Page 14 of Forever My Siren Luna
“It’s my show, remember?” I moved my gaze up to Jack’s. He sighed deeply, resting his hand on my cheek for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“Aye, lass. You’re the captain now. I’m here if you need me.”
I smile gratefully. This is going to be hard, but Jack will have my back. If Lachlan won’t listen to reason, we can set sail and handle this a different way. My goal is to save these people, not rekindle a broken marriage with the man who has only lied and hurt me.
When I turn my face to look at him again, my resolve to not make this personal nearly crumbles.
His expression is so hurt, so full of pain, it’s like I can feel it myself. He’s staring at Jack’s hand still resting on my shoulder, and I realize that he is probably misunderstanding the relationship between Jack and me.
I shouldn’t care if he misunderstands, but I do. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea. I'm not like him. I won't betray the bond until it is broken.
I take a step away from Jack, forcing him to drop his hand, and take a steadying breath as Val controls the desire building in her to comfort our mate. She can feel the bond again, and seeing him isn’t helping.
“We have a job to do,”I reminded her.
“I know, but seeing him still hurts.”
I know what she means. “Use that hurt to protect the people we love,”I tell her. “We can’t go down that rabbit hole right now.”
“You’re right,”she muttered, solidifying her resolve again.
The mate bond is a scary thing. One look from Lachlan was all it took for her to start to crumple. She has it together now, though. She isn’t going to let me get hurt this time. I’m sure of it. She is burying her longing and her desire for her mate that the bond is making her feel now, focusing on what we need to do.
“Hi, Alpha Lachlan,” I said, squaring my shoulders and trying to keep the air of confidence I had as I first swung off the ship onto the dock.
His expression seems to fall more, his eyes crinkling with more stress as I address him so formally. “Lira,” he whispers, trying to take a step forward, but a menacing growl from Val is all it takes to make him stop.
“I’m not here for our personal matters, Alpha. I think we can wait to discuss that later when the time is right.” Like when I turn 20 and we can reject each other once again. “I’m here because of my uncle. I know as well as you do,” since he also knows the events of our first lives, “that he will be sending the clans from the North to attack Hidden Cove very soon. We’re here to help stop it, so you won’t need to call on the ridiculous alliance with him any longer.”
“What?” Lachlan’s face fills with confusion. “What are you talking about? The Northern Clans are working for Wayne?”
“Aye,” Jack spoke up, stepping beside me. “That is how he overruns packs, diminishing them to take them over. Me and my crew are all victims of his in some way. When Ela told me of the happenings with your pack and the alliance she was forcefully traded to secure,” Lachlan’s eyes narrowed, as if he didn’t like that last bit of what Jack said, “it sounded all too familiar to me. He did something similar with my pack before he had the North invade us and took it over.”
Lachlan stares between us, thinking over what we told him. I didn’t expect him not to know. I guess even in my first life, my uncle never succeeded in taking over the pack or letting his plans be known. I don’t know what to make of that. What did Lachlan do while I was away, swimming the seas in search of my father? Did my uncle not try anything else during that time?
I don’t know, so now is as good a time as any to ask.
“Did you not yet know my uncle’s involvement with the Northern Clans? I figured, based on thepastand your knowledge of what happened before, you would know of his reasons for agreeing to the alliance.”
Lachlan’s eyes are boring into mine, Killian shining through them. Val’s resolve is softening again, though she is trying to maintain her alpha aura enough to not let it show.
“Lira, all I have ever done or focused on after you left me, both times, was trying to get you back. Nothing else mattered to me. No. I had no idea.”
"How very noble of you." My eyes narrowed, my anger rising. I didn’t believe him. He wouldn’t have been in his office that morning with Leona if that was the case. Why keep secrets from me, over and over again in this life if he has any kind of remorse? He knew everything, but kept it all hidden. He….he almost slept with me. He almost let me make that mistake, thinking he was someone different from who he truly is.
“Considering youneverrevealed any of your knowledge to me, I didn’t expect that. I guess we have much more to discuss.”
“Lira, please,” he took a step forward, reaching out to me. I took a step back in response, not wanting to feel his touch. I know what feeling those sparks and the desires the bond stirs within me will do. It will make me and Val cave to this man, willing to listen to his lies all over again.
When I step back, Lachlan freezes, panic filling his face. “Don’t run,” he begs in a broken whisper. “I’ll do anything, listen and do anything, just please, don’t run again, Lira. Please.” The pain in his voice almost broke me.
“Then keep your distance,” I whispered back, my own voice sounding weak, which angered me more. “I told you,” I tried to sound a bit stronger, “I’m not here to discuss….us. I don’t….I don’t want to be hurt again, Lachlan. Please, just….not right now.”
I can feel everyone’s eyes on us, and the tension is thick in the air. I’m sure Jack is curious as to what we are talking about; about what I am referring to. The crew on the ship is probably watching too. Beretta will berate me later, demanding I tell her what happened, and I don’t want to relive all that pain all over again.
“It was a misunderstanding,” he told me desperately, not heeding my plea. “I was merely sleeping when she came in and tried to seduce me. I would never do that to you.”
I feel Jack tense beside me, and also feel the eyes of everyone watching; everyone who knows me and has seen me at my weakest. I'm not that weak girl any longer.