Page 38 of Forever My Siren Luna

The future is something I have been fighting against for so long that it seems like several lifetimes now. This is the last chance for her. Her mother….

Her mother told me to save her and no one else. That was her only wish, so it is what I am going to do. Even if my daughter hates me for the ways I went about this, as long as she survives… As long as a piece of my precious Lorelei continues on, that is all that matters.

Elelira….

I wish she knew just how much she is and was loved. I wish I could put into words just how much she meant to her mother and myself.

A life for a life. That is the nature of the magic I used to bring her back. I made the mistake the first time of thinking I could trade one life for both her and her mother. It ended up costing us her.

Living a life with memories of a child you once loved so intensely that you gave up living for in your first life, but were robbed of in your second caused my love more pain than I can describe. Watching my mate weep night after night, clutching her stomach and swearing to the heavens for taking her child was too much for both of us to bear.

Everyone sacrificed something, but none of us could live with my mistakes in the magic the first time, so I had to do it again….

Forgive me, Elelira. I will be as forthcoming as I possibly can without telling you the outcome of this redo of the two years for the both of us. That is a burden I never wish for you to bear.

I made many mistakes, but that is one thing I am sure of in this life.

A child’s life will always hold more value than their parents, and you, my dear daughter, are more precious to me than you will ever know.

~

Elelira POV

The three of us wandered down to the beach, since it seemed like the natural place to speak together.

Everyone else stayed with Nilo to start discussing the upcoming attack from the North, and the new threat that my uncle now posed to the pack now that everyone knew of his involvement. Jack had information going back years on my uncle’s dealings, and how he would take over other packs. I felt guilty for taking Lachlan away from a meeting with new vital information, but he insisted that he wanted to be with me.

I tried not to let it show how much I really wanted him here with me and my father. I tried not to let it show how much it meant to me that he chose to support me and left the meeting to Nilo. That is something he never would have done before.

Is it knowing that I am his mate that is causing him to act this way, or does he genuinely love me, even without the bond?

That is my biggest hang up. That is what is causing me to not be able to move past this. I understand that he was restricted in telling me the truth, and that even the Leona incident was not his fault, but is he acting this way out of obligation to the bond that forces him to love me? Is it because his pack needs its true luna to be at its strongest?

Or…. Does he really just love me? Is he sorry, not because he lost his fated mate, but because he lost me?

That isn’t what I need to be dwelling on right now. That isn’t what my focus should be.

King Brennus wants to tell me the full story, and I intend to listen. The mention of my mother compels me to. I loved my mom. Dearly. She sacrificed so much for me to keep me safe. I may not owe it to this man to hear him out, but I owe it to her.

We came upon the driftwood Yasmin and I once had our deep conversation on, making me smile at the memory of the time I made my first friend.

“What are you smiling about?” Lachlan asked, his voice light, as if the fact that I was smiling brought him great joy.

I gave him a side-eye, deciding if I wanted to keep pretending I wasn’t thankful he was here, but my honesty won out.

“This is where Yasmin and I came to talk after what my uncle’s men did to her. It was a difficult conversation, but I made my first real friend that day.”

This poor piece of driftwood seemed doomed to a life of overhearing heavy and difficult things, bearing the weight of the people in discussion as well.

Lachlan grins softly. “I remember. I was nagging Cherum the entire time to make sure you were alright.”

“I was far from alright,” I grumbled, then answered a bit more honestly, “at first. I think that day did end on a happy note, though, so I can’t complain.”

His expression is mixed with kindness and a tinge of guilt. When he reached out for my hand, I let him take it, welcoming the comfort the sparks bring.

“It is nice to see you accepting your mate, Elelira,” my father said, breaking me from the trance I didn’t realize I was in with Lachlan. I pulled away from him, feeling embarrassed.

“Who said I was accepting him?” I grumbled.