Page 74 of Forever My Siren Luna

That is the main reason I have been avoiding mating Mel, but there is another.

I’m scared.

We have kissed a fair share, and done a number of other things, but have not fully mated once. If we did, neither of us would have been able to hold back from marking. It would have been impossible.

There is no going back once we mark one another. This bond will be forever unless we want to go through the most painful kind of rejection. That’s something I never wanted to make him go through. I don’t want him to ever feel that heart wrenching pain. I’ve witnessed bonds breaking with others when their mates died, and on the very very rare occasions when they faced a rejection, and never want Mel to face that kind of pain.

I don’t want to face that pain either. The pain of being separated from the one I love. I don’t want to mark and mate him, then have my princess be called back to the sea, because I will have to follow her. I will have no choice.

Just as the Delta of the pack’s main focus in life is to serve their Luna, my main objective is to serve Ela. I am her knight, and her sword. My magic flows for her. When she turns 20 and her magic is set free, our bond will be unbreakable, more so than the mate bond. My magic will be connected to hers in a way that won’t allow for us to be apart.

If I have a mate that is stuck on land, and Ela one day has to take her father’s place as ruler of the Siren Kingdom, there will be no choice for me. Serving her will be my only option. Ever. Meldec will have to come second to her and that terrifies me.

At first, I thought he was a ripe ass and didn’t want to mate him for his attitude towards Sirens alone.

Now that I know him, and know how truly amazing of a man he can be, how he reads and plays with orphans, cares for the sick and widowed, and now that I truly appreciate his handsome ass, I don’t want to strap him to such an uncertain fate. I don’t want him wasted on me when he can find another so easily.

While I stew in my oppressive thoughts, I also stew in the soupy water, trying not to focus too much on what might be floating around me. That is when a big group of kitchen servants comes in, obviously done with their shifts for the day now that dinner is long over.

Their conversation slowed and they eye me warily, finding it odd that a knight of the Luna and siren princess is in the servants' bathhouse and not the one at the other end of the castle for the elite warriors. I guess that's my cue to leave.

Good riddance to the stewy bath water. I guess I should go take a proper bath now. Maybe go for a swim in the sea to avoid my bloodhound mate? I can find some nice secluded underwater cave to rest in for the night and ward off Mel for at least one more day.

“There you are,” Mel surprised me, making me jump as soon as I stepped out of the servant’s quarters.

“Swimming ducks!” I exclaimed while I clutched my chest, turning in a fright. He was leaned against the wall, a smirk on his face. “What? Were you waiting here for me?”

“No,” he pursed his lips, shaking his head in a condescending way. “I just found a good wall to lean on. Why would I have any reason to suspect you were in the servants’ bathhouse and not our own, knowing how much you hate the water in the heated pools? I definitely didn’t follow your scent here.”

~

I narrowed my eyes on him. If he knew I was hiding here, he could have saved me from stewing in the soupy water during that time by just letting me know.

“You’re an arse,” I muttered.

“An arse?” He laughed. “For leaning against a wall?”

“You know why,” I grunted, walking past him towards the docks so I could take a dive in the briny ocean to rid myself of other people’s filth.

“I’m sorry. Did you want me to let you know you were swimming in your least favorite bath water to avoid me in vain?”

“You dogs and your freaky noses. You could smell me, so I’m sure you could smell the sweat and muck I was bathing in as well,” I snapped.

“Oh, I could. I imagined re-washing you the entire time I was waiting for you to call it quits.”

“Like I said, you’re an arse,” I snapped.

His deep chuckle flamed my irritation, at him and myself for reacting to it. My body begins to relax and tense up again in certain muscles, all reacting to his throaty laughter.

“Ah, your scent suddenly got so much sweeter,” Mel had to comment, like the ass he is.

“Don’t you have someone else to bother? You’re the damned Gamma. Doesn’t that mean you have responsibilities all throughout the day?”

“My only responsibility right now is to make sure that you don’t back out of what I was promised this morning.”

"I think that promise is unfitting now. The Luna and Alpha you serve are still not sleeping in the same bed. We can't beat them to it. It would be rude."

"Ah. Well, I am thrilled to let you in on a little secret. The Alpha just informed the guards that he will be staying with youprincesstonight. He gave them the night off. Problem solved." Mel grinned triumphantly. "They are sleeping with one another. We can do the same without the worry of being called rude."