Page 12 of Forever My Siren Luna

Looking back at the men I know all too well, staring at me and Jack on the dock, my eyes meet Cherum’s, who is standing just a few feet in front of me. His expression is full of bafflement, but also that same level of devotion that I grew used to in this second life. I have no doubt in my mind that he is glad to see me back, even if I’m not sure how the others are feeling.

“Cherum,” I whispered, offering him a small smile.

His answering grin is ecstatic, and he takes the last few steps to close the gap between us and wraps me in his arms as Jack lets me go and takes a step back. I told Jack enough about the Delta that he knew not to worry.

I can’t help but squeal as Cherum lifts me in his arms, twirling me around him.

“Oh, lass. I missed you greatly.” His voice was thick with emotion, making me wrap my arms tighter around his neck.

“I missed you too,” I murmured, trying to keep my emotions at bay. Even Val is content in the arms of our friend. She’s let up some of her tension, letting Cherum’s soothing touch comfort her.

“Don’t go running away without me again, Ela,” he told me when he finally set me back on my feet.

I choked out a laugh. “Are you saying you would run away with me?”

He smiles broadly, his cheeks as red as his thick beard. “Aye, lass. You are my Luna, wherever you choose to go.”

Heat builds behind my eyes, but I swallow down the tears, looking away so the raw emotion and devotion on his face doesn’t put me over the edge. I don’t want to cry here in front of so many people. He might be happy to see me, but I did run away from this pack. Others might not feel the same way.

“Ela,” Jack coughed behind me, helping me to regain my composure.

I looked back and smiled at him gratefully. “Jack, this is Cherum, the Delta of the pack.”

He stepped up behind me, his hand resting on my shoulder again. “It’s great to finally meet you, Cherum. Your accent?...Are you perhaps not from here?”

That’s right. They have a similar accent, which is one of the reasons I warmed up to Jack so easily. He reminded me of Cherum in many ways. He acts like a big brother, just as Cherum does to me. An overprotective big brother.

Cherum gave Jack a wary look. “My mother is originally from a pack in the northwest, but she moved here with my father when he found her to be his mate.”

“Hmm,” Jack looked at him curiously. “Well, it’s great to meet a man our Ela has spoken only good things about for the last several months. Meeting you first must be a great relief to her,” Jack said, squeezing my shoulder a bit tighter. He does that action often when he is acting protective. It’s like he’s trying to lend me some of his strength. Again, it’s a familiar touch Cherum used to do to try and comfort me.

“I’m here too,” another familiar voice spoke up from behind Cherum. My smile slid off my face, knowing that this was inevitable.

Cedric was standing there when I peeked around Cherum's broad frame, an anxious expression on his face. He is tensing and flexing his hands at his side, as if he wishes to hold me too, like Cherum did.

I trust Cherum. I’m not sure yet if I can trust Cedric again. During our last conversation he admitted to hiding vital information from me, claiming to do it for my own good. I don’t know how to react to him now. He was one of my best friends, someone I spent every second with when I wasn’t with Lachlan. It’s so hard to decipher everything that happened. I know the betrayal between Leona and Lachlan wasn’t his doing, and I can understand that my father was the one who asked him not to tell me about his part in bringing me back to life and sending me to the past, but I feel as if Cedric still could have said something sooner. He knew that Lachlan was the same man from my first life, and he still let me believe he wasn’t, as I slowly fell in love with a lie.

All I could do was stare at Cedric stoically, letting all these conflicting thoughts race through my head.

“He isn’t the worst in this situation. He doesn’t carry the most faults. That man is,”Val huffs, meaning Lachlan, “Cedric never really liked him. Maybe that was why.”

“Maybe, but he still never told us anything until he saw the way I reacted to my uncle’s men.”He could have said something sooner.

Thinking of my uncle’s men, I turned my attention back to Cherum, choosing to hold off on any interaction with Cedric until I know those men are no longer here. “If they are, I get to deal with them,”Val snarls.

“Agreed.”

“Cherum. Those men my uncle sent. What happened to them?”

His face clouded over, his eyebrows drawn down. He turns and stares at Percy, who is shifting on his feet, looking guilty.

“Um, I dealt with them, Luna,” Percy told me. “Some of them were the ones who hurt Yasmin, so I ended them. We killed all of them except for the biggest one. Issac, I think his name was. Your husband and father were the ones who tortured and killed him. They….they were very thorough too.”

“They’re dead?” I asked, confused. I knew Lachlan was mad that night, but I didn’t think he would really kill all of them.

“Aye, lass. That was what Alpha and Nilo were doing the morning before you left. During the interrogations, many disturbing things came to light. That man, Issac, was one sick bastard. When he confessed everything, Alpha and King Brennus were not going to let his death be quick or easy.”

What? He hadn’t done anything yet, though. What did he confess to?