20. Declan

Ma disconnects the call,but before she did, I heard my father in the background calling the pilot of their private jet to arrange the flight here. They will get here in a few hours. I'll pick them up from the local airport. I hope she can help Miranda. She's asleep in Carter's arms. Part of me is glad she's calmed down, but a larger part of me is disappointed she's not in my arms.

Carter rises effortlessly, holding Miranda as if he's done it countless times before. Maybe he has. I shouldn't be jealous, now is not the time for jealousy about their friendship to rear its head. But damn it, I can't help it. I should be the one holding her. I should be the one she turns to for comfort.

He walks to the stairs. "Can you get the door?" he asks Stone.

Brick goes first, presumably to get the upstairs door. We all trail behind, a quiet procession of people trying to deal with everything happening. He carries her into our apartment and lays her on her bed, pulling up the covers. The bed we spent the night together in. I check the time on my phone. I can't believe how much has changed in less than two hours. It's like my life has gone from perfection to shit in the blink of an eye. Or the intrusion of my sister. That reminds me—I need answers.

Miranda is still sleeping, but I'm not concerned. She was like this as a girl. She'd be upset by something, cry her heart out, and then fall asleep. It's like her mind and body needed a break and a chance to reset from the turmoil. There were quite a few times when we were kids she'd be upset by something with her parents or a horse she loved being sold, and she'd go to our gazebo to cry it out and then fall asleep among the wildflowers. I'd lay there next to her and watch the clouds float by, content to be near her. I didn't realize then I was falling in love. We were children. Adult love wasn't a thought in our heads yet. But it was there in my heart.

"Here, eat something," Stone says as he slides a turkey sandwich in front of me. "Everyone else, help yourselves."

Feeding people is Stone's thing. He's a bearded, burly guy like most of my teammates, but he has a Betty Crocker heart.

"Thanks." I pick up my sandwich. He used his special cranberry mayonnaise made from cranberries his family grows. It's my favorite.

"Are you going to tell me why you're here, Soph?"

"You don't know?" Coach asks.

"Him and Miranda left before midnight. They missed it," Mallory says.

"Missed what?" I ask.

Coach chuckles. "Sparky, show him the video."

Mallory pulls her phone out of her back pocket, pokes and swipes, and hands it to me. "Hit play."

I do and watch as the last bits of confetti drift down over the crowd of revelers. Teagan wishes everyone a happy new year when Coach takes the microphone.

"Happy New Year everyone. Before you go back to celebrating, we have one more thing to do. Where's Carter?" He appears to be looking through the crowd. "There you are. Come on up here."

Carter makes his way through the crowd and joins Coach on the stage. He's smiling and waving to the crowd, but his confusion is obvious.

"You're our first line center and my future brother-in-law." There are some hoots and hollers from the crowd. "You showed us you can dance earlier tonight." Now there are cheers. "So, I dare you to show the nation you can dance. You have been chosen to compete on the upcoming season of Celebrity Dance Dare-Shifter Edition."

Carter stands there in shock, his eyes wide and scanning the crowd. A camera crew has joined them on stage.

"Meet your partner, Sophie Mackenzie!"

Sophie walks across the stage, smiling and waving, and Carter still looks in shock.

"Trevor, it's wonderful to meet you. I hope you have your dancing shoes laced up because together we are going to win the Platinum Paw. Are you with me?"

"You're my partner? How are we going to train with me playing?" Carter asks.

Sophie nods, smiling like she's in a toothpaste commercial. Not her normal smile at all.

"We'll go over the details later," Coach interjects before smiling at the crowd again. "The Devil Birds are such a big, happy family that even your dance partner is part of the family. Sophie is your line mate, Declan Mackenzie's, sister. Mac, come on up."

Teagan murmurs something the mic thankfully doesn't pick up. Coach nods and continues speaking.

"You will train together and compete on national television to bring home the Platinum Paw trophy. We gotta start filling our trophy case at The Nest. Show ‘em how it's done."

The crowd cheers and the video ends. I hand Mallory back her phone.

Rising, I wrap my little sister in a hug and lift her until her feet are off the floor.

"Soph, how wonderful! You're performing as a pro? I'm so proud of you."

She hugs me back and kisses me on the cheek before I set her back on her feet.

"Thanks, Declan. I'm excited to get out of the troupe and see how the US show works. It's a much larger production than the UK version. Almost as big as the main show Ma and Ian are on."

I explain to my friends, "Our mother is a former championship ballroom dancer. She's the lead judge for the original Celebrity Dance Dare in the UK. Sophie's twin brother is one of the pro dancers on it and has won twice. He's a wolf shifter too, but his partners are usually human, not paranormal folk unless they are big name A-list celebrities."

"You volunteered for this?" I ask Carter.

Carter rolls his eyes. "No, I was voluntold in front of the crowd."

Sophie huffs out a breath. "Well, you weren't my first choice, but I know Dec won't do it."

Oh boy, Carter has already gotten on Soph's bad side. Heaven help him.

"As part of the PHL marketing campaign," Coach says, "each team has a player on a reality TV show. Oliver King from the Sasquatch is going on Bigfoot Finds a Bride. Someone from the Aliens is going on Secret Singer."

"I still don't know how it's going to work to learn dance routines in addition to hockey practice and games." Carter looks like he sniffed a dozen dirty jockstraps.

His sister rolls her eyes. "Trev, you have a dance studio downstairs. You help Kennie with her cheer team. With Randi here, you'd probably be dancing or stunting with her all the time. You can find the time to work with Sophie and kick ass in the competition."

"She's traveling with us too," Coach says. "The way our schedule falls, you won't miss any games for the live shows. It's perfect."

"Yay." Carter circles his finger in the air with mock enthusiasm.

I shoot him a look. I don't care if he's my friend, he's not going to disrespect my sister. Before I'm able to say anything, Sophie is toe-to-toe with him with her finger poking his chest. She's so short she's poking at her nose level.

"Listen boyo, this is my opportunity to make a name for myself, and you're not going to screw it up for me. Do you hear me?"

"Hey Kennie, there's another tiny but scary one around now," Coach says to his sister with a wink.

We all laugh when Kennie scratches her nose with her middle finger.

Soph stops poking Carter's chest and grabs the front of his shirt and gives a yank. "Show me the dance studio."

They disappear downstairs. Poor Carter. My sister is as stubborn as a mule and when she wants something, she isn't letting anyone or anything keep her from her goal. He's going to be dancing his ass off regardless of what he wants.

Going into my bedroom, I strip the sheets and start the laundry. I stand there with my hands braced against the washing machine, my head hanging. What the fuck am I going to do? If Miranda didn't know she's a witch and thinks my unicorn is a dream, what else has been kept from her? What else have her parents brainwashed her into believing? Because that's what they did from the sound of it. Locking that sweet little girl away with the bare minimum until she admitted to what they wanted to hear. How could you do that to a child? To someone you loved?

I think back to when I first shifted to my unicorn. I was shocked by the form I took. I knew I was a wolf shifter and part of growing up and my body maturing was I was going to start shifting. I wasn't prepared to see hooves where I expected to see paws. I knew about the Unicorn Council from my shifter history lessons, and I knew Grandpa Robertson was the Unicorn for the wolves, but I wasn't expecting it to pass to me. It doesn't automatically pass to the eldest male. It could have gone to any of my siblings. Or it could have gone to another branch of the family tree.

"Hey," Bedard says. "It's going to be okay."

My laugh is without humor. "The woman I love discovered she's a witch, I knew, and didn't tell her. I know her. She's going to think I lied to her. She's going to run."

"Why would she run? She has a job, her friends are here. You're here."

"She is used to being nomadic."

"But is that what she wants? It's what she's known, but it doesn't mean that's what she'd choose."

That brings me up short. All the times she moved as a kid she had no say in it. Her parents were calling the shots. When she was old enough to decide for herself, she settled at one high school and then spent four years at the same university. She went to New Zealand because her plans here changed with Kendall eloping and Carter choosing a pro hockey career over practicing law and being a sports agent. She was going to stay. And she came back. Last night—okay, early this morning—she was crying happy tears because of our future having a home and a family. Of being settled. She doesn't want to go. All the more reason I need to make sure she knows she's safe here, that she stays here. With me. Or without me, if necessary.

"You should shift and go for a run," Bedard says. "It's New Year's Day, it's a wolf tradition, right?"

It is. If I was with my family, we'd shift and go for a run around our estate in Scotland. We always spend New Year's and celebrate Hogmanay there. We run on New Year's Day to burn off the last of the alcohol we drank. As shifters, especially shifters of Scottish and Irish heritage, we have a high tolerance for alcohol, but we do our best to get drunk anyway.

"I don't want to leave Miranda. I don't want her to be alone when she wakes up."

"Kendall and I will be here. I don't know Randi as well as you do, but I think she needs some space to process things and decompress. I know how it is when the woman you love is hurting and you are powerless to fix it. You were there for me then, and I want to be here for you now. Go run, clear your head. I shouldn't say it's all going to be okay because I don't know, but I know it's not going to make it worse."

He's right, I know. But everything in me wants to be near her, to comfort her. What I want doesn't matter though. It's what is best for my dear Miranda that is important now.

Nodding, I sigh and push away from the washer. "Yeah, you're right. You promise you'll be here if she wakes up before I'm back? I don't want her to be alone right now. I'm worried about her."

Bedard claps me on the shoulder. "I'll be here. Kendall won't be going anywhere. She's dealing with guilt over how she got wrapped up with her ex and neglected their friendship. She won't do that again." He grins. "And you know where Kendall is, I am."

"Aye. Thanks." Now it's my turn to sigh. "Let me go see what the terrible twosome is up to. I can't believe they will be teamed up to dance together. I'm not sure which one I feel sorrier for. They are going to drive each other crazy. Sophie is an adorable little tyrant and Carter won't take anything seriously. It's going to be like oil and water."

"Or matches and kerosene," Bedard says.

I peek in at Miranda before I go downstairs. She's still sleeping peacefully, curled on her side with her hands tucked under her cheek. My heart swells with love for her. I hate that I accidentally hurt her. If I had any clue she didn't know about her powers, I would have spoken to her about it. Helped her learn about them. My mother would have taught her if her own parents wouldn't. It's her choice if she uses them or not, but at least she would be the one choosing. Too much of her life has been out of her control. I never want her to feel powerless again.

I guess it's ironic because I feel like I'm ceding my power to her, but she's always had it. I love her and as my fated mate, my goal in life is to make her happy and keep her safe. If it means I have to let her go at the expense of my desires, it's what I must do. But I pray I don't have to.

I go downstairs to find Carter and Sophie. Hopefully they are getting along because trying to dance with someone you don't like is challenging. I've watched enough episodes and heard the gossip from Ma and Ian that it was obvious which pairings couldn't stand each other. It was fun watching them grit their teeth and dance, but when it's my teammate and my sister, it's different. Carter needs to focus on the game and Sophie needs this chance to prove she's good enough to be a full-time pro and not get moved back to the troupe.

"You have a dance background." Sophie's voice pierces through walls, clear as day. "You know you must wear the proper gear. You wouldn't play hockey without your pads. You're going to wear Cuban heels on the show."

Grinning, I walk toward the dance studio at the back of the gym space. Carter's cousins participated in cheerleading and dance when they were younger. When the barn was converted from unused stables and added on to, they put in stuff for the other kids in the area to give everyone a safe place to hang out.

"Hey guys," I say as I enter the dance space. I recognize Sophie's fists on hips, head tilted back, glaring at a man pose all too well. I'm rarely the recipient, but our brothers are. We are about three seconds from a foot stomp or a shin kick, depending how pissed off she is. Carter is smiling down at her. This will not end well for him.

"I'm going to shift and go for a run in the woods. Want to come with me? Bedard and Kendall are staying with Miranda. She's still asleep. I don't know if Coach and Stone are joining us. It's New Year's Day, may as well keep with tradition even though the rest of the day has gone to shit. I need to do something before I go crazy."

Soph spins on her heel and walks over to where I stand at the edge of the blue tumble mat and wraps her arm around my middle. Carter can thank me for saving his shin later.

"Declan, I'm sorry I messed everything up for you. I didn't mean to. I'm an idiot. Please forgive me?" She looks up at me with her tear-filled blue eyes. Of course, I forgive her. She's my baby sister. I'll forgive her almost anything. She's impulsive but not malicious.

I return a hug and kiss her forehead. "Soph, there's nothing to forgive. Well, never burst into someone's bedroom like that again. But we didn't know Miranda was in the dark about everything. If I'd known, I would have done things differently."

My cheeks heat at the smirk spreading across Sophie's face.

"Okay, I'd still do things as they happened, but we would have talked about it. I never brought up my unicorn or her witchiness, because why would we talk about it? You know we don't talk about it in normal conversation any more than we talk about clipping our toenails. It's simply part of us."

"Ew, do not compare my powers to foot hygiene, thank you very much. And, as a dancer, we talk about clipping toenails more than you'd expect."

Shaking my head, I go back to the original subject. "Shift. Run. Want to?"

Sophie looks at Carter questioningly.

And he shrugs. "The woods here are great to run in. A river runs at the back of the property. My family owns most of the land around here, it's not a problem. The farm across the street is vacant. The kids are looking to sell, I think. It's not listed yet."

What kind of farm is it? I know Carter's extended family has a Christmas tree farm and some produce farms growing blueberries, corn, and other stuff. Is it big enough for horses? A family? I'll have to ask him about it, maybe I can make an offer to the family before it goes on the market. My horse farm was always a future thing but now that I know Miranda loves me too, it's a now thing. The plan was to go back to Ireland, but New Jersey is fine too. If this is where Miranda wants to put down roots, I will find us a farm. I was hoping to save more money before buying something, but I can get a mortgage. My wolf is ready to find us a den.

Soph shrugs and I refocus.

"Okay, let's go," she says. "My wolf hasn't been out to play in a while. She'll be happy to stretch her legs. And I need to see what your wolf looks like and how you move, since at least one dance will require us to incorporate your ‘wild side.' If you don't screw up and get us kicked off before then."

Carter's spine straightens and he plants his hands on his hips. His nostrils flare and he sucks in his top lip. This is the first time I've seen my happy-go-lucky landlord lose his temper.

"You don't have to worry about me being the reason we get kicked off. Make sure you choreograph good enough dances and I'll dance them. You do your job, I'll do mine, sweetheart."

Oh no. This is going to be ugly. You don't challenge Sophie and expect to escape unscathed. And she hates being called sweetheart like that. He's my friend. I should save him.

"Great," I say with faux cheer. "Carter, go see if Coach and Stone want to join us. We'll meet you out back."

He can be a fool, but he's not stupid. He nods and leaves the studio to go upstairs.

"I wouldn't have hurt him, Declan. I need him to be healthy enough to dance," Sophie says.

"And I need him to be healthy enough to play hockey. Please don't hurt him. He is silly sometimes, but he's a good man. He's not stupid, and he cares more than he shows."

"Whatever. I need to put up with him for two months. I can endure anything for that long, even your idiot teammate."

"Where are you staying? We're a full house here."

"I'm staying at Devil's Den. It's enough I have to dance with the man. No way would I want to live with him too. I don't know how you can stand living with people you work with."

I shrug. "I like them, and the rent is insanely reasonable. I can save more of my salary for a farm. It's good for me to live with people. It's too easy for me to be alone."

"If you lived alone, I couldn't have busted in on you this morning."

"If I lived alone, I wouldn't be with Miranda."

Her sigh betrays her exasperation. "Miranda, Miranda, Miranda. She's all you talk about. Trevor too. Are you sure there isn't something going on with those two? She seems more into him than you."

"She loves me," I say, barely restraining a growl. "They are friends. That's it. They were cheerleaders together in college."

"He was a cheerleader? Like shaking pompoms?" There is a touch of scorn in her voice that raises my hackles.

"Have you seen what they do? It's incredible. The strength and balance required by both of them is amazing. And the trust. Miranda put her safety and her life in his hands. The way she'd be tossed in the air and the flips she did and then get caught securely. It's an incredible amount of trust and connection to have with someone. But nothing romantic."

"Whatever," she says, reminding me of the moody teenager she was not too long ago.

"Come on. Let's get outside."

She picks up her phone and walks into the tumble gym. "Be right there," she calls over her shoulder.

I exit the door in the weight room to the backyard of the barn. Carter joins us with Coach and Stone.

"Run back to the river?" Coach asks.

"It's a few miles round trip," I tell Soph when she walks up.

"Sounds good," she says.

We shift into our animals—me, Carter, and Sophie as our wolves, Coach is a tawny cougar, and Stone is a gigantic bull moose with a massive rack of antlers—and start running toward the tree line. Carter gives a happy yip and Sophie howls. Howls reach our ears from the surrounding farms. Carter's family is celebrating too.

Stone slows down as we enter the woods and I realize with his antlers he needs to go more slowly to make sure they aren't knocking into the pine and oak trees. He gestures with his massive moose muzzle to go ahead at my own speed. I race ahead and catch up easily. We're individual but together, our strengths filling in for others' weaknesses like when we're on the ice. What Coach said in the video about us being a family is true. And I want Miranda to be a part of it. But will she? Alone and asleep and scared…will she ever be able to join us?

When we reach a clearing in the woods outfitted with a fire pit and chairs, Coach slows and shifts back, and we all follow suit. We take seats on either side of the cooler and Coach opens it up to see what's inside.

"Beer?" he asks, holding up a bottle of the IPA he favors.

"Yeah, thanks." I reach out to take it. I tip my head back to take a long sip. It's not going to make me even tipsy, but it's nice to have something to calm the racing thoughts in my mind. I stretch out my legs and kick them up the edge of the unlit fire ring. I hear rustling behind me and turn around to see Stone make his way into the clearing. He shifts and takes a chair on the other side of Coach, accepting the offered beer.

"So, this is quite the mess you find yourself in," Stone says as he lifts the bottle to his lips.

"Aye," I say with a sigh. "I'm hoping she wakes up and recognizes it was all a misunderstanding. I wasn't keeping secrets from her. I would never keep something like that from her."

We sit in silence for a few minutes. I can hear Sophie and Carter running back toward us. Carter stops when he enters the clearing and Sophie leaps on him, ready to tussle. She sees us sitting there and suddenly gets off him, sitting on her haunches primly and wrapping her tail over her feet. If she had a crown, she would have lifted a paw to make sure it was on straight.

"Good run?" I ask. She nods and looks at Carter. He shifts and walks to the cooler.

With a huff, she shifts as well and takes the chair across the fire pit from me.

"Beer, soda, or water, Princess?" Carter asks her.

Princess? Does he have no sense of self-preservation?

"Water is fine. Peasant."

Coach chokes on his beer and I sigh.

He hands her the water bottle and takes the seat next to her. He crosses his leg, resting his ankle on his knee and jiggling his foot. Sophie side-eyes his foot. When he starts whistling tunelessly, I mentally start counting, curious if I'll reach ten before she explodes. Carter somehow knows every button to push with my sister. This will be fun. I know she's my sister and I should be concerned, maybe, but Sophie can handle herself and it will be fun to watch Carter's tail be tweaked.

Stone is the brave one to speak first.

"So, you and Miranda?" he asks, tipping the lip of his beer bottle toward me.

"Yeah."

"Good. You two are right for each other," he says.

Sophie huffs.

"What?" I ask, knowing she's going to say something to piss me off. It's been that kind of day.

"Nothing," she says. I look at the rest of the guys. We all have sisters. We know the answer is never nothing.

I take another sip of my beer. I know her. She won't be able to keep her mouth shut. I can wait her out.

She rises and starts pacing between our chairs. "I know you think she's the one for you and you'll have your happily ever after. I want that for you, Declan. I really do. But it's not with Miranda. She likes to move around too much. She's not going to want to settle down."

She reaches up, undoes her ponytail, finger combs her long blonde hair and puts it back up. This is what she always does when she's agitated.

"Look at all the schools she went to. The second she finished university, she was gone. Then she shows up here. Who knows how long this will last before she's off to someplace new and leaves you behind like she's left everyone else behind?"

"What are you talking about? Who has she left behind?" Carter asks.

"Me!" Sophie cries, spinning to face him. "We talked about going to boarding school together and picked out our dream school. Then she gets the chance to go and leaves without me."

"She didn't choose to go away to school," I say.

"Yes, she did. She could have stayed with us, but she was tired of the village school and wanted to go to school in England where she could ride her precious horses. Mother wouldn't let me go and even though we had promised we'd go together or not at all, she went anyway."

I rise from my chair now to pace.

"Sophie, she was a ten-year-old little girl. What makes you think she had any say in the matter?"

"Her parents told me so. They knew I was heartbroken and tried to comfort me. They told me they tried to convince Miranda to stay after Ma put her foot down about me going away, but Miranda was insistent. She wanted to go there and ride for their equestrian team and make it to the Olympics. They gave me tea and biscuits while I cried. They took time away from packing to care for me. Then Miranda didn't even stay at that school to compete. She wasn't going to get to ride the horse she had her heart set on and raised a ruckus. They had to kick her out. When she went to the school in Portugal and refused to take part in class, they had to find another school for her."

"Soph, she was put in a German language immersion school in Portugal, and she didn't know either language. How the hell was she going to learn?"

I can't believe it when she stamps her foot like she's still a ten-year-old. I'd take another swig of my beer, but it's empty. Coach realizes and hands me a fresh one over his shoulder as I pace behind him.

"Thanks," I say as I hand him my empty bottle.

"Well, she knew English for all the schools in America and couldn't stay in any of them either." She stops in front of me and lays her hand on my arm. In a gentle voice, she says, "Declan, you know I love Miranda like a sister, but you can't rely on her. She's going to break your heart. I don't want to see you hurt."

I know she means well, but her ire is misguided. Miranda was a child. She had no say in where she went to school.

"She went to the same high school for her final two years and university for four. How do you explain that?" Carter asks.

Sophie turns to face him. "Her mother finally put her foot down and refused to let her flit around. She had to make the best of it where she was or they were going to pull her out of school, have her live with them, make her do an equivalency exam, and get a job."

"How do you know this?" I ask. This doesn't sound right to me.

"Her mother told me. We keep in touch. She's heartbroken over how Miranda treats them. Never returns their calls or emails. Didn't tell them she was moving to New Zealand. Didn't invite them to her college graduation. She cut them off."

My blood is simmering, but before I can erupt, Carter jumps up.

"They are complaining she didn't invite them to her graduation when they didn't tell her they were moving to Argentina? Can't be bothered to tell their child they are moving to another continent? She goes to California for Christmas to discover they've been gone for months. And she told them about graduation. I was sitting next to her on the couch when she emailed them the information. They never responded."

She twirls her ponytail around her finger. She's always done that when she's agitated.

"There are two sides to every story," she says. "We'll get to the bottom of it when her parents get here."

My wolf lets out a low growl, and I don't bother to try to hold it in.

"What do you mean ‘when they get here?'" I ask, my voice low. I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

She shrugs. Shrugs. "I texted them to let them know what was going on. They will be here in a few hours."

Coach tilts his head in confusion. "You texted Miranda's parents she discovered she's a witch and they are coming from Argentina in a matter of hours?"

"No, they live in New Jersey. I visited with them this week before I came here. Near some racetrack. Mammoth?"

"Monmouth," Carter says. "When did they move there?"

"I don't know. A bit over a year ago."

"Does Miranda know?" I ask.

"That they are in New Jersey? Yes, I assume that's why she's here. She regrets treating them callously and wants to make amends."

"So, as soon as she graduates and leaves the country, they suddenly move within an hour of where she spent the past six years? For twelve years they couldn't work it out to be in the same place she was so they could live together, but suddenly they can be here now? And she has to make amends? You don't think that's fucked up, Sophie?" Carter asks. It was exactly what I was thinking but couldn't say without many more expletives and maybe punching something.

"Are they coming here?" Coach asks pointing toward the house and barn.

"No. I have a suite at the Devil's Den. I said I'd meet them there. Can someone give me a ride back there?"

I don't want to leave Miranda except to meet my parents' plane and drive them back here. Carter looks pissed. I don't know if the two of them in the confines of Carter's little sports car is a good idea.

"I'll drive you," Stone says.

"Thanks." She turns to me. "I assume Ma and Dad will stay there too?"

"I already reached out to Teagan, and she has a suite ready for them," Coach says.

"Thank you," I say sincerely. I was focused on taking care of Miranda and didn't consider the logistics of where my parents would stay.

"Ready to go?" Stone asks.

Sophie nods.

We shift and run through the woods back to the barn. I'm eager to see if Miranda is awake, but I'm dreading the arrival of her parents. They seem to have Sophie fooled, but I'm not as gullible as she is. I know Miranda is nothing like Sophie says. I'm shocked Sophie thinks what she does. It doesn't make sense at all. Something isn't right here, and I'm going to figure it out.