“Youcommittedacrime,and you shouldn’t get away with it.”
Suzie’s accusation hung in the air, sharp and relentless.Sienna’s face drained of color, her hands trembling as she gripped the edge of her chair.She looked just as she had those first nights in Cornwall—terrified, guilty, braced for the next blow.
Liam watched as Suzie’s words stripped Sienna of her composure.With her shoulders hunched and her chin lowered, she looked like a cat trying to disappear.
Fierce protectiveness surged in Liam’s chest.
“Enough.”His voice cut through the tension, sharper than he intended.All eyes turned to him, but he kept his focus on Suzie.
“She’s not getting away with anything.Look at her—she’s drowning in guilt.”
Suzie opened her mouth, but Liam pushed on.
“You want to punish her?She’s been punishing herself for months.Barely sleeps, and she watches me like I’ll collapse or vanish, convinced every setback is her fault.”
He stepped closer to Sienna—not quite touching, but near enough that she could feel his presence.
“She came here alone, knowing you’d be furious, knowing she might face consequences because she wanted to make things right.”
The silence thickened.Outside the tall windows, gray Scottish clouds pressed against the glass, mirroring the weight in the room.
“That doesn’t excuse—” Suzie started.
“No, it doesn’t,” Liam said, his tone softening.“But it explains a lot.And if you’d met her family, you’d understand why she was desperate enough to take such a risk.”Sienna finally lifted her gaze, her brown eyes glistening with unshed tears.“Liam, it’s not necessary for you—”
“It is,” he said, his fingers brushing her shoulder.“Because I know who you are, Sienna Teague.And I know what your family means to you.”
The room fell quiet except for the distant sound of wind rattling the castle’s ancient stones.Angus cleared his throat, breaking the spell.
“Perhaps,” he said diplomatically, “we should focus on the present situation rather than assigning blame.”
Niall stepped forward, smiling.“We’d like to meet your family.Not to judge them, but to know them better.”
“They don’t need your understanding,” Sienna said, though the heat had left her voice.She looked spent, as if the confession and Suzie’s anger had wrung out what little fight she had left.
“Maybe not,” Niall said.“But we’d like to help all the same.”
Suzie was studying Sienna with a different expression now—still wary, but no longer openly hostile.“How long have you been camping?”
“Weeks.”Sienna’s answer was barely audible.“We had to leave everything.Our home, our pottery business, the land that’s been in Papa’s family for generations.”
“Because of the hunters,” Liam added.“The ones I mentioned.They took a young teen from her home.Dragged her away in her leopard form.”
Suzie’s breath caught.“A child?”
“We got her back,” Sienna said, lifting her chin in a flash of old defiance.“But it only made things worse.Edwin Smith—the one funding the hunt—sent more men.It wasn’t safe for anyone with feline blood.”
“So you ran,” Angus said, not unkindly.
“We survived.”The words came out harsher than she likely meant.“My father and brothers can’t hide what they are when they shift back.Ears, tails, patches of fur.They’re different.Always have been.The villagers of Stoneford barely tolerated us before the hunters showed up.”
Clouds gathered outside, dimming the room as Angus moved to switch on a lamp.The warm light caught the exhaustion etched on Sienna’s face, the way her clothes hung loose from weight loss, and the careful way she held herself, as if she were bracing for another blow.
Liam saw the instant Suzie’s anger gave way to surprise, her shoulders easing as the fight drained out of her.She was seeing what he’d seen for months—a woman pushed to her breaking point, fighting for those she loved.
“Where are they now?”Suzie asked.
“About twenty minutes away.At a campsite.”Sienna glanced toward the window, where rain splattered against the glass.“They’ll be wondering where I’ve gone.”
