“This afternoon?” Margareta fanned her face as if she couldn’t gather all the thoughts swimming in her head. She sat at the dining room table with a cup of tea and a scone. “That’s not enough time. I mean, maybe tonight, but I would need flowers and cake and—”

“Tonight is perfect, Ma,” Euann said. He couldn’t have been more excited. He didn’t care what his wedding was like as long as it meant Cora’s was his forever. He saw no reason to wait. “Cora and I discussed it. She has no family to invite, so we’d love it if ya just planned it for us. If you’d rather we go to the courthouse—”

Margareta stood up, almost knocking over her chair in the process. “Don’t ya dare!”

“We don’t need much.” Cora slipped her hand into his. “Whatever we can throw together will be fine. As long as family is there, it will be perfect.”

His ma’s face lit up. She went to Cora, clutching her hands. “Really? I can plan it?”

Euann saw his mother’s hands shake in excitement. “Yes, Ma, surprise us.”

“We’d be honored.” Cora nodded, gazing into his eyes. She hadn’t asked for a ring or made any fancy demands. It’s one of the many things he loved about her.

“I have the perfect wedding ideas for Euann’s special moment.” Margareta threaded her arm through Cora’s. “Come with me. Let me show ya my wedding idea book.”

Malina came into the dining room. Seeing Euann, she furrowed her brow at him. “Hey, thanks for making sure I was awake for all the fun last night. Instead, you all left me to play sleeping princess under a spell. I had to hear about it from Rory.”

“Malina, enough,” Margareta scolded. “Euann and Cora are getting married tonight. I have a wedding to plan.”

“Wait, Ma is planning your wedding?” Malina looked around the trio for confirmation. “Ma, can I help? Please?”

“No smartass remarks,” Margareta warned.

“Wouldn’t dream of it. In fact, I was thinking of how beautiful your vision for number sixty-three in the wedding idea book is. It would be a shame if we never used it.” Malina turned, walking backward to follow their mother. His sister grinned mischievously, and he knew he’d be in for something oh so special.

“Tell Ma I’ll find my good kilt,” Euann said.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll be sure to do that.” Malina laughed and ran to follow his ma and fiancée.

“Angus MacGregor reporting for duty.” Angus appeared at Cora’s side. “I’m supposed to float ya down the aisle.”

Cora bit her lip and nodded. The dress she wore looked as if someone had hoarded it since the late 1700s. She only knew that because Malina had taken one look at it and said, “What the hell, Ma? Have you been hoarding this since your trip to France in the 1700s?”

It was around that time Malina had been kicked out of the wedding planning process.

The cream-colored gown came with a corset and was sewn of opulent silk. It even included a pannier which is what Margareta called the frame pushing the floor-length skirt out on each side of her hips but leaving the front and back flat. The woven silk fabric had a wavy pattern intertwined with flowers. A triangular piece pointed from her shoulders to her hips along the front. Metal thread gave it shape. The point lined up with the tip of a second triangle in the opposite direction, flaring from the widened hips to the ground. The fitted quarter-length sleeves widened at the end with a mess of lace and silk.

If ever she had little girl fantasies about her wedding day, they never included a dress like this. Or harps. Or clouds. Or a magickal warlock family from Scotland living in Wisconsin because of power lines.

Ley lines, she corrected herself. There was so much to learn.

She stood inside a canopy. Through the gauzy walls, she saw figures moving amongst chairs in the back gardens. They were blurs. Raibeart was obvious. He was hard to miss. Kenneth was upstairs with his crying daughter. Apparently, this reincarnation of Jewel had colic.

Cora counted figures, not knowing if she assigned them the right names, but seeing who all was there—Erik, Lydia, Iain, Jane, Rory, Margareta, Malina… There were three extra heads.

“Lass?”

She started counting again. A small figure ran across the gardens. “Is that a gremain?”

“Where?” Angus looked where she pointed and chuckled. “Close. That’s Traitor, your uncle Fergus’s dog. He snores like a gremain.”

“Euann told me about him. The English bulldog, right?” She willed the creature to come toward her, but it merely lay down in the aisle. The celestial music of harps began to play. “Now? Is it time?”

“Only when you’re ready. Ya don’t look ready. What is it?” Angus asked. “Are ya having second thoughts?”

“Not at all. I love Euann. My mind is just racing with all these fears and hopes. It’s like I can’t get it to be quiet. Do you think that’s a side effect of my new magick?”

Angus chuckled. “I think it’s a side effect of being a bride on her wedding day. Tell me, what’s worrying ya? We’re family now. Maybe I can ease your mind.” He arched a brow and leaned back slightly. “Unless it’s lady troubles, then I’ll get my wife.”

“Euann told me that he couldn’t shift, that he was supposed to turn into a fox, but couldn’t anymore.” Cora looked at her future father-in-law. “Should I be worried? Is that normal? Is he sick? If he gets the ability back, do I have to run away from him? Will he be dangerous? Or will he know me and—?”

“Oh, hey, calm yourself. No, it’s not normal, but it doesn’t mean it’s anything to fret over,” Angus said. “The shifters are part of who my sons are. They would not be able to lose it.” He patted her cheek. “But don’t ya worry none, lass. We’ll take care of it. Such concerns should not ruin your wedding day. What else?”

“What about a job? I should have one. I can’t just freeload off the family.” Cora’s hands shook.

Angus gave her a kind smile. “You’re right. Your mind is a cyclone of thoughts. Do not worry about jobs. You’re family. We know what that means. Ya will find your place.” He turned and picked up feathers from a table. “Now, put on your angel wings and climb up on that cloud. Let’s make this official.”

Nervous thoughts made time less fluid. She felt herself climbing onto a billowy mass shaped like a cloud. Her legs hung over the side, and she leaned awkwardly. It was all she could do to maintain her balance as the pannier pushed up from her hips. This was not a well thought out plan. Angus walked beside her, pulling her cloud perch through the canopy. Her wings snagged on the material, pulling uncomfortably before finally coming free. The harp music changed, not that she recognized any of the celestial songs. The sound of snoring drew her attention to the dog sleeping in the aisle. Traitor had his feet kicked into the air as he rested on his back. He wore a bandana that matched the MacGregor kilts. The dog’s lips vibrated with each breath.

The guests stood at her entrance, all in traditional Highland garb. They held candles in the evening light. Gold glitter began raining from the sky, coating everything. It tickled her exposed skin. The sound of childlike voices joined the harps.

This definitely wasn’t a wedding she could have come up with in any of her most bizarre of dreams.

Then she met Euann’s eyes and everything stilled. All her racing thoughts and worries faded away. She felt calm. It was the first time she’d been able to see him all day as the family had kept them apart for good luck.

And then she saw what he was wearing.

Her groom wasn’t in traditional Scottish garb like the others. Euann wore a fur cloak over his shoulders. It exposed his naked chest and legs. Instead of a kilt, white silk draped from his hips like strange shorts. A crown of leaves rested on his head. He grinned at her as if trying not to laugh at the ridiculous ceremony. His mother stood beside him, smiling so happily, Cora didn’t have the heart to return Euann’s smirk.

The childlike singing grew louder. She watched as winged creatures rose from the outside of the chairs. They were odd, chubby beings with tiny togas and wings. They drew back bows with heart-tipped arrows.

As they released, Cora gasped and tried to duck.

“Take cover,” Raibeart commanded.

The bulkiness of the dress caused her to slide off the cloud. Arrows whizzed over her as she landed on the ground. Her feet stumbled on the skirt, and she fell onto her chest.

“Ow, the little bastards shot me,” Rory screamed.

“No,” Margareta cried.

“Watch your candles,” a man ordered. “Tamp out that fire.”

“No, those represent the flames of eternal love. Ya can’t put them out,” Margareta protested. “Stop yelling. You’re scaring away the cherubs!”

Feeling breath by her face, Cora slowly lifted her head. Traitor stood next to her panting. His wrinkled face was lifted into a wide grin. He wiggled a little in excitement.

“Oh, hey there.” Cora pet the dog’s head as she pushed up. “Aren’t you just the little cutie.”

“This is not what I envisioned,” Margareta said. “Everyone take your seats.”

“Oh, this is exactly what I envisioned.” Malina laughed hysterically.

“Someone get this arrow out of my ass,” Rory begged.

A hand appeared next to her. She looked up at Euann. Tears of laughter were in his eyes as he helped her to her feet. Thankfully, the pannier disappeared, and her dress finally felt manageable.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Cora touched her hips.

“Ya can thank me later,” Euann said.

Angus sat in a chair, holding his stomach as he doubled over in merriment.

“Tell the truth.” Euann looked around at the chaos. Iain and Jane were trying to put out a fire. “This is the wedding of your dreams, isn’t it, future Mrs. MacGregor?”

She ignored the fires and the shouting as she touched his face. She gazed into his eyes. “It’s exactly everything I have ever dreamed of.”

Euann couldn’t stop laughing as he put his arm around her back to help her walk with him. “Raibeart, you’re up!”

An old leather volume had been set on a pedestal. Raibeart placed his hand on it. He looked at the crowd. “I vote we go with the fast version before someone is seriously injured.”

Raibeart was marrying them? Why not? This event was already strange.

Euann nodded in agreement.

“Good, you’re married.” Purple and white light shot up from the old book and rained over them. “To a long and happy life.”

They turned toward the family. Margareta was running through the gardens, chasing down cherubs. Malina sat by her father, pointing at Rory. Angus said something, and she laughed harder before nodding her head. She hurried inside the house.

A very neatly dressed woman with immaculate hair and pearls stood over Rory as he bent over a chair, tugging one of the cupid arrows out of his naked backside. The kilt had been removed so the woman could see the wound. Iain stood with Jane, Lydia, and Erik away from the chairs. Traitor seemed unconcerned as he came up the aisle and looked at her with his happy grin. What could only be cake frosting had been smushed along his chin and nose. She glanced over to see the beautiful wedding cake toppled over and dog-size prints leading away from the table.

“We need to get this dog to a vet,” Cora said. “I don’t think they can eat cake.”

“Trust me. He’ll be fine.” Euann lifted his hand. “Uncle Fergus, your dog!”

“Aye,” a man yelled, but he didn’t come to get Traitor.

Malina returned with champagne flutes and met the couple. She handed one to each and kept a third for herself. Angus whistled, and the chaos stopped. All eyes turned forward. Margareta approached with a cherub caught under her arm. The creature squirmed to be free.

“A toast, for my brother and his bride, but also a gift,” Malina said. She turned, sipping her champagne and prompting the newlyweds to do the same.

“What’s the gift?” Cora asked Euann.

“Apparently, my brother finally realized he didn’t have the ability to shift,” Malina answered Cora. “I had almost forgotten that I’d slipped a little potion into his cereal one morning after he put something in my shampoo bottle that made my hair keep turning white.” She eyed Euann. “You don’t shift very often if you are just now noticing. Anyway, the antidote is in there.” She pointed at Euann’s champagne glass.

Suddenly, Euann’s expression fell. He looked at the glass and then his sister. The flute dropped from his fingers, and he grabbed his stomach.

“Euann? What’s wrong?” Cora let go of her glass to help him.

“I’d stand back,” Malina said.

He opened his mouth to speak, but small teeth had replaced his normal ones. Fur sprouted on Euann’s face as his nose elongated. She heard a crack as his body fell forward and he landed on his paws.

“Foxhunt!” Iain yelled.

Euann looked up at her from his shifted gray fox form before darting down the forest path. He left his wedding clothes behind.

“Euann, wait,” Cora called. The men chased after him on foot.

Malina took her arm, holding her back. “Just a little prank. Call it a MacGregor family tradition. He’ll be fine in a few hours.”

Margareta huffed and let go of the cherub as she threw her hands in the air. She moved to go inside. “Anyone else need a drink?”

“As long as Malina’s not pouring,” Lydia answered with a wink.

“Welcome to the family, Cora,” Jane said. “Believe me, it only gets weirder from here.”