Page 11 of Forever My Siren Luna

Cherum is the first one to dare walk close to her. Her eyes soften slightly upon seeing him. “Ela,” he whispers, but before he can get too close, the bulking man lands behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder, letting the rope swing freely behind him.

“You had quite a welcome party waiting for you,” he drawled in a slight accent. I can almost place it, but not quite.

“It seems so,” she mused, staring up at him with an easy smile.

Even her voice sounded different. More mature and less hesitant than before.

“Is one of these men your Alphamate,” he asked, saying the word ‘mate’ like it was a joke. He is looking around at everyone, his eyes landing on me, making a shiver travel down my spine.

He is powerful. He is definitely an alpha. What relationship does he have with Ela to be referring to Lachlan with such sarcasm?

“No,” she whispered, her eyes scanning everyone. I could be mistaken, but it almost seems like she is disappointed. “The Gamma and Delta are here, though.”

“That’s too bad,” the man smirks, tightening his grip on Elelira’s shoulder, pulling her closer to him, an action not missed by anyone. “I was so looking forward to meeting him.”

Everyone remained silent as an awkward tension filled the air. This man is clearly making a statement with his close proximity to Ela. He is claiming her. She has a naive look about her face, something that is not new. Even despite the maturity gracing her features that I can now see, she seems unaware of what the man is doing. This man is no fool. He is letting us know in a subtle way that Ela is here with him, and her husband is nowhere to be found.

Hurry up, Lachlan. I pray he gets here quickly.

~

Elelira

Looking around at all the familiar faces, I don’t know if I’m relieved or disappointed thatheisn’t there. I was so nervous as we sailed in. Truth be told, I’ve been nervous and worried for days now. I have barely slept the past few days. Beretta gave me some special tea she used to drink to help her pass out when she was suffering because of her ex-mate, but even that rarely helped. I would pass out quickly, but then have lucid dreams of the last moments I was in this pack and the horror I felt seeing my mate with that horrid woman.

Is that where he is at now? With that woman?

“We should have skinned her alive before we left,”Val grumbled in my head, resting on the surface, ready to spring forward to defend me against anyone who tries to hurt me. “It’s never too late.”

“We don’t even know if they have been together since we left. We haven’t felt the pains,”I reminded her.

“We won’t feel them unless he touches her. He could just be touching himself for now and watching her until we came back, like some men at the brothels choose to do. Who’s to say he won’t start now that we’re here?”

Somehow, I doubted that. He may be the same bastard as before, but I doubt he would hold back for my sake. He never had before.

Plus, I’m still clinging to some form of hope that he might somehow be different, despite him having lied to me the whole time we spent together. In the deepest corner of my mind, I still have hope he regrets giving in to temptation that morning.

“You’re a fool,”Val mutters, having given up on Lachlan, her trust in the mate bond all but shattered.

“I know,”I sighed, knowing how foolish it is of me to still crave that intimacy I was building with him, even if it was all for show on his part.

My heart broke learning the truth, then seeing him with another woman. Val’s trust was torn to shreds. Her love for the people here and her love for me is the only thing keeping her contained right now. She wants to escape back to the sea on Jack's ship and handle things like we have been, with raw strength we never got to use in the past.

Seeing Cherum and Percy brings back that sense of obligation, but then when I look at Cedric, I’m reminded of the betrayal I felt; not just by Lachlan, but by him and the man I always longed to know; my father.

“This is your show, Ela,” Jack whispered in my ear, pulling me back to the situation at hand. “If it is too much for you being back here, I can handle this if you want, but this is your objective. You are the captain now, lass. Act like it.”

I turned my face up towards his with a grateful smile. Jack is not one to let one of his men wallow in self-pity. Self-pity does nothing for a person. He tells us to use our sorrows and hardships to strengthen us, not make us weaker. This is a moment where I need to use my past as a source of strength, not feeling bad for myself and retreating into my mind.

“Thanks, Jack,” I whispered back.

He winked at me, his crooked smile easing my anxiety. “I’m here for you if you need me, but you got this.”

I nod firmly. I got this. This was what I was brought back to do. The man who simply created me from a one-off night with my mother might have brought me back out of guilt, but I have a reason for living now. My uncle was the source of so much evil in this world, and I can stop him. I can do what my mom never had the strength to do.

Stop Wayne Lambert.

I needed to protect the pack I was fated into, and the defenseless members of the pack I left. Val is ready. I am ready. Now, I just need Hidden Cove to get on board.