Liam and Mathilda Kelly lived and idyllic but very busy life. Liam had adjusted remarkably well to being returned to life and was overjoyed to be with his growing family. His beautiful granddaughter was happy once again, he had lots of wee ones to spoil, and Mathilda loved him.

Their engagement hadn’t been long at all, and their marriage ceremony was small and private. Lenora and Tyrone stood with them as witnesses, and Crystal and Landon threw them a lovely intimate reception. Ariadne, herself, was there to bless the union. The only thing that put a shadow in their lives was that Mathilda still hadn’t found her daughter, Alina.

She consulted Gunther time and time again, but he could tell her no more than what she already knew. Alina still lived but because the fix on her was lost during transit, she could have landed anywhere or any when. “I am sorry, my friend, but you must brace yourself for the possibility that Alina landed on a world where magic does not exist. If that is the case, she is lost, for no magical means to find her would be successful.”

“I won’t give up. I will never give up,” Mathilda said in determination. She would find her and when she did, she vowed she would never lose her again.

As it turned out, it was Lenora and Tyrone’s nephew, Robin, who found Alina quite by accident. Alina had landed in a far off land called Dragon Valley where Robin worked as a police officer. He hired Alina as a personal chef for an evening to prepare dinner for Robin and his mother, Theresa, who was visiting to make sure her son was doing all right.

After discovering that it truly was her daughter instead of an Alina from a parallel world, mother and daughter reunited. Alina and Robin were now dating, and Mathilda expected to be hearing wedding bells soon.

What made everything even greater was how wonderfully Lenora and Alina got along. They became sisters to each other, and no two sisters could ever be closer. Mathilda was never so happy in her long, long life, and Liam took great pleasure in all of it.

One day, Mathilda came into the living room to find Liam sitting on the couch and staring distractedly off into the distance. “Liam, dear, are you all right?” she asked, setting beside him.

“Och, fine, love! Old habits die hard, and an old man always has his musings.” Liam gave his wife a sheepish grin. “I was just mulling over everything that has happened.”

“And?” Mathilda prompted.

“The family is growing by leaps and bounds. There is always someone paying us a visit or spending the night. I love it, and I love spoiling the wee ones. I’m thinking we be needing a bigger place,” Liam chuckled.

“I was thinking the same thing, actually. The gatherings seem to grow larger and larger. I’d also like us to have our work area somewhat sealed off from everything else. You and I both know there are things that shouldn’t be seen by just anyone,” Mathilda replied.

Liam nodded in understanding. “We could have something custom built for us. I think it’s save to say that money is no object, and we’d have complete control in including exactly what we want.”

Liam and Mathilda spent many hours sketching out possible floor plans. This was something Mathilda had never really experienced before. She’d been alone for so long that she’d never been in a position to design a dream home for herself and her husband. It felt so mundane, so human, but it felt good, too.

A week later, however, the subject of children arose, which brought home to Mathilda that she and Liam were no ordinary couple. “My Anne had a difficult delivery with our Maggie, ye see. The doctors told her she’d never have any more bairns. it nearly broke her spirit, and she was always haunted by it,” Liam explained.

Mathilda nodded. She’d tried to help Anne herself, but sometimes even magic could only go so far. “I’m sorry, Liam, dear. I know how much you always wanted a big family.”

“I did and I have one now,” Liam smiled. “It’s just…well..part of me wants to have a child with ye. I love ye, Mathilda and want us to have that special connection a child of our creation brings. The other part of me…well, knowing what we are, love, I wonder if it’s the wisest decision. Perhaps people like us shouldn’t have wee ones.”

Mathilda stood up and took Liam’s hands. He rose to his feet, and she studied him intently. “This is something that hasn’t been far from my mind either, Liam. You know I’ve had children, children I’ve had to watch age before me and die. Some asked a lot of questions while others just accepted it to be the way of things. In the natural order of things, children aren’t supposed to outlive their parents. We, my love, are different as you know. We would have to handle things…delicately.”

Liam nodded gravely. “We cannot freeze time for everyone. We would grieve for their loss when their time comes.”

“Both of us are no strangers to that, love,” Mathilda replied, caressing his cheek. “What would be different now is that we have each other, you and I. We wouldn’t be alone in our grief as we both were before.”

“This is true. Grieving alone is never good,” Liam sighed. “But until that time was to come, there would be much joy and love to experience. If we were to have a wee one, we should focus more on that and enjoy each day and all the time we have with them.”

“Very true, love. There is a lot to consider. We have our work and Lenora’s mission to think about. There is a lot riding on this mission,” Mthilda replied.

“Aye, there is that. Plus, we are in the midst of having our new home built,” Liam said.

Mathilda chuckled and patted his cheek. “We have plenty of time to make that decision. I say we let the chips fall where they may and deal with things as they come. Let’s let our new house be a main priority. We have a lot to look forward to and time enough to do what we need to do.”

“I cannot argue with that,”Liam said.

As it often happens in life, even in a goddess’s life, the unforeseen rears its head. She and Liam received an urgent phone call from Lenora asking them to come over as soon as they could. Lenora didn’t sound like herself, so Liam and Mathilda wasted no time in teleporting to the Landgraab house.

Lenora quickly hugged them and hurriedly whisked them inside. Mathilda grew increasingly more concerned as she watched Lenora perform some advanced spell work to lock the house more securely than what should have been necessary during the day. “What’s happened, child? Did you have a burglary?”

Lenora shook her head and ran a shaking hand through her hair. Liam hurried to Lenora’s side and pulled her into a tight, grandfatherly hug. “Darling Lenora, you’re trembling. What is it, girl?”

Lenora gulped audibly and held tight to Liam. “Tyrone and I…we had a…an encounter yesterday while we were out. This guy…he was as addled as the day is long…came up to me and was rather…well…forward. I don’t know if he is a fan or what, but he was too…I don’t know…” She shook her head in bewilderment. “I could feel through my empathic senses that he just wasn’t right. Tyrone sensed some kind of danger from this guy and…well, suffice it to say that an Alpha wolf on high danger alert is nobody to mess with. Tyrone is still in hyper vigilance mode, and I must admit that I’m still freaked. Oh, not at Tyrone’s reaction, of course, but because of this…whoever he is.”

“Bloody hell!” Liam cursed. “Did ye go to the police?”

“Oh, Grandda, there’s nothing they can do unless–”

“Unless something happens to ye,” Liam finished Lenora’s sentence. “Well, I think ye need to be elevating your security wards and hiring yourself a bodyguard. And the wee ones will be needing extra protection. Ye can’t be taking any chances with them, ye can’t.”

“We’re taking care of it, Grandda, I promise. Erica and I put tracking spells on the kids so we know where they are at all times. Tyrone has barely left my side, and the police are driving by our property more than usual during their patrols. I-I just wanted to tell you to watch out too and run it by you to see if I’ve overlooked anything. I haven’t had a vision about any of this so I just don’t know what direction to turn.” Lenora pulled away from her grandfather, feeling a bit steadier.

“When it’s something that affects your life directly, a vision rarely comes,” Mathilda reminded her.

“Oh, I know. I just wish there was an easy solution.” Lenora shrugged and heaved a long sigh. “I just want my family safe.”

Liam and Mathilda returned home after helping Lenora strengthen her security wards and assuring Tyrone that they would help keep a lookout. When Mathilda consulted Gunther, however, a feeling of foreboding settled over her. “Lenora will undergo yet another test of her courage, Mathilda, my friend. I am sorry I cannot reveal more. Constant vigilance must remain with you, and you and your Liam will need each other more than ever.”

Mathilda sat down hard and tried, without success, to quell the dread that settled in the pit of her stomach.

Author’s Note: Some of the events written here are from my story, Another World. However, with the transfer and revisions for this story, I will have to do a bit of tweaking for Another World as well. I will give updates as needed when significant changes come about. As always, thank you for reading, following, and commenting. 🙂