Page 19 of Forever My Siren Luna

My Lira. I’m so, so sorry. Simply saying sorry will never be enough.

Seven

“You never should have said that about the betrayal pains,”Killian tells me in a dead whisper, his pain too great. “You should never have mentioned the pain you felt. You should have fallen to her feet and begged for her forgiveness. Why?”He groans. “Why did you have to try to compare pain?”

“I don’t know,”I tell him, my insides shattering with each breath I take as what Lira said plays over and over again in my head. “I’m an idiot.”

“You are an idiot,”he agrees, then curls inward on himself, “Mate,”he whimpers, “My poor mate.”

She went through too much. Her pain is something that would have destroyed anyone else. Thinking about how she suffered, I wish I could bring back every single one of those men we killed and kill them all over again, making their pain last weeks, just like hers.

I am going to kill Wayne. There is no doubt about it. I will destroy him for what he did to her.

“Who are you to bring up rejections at times like this?! You have no idea what he has done for her. What he is still doing for her! Who are you to her, to think you have any rights to tell this man anything concerning his mate?!” Cedric continued to yell.

“Who am I, indeed?” The guy muses, then sighs heavily, most of the smug arrogance leaving him, replaced by a determined expression. He was definitely an alpha. The aura pushing out of him is evidence of it. His aura still did little to affect me.

He takes a gold coin from his vest pocket, twirling it between his fingers as he stares down at it, examining its movements. The coin must be something of his making. It looks crudely made, with jagged edges and a wolf’s skull stamped at its center.

“You see this coin? It’s quite old; the first gold I melted to refine.” He holds it to the light, studying the coin’s edges, running his finger over it. “The newer coin we refine has nice, solid trim with defined edges and pretty little ridges. They come in quite handy. Many of my men have used the edges of the coins to trim their nails in a pinch before a night at port. No man wants to visit the taverns or brothels with talons. No lass wants to be finger blasted with blood and grime covered claws.”

Such crude talk, and he thinks he can steal Lira from me? My lips curled in disgust.

“This coin was never useful for such things. The edges were never sharp enough to properly cut a slice off a block of soft cheese, let alone sharp enough to help grind down a man’s nails, but I tell you what,” he gets just inches from my face, holding the coin between us, though my eyes never waver from his. “I am the man who will skin you alive with this very coin if she feels any pain or discomfort coming from you,Alpha.” He shakes his head, his body tense with anger. “2 years. 2 whole years,” he laughs dryly, “If she had told me before, I never would have brought her back here.”

A deep snarl vibrates through my chest. “This is her home.”

He huffed, stepping back to look at me with distaste. “Your arrogance astounds me, Alpha Lachlan. I spent the last 8 months with the woman, marveling at her determination and strength. I see where she gets it now. It wasn’t just that bastard Wayne’s doing. She also had to survive two years with you.”

My heart contracts painfully, knowing he speaks the truth. I had my reasons, but I didn’t realize just how inconsequential those reasons were. I knew she had been hurt, but she insisted she was still a virgin. I thought she was suffering from trauma left by Isaac and his torture of her mother and his advances towards Lira when she was just a child. I never knew that she had gone back to her Uncle’s pack after rejecting me. Even at the moment I killed him, he didn’t reveal anything about the reason for her death. He just apologized for her escape over and over again as he begged for his life, knowing I had been looking for her for months prior. Could he have meant her escape from him since she killed herself?

I need answers. I need to speak to her father. We were planning on a war with Alpha Wayne, and now we have more of a reason than ever.

First, I needed to deal with this man.

“Since the moment I discovered she was my mate, every breath I have taken has been for her. I will forever carry the regret of those two years, even more so now that I know what my betrayal led her to. Betraying her is something that will never happen again. I would face death before hurting her. She is my mate. My mate. Her best interest and her happiness are my only goals in life now. Can you say the same? Because your insistence on her rejection of me sounds more like it is your own selfish request for your own personal gain.”

“Hey,” he growled, taking a step forward, his beast glowing furiously in his eyes. “I only have her best interest in mind.”

“Do you? You seemed a little too thrilled to hear of my betrayal. Your little trick with your coin may intimidate some, but I see it for what it truly is.”

“And what is that?”

“A show,” I scoffed. I look at him, my eyes moving up and down his body, knowing even the way he is dressed is for show. “A pirate is a pirate for a reason. Escape is easy at sea. Don’t think I missed the scent of rum on your breath. You use any means of escape, don't you? You are a runner,matey. I can see it in you. What is it you are running from? Huh?”

He fidgets, not liking my questioning. He is definitely running from something. I don’t care what it is, I just don’t want him thinking I don’t see through his actions. Not when it concerns my wife.

I continued on. “Running away is something I have never done. I have been at war since the time I could shift, and now I’m fighting the greatest war of my life. I don’t wish to escape the consequences of my mistakes. I’ve been fighting in ways you will never understand to make it better. My dying breath will be for that woman, because my world entirely revolves around her. Even if she chooses to reject me on her 20th birthday, I will still only want her. I will only live for her. I don’t need a coin trick to show that.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Val in a row boat that is almost too small for her body. The woman she was talking to earlier is rowing towards the rocky cliffs surrounding the river that dumps into the bay.

“Follow her, Cherum. Not in secret. Let her know you were there for her if she needs you. There will be no more secrets from my mate.”Cherum is probably the only one of my men who Lira will let near her at the moment.

Cherum looks in the direction of Lira, then gives me a subtle nod before moving up the dock to chase after his Luna.

She will always be Luna; his and mine. She is my mate, and still the only woman I will ever accept. Even if she won’t accept me, that will never change.

“Your men. Keep them anchored in the harbor, and until I know I can trust you, I’ll assign escorts for them if they need to come ashore. My pack is heavily guarded. Keep that in mind if you choose to wander around on your own,matey,” I used his phrase to mock him.