Page 3 of Forever My Siren Luna
I narrowed my eyes at Joe and Beretta while slipping on the oversized tunic. “Who called him?”
A heavy breath of exasperation leaves me. I knew Jack just letting me captain one of his ships on my own was too good to be true. I should have known he would be keeping tabs, lingering close by to just show up when he thought I was about to be in trouble.
He said he thought I was ready and he trusted me.
“Trust me my ass,”Val snapped, irritated too.
I cross my arms, tapping my foot impatiently while I wait for him to board. He’s taking his sweet time, making sure the board that is connecting the ships is just right, testing it with his foot before crossing over.
He was stalling. He could probably see the anger on my face. He rarely, if ever, used a board to cross. I learned how to swing over with a rope by watching him.
“Job well done, lass,” he sauntered over to me, a sly smirk on his face.
“If it’s a job well done, why are you here?” I continued to glare.
His expression turns apologetic. “To praise you.”
“Yeah right. Who is it? Who's the snitch?” My eyes circled the deck, narrowing in on anyone looking the least bit guilty.
“Ela,” Jack said my name in a measured tone. “I may have let you captain the ship, but it is stillmyship. These are stillmymen.”
“Then why didyouletmecaptain it if you didn’t trust me to run it?”
“Trust has nothing to do with it, lass. You don’t have the experience yet to be completely without help.”
I crossed my arms more tightly across my chest. I thought I did pretty well, all things considered. Yeah, the ship may have a few holes in it now, but that shouldn’t be that big of a deal. It happens. Even to Jack.
“I handled it perfectly,”Val brags, “I get why he would doubt you, you scrawny wimp, but I’m a beast.”
Jack was the one that encouraged Val to be the Lycan she was meant to be. In my uncle’s pack, women were never allowed to freely shift. It was allowed only on certain occasions, but closely monitored. Since it was not safe and something women had to do in secret, so many chose not to in hopes of avoiding trouble.
At Hidden Cove Pack, I never had an opportunity to really let Val out. I wanted to, but we never wanted to cause trouble. In my first life, she would sometimes take over when I was doing my own laundry in the stony creek, her feet much more durable than mine on the harsh stones. That was it. She never got to take her form, even with Killian. They would just push forward and take over our bodies to communicate, since we never mated and I was never given a proper inauguration to join the pack. That usually came after marking one another, something I am now grateful never happened.
Val never had an opportunity to test her abilities as the powerful alpha Lycan that she is. It took me some time to stop fighting Jack, trying to escape to the sea for days after I first woke up in his cabin, only to discover my ability to shift into my siren form was gone, along with my necklace. Jack was the one that told me to shift and learn to use Val, so I would stop being so scared all the time. It helped me to overcome my panic attacks, and it helped Val to feel more independent from our mate and more vital to my existence. She put a lot of the blame on herself for the deception we fell victim to. She knows I can’t live without her and she needs me just as much. All we need is each other.
And we also needed this jerk in front of us to trust us a little. We will never accomplish our mission, so we can truly be free if he doesn't trust us to do what we need to do.
We have had one goal for months now. One thing keeps us focused and keeps our minds off our own tortured past. All we want now is to save the people we love, using our knowledge of what's going to happen to prevent it from happening all over again. We wanted to stop my uncle from creating more victims, and leaving more terror in his wake.
To do that, we needed Jack. We shared a common goal, but Jack still doesn't know the extent of what I went through. I need his trust and support without him hounding over me, waiting for me to mess up. I didn't go through everything I went through to be at another man's mercy or under his control. Jack is the first man that hasn't tried to control me or manipulate me for his own benefit, but he still tries too hard to protect me, and I don't need it.
“Did I do a bad job?” I lifted a brow at Jack.
He rubs his chin, trying to hide his amusement. “No.”
“Is your ship still afloat?” I moved my weight on my other foot, trying to look more imposing.
Jack’s face broke into a broad smile. “Aye, it is.”
“So, did I need you?” I lifted my chin, daring him to say anything but the truth. Not like he would lie to me. He never has. I just know he likes to get a bit cheeky and start teasing me instead of answering questions he doesn’t want to answer.
“Well, that’s a fairly rude question,” he chuckled, draping his heavy arm around my shoulders, dragging me around to his side, then walking us to the wheel. “I’d like to think you will always need me in a way.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m talking about this mission, Jack. I had this handled. You know it.”
“Aye,” he sighs, “I know it, lass. You did a good job. As well as I would have done. Good job, my fierce little Ela. Next time I will trust you.”
“Thank you,” I grinned, feeling better with his praise.