Page 130 of Forever My Siren Luna

As we raced forward, I suddenly felt another tear in my heart that had Val roaring loudly with the pain. I’m choking with the dread of finding out what it was from. My world was collapsing, and we could do nothing but run towards the end.

The howls and cries of sorrow from our pack members started to flood my mind. The warriors of our pack must be close. Was the battle at our borders where this….this happened?

My necklace. I left my necklace for him. I had hoped it would keep him safe the way it always kept me safe. I felt it would. Did Percy not get it to him in time?

The guilt and despair in me were amplified by the cries of our people. This can’t be happening. He can’t be gone.

The sky started to change. It began to clear into a normal night sky, though still polluted by dragon's smoke. We must be getting closer to the border. I could feel the pull getting stronger. My heartache was getting stronger as well.

“Cherum,”I whispered, seeing his silhouette when we climbed the final hill. “Cedric.”Both men were bent over a large heap. It took Val’s eyes a moment to adjust in the dim light to realize that the heap was the bodies of two men. My father and my mate.

Lord Tenebris was dead several yards away, but it appears he took the lives of my only family I had left with him. I can’t believe this. I don’t want to believe this.

“No,”I cried brokenly. Val, too stunned and too weak to take the final steps to confirm what we already knew, threw herself into the back of my mind and pushed me forward. The tears in our hearts were too big.

With my wobbling legs, I kept forward, until my knees gave out and I fell to my feet. Both men were completely still. My father was lying across Lachlan’s chest, unbreathing. His golden hair was as white as his skin. His stiff body was cold; as cold as the sheen over his eyes.

“Ela,” Cherum moved his large body closer to mine. He pulled me into his lap, his tears raining down on me. I cried against his chest, too afraid to look at the face of my husband. If his eyes were as lifeless and glassy as my father’s, it would haunt me for the rest of my life.

“Ela, look,” Cedric urged me to pull away from my Delta. I pulled my hand out of his grip, tucking it between Cherum and me. “Ela!” His voice was hoarse and sounded rough.

“No,” I gasped, unable to even breathe. “No…. I….. I can’t.”

“Ela, he’s not-” Cherum started to say.

“NO!” I screamed, feeling hysterical. “NO! I CAN’T!” Seething fury filled me. My body was shaking, my fit pounding against Cherum’s chest. “I can’t! He…. he can’t be…. He can’t….”

“Lira,” the soft voice called out my name. I choked on a cry, not believing my ears. I’d gone mad. I’m now hearing his voice. “My Lira.”

“No,” I choked. “Stop! I can’t do this! I can’t-”

“Baby,” warm, familiar arms pulled me away from Cherum’s chest. I gasped when sparks began to travel from his touch.

My head turned with a jerk, and sure enough, it was him. Lachlan. My mate. My jaw fell at his beautiful sight. There was no way. This was not possible. I felt him die. I felt the bond break. I felt it the moment his life was taken from me. Nilo felt it. This couldn’t be. My mind had to be slipping.

“ELA!”Val screamed in my head. “Killian… I can hear him. I can… I can feel him.”

As I stared in disbelief, I realized I could feel Lachlan too.

“Lira,” he whispered, pulling my arm until the shock left me and I leaped into his lap. My arms were wrapped around his neck, holding him tight.

“How?!” I gasped, new tears spilling from my eyes. “How… How did…. Lachlan,” I wailed, breathing him in. It was him. He was alive. I don’t know how, but he was alive.

“My Lira,” he shuddered, squeezing me into his warm, massive frame.

We sat there, crying and holding one another. I could barely string together a coherent thought. I truly couldn’t find the words to ask how this happened.

“It was your father,” he whispered brokenly. “He saved me. He gave me this.” Lachlan shifted our bodies to show me my necklace I had left behind. “He gave me the rest of his magic, Lira. He saved me. He gave his life for mine.”

“How?” I gasped, looking sorrowfully at my father. My gut twisted, and heat pulsed behind my sore eyes. “I mean, why? I just….I don’t understand.”

Lachlan smiled sadly, then placed a hand over my belly. “Your father knew a secret no one else knew. I heard his final words as he left.Watch over them all. I leave my family to you. He knew,” tears streamed from the corners of his eyes. “He knew.”

He knew? I looked down and then realized what Lachlan was saying. Lord Tenenbris had said that he would also have Lachlan’s heir if he had me.

“Really?” I whispered. “He knew?”

“He knew.” Lachlan’s grieved smile was heart wrenching.