Fifty-four.

So far, lunch was going better than expected, for Iona mostly because despite her Aunt's threats, Alasdair MacDonald was not in attendance, though with the amount of people sat around the table he may be the only person in the county that wasn't. Isla had went to town on the guest list, excluding Granny and Grandad, she noted, but including even the likes of Calum's Uncle Colin, who Iona wasn't convinced had even met Colt yet, and even Jimmy, who owned the pub Colt worked at, had a place here.

However, despite her mate's notable absence, it didn't stop the young woman apprehensively watching the restaurant like she were some hybrid cross between a meerkat and a pigeon. The truth in her gut was, she didn't know what she hoped for at this point, Alasdair's continued absence or his sudden arrival. Iona inwardly cursed herself for missing him, she was sat next to her fiancé for crying out loud.

Meanwhile, Isla was watching her niece and Samuel, like an over friendly hawk. Her brother had encouraged her to do as much as possible to put the brakes on this situation, knowing his sister's ways would be more effective than his own; and Isla had used this to take full liberties and meddle as much as she pleased. But for now she was focusing on observing them, they were the most unloved up pair she had ever seen. Yes, there was a care for one another, that much was obvious, but despite their occasional shared jokes, there was no attentiveness to each other, something was missing, and Isla was determined to get to the bottom of it.

The large group were just beginning to dig into their main course when Isla glanced up again, and she noticed an empty chair beside Felix's; Lewis hadn't yet returned from the bathroom it seemed. Her eyes meticulously scanned the restaurant, she couldn't see him anywhere, but she could if she concentrated enough, hear him.

He was laughing.

Suddenly, Isla was chewing the inside of her lip annoyed. This was a family held occasion, Calum's mother and Uncle were here as well, and that boy had skulked off somewhere. She was livid.

"Excuse me," Isla stated politely, before heading off towards the secluded bar area.

She followed the sounds of her son's familiar laugh, and right enough she found him hiding out of sight. He was leaning against the bar a pint in his hand, while he was flirting with a couple of very pretty waitresses; and by the smell, one of them was a rabbit. No wonder she was lapping up his attention and forgetting her job responsibilities.

"Lewis Merrier, I presume one of these girls is your mate?" Isla spoke with an eerie calm, her sudden appearance causing her son to jump.

Both girls had the decency to step back, looking shocked at the accusation, while Lewis himself almost choked at his Mom's words.

"Mom! What? No." Lewis coughed, "Why would you even ask such a thing?" He demanded, his face flushing from the embarrassment.

"Well, I can't really think of another acceptable reason, my youngest and underage son, I might add," she stated taking his pint off him to place on the bar, "Would ever dream of ditching his family on his only sister's birthday. His only sister, who is the only reason his dream of visiting this country came true. His only sister, who almost died last year and was in a coma for her last birthday..." Isla ranted until Lewis cut her off.

"My only sister, who is so caught up in her mate she is practically on his lap, and hasn't even noticed I'm gone you mean? Also I'm only chatting, you can loosen the apron strings, Mom, the world wont fall to pieces if you do." Lewis sarcastically bit back at his Mom, showing off in front of the giggling girls, while attempting to reach for his pint.

But Isla blocked his way, her pupils dilating into dangerously narrow slits, "Lewis Merrier, you dare tell me that I should loosen the apron strings? That's rich coming from the boy who still tried to sneak into bed with me at twelve years old during a thunderstorm, and who at eight years old, I had to still chase out of the bathroom, just so I could pee in peace! I raised five of you boys, and you by far were the clingiest of them all! Now get your scrawny backside back to that bloody table or so help me, I will tan it back and blue in front of these girls, right here!" Isla hissed out, making the girls step back, it almost looked like they were clearing a spot for her to follow through on her threat, almost.

Lewis gulped, his eyes bulging from his head as he realised he had went too far. The two girls were looking at their feet when Isla rounded on them next, her eyes still revealing how close she was to shifting.

"Excuse us please," she smiled, shocking them that they too weren't receiving the wildcat female's ire, "My son is needed back at the table, with his family."

With that she grabbed his ear, pinching just enough to make him uncomfortable as she turned him to face the direction of the table.

"Walk. Now, Lewis." She hissed, letting go as he walked dejected and humiliated back to the table. "We will be having words with your Dad about this later, Young Man." She added, making him gulp.

When they had arrived back at the table, Isla had schooled her face into a smile, and her eyes had returned to normal. She took her seat to resume her meal, with only Kalvin looking at her with a slight smirk on his face, proud of how his wife was always more than able to rein in their wayward children.

"What?" Isla asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"Just how amazing you are, Beautiful." He smiled back at her.

Isla quickly reached for his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze before responding, "You're a soft hearted fool, Kal," while smiling sweetly back at him.

"No, I'm your soft hearted fool." Kalvin corrected, making Isla's smile widen further.

"And, I wouldn't have you any other way." She responded genuinely, leaning over to peck him on the cheek before returning to her meal.

-----

They were just finishing dessert when Isla did finally speak up in Samuel's direction. Having engineered the lunch so she appeared to ignore him for most of the meal. But the truth was she had very quickly assessed, exactly what was missing. Iona was clearly marrying Samuel to shield him, and despite the lack of obvious attraction, Isla wanted to know, if Samuel was as protective of her niece as she was of him.

"So Samuel, tell me," Isla began, garnering everyone's attention, as Iona's eyes widened in panic, "Do you know about Alasdair MacDonald?" She asked, cutting straight to the chase.

Samuel looked lost, what did Alasdair MacDonald have to do with anything? He looked to Iona for clarification on what her aunt meant but was met with a face of panic; this only lead to him becoming concerned about what was about to unfold, it was more than apparent that the wildcat giving him her attention, took no nonsense, they had all heard her scolding her son earlier.

"I thought not." Isla responded, with a knowing nod.

"Auntie, stop. Please," Iona begged, there was too much of an audience here.

"What's going on?" Samuel asked, "And what has Alasdair got to do with it? Isn't he your pal Calum?" He asked.

"Aye, among other things. He is also..." Calum nodded, delighted by Isla's direct nature, but was cut off by Iona's hiss.

"Don't you dare," Iona seethed.

"Iona?" Samuel asked, "What's going on?" He asked again, his irritation growing at being clearly out of the loop.

But Iona couldn't answer, she desperately wanted time to freeze, or rewind, or fast forward. She wasn't sure, she just didn't want to be here.

"Iona, you plan on marrying him. You have to tell him the truth, or I will. It isnt fair, because if he cares about protecting you as much as you do about him, then he won't want you to give this up." Isla said gently, "And, I actually think he does."

"Iona Campell, what are you not telling me?" Samuel asked, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed, waiting for the truth to come out.

Iona was looking at her feet, or at least imagining them shuffling under the table she was sat at. She felt completely cornered, but she wasn't angry. Her aunt had engineered a way out for her, where she herself didn't have to betray her best friend. It was what she hoped for every day more than anything. But taking that final step, towards her own happiness was daunting; plus there was the question, could she even be happy with Alasdair?

She looked at her cousin sat so close to Calum, as he discreetly slipped his mobile back into his pocket; they looked like they were so connected, even breathing in time with one another, hands interlinked as they sought out as much contact as possible. They were so in tune with each other, it astounded her. Then she thought of her Uncle Kalvin, the way he always had an eye on her Aunt, how he instantly relaxed whenever she got near him, and vice versa.

Could this be her future? A future where she found total contentment in the arms of her mate, where everything else was a minor hiccup of life, so long as they had each other? Could she even offer the same support back? She would hate to fall short, and neglect Alasdair in some way; she had already pushed him away for so long. But that kiss they had shared; it was still seared onto soul, causing her to think of him every chance she got.

"Do I have to ask your Auntie?" Samuel pressed her further when she didn't respond, pulling her from her wayward thoughts.

Iona sighed looking at Samuel with stress etched in her face, he knew she had been hiding something, and now he was absolutely sure he needed to know what. She opened her mouth to speak, but her mouth just gaped like a fish, Iona didn't know how to say it, especially knowing how the words could condemn him.

Then came a soft and unexpected voice from behind her, "So, bloody stubborn, even to the end," Alasdair sighed, placing a soft hand on her shoulder, and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Iona only just managed to restrain the purr that tried to rip from her throat, at the warmth that filled her from the gesture. She had no idea where he came from, or how he knew to be there, but she was glad he was. However, when she looked up at her mate's eyes she saw he wasn't looking at her. All the gentleness had fled from his demeanour as his jaw tightened and he spoke again, this time aimed at her fiancé.

"What she is struggling to say, is she found her mate, Samuel, and that I intend to claim her."

*Author's Note: Christmas prep is in full swing here, this may be my last update till after the big day, but I hope its not. If it is, I hope whatever you celebrate at this time of year is a happy and joyous occasion. Merry Christmas from us all the same. B x.*

*P.S. Who knows what Isla worked out? Did you guess? It will be revealed in the next chapter....