Her dragon spoke up. You want to do everything in your power to get him to kiss the other female.
Look, Killian returning to his old self will make a lot of people happy. That's all that matters.
It won't make you happy. After all, he never looked twice at us before he lost his memory.
That doesn't matter. I'm not going to be selfish in this. As it is, I have no wish to have a real mate for many years to come.
Her beast fell silent. Brenna pushed aside any worry at her usually forceful dragon, pasted on a smile, and entered Killian's room.
~~~
Caitlin O'Shea watched her son's chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm and tried not to feel guilty.
After all, if she hadn't been so afraid several years ago, she would've taken Lorcan as her mate and he could've helped protect Glenlough. The attacks may never have come, to either her daughter or her son.
Her dragon huffed. You are assuming more blame than is necessary.
Not true. The alliance would've kept the other Irish clans at bay. Northcastle is stronger than most.
But not Glenlough.
Cockiness won't help anything. Strong as we
are, we couldn't save Kieran.
Kieran O'Shea had been her mate and father to her children. He'd been killed during a skirmish with the Northern Irish humans decades ago.
Circumstances have changed. Dragons aren't fighting humans. Rather, we're trying to get along with them. We don't need Northcastle.
Caitlin hated to give up, but when her dragon formed an opinion, it was hard to shift it.
Instead, she picked up a wet cloth and wiped Killian's forehead. Her son was handsome, but Caitlin wished at least one of her children had inherited the blond hair of her late mate, to give her one more piece of her former love to cherish.
Her dragon sighed. Kieran is gone. We loved him, but it's time to move on. Stop ignoring every male that comes our way.
It's more complicated than that, dragon. Teagan is clan leader. I don't want to cause any problems, and taking a male could do that.
You never cause problems. After fifty-five years, maybe you should take a chance and live a little.
Why do you keep trying to change me?
I'm not. I'm trying to get you to accept who you are instead of being the shadow of our mother.
Caitlin leaned back. That's not fair.
It is entirely fair.
She wanted to growl and toss her dragon into a mental maze, but a knock at the door garnered her attention. Brenna entered with a smile. "Any changes?"
"No. But now that you're here, I'm sure you want to spend some time with Killian. I can leave."
She made to stand, but Brenna placed a hand on her shoulder. "Stay for a bit."
Brenna sat next to her, and Caitlin looked back at her son. Starting a conversation had never been her strong point, and it was even harder with an alpha personality such as Brenna's, even though she knew the female had a good heart and had been kind to Killian.
Used to her ways, her dragon merely curled up at the back of her mind and watched to see how things would play out.
Content to pluck at her trousers, Caitlin hummed a tune. After a few minutes, Brenna's voice interrupted the song. "I haven't heard that one before. What is it?"