tommy said.

“
I can’t
believe you let them get away with everything they have done,” Clay
growled.

“
We have to
start as we mean to go on. We have to do this right, no matter how
much we want to pummel them, we have to show everyone we are fair,
that we will see their side of things. This isn’t a dictatorship. I
just hope we did the right thing... anyway I will break the news to
the Newcastle coven privately. Is there anything we need to discuss
before I call an end to this meeting? No? Then please, there is
cake, tea and coffee. Help yourself.” Everyone smiled at her as
they stood, talking and helping themselves to the food.

“
I’m going to
tell them” Cora whispered to Jack.

“
Job well done,
beautiful,” Jack murmured, touching his lips to hers for a
second.

“
Thank you,”
she grinned. She felt like she’d handled it right, but they would
keep their ear to the ground. Tavish wouldn’t go up against them
all.

“
You are sexy
as hell when you take control,” Jack winked. “Keep up the leading
role when you come home. Let’s see what happens
tonight.”

She laughed
and left the meeting room to the sound of people talking and
laughing. Things were going to be good. Things were changing. For
the better.

4
6

THE SETTING

Jack’s hand
was in hers as Tabitha and Ember led them to Eli and Ayden’s
cottage. Cora felt annoyed because they hadn’t explained anything.
They knew her well enough to know she hated being left out of the
loop.

“
Tab, what are
we doing?” Cora asked, again, as they walked towards the
cottage.

Tabitha didn’t
need to answer her question because she saw why they were
here.

Cora stopped
walking, her breath was literally knocked out of her.
“Tab...Ember...” she whispered.

Jack rubbed
his fingers over her hand. He was probably as speechless as she
was.

Up ahead, the
front garden of the cottage had been transformed into a beautiful
fairytale. A deep, green canopy made up of sheets of organza
breathed in a soft breeze. They hung over the path and continued up
to the front door and around the front of the cottage. As they
approached she could see the rose petals scattered on the
path.

“
Now, the
petals are just an idea,” Ember explained.

“
And the canopy
will have flowers entwined in it for the ceremony,” Tabitha
added.

Cora could
only nod her head. A thick knot of emotion had taken away her
ability to speak. Tabitha led the way under the canopy that
branched into the L-shape around the front of the cottage. Flowers
gathered in pots, heads open wide, soaking in the sun’s rays. She
hadn’t noticed Tabitha or Ember gardening. They did look very
pretty and welcoming.

“
Now, we didn’t
want guests walking through the cottage, and Jack, you will join
guests as you wish. Cora, you will walk this way when it is your
time.”

Cora looked at
Jack. Even he looked a little pale. It made her smile. This was all
rather amazing and real, and absolutely daunting. As much as she
loved Jack, if she thought about her wedding day she could be sick
with nerves. It was really settling in that she was getting
married. That the entire day would be focused on her and Jack
.

Tabitha led
them around the back of the cottage. Cora gasped, as the first tear
slipped over her cheek.

“
Wow,” Jack
whispered.

Where the
canopy ended, the flowers continued. They acted like a path that
would lead them to the chairs. Flowers were twined around the white
chairs, branching as if they’d grown from them. It all looked so
natural. The garden was enveloped in the sweet fragrance of roses.
Row upon row of white chairs faced the canopy and a platform where
they would marry. Lining the path to the platform were large glass
vases, each of which held a tall candle. Each vase sat at the end
of every row.

“
So, this is
where you will marry,” Ember smiled.

“
It’s
beautiful,” Cora whispered.

“
This will be
the day look. The night look will be a little different. The
candles in the vases will be lit during the day and you will see
them more clearly because I will add a touch of magic.” Tabitha
nodded her head as her leaf green eyes shimmered with
happiness.

“
This leads
around to your night reception area,” Ember gestured to the side of
them.

Cora now
noticed that by the side of the chairs were vines. Vines so thick
you couldn’t see through them. They looked like they had grown up
from the soil and had twined around each other to create the
wall.

Tabitha led
them around the vine wall and underneath the vine arch into the
area.

“
This is where
your reception will be hosted.”

Cora knew that
Tabitha and Ember watched them for their reactions. Cora’s heart
fluttered as she smiled. This was it. Her dream wedding. Tabitha
and Ember knew her so well; they knew everything she would want on
their day. She couldn’t have done this herself.

The vines
sprawled above them, like a canopy of branches. As the vines ended,
tree branches started. On these branches were balls made up of the
vines. The balls floated in different sizes and colours, and they
were spread around the entire area.

“
The vine balls
will hold light,” Tabitha told them. “The whole area will flicker
with soft candle light.”

Tabitha
threaded her way through the circular tables, leading them into the
middle of the area.

“
This is your
table.”

The circular
table with the white cloth seated two high back white chairs. A
large vine hung over them. It must have been the biggest vine in
the whole garden, with the biggest ball, making sure they were the
focus. A small, square vase sat in the middle of the table. Nestled
inside were twinkling fairy lights.

“
When the table
is fully decorated there will be a ball of roses sitting on the top
of it, just to finish it off.”

Cora could see
that Jack was taking it all in. It was a lot to come to terms with.
Especially for a man who usually turned up on the day to simply say
the words. Ember and Tabitha had really pushed themselves in such a
short space of time.

Tabitha’s leaf
green eyes studied her. Ember’s grey eyes shimmered. Tabitha and
Ember were as bad as each other, neither could contain their
tears.

“
What do you
think?” They both asked together in unison and laughed.

Cora looked at
Jack and smiled. “I think that it is perfect.”

“
We haven’t
finished yet, so please remember that.”

Ember was ever
the perfectionist.

Tabitha made
them weave through more tables until they reached the dance floor.
This is where they found Eli.

“
Didn’t this
used to be the decking area?” Jack asked.

“
Let’s face
facts, brother, we never really used that decking anyway,” Eli
said.

Jack shrugged.
It was true, even Cora knew they hadn’t used it.

Above the
dance floor were a string of bulbs. The multi-coloured light bulbs
crisscrossed creating what looked like a pentagram. Tabitha and
Ember stood in the middle of the dance floor.

“
I love it,”
Cora whispered, trying to push the words past the lump in her
throat.